Opening soon in Cazenovia is a new place to get your seafood fix. It overlooks the lake and it’s at a place where you might already satisfy your seafood cravings and/or pick up some fresh fish to enjoy at home.
A visit to the Brewster Inn, with its elegant dining rooms and patio seating and grounds overlooking the lake, is a treat in spring and summer. If you’ve been to the Brewster recently, you’ve probably noticed a small, pavilion-like structure under construction behind the inn. That’s the new raw bar and wine bar, which is scheduled to open June 3. Get ready for lobster rolls, ceviche, steamed clams, shrimp cocktail, raw oysters, oyster shooters and more.
The Brewster’s raw bar will have seating for 14 and a dedicated staff of two — one to shuck oysters and steam clams and one to pour from a limited list of white wines (and perhaps a few reds), bottled beers and bubbly.
The raw bar will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 4 to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays (if there isn’t a wedding that night) and 1 to 9 p.m. Sundays. Hours may be subject to change during July and August. The seating area is covered, so you’re protected if it rains. In the event of a drenching downpour, the bar will close.
If the raw bar whets your appetite for more seafood, there’s plenty of it on the Brewster’s dinner menu — everything from crab cakes to calamari to Chilean sea bass and shrimp scampi – and at the inn’s fresh market.
The Brewster Inn is at 6 Ledyard Ave., Cazenovia. Phone: 655-9232. WEBSITE FACEBOOK
What’s happening at the Cider Mill?
The Cider Mill, in Onondaga, which opened last fall and closed in March when an ice jam caused several levels of the roof to collapse, will not re-open any time soon.
Co-owner Dan Seeley says the insurance process is “painfully slow,’’ and the entrance/restaurant side of the building remains boarded up. He had hoped to hold a “pop-up” dinner in May to showcase new menu items and give customers a glimpse of rebuilding and repairs in progress, and may try to do that or a “pop-up” barbecue in June. The catering end of the business is thriving, Seeley said. A large tent with room for about 60 has been set up outside the building at 4221 Fay Road to accommodate private parties on-site.
Seeley and his wife, Teresa, opened The Cider Mill, a casual restaurant offering upscale “comfort foods with a twist,” last fall. For more than a decade, they have operated Diamond Catering out of the same building. The building is the former home of Morey’s Mill, a popular destination for fresh apple cider, homemade doughnuts and Friday fish fry.
For updates on The Cider Mill, visit the restaurant’s FACEBOOK page. For more information on Diamond Catering, visit the WEBSITE.
FAMILIAR FACE AT BELLA CIGNA
Chef Kevin Gentile, who developed a loyal following for his signature “eclectic Italian” food at two Gentile’s restaurants in Syracuse, has joined Bella Cigna, in Manlius, as executive chef and general manager.
Bella Cigna is owned by Joey and Janice DeCuffa, who also own and operate Joey’s Italian Restaurant and Pronto Joey’s, near Carrier Circle. They opened Bella Cigna in 2012, at the site once occupied by the Saucy Swan (and before that What’s Your Beef).
The restaurant, at 301 Fayette St., has a deck for outdoor dining that overlooks the Manlius Swan Pond. Lunch and dinner are served Tuesday to Sunday (a brunch menu is available on Sundays, as well). For information or reservations, call 682-3000. WEBSITE or FACEBOOK
Margaret McCormick is a freelance writer and editor in Syracuse. She blogs about food at eatfirst.typepad.com. Follow her on Twitter, connect on Facebook or email her at [email protected].
