vip in the city

…to the shores of wine country

High fuel prices may be forcing most of the antique sellers online; we trekked the entire 50 miles of the sale without coming across a single dealer. But while Route 90 wasn’t the cornucopia of collectibles we’d envisioned, the entire weekend didn’t have to be a bust.

We decided to pack in early after a head-scratching encounter with one local woman and her chicken coop, during which we received some serious misinformation about the normal egg laying schedule of hens. (6 eggs a day? We may be city folk, but we’re not that gullible.)

The eastern shore of Cayuga Lake hosts just two active wineries compared to over a dozen along the western edge. Although we were given (more) dubious information about how the Cayuga County-side farmers historically have been less willing to sell their land for use as vineyards, a more probable explanation for the discrepancy is the west-to-east moving jet stream which creates a warmer (and somewhat less vine-friendly) eastern lake coast.

We stopped in for a tasting at 72-acre Long Point Winery in Aurora — the second winery to open its doors on the eastern side of Cayuga Lake, in May 2000. (King Ferry Winery was the pioneer, in 1984.)

After picking up several bottles of the whites for which the Finger Lakes region is best known, we moved on, bidding adieu to Route 90. Continuing on the scenic route home, at Ithaca’s Six Mile Creek Vineyard, we sampled and bought more award winning Riesling. That afternoon, the tasting room overlooking the sloping vine-covered hills was also hosting half a dozen greyhounds and their owners, who were at the winery for the Grapehound Wine Tour — an annual Finger Lakes hound/wine tasting event, now in its third year.

From the wine trail to the ice cream trail…

Some places are worth a stop, just because you like the looks of them. Richford’s Dairy Treat caught our eye as we made the turn onto Route 79, with its hulking black smoker parked in the front lot, and huge signs advertising BBQ chicken and 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream — mixed to order.

My creamy espresso cone did not disappoint.

Tags: Central New York, ice cream, vineyard, winery

A matter of perspective

Around the corner at The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, the shop had sold out of their popular Almond Cookie, Don Tat (egg custard tart) and Black Sesame ice cream flavors after a busy holiday week. Boo!

As we perused the dry erase board for an alternative, we could have chosen from among Lychee, Durian, Pandan and Zen Butter (peanut butter ice cream with toasted sesame seeds) listed under “Regular” flavors. Under “Exotic”: Chocolate and Vanilla.

Reminds me of HSBC’s “Your Point of View” ad campaign.

And on the topic of wordplay, I read today that Dave Eggers‘s nonprofit youth writing workshop and tutoring center, Park Slope-based 826NYC, is hosting a fundraising tournament on Saturday, January 19, 2008: Scrabble for Cheaters. When I forwarded the list of “cheats” for charity to my partner-in-crime (you know who you are, ahem!), he was “outragedqxz” by my revisiting of 15-year old indiscretions. Current price tag on our past peccadillos: $400.

Tags: Chinatown, ice cream