Food Adventures

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Daniella’s Goes Above and Beyond

August 17, 2025

August 18, 2025

As is a tradition in many families, birthdays are a chance to celebrate at a new and often special restaurant. My youngest and I share birthdays just four days apart. This year, my son turned 16 and I turned 48. My husband booked a reservation at Daniella’s Steakhouse, which is located near the New York State Fairgrounds.

This gem of a restaurant is tucked inside a Best Western Hotel. From the outside it is unassuming, simple and small. There are about four wrought iron tables on the patio, which faces the parking lot. Hanging baskets of seasonal flowers complemented the red umbrellas at each table. As we entered the restaurant, a gentleman opened the door for each us in our party of four – me, my husband, and my two sons. The entrance to the restaurant leads you directly into the dining room, a small, intimate room with room for probably no more than 10 parties. We were a few minutes early for our reservation, but were seated in a matter of minutes.

Immediately after sitting down, our glasses were filled with ice water and we were presented with the menu, wine list, and specials. I had previewed the menu earlier in the day, but was excited when I saw that calamari was a featured appetizer. My husband, who had also previewed the menu and wine list shared that they had three different bottles of wine he knew I’d enjoy. We ordered the Antinori “Villa Toscana Rosso” Super Tuscan wine ($45) and calamari to start our meal.

Shortly before placing our order, the same gentleman who open the door for us approached our table. He introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant, Charlie Roman. After welcoming us to the restaurant, our waitress, Ashley, took our order. We each ordered a different dish, which allowed us an opportunity to sample each other’s meal.

The calamari we ordered arrived hot and with two dipping sauces, a sesame garlic sauce and a creamy remoulade. The coating on the calamari was well seasoned and crispy, and the calamari was tender while slightly chewy. I was not a fan of the sesame garlic sauce; however, as stand alone sauce, it had a nice salty-sweet flavor with a hint of ginger.

Calamari

Shortly after finishing our appetizer, our meals were delivered to the table. My youngest ordered the Lobster Fettuccine ($39.52). A decadent white wine butter garlic sauce coated his pasta while scrumptious chunks of lobster topped the dish. The lobster was buttery and succulent, each bite complementing the al dente pasta.

Lobster Fettucini

My eldest ordered Daniella’s Riggie’s with Chicken ($28.08 + $6.24). I teased that he orders chicken riggies at nearly every restaurant we go to. The riggies came out with a creamy blush sauce, large pieces of cherry peppers, and an ample supply of chicken. A bite of the dish greeted you with a smooth sauce that clung to the ridges of the rigatoni. The spice, a warm heat, followed the bite, encouraging you to continue with the dish.

My husband ordered the Marsala with Chicken ($35.60). Much like my son, he tries the Marsala at nearly every restaurant we visit, and always with extra mushrooms. While he thoroughly enjoyed his dish, the mashed potatoes were definitely the star. He upgraded to the Loaded Mashed Potatoes (+ $4.16). Served in a side dish, the creamy and smooth potatoes were crowned with cheese and bacon that had been broiled in the oven. The toppings created a shell that allowed the potatoes to remain velvety smooth.

Marsala with Chicken

Lastly, I ordered the Shrimp Scampi ($33.28). I don’t each much meat, so I often look for a seafood or non-meat option on menus. This dish was truly shrimp with pasta. So often, the shrimp are almost a companion to the pasta dish. This was the exact opposite. Succulent shrimp adorned the dish and the garlic butter white wine sauce was a silky embrace to the fettuccini pasta that complemented the dish. The serving size was perfect, a dish to be enjoyed in one sitting rather than the pasta dishes so popular at restaurants today, which tend to include nearly a pound of pasta.

Shrimp Scampi

As if dinner wasn’t delicious enough, we decided to sample the dessert offerings. One of my sons and I split the Almond Butter Cake, a small single serving of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Moist and full of almond flavor, cake was simply dreamy. Both my husband and other son each ordered a Crème Brûlée. The crispy topping encased a smooth custard that was delightful.

Almond Butter Cake

While dinner was absolutely amazing, perhaps the crème de la crème of our visit occurred the next day when Charlie Roman called my husband to thank him for visiting the restaurant, asked how our meal was, and invited us to visit again. That level of hospitality isn’t the norm and allowed us to feel like valued patrons. We will definitely visit again.
Marcel’s Ice Cream

July 29, 2025

July 15, 2025

We’re always up for an ice cream adventure and this summer, we decided to expand our repertoire of ice cream shops in the area.

