Donovan Real Estate Services

🚨Forks & Skis 2024 is tomorrow!🚨

Kick off the start of a beautiful weekend in style at Hunt Hollow tomorrow Friday, March 1 and help raise funds in support of Foodlink, a foodbank that does so much more than simply distribute food.

There will be skiing, snowboarding, live entertainment, a silent auction, as well as tons of food and beverages for attendees. If you’re not into skiing or snowboarding, you can Après Ski all day long! Don’t miss out on this awesome event. Go to https://give.foodlinkny.org/campaigns/29593-forks-skis-2024 to donate or register now. Click on whichever ticket option applies to you to purchase your tickets.

Forks & Skis 2024 Fundraising Campaign for Foodlink Forks and Skis on March 1, 2024 at Hunt Hollow Ski Club.This is a fundraising event in support of Foodlink that has taken place for 13 years. Your ticket includes a day of skiing, great food and local beverages, live music, raffles, and Après Ski.For more information visit FoodlinkNY.org or call 58...

Today’s restaurant suggestion is for a fun little spot on Monroe Ave called Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant. Located in the small shopping center at the corner of Rutgers and Monroe, this restaurant is owned and operated by Elia and Ghada Ghanatios. They previously owned Sultan Lebanese Cuisine and Bakery on Mt. Hope Ave, and while this new restaurant falls in the Mediterranean category, the food is absolutely Lebanese. They still have a few standard Mediterranean dishes on the menu though, including gyros and Greek salad.

Elia and Ghada make a lot of their food in house from scratch, including the hummus, pita, and desserts. You can really taste the difference between what they serve and store-bought products you might have at home. The house-made pita is also an integral part of my favorite dish at Cedar, Chicken Shawarma. Popularized by Tony Stark mentioning it in the first Avengers movie, Shawarma is a pita loaf opened up and stuff with roasted vegetables, garlic spread for some sweetness, and soft, juicy chicken that’s carved right off the rotisserie. The chicken is rich and flavorful, covered with a secret blend of spices.

Another favorite dish of mine is the Lebanese rice, called Hashweh. It’s a dirty rice of sorts, with rice, meat (usually lamb) mixed together with allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to give it some sweetness. And if you want something for dessert that will blow your mind, get the house-made baklava as well. It’s got the flaky, buttery phyllo you want and a nice nutty filling, with more of honey sweetness instead of the overpowering sweetness that turns some away.

Original Grain, located at Tower280 in downtown Rochester. The first location was opened in downtown Syracuse by Chris Bily in 2015. Original Grain is the end result of Chris working for years in restaurants, traveling around the country, and sketching out ideas until 2am in whatever spare time he had. Chris is also the mind behind XO Taco in Syracuse. Focused on urban markets, Original Grain expanded to Rochester last year.

Original Grain’s menu is focused on wellness and healthy eating, with multiple California-style menu items. Ingredients are sourced from New Yok state as much as possible to ensure freshness. The space itself is bright, inviting, and upbeat, with tons of natural light. There are grain bowls, green bowls, sandwiches, smoothies, and nori wraps, meaning there’s plenty of ways to get a healthy meal at an affordable price. Even better, there are numerous of gluten- and dairy-free options on the menu for those with dietary restrictions.

I’ve got a few favorites from the menu. The EZ BLT sandwich, with prosciutto, bacon, greens, and pickled red onion makes for a nice salty/sweet flavor combination. I also enjoy the Southwest Smoke green bowl. There’s lots of freshness and crunch in it, with corn, sweet lipstick peppers, sesame seeds, avocado, scallions, cilantro, and a mild heat from the avocado-poblano dressing.

Today is a beautiful, sunny day. Time to get out of the house, and road trip it to my hometown of Auburn. There are two places I’d recommend going while you’re getting some fresh air and sunshine.

First off is Prison City Pub & Brewery. Opened in 2014 by Marc & Dawn Schulz—I graduated from high school with Dawn—Prison City produces one of the best IPA’s in America, Mass Riot. Beer geeks line up around the block for this when it releases. National reviewers and enthusiasts far and wide put Mass Riot up there with IPAs from highly regarded brewers like Trillium or Tree House. Mass Riot is a limited release so it’s not always available, but any of Prison City’s beers are equally delicious and lovingly brewed in small batches. A few four packs or crowlers are a great way to support a local business and friend. From their take-out menu I’d snag either the Pork Belly Tacos or Pub Burger, and they also have a Kid’s Menu for those perpetually fussy eaters.

I’d also swing by Angelo's Pizzeria Auburn Ny. Angelo’s has been in business since 1960, and my mother worked there while in college. Angelo’s was the first original pizza place in Auburn and is now owned by Matt Bartolotta, my roommate in college. Matt is focused on having things as fresh as possible. There’s house-made dough and sauce the itself is made fresh every other day to ensure the best possible quality. The cheese comes from Wisconsin, and the tomatoes for the sauce from California. Each pizza is made with care, and the crust is the that thin NY-style you can fold. For toppings, I love the sausage pizza, probably because the sausage comes from a local butcher as well.

Today’s restaurant suggestion is for Grinnell's Restaurant, located on Monroe Ave between Highland and Twelve Corners. Grinnell’s has been family owned and operated since 1961. Originally focused on thick steaks, over the years Grinnell’s has expanded the menu to offer seafood and lighter fair. The décor has evolved as well, with an excellent balance of classic and contemporary. But above all else, there’s great service from the ownership and staff.

Like many restaurants, the menu is a little bit limited right now but there are some fun specials. For Fridays they have a Fish Fry with a fluffy-yet-crispy breading encasing the fish, along with house-made coleslaw and tartar sauce. On Sundays, there’s Turkey dinners. Turkey can get a bad rap as being dry and flavorless, but not this one. The meat is juicy and perfectly seasoned, covered in a rich, thick gravy and lovingly placed over a bed creamy mashed potatoes. It’s practically a mini Thanksgiving dinner. And on Wednesdays there are Gourmet garbage plates with an 8oz burger cooked the way you like it with cheese, over homemade mac salad and garlic mashed potatoes, all covered in a beautiful, thick meat sauce.

Grinnell’s is certainly known for Prime Rib if you’ve been missing this classic dish recently. Slow roasted to a perfect medium-rare, their prime rib has a great, flavorful crust with a tender, juicy interior.