Stories, tips, and local perspectives from across the Finger Lakes.
The Rusty Pig sits on Seneca Street in downtown Geneva, and it announces itself honestly: Real Smoke, Real Flavor. The meats are smoked in-house over real hickory and applewood, and you can taste the difference from the first bite. This is not barbecue that apologizes for itself or tries to be something fancier — it […]
The Inn at Waneta sits on the eastern shore of Waneta Lake near Dundee, one of the smaller and quieter Finger Lakes that most tourists never discover. That seclusion is precisely the point. The lakeside boutique property operates as both an inn and an event venue, earning FLX Finest Silver in 2025 for both Best […]
The Hog Wallow Tavern sits at 10 Linden Street in downtown Geneva, and its award resume reads like a clerical error. FLX Finest Gold for Best Specialty Cocktails four years straight (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025). Gold for Best Margaritas three of the last four years. Gold for Best Happy Hour two years running. Gold for […]
The Green Apple sits behind a green storefront at 19 West Main Street in Waterloo, and it has become the definitive breakfast spot in the northern Finger Lakes. Gold for Best Breakfast in 2025 is the latest recognition for a diner-style restaurant that takes the most important meal of the day more seriously than most. […]
The Gould Hotel occupies a restored 1920s building on Fall Street in Seneca Falls, the town where the women's rights movement was born and where the phrase "it's a wonderful life" carries local weight. The hotel blends nearly a century of architectural character with modern boutique sensibility across 48 guest rooms and suites featuring hardwood […]
The Deluxe Grill has been serving Geneva from the corner of North Genesee Street and Gates Avenue since 1933, when Italian immigrants Nicholas Aquilano and his wife Carrie Raphael built the place on two-foot-thick poured concrete footers and 12-inch beams. That sense of permanence extends to everything about the restaurant: the warm, dimly lit dining […]
If you've driven Route 21 south from Canandaigua toward Naples or Bristol Mountain, you've passed The Company Store in the hamlet of Cheshire — and if you didn't stop, you missed one of the region's best-kept deli secrets. From the outside, this looks like a standard rural convenience store: gas pumps, lottery tickets, maybe a […]
Perched on Highway 54A just south of Penn Yan, The BBQ Shack doubles as both a destination barbecue spot and one of the most capable catering operations in the Finger Lakes. Winning Gold for both Best Catering and Best Plates in 2025 is a rare double that speaks to the range of this operation — […]
On North Franklin Street in Watkins Glen, just a short walk from the entrance to the famous gorge, The Blackberry Inn Kitchen has earned a 2025 FLX Finest Silver for Best Bagels that signals something important about the southern Finger Lakes breakfast scene. Watkins Glen has no shortage of places to eat, particularly during racing […]
The Artist's Lounge on Fall Street in Seneca Falls is the kind of place that defies easy categorization — and that is exactly why locals keep voting for it across multiple FLX Finest categories. In 2025, it swept Gold in three separate categories: Best Art Gallery, Best Summer Camp, and Best Children's Birthday Party Venue. […]