Y-Knot Country Store & Eatery sits at 9208 County Route 74 in Pulteney, on the quiet western side of Keuka Lake where the road narrows and the tourists thin out. Gold for Best Sandwiches in 2023 and Gold for Best Chicken Wings in 2022 — in two completely different categories, a year apart — tells you this is not a one-trick operation. Y-Knot does multiple things well, and the locals who make the drive down Route 74 know it.

The country store format means Y-Knot is more than just a restaurant — it is a general-purpose stop in a part of the Finger Lakes where stops of any kind are few and far between. But the eatery side has developed a reputation that extends well beyond convenience. The sandwiches that won Gold are the kind of substantial, well-built creations that you eat with two hands, and the chicken wings that took Best Wings in 2022 hold their own against any sports bar in the region. For a country store kitchen to beat dedicated restaurants in both categories is a testament to how seriously they take the food.

Pulteney and the western shore of Keuka Lake represent one of the most beautiful and least commercialized stretches of the Finger Lakes. Y-Knot Country Store is the kind of place that belongs in that landscape — unpretentious, community-rooted, and quietly excellent. If you are exploring the Keuka Lake wine trail or kayaking the western shore, Y-Knot is the lunch stop that turns a good day into a great one.