A Binghamton traditional and neighborhood favourite, the Lost Dog Cafe & Lounge approaches its thirtieth yr of serving scrumptious meals alongside a vibrant environment. As a senior whose go-to restaurant has been the Lost Dog for 4 entire years, I’ve been to a handful of the cafe’s Restaurant Weeks. I’ve indulged of their prolonged menu, I’ve (legally) loved their traditional cocktails and I’m actually on a first-name foundation with the long-lasting life-sized chihuahua portray hanging on the again wall. Despite my steadfast dedication, it wasn’t till my ultimate Binghamton Restaurant Week after I discovered the importance of the restaurant’s title.
According to the cafe’s web site, Elizabeth Hughes, co-founder of the Lost Dog Cafe with Marie McKenna, had a curious chihuahua named Clarese who was recognized for incessantly operating off. Notably, irrespective of the size of Clarese’s enterprise, she would all the time discover her approach again home. Hughes and McKenna hoped for his or her restaurant to emulate Clarese’s loyalty, so in homage to the devoted chihuahua, the Lost Dog Cafe would turn out to be a Binghamton staple that neighborhood members may all the time come again to.
From my first Downtown meal as a freshman to my final Restaurant Week on Pipe Dream, I, like Clarese, discover myself incessantly returning to the Lost Dog Cafe. This spring, my photographer, Lia, and I couldn’t move up the chance to indulge within the restaurant’s biannual particular menu. For simply $30, clients are assured a three-course meal with an array of choices to select from.
The first-course meal choice offered a various vary of prospects, with dishes like crab rangoon dip with fried wonton chips or the doghouse salad with contemporary greens and French dressing. Lia and I break up the asparagus truffles and the doghouse salad, which complemented one another delectably and began the meal off robust. The asparagus truffles had been particularly appetizing, because the sriracha and creamy herb sauce paired brilliantly with the smooth patty.
The second-course dishes had been emblematic of Lost Dog’s precious parts. From hearty meals just like the braised cherry hoisin beef to the roasted tomato pesto linguine, you’re certain to get a bang to your buck. As a pasta lover myself, I used to be extremely torn over whether or not I ought to order the restaurant’s well-known rigatoni ala vodka or broaden my horizons and go for the roasted tomato pesto linguine. After an arduous few moments of forwards and backwards, I stepped out of my consolation zone and opted for the linguine. While I’ll all the time be a Lost Dog rigatoni fanatic, the linguine was completely price it. With a creamy sauce blended with spinach, contemporary mozzarella bocconcini, asparagus and peppers, the dish married very nicely with the sunshine linguini and baked hen. I’ll have leftovers to final at the least two days — a busy faculty scholar’s dream.
Lia ordered the grilled bone-in pork chop, which included mashed potatoes and a palette of utica greens comparable to cherry peppers and braised escarole. I attempted a number of the mashed potatoes they usually had been as creamy and comforting as mashed potatoes needs to be and extra. While I didn’t attempt the pork chop, Lia described it as tender and completely seasoned, making for a scrumptious, home-cooked-esque second-course meal.
The third and ultimate course provided three desserts — mexi-coco tres leches cake, rainbow funfetti vanilla cake and black raspberry ice cream. Having partnered with the Lost Dog for a lot of Restaurant Weeks, the employees so graciously introduced us all three to attempt. Thank goodness this was the case, too, as a result of I wasn’t initially going to order the tres leches nevertheless it was by far top-of-the-line desserts I’ve had shortly. The cake was smooth but held a palatable texture, and the frosting melted in our mouths with its sprinkle of cinnamon flavoring. The black raspberry ice cream was Lia’s favourite and a detailed second for me, because it was a candy and refreshing finish to our dinner.
Full from a scrumptious three-course meal with a facet of nostalgia, I can’t assist however tip my hat to Hughes and McKenna — not only for their trusty, satiating menu, however for making a place in Binghamton that holds simply as many reminiscences as patrons. The Lost Dog Restaurant Week menu has as soon as once more demonstrated the cafe’s unwavering dedication to buyer satisfaction, and I do know with confidence that even after commencement, I’ve a place and a cause to return for Restaurant Weeks to return.
