On a snowy, wintry night, sometimes you give into inertia and pile three to twelve blankets on yourself and extend a chilly digit or two out from underneath your heat nest only to affirm with a click “Yes, Netflix, I am still alive, if not necessarily well, and I do indeed want to watch another nine solid hours of this series.” (Just… just me?)
But sometimes I’m brave enough to stomp out into the snow. Recently, I walked over to the Finger Lakes House, a very short walk from the historic West Side and from downtown.
“Sometimes” is going to become “very often” if the restaurant keeps up with their fascinating revolving tap options, deep B-side cuts from the region’s breweries, and straight-up delicious food.
Anyway, my ear muffs and I are glad we went out.
THE BEER
There were too many obscure, interesting, mysterious options to limit myself to a pint. So my husband and I went for two flights – me and my dark porters/stouts/interesting reds, and he with his might-as-well-be-bludgeoned-by-a-pine-tree hoppy IPAs. There was a striking diversity of breweries represented on the menu, some I’d not heard of before, and a ton of beers that I know I’ve never seen at Wegmans. Finger Lakes Whiteout Wassail was my favorite of my flight – beautiful rich walnut color and a little burnt spice scent on top of a mellow brown ale.
Rotating taps and the enthusiastic curation of the region’s beer renaissance means I will be coming back often to see what’s new.
THE FOOD
POTACHOSSSSSSSSSSS. (Kettle chip nachos + three cheeses!) Their take on beer cheese dip with carrots, apples, and soft pretzels was so rich that we cleaned the bowl in minutes.
On a less dairy-indulgent note, we also ordered the sweet potato flatbread with a drizzle of balsamic and it was an amazing savory addition. The food is sized to share several small plates – if they have that flatbread again, we’re each ordering our own next time, and we’ll share one of the cheesy options.
THE WINE
Will demand another investigative journalism trip to the Finger Lakes House. Will be walking over there again in the snow soon!
The house itself is a gorgeous remodeled 1870s row house, just cozy and charming from the pretty tin ceiling down to the long wood table with a custom inset of local river rocks. The level of care in the dining room echoes the owner’s devotion to the local beer and wine. A sweet respite from the snow and sure to be a sunny space as the days get longer in spring and summer.
It’s an easy five-minute walk from the First Arena to the restaurant. On-street parking is limited; there is a small parking area for customers immediately adjacent.
Elmiraland is a website, blog, and social media presence dedicated to everything Elmira. Taking time to enjoy what’s around us; always looking forward to what’s next!