Chillin’ in B’Ville
Baldwinsville’s Big Chill Weekend returns with two days of foods, wines, a cook-off, live entertainment and a polar bear plunge. The event benefits the Greater Baldwinsville Chamber of Commerce, Ronald McDonald House and the Central New York chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Here’s the schedule:
Wine, Cheese, Chocolate and More
Friday, Jan. 20, 7 to 11 p.m.
Red Mill Inn, 4 Syracuse St., Baldwinsville
Wine tasting, homemade chocolate, local gourmet cheese and other food, hosted by the Speach Family Candy Shoppe, Buttercup Cheese, Hunt Country Vineyards and Tabatha’s Family Tree. Live entertainment and raffles throughout the evening.
Saturday, Jan. 21, noon
Mercer Park, Seneca River, Baldwinsville
Jump into Seneca River for a good cause, as an individual or part of a team.
Best in Bowl Cook-Off
Saturday, Jan. 21, noon
Mercer Park
Savor and sample local dishes from Baldwinsville and Syracuse area restaurants during the event, which features dishes you can eat from a bowl.
Poker Bear Express
Saturday, Jan. 21, 5 to 9 p.m.
A twist on your average bar hop, collect playing cards at participating Baldwinsville bars to create your best poker hand.
For more information, visit b-ville.com or call 638-0550.
Café Change
One of Syracuse’s shooting stars when it comes to creativity and entertainment, the Redhouse/SubCat complex—at the gateway to Armory Square, 210 S. West St.—has a new spot for noshing and imbibing. The appropriately named Redhouse Café has taken over the space formerly occupied by Montage as center stage for relaxing and recharging among the artists, tenants and patrons. And it has a decidedly European flavor.
The food menu is highlighted by a variety of crepes from ham with provolone and Cajun turkey with cranberry chutney to a dessert crepe filled with Nutella and banana. At the top of the beverage menu is a list of David Bowler wines, featuring vintages from Europe, California and Argentina. Fresh juices, Limonata, soda and fruit shakes are served cold while hot drinks include coffee, espresso, mulled cider and chai latte.
The new hotspot, which moves in where Montage moved out after six months, is a French-style creperie and wine bar that offers free Wi-Fi and shares the same hours as the Redhouse box office and the resident Joan Lukas Rothenberg Gallery. It’s open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. An entertainment series is under way with the complete schedule available at www.cafe@theredhouse.org.
—Kevin Corbett
Cold Comforts
Seems the folks at Baltimore Woods Nature Center got on board the emerging trend three years ago with its first Local Harvest Dinner. The celebration of all local foods returns to the Marcellus spot with two grazing sessions, Sunday, Jan. 22, from 1 to 3 p.m. and again from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Guests can enjoy samples of foods grown, produced and prepared in Central New York. In addition, local food artisans and farmers will be on hand to answer questions and offer insights into their sustainable practices.
“Baltimore Woods believes in the importance of people experiencing a direct and profound connection to nature,” says Patty Weisse, executive director. “What better way to connect to the natural world than through the foods that nourish our bodies, provided by the local food industry that enriches our community?”
With offerings as diverse as the Central New York landscape, noshers can expect foodstuffs from local farms, pasta producers, coffee roasters and bakeries. Among them is Jon Stadt, of Flour City Pasta, based in Fairport. “Being part of the local harvest dinner introduced our pasta to new customers,” he says. “This event was incredibly influential for our business, which we are very grateful for.”
Tickets cost $20 for Baltimore Woods members, $35 for non-members, and can be purchased at baltimorewoods.org or by calling 673-1350. Baltimore Woods is located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus.
Sauce Loss
A very curious item appeared at our offices in the weeks before Christmas. Bad Jew BBQ, touting “zesty BBQ flavor with no guilty aftertaste,” is so named because it’s meant to be slathered on pork, among other meats. And unless you’re Adam Richman, pork is verboten for Jews to eat. Curious, the sauce, with a cool label that’s part Beastie Boy, part Hasidic Jew, made its way to a staffer’s kitchen, where it found a home on top of some country-style pork ribs.
The taste-test result? If you can get past the sauce’s grainy texture (Really? Isn’t sauce supposed to be smooth?), you taste very little at first until—Wham!—a kicked-up aftertaste grabs your tongue. It’s not unpleasant, just unexpected. Purchasing Bad Jew BBQ will likely be a matter of taste, despite the clever marketing.
