lovewestny

The Maple Tree Inn is a lot of fun for being located just a hop, skip, and a jump past the middle of nowhere. Western New York is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the food is outrageously good. They started this place as a syrup shack in the 1850’s and have kept adding on tacky additions ever since.

Their menu is simple: all-you-can-eat buckwheat pancakes and their own homemade syrup. My idea of the perfect day is waking up to a fresh coat of snow on the ground, and driving the back roads through Keeney Swamp (if they’re open; they’re seasonal, after all) to stand in line to get into the Maple Tree in before a day of skiing up the road in Swain. Yes, you heard me right: a line.

The Maple Tree Inn is only open from around Valentine’s Day through mid-April – syrup season, basically. So people come from miles around for their pancakes. If you’ve read William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways, know that this is a true, tack-o-rama, bonafide, three-calendar restaurant. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, and my mom has been coming here since she was a kid, and so on. What a place. What pancakes.

For fun, call the pancake hot line at (585) 567-8181.

4321 County Road 15A, Angelica, NY, 14709

Fodor’s recommends staying at the Taughannock Farms Inn, which is on 12 acres eight miles north of Ithaca. From there, there’s easy access to five miles of hiking trails in Taughannock Falls State Park. I want to hike the 3/4-mile Gorge Trail and the 3 1/2-mile Rim Loop Trail. They’re closed from January 2 until March 21.

EMP has an unbelievable collection of some of rock and roll’s finest memorabilia. I saw both the Art of Modern Rock poster exhibition, and DoubleTake (an unexpected way to see art displayed). The Revolution restaurant is a great way to take a break between exhibits, and their beer samplers are kickass. More than anything, though, pay the extra few bucks for the audio tour that accompanies all the exhibitions. Walking through the Jimi Hendrix exhibit while listening to full-length albums was an amazing experience that I’d love to do again. The whole experience was worth every penny.

If you’re a diehard Starbucks fan, you gotta go! My parents and I had a great time in Seattle before our cruise to Alaska. What a great city!

Stay at the Ocean Key at Zero Duval. It’s terribly expensive, but it’s worth every penny. You get to stay on Duval (and it’s within stumbling distance of the Hog’s Breath Saloon), but can get a decent night’s sleep away from all the ruckus mid-Duval.

Just about every room overlooks Mallory Square (see photo), so you can enjoy all the music and festivities from the nightly sunset party without having to fight the crowds.

If you drive down as I do, expect to pay about $20 for mandatory valet parking; however, they are very good with having your vehicle ready when you need it.

I can’t say enough good things about this place; if you get a chance to stay in any of Noble House’s sister hotels (like The Edgewater in Seattle or Little Palm Island up the Keys a ways), I highly recommend it.

I got married in P-town six years ago this weekend, and the guys at The Mews were gracious enough to let us hold our reception downstairs. The service is fantastic – they are enthusiastically friendly. And the food is incredible. Our guests still say it was the best wedding ever (the marriage didn’t last, but we’re still great friends), and I know a good part of that can be attributed to The Mews.

Gorgeous, wacky, wild, free-spirited.

This place pulls in the sidewalks early! But eat at Quaker Steak and Lube. Great western PA hospitality, and local beers on tap.

If you don’t like heights, forget it. That view of Lake Ontario is just so awe-inspiring. Don’t miss this the next time you’re in Toronto. I’ve been several times, and it gets better with each trip.

What a crazy, weird evening. After checking into the fabulously opulent Ritz-Carlton right up the road, I took my then-girlfriend (we’re still pals, of course, and laugh about the madness) here for dinner. Aside from the waiter blatantly hitting on her, the atmosphere and service is fantastic. Fabulous California wine list.

But whatever you do, DO NOT SIT IN FRONT OF THAT FIREPLACE! That should be obvious, but when it’s late and you’re hungry, your first thought is not about whether you’re going to be roasted during dinner. Highly recommended, but not within a three-table radius of that roaring fireplace.