48 Hours in Ithaca: Summertime Eats

A couple of weekends ago, my family drove up to Ithaca. We hadn't been up in a couple of years and we took it as an opportunity to have a little mini break with our dog.

Ithaca is pretty rural but it's got some really delicious food.

We did a lot of al fresco dining, because NY State law does not allow dogs into dining establishments (makes sense) and we also did takeout a few times. I'm sharing three of my favorite places today but if you're looking for more dining choices, check out my Big Red List on Yelp. And for all of the fun activities we did, you can check out my travel blog.

Collegetown Bagels

CTB was a favorite of mine while I was in school and it's still a place I dream about. They have dozens of delicious bagel and sandwich combinations, amazing coffees and teas, and they even serve ice cream. I wish I could share a shot of their amazing chalkboard menu but unfortunately, they don't allow photos anymore. I think in the past, someone stole their menu and presentation style. Thanks, thief, for ruining it for everyone.

For our first visit, I went for the Mexican bagel, which is my absolute favorite. It's a bagel (you can pick the type of bagel) that's slathered in jalapeno cream cheese and fresh salsa and then topped with cheddar. The whole thing is chucked into the broiler so the cheese can melt.

We also hit up CTB on our second day. Unfortunately, one of my favorite places, Stella's, closed abruptly for an unknown reason. No bother though, because like I said, the CTB menu is extensive so it's not like it felt redundant going there again.

This time around, my sister and I decided to share two bagels. The first was the San Diego bagel. I asked for a honey wheat bagel. They slathered the bagel with plain cream cheese and then topped that with raspberry jalapeno spread.

We also got the Roundhouse, which is sausage, bacon, hashbrown, and scrambled egg on a rosemary salt bagel. It's a powerhouse of a breakfast sandwich.

I also got my favorite chai iced tea.

Ithaca Farmers Market

The Market is so much fun and really delicious. It's a great place to just window shop and hang out by the water.

While we were here, we did a little grocery shopping too. We ended up getting a little container of oyster mushrooms, freshly picked blueberries, red leaf lettuce, squash that looked like it was dip dyed, and eggplant. I also picked up a bottle of apple honey.

One of my favorite stalls at the IFM is the Cambodian food. My favorite dishes are the green amohck tofu and the cha kreung. On this recent visit, I also tried the banh chev, which was so good.

The best part of the market is walking around and grabbing whatever looks good. When I was in school, I didn't have much disposable income to spend lavishly so this weekend was extra fun because now I have a (comparably) substantial amount of disposable income. I bought myself this delicious strawberry lemonade without thinking about if the $2.50 could be better spent on something more practical.

My sister went and got a gyro from the Greek stand. They use fresh pitas and deliciously seasoned lamb. It's delicious and the portions are pretty generous.

Veronika's crepes is a pretty popular stand too. Though their sweet crepes are the favorite, I happen to enjoy the savory crepes. They offer you the option to get a cheese sauce drizzled all over the top and of course I always say, "Yes, please!"

I also recommend walking past the maple stand to sample some of the maple cotton candy. It's amazing.

Cornell Dairy Bar

The Dairy Bar was closed for a while because Stocking Hall was getting a makeover.

There are tons of ice creams and shakes and chocolate milk and they even have sandwiches.

The sugar cones and waffle cones are made in house and they're superb.

We had a great weekend and I think even GM enjoyed himself.

xoxo.