This evening we had to wait about 25 minutes because the place was bumpin'! I mentioned to Nick that I didn't even know there were so many people in Syracuse (since the students are still on winter break) because you'd never expect so many people in one restaurant by the way the
streets look. One of the reasons may have been the closing of two prominent restaurants in the Armory Square district this past year. We sat at the bar to wait and tried to order some drinks but the bartender didn't give us the time of day. When we finally got his attention he seemed completely incredulous that we were of age. I ordered a glass of 2007 Salmon Run Riesling from Keuka Lake, NY. As you can probably guess, I am very picky about which wines I like. My father, a great wine connoisseur, has a much better idea of what I like than I do, but I knew Riesling was one of them so I decided to try it. I guess all Rieslings are not equal and this one was not one of my favorites. Nick tried it and said it was very sweet but to my taste it was still too bitter. You'd think I would like dessert wines but I have actually considered a wine too sweet. There's a delicate balance of sweetness that I like, but this wine didn't quite fit the bill.
For dinner I ordered (drum roll please...) Penne & Vodka Sauce!!!
To be more specific, it was Whole-Wheat Penne with Pink Vodka Cream Sauce. The "cream" in the title was accurate since there definitely was a bigger percentage of cream in the sauce than most of the vodka sauces I've tried. I still liked it, though, and the taste was rather subtle. I wish I had a keen palate and could tell you exactly what made this sauce different than others I've tried, but I don't have that vocabulary yet! Some day.... I'm trying to learn how to cook so hopefully I will become more knowledgeable and sensitive to different flavors.
Pastabilities: Whole-Wheat Penne & Pink Vodka Cream Sauce - $11
PVS (Penne & Vodka Sauce) Rating: B+
