DINING OUT: Comfort Food, Classics Star On Menu of Riley’s In Syracuse
By Julie McMahon
Succulent, well-cooked meats and decadent dessert make comfort food the star of the menu at Riley’s on Syracuse’s North Side.
The experience at Riley’s dimly-lit tavern begins with the restaurant’s famous handwritten menus, which are crafted by the staff each day with fresh ingredients.
The menu features a selection of appetizers, seafood, sandwiches and other entrees. While we were perusing, the server brought us bread, which was fresh and fluffy, very good as always.
Riley’s has a good-sized wraparound bar and with it, a good beer and wine selection and full bar. We opted for a local Prison City Mass Riot IPA and a house red, a dry wine good for accompanying the meal.
We started with a wedge salad advertised high up on the menu that sounded intriguing for an appetizer. The salad was enormous but missed the mark. There was simply too much going on — spiced nuts, cucumbers, raspberries, blackberries and gorgonzola — all dressed in a light Greek-style vinaigrette. The flavors just didn’t marry together and the dish felt like a “kitchen sink,” with a little bit of everything thrown in.
It should be noted that for all of our visits to Riley’s over the last several years, this was the first disappointment. The great service at Riley’s is also noteworthy. The owner was checking on tables and chatting up friends throughout the meal. We were seated immediately, though the bar and restaurant quickly filled up by 6:30 p.m.
Our server was quick, attentive, warm and friendly. Riley’s creates a warm and cozy vibe, with yellow lighting, soft music and sounds of chatter emanating from the bar. The wooden booths and tables give the restaurant and bar a tavern aesthetic.
For our entrees, we chose the 14-ounce angus New York strip steak, which came out cooked exactly to medium as we ordered.
The steak was really very good — it had a juicy pink tender inside and the outside was blackened and charred to perfection. The flavor the chef got on the steak was excellent. It was served doused in a pepper bleu cheese sauce in which somehow the cook achieved a subtle bleu cheese flavor, not overwhelming but a nice complement to the flavorful steak. The cut of steak itself was excellent, not too fatty or gristly.
That was served with a buttery sweet potato puree that soaked up the juices of the steak nicely and enhanced the flavor. The zucchini, yellow squash and green beans on the side were fresh and a nice addition to round out the meal.
We also ordered the Cornell chicken, which came out warm and crisp. The chicken had a very light vinegar flavor — not a strong marinade, but very good nonetheless. The chicken was well-seasoned, juicy and tender.
We needed extra napkins to dissect and eat this half chicken. It was served with a crunchy coleslaw that had a strong peppery flavor and fresh thick-cut French fries — really top-notch fries — that were golden crispy. They were so good I was thinking about them the next day.
Still, the steak stood out as the highlight of the meal — though the rest — with the exception of the salad — was outstanding.
We could have walked away very full, but couldn’t resist a slice of the raspberry pie. We were given a hefty chunk of homemade pie served with homemade whipped cream that can’t be described as anything but decadent.
The tart raspberries matched the classic pie crust and the sweet whipped cream balanced out the dish very nicely.
Our total bill with drinks, an appetizer, two entrees and a dessert came to $102, making this a very affordable, filling and satisfying meal.
Riley’s is a staple of Central New York and shouldn’t be missed.
Riley’s
315-471-7111
www.facebook.com/RileysRestaurantSyracuse/
Tuesday through Saturday: 4 – 9 p.m.
312 Park St., Syracuse