A list of the best foods to try in Seneca County for self-proclaimed Foodies
Seneca County, nestled in between two of the Finger Lakes, has so much to offer when it comes to wine, water, and women's rights. But what about the food? Well, there's plenty of it! Here at Discover Seneca, we've curated a list of some of the best foods for you to try in Seneca County. This is in no specific order, and just a few of the many great options for food in the region.
📍Connie's Diner
🍨Connie's Loaded Milkshake
Connie's Diner is located in downtown Waterloo and became Connie's in 1989, after being Chick's Diner since 1963. They offer an expansive menu ranging from all day breakfast, to unique lunch and dinner items like their Quickie; a gravy covered burger and fries, or good homecooked meals like meatloaf or chicken parmesan!
Connie's Diner offers a very unique dessert, which is the must-try on this list: Connie's Loaded Milkshakes. They offer a number of flavors and themes, including strawberry cheesecake, brownie explosion, Holy cannoli, peanut butter, and red velvet. For holidays, they offer special limited time milkshakes. For Saint Patrick's Day they created a Shamrock Shake, decorated with chocolate gold coins, green and white sprinkles, and a mint ice cream cookie sandwich! For Valentine's Day they offered a pink and red fully loaded milkshake topped with red velvet cake.
Stop in to flip through their loaded milkshake book or see what specialty shakes they have for the holiday or season!
📍Woody's Bar & Grille
🍗Bleu Bayou Buffalo Wings
Woody's Bar & Grille has a full menu, but their most famous item is their Bleu Bayou Buffalo Wings, created by award winning Chef Grady.
Featured in a documentary by Matt Reynolds, it was decided on being the perfect Buffalo-style chicken wing above all other wings tested. Reynolds and his team tried wings at 63 different establishments and decided on Chef Grady's wings.
A perfect blend of bleu cheese and basic wing sauce, and the idea behind Chef Grady's recipe was that you wouldn't need to dip the wing in bleu cheese- it was already built into the wing itself.
What started as a basic, fun regional competition went national with people traveling from as far as Florida for the Bleu Bayou wings. These are a must-try if you happen to be in the area!
📍Fall Street Brewing
🥪🧋The Italian Meat Trio with freshly brewed Iced Tea
Fall Street Brewing is a staple in the heart of Seneca Falls with its abundant menu and locally sourced ingredients and products! We here at Discover Seneca have given a number of items there a try, but the one I keep going back to is the Italian Meat Trio with freshly brewed iced tea!
Fall Street Brewing is a NYS Farm Brewery that specializes in craft beer, wood fired oven foods, cider, espresso, and kombucha.
If you're trying to go earlier, they offer great brunch options like breakfast pizza or a Maple Sausage Waffle Sandwich. Even for brunch you can snag some delicious adult beverages, like a Bloody Mary or Mimosa flight. Their pizza menu has unique and specifically local names like The Bedford (a shoutout to the movie inspired by Seneca Falls, "It's a Wonderful Life") or The Suffragist, a pizza referencing the birthplace of where women got the right to vote.
In addition to the pizza menu, there's a pizza sandwich section and off the menu pictured below is the Italian Meat Trio. The sandwich has a kick to it with sliced capicola, pepperoni, salami, arugula, marinated tomatoes, fire-roasted red peppers, pickled banana peppers, fresh mozzarella, pecorino parm, topped with lemon zest and balsamic glaze. The sandwich is made of folded wood-fired pizza crust instead of typical bread, and very filling! The beverage options seem endless, with sodas, juices, teas, coffees, wines, cocktails, kombucha, and draft beers brewed right in the same building.
📍Flint & Stave
🧀From the Farm Mac & Cheese
Flint & Stave is a woman owned and operated restaurant that prides itself on bringing the kitchen and bar together, offering the best foods and wines produced right here in the Finger Lakes region. Their name quite literally means flint and stave; flint for the flame that cooks the food and stave for the barrels that create the wines, spirits, and beers.
They offer an array of different items from charcuterie boards or pork dumplings for appetizers, to delicious salads and meat, seafood, or even gluten free entrees.
Pictured below is their From the Farm Mac & Cheese, made with cavatappi, house made cheese sauce, and BBQ pulled pork. If you're not feeling pork, they also have From the Docks Mac & Cheese made with the same ingredients but instead including lobster as the protein.
There is something for everyone here including vegan bean burgers, steaks, seafood, and vegetable linguine.
📍Portico by Fabio Viviani
🍝Pappardelle Carbonara
Portico by Fabio Viviani is located inside del Lago Resort & Casino and focuses on old-world Italian cooking with steakhouse style cuts and seafood. Skilled chefs work to prepare delicious foods and you can choose from a large wine list or enjoy cocktails, mocktails, and beer. The atmosphere is a great break from the bustling casino outside the restaurant.
Pictured below is the Pappardelle Carbonara, a delicious pasta dish your server helps prepare right at the table! The cooked pappardelle is put inside of a jar with egg, pancetta, onions, black pepper and parmigiana cream then shaken until the egg is cooked and spread throughout the pasta, creating a creamy and delicious dish.
If you aren't feeling pasta, they offer other unique things like their famous Kobe Meatball, made with Kobe beef, sauce, ricotta, and a blend of Italian spices. They also offer house made charcuterie with pickles and fig jam made in house, and Muranda Cheese, made at a local farm. Another great choice is their Famous Spaghetti and Wagyu Meatball!
📍Iron Heart Coffee Co, & Eatery at Three Brothers Wineries & Estates
🥔🍳🧀Breakfast Poutine
Three Brothers Wineries & Estates offer a delicious menu in their coffee house and eatery, with the menu sometimes changing up. You can find plenty of drink options like coffee, tea, Iron Heart craft soda, water, Three Brothers wine, War Horse beer, and Bombshell hard cider.
Their regular menu offered Thursday-Saturday includes pretzels, delicious poutine, pulled pork or Speedie sandwiches, and a build-you-own charcuterie board! Check out the full menu here.
On Sundays, they have a specific brunch menu. Pictured below is their Breakfast Poutine, large enough to share! With 1.5 pounds of home fries, it's lathered in bacon, breakfast sausage, country sausage gravy, NYS cheese curds, and topped with a sunny side-up egg.
If you spent too much time on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail the night before and are just starting your day for round two of wine tasting, the Hungover Piggy might be a great choice! This is pulled pork, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and a sunny side-up egg on a buttered brioche roll served with home fries.
With so many amazing and delicious food options in Seneca County and the Finger Lakes Region, it's impossible to list them all! Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to learn more about things to do, places to visit, and foods to eat!
