Binghamton

Nestled in the rolling hills of New York’s Southern Tier, the Binghamton area became known long ago as the “Valley of Opportunity.” Binghamton grew as stalwart employers like the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Factory and the International Business Machine Company (IBM) thrived and attracted thousands of new residents, including immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe who settled in ethnic enclaves across the region and brought their culinary traditions here that continue to this day.

That same entrepreneurial spirit lives on as Binghamton University has reinvested in the city’s downtown core and developed an incubator program that encourages students to stay after graduation and grow their businesses in the Southern Tier. Here are five regional specialties to sample in Binghamton:

Main Courses

Consol’s

101 Oak Hill Ave., Endicott

(607) 754-7437

consols.net

At Consol’s, pizza may be one of the most popular items sold, but it’s nowhere to be found on the menu.

The word pizza, that is. Around here in the village of Endicott and at old-school restaurants and taverns across greater Binghamton, it’s better known as the “hot pie.”

Binghamtonians have debated for years on the differences between a hot pie and a pizza. Dave Consol, a fourth-generation line cook at the restaurant, asserts that a hot pie is simply an old-fashioned term for the food. But local media outlets have speculated that a hot pie usually has a thin crust and some type of cheese other than the standard mozzarella. Red’s Kettle Inn over in Johnson City serves a hot pie topped with American cheese, while The Little Venice in downtown Binghamton cooks one sprinkled with romano.

But there’s two things about the hot pie that everyone agrees on: if it’s on a restaurant’s menu, it’s likely been served there for a long time. And it’s probably very good.

Consol’s hot pie long predates the restaurant, which opened in 1989. Adolf “Duff” Consol first introduced it in his eatery, Duff’s, back in 1946 based on a recipe his family had brought over from Italy. When Duff’s closed, Adolf’s nephew Jimmy carried many of his recipes, including the hot pie, over to Consol’s.

Consol’s makes its hot pie dough from scratch and allows it to sit for at least 24 hours to reach the perfect consistency. It uses a house made sauce and tops every pie with a blend of provolone and mozzarella cheeses that it shreds in-house. The result is an outstanding, crispy, robustly flavored thin crust pie.

While Consol’s interior is inviting, it’s worth ordering takeout to witness one of the most unusually wrapped pies in the United States. Rather than use a cardboard box, Consol’s wraps its hot pies in paper, complete with a knob up top for proper handling. Adolf Consol long ago decided boxed pizzas tasted like cardboard and became soggy from their own steam. While the wrapped pie loses heat faster, it maintains its level of crispiness longer.

Grab a slice from the wrapped pie and walk up Oak Hill Avenue, billed as Endicott’s “Little Italy” and featuring fire hydrants and street traffic lines painted Italian green, white and red. Before heading back, grab a loaf of Italian bread from Battaligni Bakery, an Endicott staple for more than a century, and a lemon ice from Joey’s around the corner on Witherill Street to experience this village like a local.

The Little Venice

111 Chenango St., Binghamton

(607) 724-2513

littlevenicerestaurant.com

Every time a customer orders a bowl of spaghetti at the Little Venice Restaurant, a series of storied Binghamton food traditions some 75 years in the making are set into motion.

The kitchen staff takes the pasta dough made in-house daily and cuts it to order before boiling it, creating some of the freshest spaghetti in Binghamton. The Little Venice then covers it with its pasta sauce that’s been a staple since the restaurant’s opening in 1946 and is personally prepared every day by owners Piero and Romeo Lisio– the only two individuals there who make it. Over the Little Venice’s lifetime, only six people have ever prepared the sweet, thick red sauce there, a recipe that has remained in the family.

The restaurant then tops its spaghetti and sauce with an “only in Binghamton” fixture– the Little Venice Meat Log. Piero’s great Aunt Carmella, one of the original cooks at The Little Venice, decided long ago that traditional meatballs dried out and hardened too easily. So, she shaped the restaurant’s ground beef into “logs” that resembled small Italian sausages that cook better.

The Little Venice aspires to create cuisine that resembles eating at grandma’s house, or Aunt Carmella’s for that matter. The restaurant first opened in a converted house that catered to an ethnic enclave that emigrated to Binghamton from the Abruzzo region of Italy; customers around the neighborhood used to bring their own pots to the restaurant’s back door and purchase the sauce. In 1969, it moved into its current expansive downtown location, which features walls filled with paintings collected by previous owner Rocko Carulli. The 162 paintings, including a large collection of local streetscapes by Binghamton artist Armondo Dellasanta, earned the restaurant the nickname “Binghamton’s Original Art Gallery.”

Even the pasta created there can’t quite be found anywhere else – as it’s from a machine custom made in Binghamton. Piero’s father, Romeo Lisio, was tired of his pasta machines breaking down on him, so he enlisted his friend who worked in a machine shop at IBM to help him custom build a 100-pound machine. Today, a series of those machines crank out 1,000 pounds of fresh pasta a week for the restaurant, from the ravioli and manicotti to the linguine and macaroni. Before leaving, stop by the gift shop in front to grab a jar of The Little Venice Pasta sauce to go – a lasting reminder of one of Binghamton’s most legendary eateries.

Beer Tree Brewing Co.

197 NY Rt. 369 Port Crane

(617) 345-2349

beertreebrew.com

At Beer Tree Brewing Co., the secret ingredients behind the standout suds and food menu are at a farm 24 miles away in the rolling hills of Central New York.

Apple Dumpling Cafe at Apple Hills

131 Brooks Rd., Binghamton

(607) 729-2683

applehills.com

Joy Johnson’s family has been farming – and cooking – in the rolling hills north of Binghamton for more than 150 years.

