Stories, tips, and local perspectives from across the Finger Lakes.
CountryMax is the kind of store that makes perfect sense in the Finger Lakes and almost no sense anywhere else. Part pet store, part farm supply, part garden center — it serves the specific needs of a region where a single customer might be buying chicken feed, a bag of premium dog food, and tomato […]
Connie's Diner has been anchoring East Main Street in Waterloo since 1989, and the place radiates the kind of nostalgic diner energy that most restaurants have to fabricate. This is the real thing: a no-frills, counter-and-booth operation where the coffee is always hot, the portions are generous, and nobody rushes you out the door. Breakfast […]
Club 86 occupies one of those spaces in Geneva that feels like it has lived several lives — and it has. The building at 86 Avenue E has a history that stretches back decades, and its current incarnation as a full-service event venue channels that old-world character into something genuinely atmospheric. High ceilings, warm lighting, […]
Ciccino's occupies a slightly improbable position in the Finger Lakes dining landscape: it is a small-town pizzeria in Waterloo that has won FLX Finest Gold for Best Italian Restaurant, Best Pizza, and Best Chicken Wings across four consecutive years. The "Paninoteca" in the name is a tell — this is a kitchen that takes Italian […]
Char Burrito Bar occupies a small storefront at 68 Castle Street in downtown Geneva, and it solves a problem that the town's dining scene has mostly ignored: where do you eat if you want something fast, customizable, and not terrible for you? Geneva's restaurant identity leans toward wine-paired tasting menus and farm-to-table dinner plates, which […]
The award list at Canal View reads like someone accidentally merged four different restaurants into one. Best Pancakes, Best Burger, Best Chicken Wings, Best Salad, Best Sandwiches, Best Lunch Spot, Best Breakfast, Best All-Around Restaurant — Gold in nearly every category, year after year. For a family restaurant on West Union Street in Newark, that […]
Cam's Pizzeria has been serving slices since 1980 when it opened its first location in Geneva, and in the decades since it has expanded to locations in Penn Yan, Camillus, Oswego, Watertown, and even Port St. Lucie, Florida. That kind of growth usually signals franchise blandness, but Cam's has managed to maintain what made it […]
Cafe 19 (styled as XIX on the sign, because Seneca Falls does not do anything halfway) sits at 20 East Bayard Street in Seneca Falls and operates as a breakfast-and-lunch spot Tuesday through Saturday. The space is compact, the vibe is neighborhood cafe, and the reason people drive from surrounding towns comes down to two […]
Blush has been a quiet force on Fall Street in Seneca Falls for years, earning Silver for Best Women's Clothing Store three years running (2023, 2024, 2025) along with Silver for Best Boutique in both 2023 and 2022. That kind of sustained recognition — never flashy, always present — is the profile of a shop […]
Tucked along Packwood Road on the outskirts of Geneva, Big Oak Golf Course has been the Finger Lakes' most decorated public course for years running — Gold for Best Golf Course in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with a Silver in 2025. That three-year Gold streak is not something you fluke your way into. The 18-hole […]