Launched in May 2013, Taste NY is the Empire State’s official “eat and drink local” program, promoting New York farmers and food and beverage producers. Year one showcases included the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse and Summer Fancy Food Show at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Today, the Javits is among 70-plus statewide Taste NY locations, including JFK International Airport, all 11 regional Welcome Centers and state parks. Partnerships, sponsorships and events have brought the bounty to venues such as MVP Arena in Albany, Blue Cross Arena in Rochester and the Saratoga Race Course. Program resources include 39 cuisine and craft beverage trails.
Agriculture is deeply rooted in New York’s history, culture and economy. The Empire State is the nation’s third-largest wine producer and in the top five for craft beers, distilled spirits and hard cider, all concentrated in the internationally renowned Finger Lakes region. The state is a global center of dining and the culinary arts. Here are some of the countless menus for memorable culinary outings.
Starter Courses
North of NYC, Westchester County destinations include world-renowned Blue Hill at Stone Barns, hosting private events for up to 260 people. The newly renovated 403-room Sonesta White Plains Downtown offers 20,000 square feet of transformed space and modern American dining at Mix Cocktail Bar + Kitchen.
Learn from the best at the Culinary Institute of America. The “culinary center of the nation’s” Hudson River Valley flagship offers a full educational menu for groups, from single-day and private classes to multi-day boot camps. Plus, the famed Bocuse and other student-run restaurants.
Some 20 miles away, Millbrook Vineyards and Winery is an award-winning escape for tours, tastings and private events. Breathtaking views from the vines include the distant Catskill Mountain region, where the culinary collection at the fairytale 259-room Mohonk Mountain House includes the historic Main Dining Room, eight-person Chef’s Table and outdoor Granary.
Capital Culinary Connections
Albany, the state capital, is also a headquarters for craft beers and cocktails. The former Albany Pump Station is now the Albany Outpost of the Common Roots Brewing Company, hosting private events in a modern-rustic space. Offering distillery tours by appointment, Albany Distilling Company operates a bar and bottle shop in a 19th-century Nabisco factory. Warehouse District draws include Nine Pin Cider Works, offering tastings of cider crafted from fresh-pressed New York apples and a mobile bar for events.
Just north in Saratoga Springs, which hosted the 26th annual Chowderfest event last month, group-friendly restaurants include Jacob & Anthony's American Grille.
Spanish comfort food, 150-capacity events and hands-on paella cooking classes are among the draws at Mediterranean-driven Boca Bistro, with comparable offerings at siblings Forno Bistro and Chianti Il Ristorante.
Another European-inspired restaurant, casual 144-seat Brasserie Benelux, hosts 45-capacity events in The Saratoga Room as well as buyouts.
Rentals at pub-style Harvey’s Restaurant & Bar include the outdoor rooftop Patio and indoor Rafters. Billed as “Saratoga’s farm-to-table steakhouse,” star chef David Burke’s upscale Salt & Char within the historic 1877 Adelphi Hotel offers versatile rentals including the famed main dining room and intimate wine cellar, plus event catering.
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Fruitful “Finger” Food
Triangulated by Rochester, Syracuse and Elmira-Corning, the abundance of the Finger Lakes region includes Finger Lakes Wine Country. Three acclaimed wine trails include Cayuga Lake, America’s first and longest wine trail, dating to 1983.
Within walking distance of the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Italian-driven Branca Midtown offers private dining and buyouts. Groups can also take over women/LGBTQ+-owned CRISP Rochester, featuring Texas-influenced cuisine.
Top-ranked Good Luck Restaurant offers a chef’s table and event hosting in the adjacent Jackrabbit Club industrial space. Sushi-driven Next Door by Wegmans, from the famed hometown grocery store, offers three private dining spaces and a test kitchen.
Steps from the Eastman School of Music and Eastman Theatre, East End fine-dining institution Max of Eastman Place offers versatile rentals, including an atrium and garden.
“Eat and meet” at Mercantile on Main is an urban food hall and event space housed in a former department store. Neighborhood of the Arts hangouts include urban winery Living Roots, offering tastings, curated flights and rental space, and buyout-capable Char Steak & Lounge inside the hip Strathallan Hotel & Spa.
Other venues with rental space include woman-owned Flight Wine and New York Kitchen in nearby Canandaigua, offering cooking classes and hands-on experiences led by expert chefs.
Rochester is home to the second location of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which originated near Albany in 1983 as a traveling BBQ concession for motorcycle shows, fairs and festivals.
With two NYC locations in Brooklyn and Harlem, and another in Troy, a sixth outpost is slated for this year near Buffalo in Hamburg The latter is often cited as the birthplace of the hamburger, after the beef patty sandwich sold by the Menches brothers of Akron, Ohio, at a local county fair in 1885.
Opened in 1988, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Syracuse flagship is a perennial draw for private events and catering.
Other Syracuse draws include Cider Mill, hosting private dinners and 40-plus person buyouts. Eden is acclaimed for its New York State-driven “wood-fired cuisine from the heart” and farm-to-table event catering. Local institution Phoebe’s Restaurant & Coffee Lounge, from 1976, flexibly hosts events for up to 56 guests.
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Wings and Waterfalls
The origin stories of the Buffalo chicken wing range from a local hotel menu in 1857 to late pioneers John Young and Teressa Bellissimo, who created versions of the iconic dish in the 1960s. While Young’s Wing’s N’ Things restaurant is gone, his daughter Lina’s Mumbo Wings n Things runs as a pop-up at historic Broadway Market.
With five other area locations, Bellissimo’s and husband Dominic’s original Anchor Bar ships wings nationwide, along with another 1960s institution, Duff’s Famous Wings.
The increasingly diverse Buffalo culinary scene is soaring on new “wings” as established restaurateurs and returning Buffalo-born chefs elevate dining in the resurgent city. Standouts include two 2024 James Beard Award finalists, Texas smokehouse-style Southern Junction (catering available) and three-time Beard nominee, event-capable Waxlight Bar a Vin.
From catering and classes to tours and farm-to-table dining, culinary experiences in neighboring Niagara Falls USA reflect the region’s agricultural roots and flavor variety.
Steps from Niagara Falls State Park, the 116,000-square-foot Niagara Falls Convention Center offers full-service catering and concessions for events, with customizable menus utilizing fresh local ingredients and authentic regional tastes.
Within the Park, Top of the Falls restaurant, a Taste NY partner, panoramically overlooks Horseshoe Falls and features outdoor dining decks. Roaming Table Food Tours offers programs such as private culinary tours of historic Lewiston, just minutes from Niagara Falls.
The Niagara Falls Culinary Institute offers private dining and banquet space within student-run Savor Restaurant, plus chef demonstrations and hands-on culinary classes in a state-of-the-art culinary theater.
North Tonawanda is home of circa-1938 Platter’s Chocolate Factory, offering guided tours for 20-plus people, and event-capable Italian restaurant Frankie Primos +39.
Groups can taste wines, beers and hard ciders at event-ready fifth-generation family-run Becker Farms & Vizcarra Vineyards in Gasport. Located on the scenic Niagara Escarpment, Tuscan-style Spring Lake Winery hosts tours and tastings.