Marcel‘s Ice Cream Shop recently opened on Route 31 in Clay, NY (across the screen from Henry Clay Boulevard). They area located at the end of the small shopping plaza as you enter the apartment complex. Situated at the end of the plaza, the have a small store front with an ice cream window on the side of the building. There are a couple of benches and picnic tables set up for guests. There was ample parking.

The menu is expansive, offering hard ice cream soft serve and Dole Whips. There were several options for sundaes, but I stuck with my tried and true favorite: chocolate soft serve with chocolate sprinkles. My husband, forever a fan of twinkle coat, ordered their version of a Blizzard, being sure to let the server know he wanted twinkle coat in the bottom and on top of his blended treat. They obliged.

While waiting to order, we saw a customer walk by with a heavenly looking treat – the Peanut Butter Sundae. My son took one for the team and ordered this delightful ice cream, complete with whipped cream on top. There were easily 8 ounces of vanilla soft serve ice cream swirled with peanut butter sauce and chunks of Reese’s peanut butter cups. Whipped cream crowned the top of the sundae.

Peanut Butter Sundae 🍨

I was instantly jealous. My tried and true favorite, while tasty, paled in comparison to the peanut butter delight in my son’s hands. There were plenty of peanut butter cups throughout the sundae, allowing for pure enjoyment from start to finish.

In all, our order came to $18.36. Marcel’s takes cash and cards. They are open from 2:00-9:00 on weekdays and 12:00-9:00 on Saturday and Sunday.
Food Trucks at Great Northern Mall

July 21, 2025

July 9, 2025

Tonight, we visited the Great Northern Mall food trucks. The idea of a mall is a joke anymore, it’s really a very big, mostly vacant building with some random businesses stuffed into vacant locations. Dunk and Bright has taken over the old Macy’s. They have basically just put their furniture into the store. It’s weird. There is also a bounce house, but we haven’t gone in there.

Anyway, back to the food trucks…

We last went to the Great Northern Mall food trucks about two years ago and the parking lot was packed. This year, the foot traffic was consistent, but the experience was enjoyable. The trucks were in a large circle and in the middle was space for guests to set up their own chairs. The organizers also had set up a number of tables and chairs that people could use while eating. Towards one end was a gentleman singing. It was hard to hear him while wandering around from truck to truck.

The choices were plentiful. My son quickly spotted Bold Coast Lobster Co. and beelined it to see what they had on their menus. Yup, they had lobster macaroni and cheese, and he was all in. For $10, he received a bowl of macaroni and cheese with lobster chunks on the top. As is typical of mac and cheese, some of the oil sunk to the bottom of the bottom of the dish; however, he was not dismayed. He ate every last bite of his meal, noting that it was delicious. While I’m a huge fan of macaroni and cheese, I don’t seek out lobster mac like he does. The macaroni was cooked well and the cheese sauce tasty. There were true chunks of lobster atop the dish, making the $10 price point very reasonable.

I, however, was not as adventurous during this trip. I spotted The Baked Potato Express and quickly decided I wanted a baked potato for my dinner. I love baked potatoes, especially when there is salt on the outside. I don’t typically add salt to my dishes, but there is something about the salt on a baked potato. I digress. I ordered the Loaded Baked Potato ($13), which included butter, shredded cheese, bacon, and sour cream. The description should begin with bacon. There was a ton of bacon atop the three smaller sized potatoes that had been cut open and fluffed before receiving the toppings. Shredded cheese and a light drizzle of sour cream (per request) were also on top.

Loaded Baked Potato

The potatoes were cooked perfectly. They were fluffy and hot, allowing the cheese to melt just right so nearly every bite had some cheese and, of course, some bacon. A friend of mine asked if there can ever be too much bacon and while she’s probably right, I did end up pushing a good bit of it to the side. As I got to about the halfway point of my dish, I did wish there was a little more butter, or maybe a small container of butter, that I could have added to the potatoes. That said, I could have simply added more bacon to my bites. Overall, the Loaded Baked Potato was a win and the next time I go to the Food Trucks, I might try the Broccoli and Cheese Baked Potato.