someusername posted:

Utica NY (315 upstate). We used to be known for decent Italian food. Tommy Lasorda gave high praises because he's a fat gently caress. Population was huge 100 years ago, Italian/Polish/Irish.

Now it's a refugee city with tons of eastern Europeans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Ethiopians, etc. A lot of refugees got grants to start businesses, so we can eat pretty drat good cheap. I under-represent the Asian places here probably because they're always switching up and moving, but they're my favorite to discover blindly.

O'Scugnizzos Pizza. Sauce on top. Incredible dough. 100+ years there same family . Sausage is a must, long-hots if you're into that too. You can get it fully loaded and it's like eating deep dish with a thin crispy crust. I don't like their "special", I think they add raw garlic to the sauce. But you can't go wrong with any other toppings. Best of both worlds. A+++

Anything from Pulaski Meat Market. It's in the ghetto, and only locals seem to know it's existence. I don't think they advertise. They absolutely have the best smoked/cured stuff I've found upstate. The kielbasa is the most amazing, and they have a garlic kielbasa too and a dozen other sausages I can't name. The 10 or so different variety of pierogi are all baller. There's a bacon wrapped pork loin that they smoke I'm addicted to. It's got the best aspects of ham and roast pork at the same time.

Utica Greens, at any italian dining establishment, everyone has their favorite. For my money the bowling alley in Frankfort has the best... Nobody uses the same recipe, but it's escarole sauteed in chicken stock with garlic, long hots, prosciutto or Guanciale, more garlic, cherry peppers if you like it hot. Some throw breadcrumbs on at the end and broil a few seconds. Some melt mozz. Some do parm. It's a competitive thing that keeps everyone on their toes.

Giambotta, which may be completely bastardized from some real Italian dish. It's like a ... deep dish fritatta full of sausage and greens and potatoes I guess. Fry the poo poo out of some breakfast stuff, dump a bunch of beaten egg on it, feed it to drunks. Some serve it firm, some runny, IDFK what is more authentic because it's just a crazy bastard drunk dish.

Mushroom stew: More love from our native pollock population. Pork sausage, peppers and all kinds of mushrooms (usually a variety of dried) in spicy tomato broth. Best eaten from any hole in the wall pizzeria. Little Roma is v good.

Lebanese : Zeina's on Varick St. There isn't anything non-extraordinary there, and the owners are friendly and love talking about anything. They deserve to be doing 100 tables a day, but it's a poo poo town. They're on THE bar street where all the night action is, but usually only open for lunch. Maybe dinner on weekends.

There's also MORE great Lebanese in the shopping center, the owner ran the Gyro cart outside Home Depot for 20+ years before starting a real restaurant with his wife. The kibbeh tartare dish (i forget the name) is amazeballs, and I always bring some home to fry with breakfast. Owned by the coolest hardest working people around.

Japanese: Geisha 2 on Bank Place. gently caress the drat hibachi joints. This place was doing authentic japanese 25 years ago when it wasn't trendy. Shirt & tie kinda joint.

Tex Mex : Rio Grande baby. The carnitas are proper confit chunks for my oral pleasure, not shredded/broiled orange juice sillyness. Killer big wet burritos, also complimentary 3 kinds of salsa and endless fresh chips avail. Owner is awesome. Negro Modela goes with every dish.

Pho Mekong is boss for soup, but you have to go down the street to little vietnam to find a Bahn Mi. That's hit or miss, but we have killer grocery stores.

Italian Pastry - Cafe Florentine for old school, Cafe Canole in the burbs for top notch new stuff.

I've lived in bigger cities with nothing but chain restaurants and traditional diners, so I can't hate my lovely city too much.