Too lazy to cook, too cheap to pay.

Last Updated: 11/8/99

The dishes aren't always clean, but the wallet isn't always full. And you don't always want to leave a tip. Here at brief eats we consider the faster foods, although not necessarily fast food, worth a gnaw or two around town.

Pizza

Such a hotbed of opinion, you probably already have your own favorite. Those of us from downstate are terribly critical in this area, and no local pizza can measure up. Chain pizzas ruled out on principle. There are still many locals we have yet to try. Nonetheless:

Sal's on Fulton St (Rt 13 South): Generously cheesy, not overly distinctive. A safe bet.

Gepetto's on State St.: Tried once so far, good sauce, shows potential. On to-do list.

Rogan's Corners: Not as bad as we expected. Interesting sauce, perhaps a little too greasy.

Napoli's on State St.: First time was unimpressive, but a recent experience proved otherwise. Will need to confirm. (bonus note: best wings in town)

A-1 Pizza on Rt. 13 in Dryden: Quite a deal from this earnest family restaurant, two large pizzas for under $14. And they're good, too. Crust a little too hard.

New find! Pizza Aroma, downtown at the corner of Cayuga(?) and Green St. An initial test of their Hawaiian proved average, but in a recent followup, based on a hot tip, we selected their high end "Fresh Mozarella" pizza. This is basically a pizza margherita, with fresh slabs of cheese, tomato slices, and lots of fresh basil -- and an excellent one it is! Highly recommended for those who take pizza seriously, as opposed to those who simply throw it up after binge drinking.

Bagels

Another downstater flashpoint. Collegetown Bagels (Collegetown, Aurora St., East Hill Plaza, Triphammer Mall) has a nice local feel, but the bagels are weak and overly bready. The everything bagels lack salt topping, a major misstep.

Manhattan Bagels, despite being a chain, have the best bagels around. They don't hold well, or long, but fresh they can almost remind you of a real bagel.

Surprise pick: P & C Supermarkets sells bakery bagels near the donuts. They are actually a good eat. Not exactly like bagels -- chewy, yes, but dense, no -- but good bagleish things. P & C also turns out great brownies, yet they can't bake a normal bread worth a darn. Go figure.

Wegman's bagels are surprisingly bad (and small), given that their bakery actually turns out some very excellent breads. What a world.

Asian Delights

Wok Village in the "Small Mall" (the absurdly placed mall behind Bill Cooke Toyota and the Triphammer Mall) serves an excellent shrimp fried rice, and reasonable other dishes.

The takeout trophy, though, goes to Ling Ling (East Hill Plaza, also downtown in the mall with Northside Liquors). Good takeout-quality food and amazing quantities for very fair prices. One dinner easily lasts two meals; lunches are $5 and as plentiful as the dinner.

Honorable mentions go to Jung Ching at the Farmer's Market (superb steamed dumplings and eggrolls) and Sticky Rice, also at the Market as well as their new storefront on State St. (beside Napoli's). We look forward to more experience with these two for fuller write-ups.

Main Moon: Yes, it's a garish looking chinese buffet on Elmira Rd, the new fast food cliche. But it's not bad at all. Appearing, like a circling vulture perhaps, nearby the closing of the infamous and wonderful Pan An (now a Moose Lodge on Elmira Rd.), we were suspicious of Main Moon and its more cafeteria-like ambience. Nonetheless, they have a few fine dishes for picking away at, and, hey, who can deny the allure of steamed dumplings and peel-and-eat shrimp for $5 at lunch? Better than most chinese buffets we've tried, except for more costly ones in much larger cities. Also superior to the new King Buffet, an inferior copy.

Miscellani

The various cold cut subs at Wegman's are quite good, the coup being their excellent Vienna-style bread.

While at Wegman's, indulge on their black & white/half moon cookies. Not quite traditional, but possibly better!

More Coming Soon...!