Restaurants

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I have not been a very visible moderator on this forum. I prefer to keep a low profile. But I would like to share with you some of my favorite places to eat in Ithaca:</p>

<p>John Thomas Steakhouse: This has to be one of the top 25 steakhouses in the country. It is my personal favourite restaurant in Ithaca.</p>

<p>Heights Cafe: Excellent continental cuisine.</p>

<p>Nine's: Another fine pizza joint on College Avenue. This one is more of a sit-down place. Best known for their deep dish pizzas. </p>

<p>Four Seasons: Not much to look at, but pleasantly decent Korean cuisine right off of Dryden...on Eddy street.</p>

<p>Ithaca Bakery: The name says it all...but it is actually quite special. </p>

<p>Madeline's: Decent food, but trendy and edgy atmosphere...and excellent place for drinks and desserts. Well, in most of your cases, desserts! </p>

<p>Mama Teresa's Pizza: Convenient, cheap and tasty, pizza-by-the-slice joint right on College Ave and Dryden. Not exactly a great place to sit down, but the pizzas are good. Best known for their New York style pizzas. Open very late for those studying hard for prelims/finals...or for those partying on weekends (never on a week night right?!)</p>

<p>Moosewood Restaurant: World-famous vegetarian restaurant. Not much to look at, but the food and atmosphere are interesting.</p>

<p>Nine's: Another fine pizza joint on College Avenue. This one is more of a sit-down place. Best known for their deep dish pizzas. </p>

<p>Pangea: Good continental/eclectic restaurant.</p>

<p>Renee's American Bistro: Another fine continental cuisine establishment.</p>

<p>Rulloff's: Fun brewery, bar & grill right next to campus.</p>

<p>Sangam Indian Cuisine: Fine Indian restaurant on Dryden and Eddy. </p>

<p>Stella's Cafe: Decent restaurant, but excellent hangout place.</p>

<p>Thai Cuisine: Best Thai food in Ithaca.</p>

<p>Viva Taqueria: Solid Mexican cuisine right next to the Commons.</p>

<p>I know I am missing a couple, but that's a good start.</p>

2

<p>No list of Ithaca eating establishments is complete without the Hot Truck. Although the Sui is not quite what it was when Bob Petrillose was turning them out when I was there in the 1970s, they still hit the spot. Certain of the subs are available at the Shortstop Deli downtown when the Hot Truck is not open. Just start taking Lipitor now.</p>

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<p>LOL Malox works better for me!</p>

4

<p>The Thai Cuisine closed a couple years ago I believe.</p>

<p>Nine's has great pizza but their service is excruciatingly slow. It took me an hour and a half to get my food once. It was the only time I left <15% tip because the service was atrocious. Also the famed Collegetown Creeper worked there before he got arrested.</p>

<p>Aladdin's - a great natural eatery. There have a lot of good salads and healthy foods but they still have pastas, pitas, and a ton of good meat dishes.</p>

<p>Mama T's and Collegetown Pizza - good pizza and a popular drunk hangout after 1 am.</p>

<p>Mahogany Grill - the best restaurant in Ithaca by far. It's in the commons. A little pricey but it's worth it.</p>

5

<p>Thai cuisine closed?! Dang it! I loved that restaurant! I have never been to Mahogany Grill...at least, I do not think I did. </p>

<p>Aladdin's is decent for sure. But as an Arab myself, I am highly critical of Arab/Greek food. </p>

<p>And who is the Collegetown Creeper? LOL Man, times sure have changed since I was on Campus from 1999-2001.</p>

6

<p>Is Thai Cuisine the restaurant in Ctown or is it another place? All the thai places in Ctown closed for some reason. Being an Indian, I feel the same way about restaurants like Sangam. </p>

<p>The Collegetown Creeper was this perv who break into houses and stare at girls in their sleep. They would wake up, see him, and he would run away. Apparently he tried touching a couple of them and stealing their undergarments or something sick like that. Needless to say he was caught in the act and arrested.</p>

<p>A couple more recommendations:</p>

<p>Souvlaki House - Greek/Italian food that's been around since 1970. It's family owned and operated and it has a nice feel to it.</p>

<p>Sindbad's - Mediterranean/Arab/Greek food. It's a new fast-foodish place but it's really good and it tastes even better when you're drunk.</p>

7

<p>I hear you Shizz. I actually have very high standards for Indian restaurants too because I gre up in the UAE and many of my schoolmates were Indian, so I got used to the authentic stuff. But by US standards, Sangam is decent I suppose! hehe</p>

<p>Thai Cuisine was actually not in the collegetown area...it was accross the street from Wegmans! </p>

<p>Man, that Collegetown Creeper really is creepy. Thang goodness he did not harm anybody. Sheesh, lots of sickos out there! </p>

<p>And Shizz, everything tastes better when you are drunk! LOL</p>

8

<p>One of my favorite restaurants in C-town is the Chariot, which is actually located under Sangam; "Ithaca's only underground restaurant." It's owned by the same people who run the Nines. Great pizza, and known for its corn nuggets. Sadly, it looks slated to close this summer (may already be closed).</p>

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<p>Wegmans may be a general grocery store, but their sub shop is nothing short of amazing! Blows subway, blimpie, everything else away. If you're not into subs, the wegmans 2 minutes away from me has a Chinese buffet, a pizza shop, and a Medeteranian (sp?) bar. I'm sure the Ithaca location has a bunch of stuff like this as well.</p>

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<p>The Thai Cuisine you refer to is still open. I've heard it's good but I've never tried it myself. The Chariot has really good pizza and they serve minors too. Is business so bad that they are closing?</p>

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<p>I heard that Chariot was having issues with their landlord, prompting the closure. Rumor has it that they were looking for a new place to move to, but I don't know if anything came from that.</p>

12

<p>The Pines, while its a bit of the drive, is very good. Voted best burger in Ithaca since the dawn of time. Also, there are a couple of very good Japanese places, the names of which I can't currently remember. And the Boatyard Grill is a good place to have your parents take you when they come up for parents weekend (i.e. when you aren't paying; John Thomas is the other logical choice in this category).</p>

13

<p>Maxi's super club downtown is awesome...good cajun grub and such (I'm assuming it's still open)...also, there's a vietnamese noodle place in C-town that has some of the best noodles in the universe (just add hot sauce)...I forget the name, but it's across from the palms.</p>

<p>cheers,
CU grad</p>

14

<p>The only one I've been to is Rulloff's, which was very good. I think I just had a burger, but they had Sweet Potatoe Fries!</p>

<p>I'll have to try the Indian and Thai restaurants considering I've never had either cuisine.</p>