Johnson, the farm’s fifth generation owner, opened the Apple Dumpling Café at Apple Hills nearly 30 years ago, a bustling country restaurant that features an extensive patio overlooking the surrounding fields and meadows. Her commute to the café is short – she still lives on the farm in the same home her great-great grandfather built in the mid-19^th century.

Some of Johnson’s favorite childhood memories involved cooking with her grandmother using apples and other ingredients sourced right from the property. When it was her turn to own the fruit farm, she decided to introduce the rest of Binghamton to the country cooking she had enjoyed at home for much of her life and built the restaurant.

The Apple Dumpling Café prides itself in avoiding what Johnson called “cookie cutter food:” French fries are nowhere to be found. Instead, the year-round café’s breakfast and lunch menu particularly shines from June through October, when the farm harvests its acres of raspberries, blueberries and apple orchards.

Late summer and fall is prime time to enjoy the café’s apple butter, apple crisp, apple pancakes, apple waffles, apple muffins, blueberry applesauce, and, yes, apple dumplings. The open faced grilled apple sandwich – served on homemade 12 grain bread with layers of ham and melted cheese – is a signature favorite. And many of the menu items—like the blueberry pancakes – only appear when the fruit is in season on the property.

Bring an appetite; Johnson’s grandmother always said “If you’re going to feed a farmer, do it right,” so all of the café’s portions are farmer-sized. That includes the café’s pancakes, which cover the 9-inch wide plate they’re served on. Particularly hungry diners can try the large stack challenge: eat all four pancakes in one sitting, and your next large stack is on the café; only 10 customers usually succeed each year.

The farm also offers U-pick in season, and the café’s spacious interior with hemlock pine walls features a gift shop with cider, spices and other trinkets to take home for the road. Try to grab a seat outside on the patio if you can for sweeping views of rolling hills as far as the eye can see – terrain that families have farmed here for generations. Apple Hills is a true taste of the history and heritage of the Southern Tier.

Spiedie & Rib Pit

1274 Upper Front Street

(607) 729-2679

spiedieandribpit.com

Experience the difference of a gourmet spiedie.

Pierogi & Pholourie

See and taste your way through these other sites across Binghamton in between your meals.

The pierogi, golabki (stuffed cabbage rolls) and kielbasa served at Podlasie Polish restaurant (1216 Campville Rd, Endicott) are as close to Poland as you’re going to get in the United States. The owners grew up in Poland before moving here and have put together a menu filled with old-world recipes passed down through the generations.

One of the newest additions to Binghamton’s culinary scene is De Island Hut (136 Washington St.) which serves a fusion of Trinidadian and American cuisine. De Island Hut’s Pholourie (fried dough balls make from split peas served with chutney) are the perfect Caribbean snack in between your meals in Binghamton.

Around Town

The Bundy Museum of History and Art
129 Main St. (607) 772-9179
bundymuseum.org

The Bundy Museum of History & Art features three exhibits within a 19th century house listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bundy Clock Exhibit highlights the history of the Bundy Manufacturing Company (a predecessor of Binghamton-born IBM). The Vintage Barbershop Exhibit preserves a once-bustling 1930s shop that operated across the street from IBM in Endicott. And the Rod Serling Archive memorializes “The Twilight Zone” host and one of Binghamton’s most famous residents.

The Phelps Mansion Museum
191 Court Street, Binghamton (607) 722-4873
phelpsmansion.org

Banker and businessman Sherman D. Phelps and his family built their home in an area once coined as Mansion Row during America’s Gilded Age at the end of the 19th Century. Now the last of its neighbors, this home has been preserved and is open to the public for tours, exhibitions, educational programs, and events.

Walk It Off

Downtown Binghamton

Walk off those spiedies, meat logs and hot pies by exploring downtown Binghamton on foot. Start by heading west on Court Street, the center of downtown that bustles with college students, patio dining, boutiques and cafes. Continue on Court until reaching the Chenango River, then head south on the Binghamton River Trail until reaching Confluence Park. This natural oasis in the heart of the city features sweeping views of the confluence of the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers.

Recreation Park Carousel
Beethoven Street and Seminary Avenue

Binghamton features six nearly century old carousels scattered in parks across the city, an enduring legacy of one of its most prominent businessmen and philanthropists, George F. Johnson of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Factory. George F. Johnson Recreation Park has one of the most popular carousels, with 60 jumping horses lined up four abreast, chariots, and the original two-roll frame WurliTzer Military Band Organ with bells. Make sure to check out the Rod Serling Memorial Plaque inside the park’s gazebo; the carousel helped inspire one of the most enduring episodes of Serling’s “The Twilight Zone,” Walking Distance.

Bottle Your Food Memories

Bring a taste of the Upstate Eats Trail back home with you! Several of the restaurants along the Trail sell bottles of their signature sauces to-go, providing you the opportunity to make some of these regional specialties yourself. Here is a round-up of those sauces and other easy-to-transport products available for purchase at each restaurant or online to keep sampling the best of Upstate New York long after your trip.

Spedie Sauce Bottle

Make your own spiedies at home with Lupo’s Original Classic Italian Spiedie Marinade that’s been used in the creation of Binghamton’s signature dish for decades.

Red Sauce Bottle

The sweet red sauce at The Little Venice has been passed down through the generations – and now into your kitchen. It’s available in individual bottles in a gift shop at the front of the restaurant or sold as six-packs online.

Beer Glass

Beer Tree Brewing Company sells more than a half-dozen of their beers to-go in 4-pack cans at the brewery.

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