Iconic restaurants in Upstate New York: 13 quintessential places to dine
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
Creating a list of iconic Upstate New York restaurants can be a difficult task, even in normal times. One person’s icon may not be another’s, especially if their favorite candidate didn’t make the list. And, in the current pandemic era, it remains difficult because so many iconic establishments have temporarily we hope suspended or markedly reduced services.
Consider the Franklin Lunch & Grill in Syracuse that recently closed after 58 years; the upscale, classic French restaurant LaSerre in downtown Albany that just folded after 43 years; the racing-season stalwart Siro’s that gave up the ghost after 75 years in Saratoga Springs, the 77-year-old Cornell’s in Schenectady’s Little Italy, and so on.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
It was cheat day for body builders Jess Cosentino and Carl Webber, her fiancee. She convinced him to head to Niagara Falls to a cool looking burger restaurant that she had spotted on social media. I m a foodie, she said. I love food. I love different unique foods.
Rock Burger USA offered 37 large, messy burgers, many of them over-the-top creations. Rock Rolls, a cousin to pizza rolls, were stuffed with chicken wing dip or an Oreo filling. Cosentino especially loved the ranch-seasoned tater tots.
They left so impressed with their experience that they decided to bring the restaurant to Rochester as a franchisee. It is their first foray into the restaurant business, but they knew enough to put a contingency in their contract: that they had to add a burger created just for Rochester.
Ratings: Three stars, with 247Sports.com rating him the seventh best player in Hawaii.
Other Offers: Offers of interest hailed mostly from the west coast, with Hawaii, SDSU and UCLA among others. He was also offered by Virginia, so the Orange weren’t the only ones trying to bring him east.
Dino’s projected nickname: Not sure on a nickname, but he’s going to be trading plate lunches and loco mocos for garbage plates out here. I’m sure one of his teammates can get him out to Nick Tahou’s or Tom Wahls.
Player Breakdown: From film, Ellis played mostly tackle in high school. He looks solid as a pass blocker, though against notably smaller competition, working well in combination with his other linemen. His footwork could use a little, but that can come with coaching. Coming in at 6-foot-5 and 350 pounds, he already has the size to play at the ACC level and would be the largest lineman on the Syracuse squad, day one. Provided he can keep his agility up to work against ACC c