The Great Restaurant Problem

Of course the latest and most daunting fact that has fogged my brain this past weekend concerns food. If I’m not in class, studying, spending time with my girlfriend, or working, then I’m usually eating (who am I kidding—I’m typically eating during those times too!). I’ve always been a big fan of eating.

One of my mother’s most loyal associates has a daughter who is a first-year freshman here at good ol’ SUNY Cortland. Yesterday my mother sent me an e-mail requesting a recommendation of a good place for the two (my mother’s co-worker and her daughter) to enjoy dinner.

It took me two days to respond. Why is this? Well I’m sure that these two ladies are completely tired of eating at Applebee’s. I would put money on the fact that they have been to Fabio’s more than once. It seems that this Italian restaurant is getting old, already.

I’m a BIG supporter of downtown Cortland so I had to mention The Community Restaurant. This is a great little restaurant on the Groton Ave. end of Main St that has spectacular food.

[Side Note: I intend on being brutally honest when writing for this blog—and, I don’t mean to offend anyone. I believe that the only way in which I can be of assistance and provide useful information comes from me being straight forward.]

But, I don’t know if this is the type of establishment that I would prefer to take a date. I would wish for a place more like the new Italian Restaurant, Fabio’s. My personal favorite is Jeremiahs Place and Creed. This is a beautiful/elegant family-style restaurant located in Virgil. Jeremiahs (this is not a typo; there is no apostrophe in the name) has the best food that I’ve tasted, ever. No joke. You might want to try it.

Here’s my question for you folks: Why do I have to drive 10 miles to get a quality meal with a well-designed home-like atmosphere? Maybe I don’t? I know that there are a couple of other restaurants in the downtown area… but, I’ve been here for five years now—why haven’t I eaten at any of them?

There must be a way to either a.) Incorporate new businesses into the downtown area and/or b.) Help endorse the current restaurants, the ones that I’ve been missing out on.

Hold up. Perhaps I’m way off. Could I be the only one that feels this way? To find out, I did some research. I asked some of my friends—through AOL Instant Messenger—how many of the restaurants they have eaten at that are located in the downtown area… here are some of the responses (Screen names have been changed to protect the innocent):

RayHedrick: How many restaurants have you been to in the downtown Cortland area?
Malley: ummm... does Downtown Deli count?
Malley: haha

Here’s another:

RayHedrick: How many restaurants have you been to in the downtown Cortland area?
recklessdreamer: umm 1 maybe
recklessdreamer: pita gourmet is excellent

These are just two of the people that I asked. One of them is a senior, and the other is a Graduate student.

I guess this post will situate a question that I will leave with you, the beloved Cortland community, to ponder over. But, for now, I’m going to make a list of all of the eateries in our city, and check them out. Maybe I’ll post the reviews. Cheers for now, folks.

--Ray