New York Times Fails To Properly Name Upstate New York Food

The world famous New York Times was founded in New York City back in 1851. Since those early days, the paper has won 117 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization. However, they will never win an award for correctly identifying Upstate New York foods. 

On October 12th, the times published an article called "Beyond the Buffalo Wing in Upstate New York."  The main purpose of this article was to name off other important foods for Upstate other than the chicken wing. Seems harmless right? We have plenty of options other than chicken wings in Upstate. So many more options that they only highlighted a slight handful.

Most people have heard of Buffalo wings. But not everyone knows why they’re called that. (Hint: Buffaloes do not have wings.) And if people have heard, they don’t exactly equate the food with the region.

But Buffalo and upstate New York are actually unsung food destinations with their own approach to cuisine in an age when locavore can mean New American food served with a few herbs grown in a nearby garden. You can even make the case that there may not be another region in the country quite like it when it comes to unique local dishes spanning generations."

So far, so good. It seems we are about to go on an adventure with our eyes and stomachs. This is where we hit a massive car pile up with food. Was the main point of the article to highlight other foods in Upstate other than Buffalo wings? I mean, the title is called "Beyond the Buffalo Wing in Upstate New York." What's the first food they highlight? BUFFALO WINGS. They literally began the conversation of Buffalo with Buffalo wings.

“Wings have the distinction of being probably the once most local to absolutely, utterly, more universal than any local dish has ever become,” Mr. Stern said."

Let's calm down, and regroup. They did mention beef on weck, near the end of highlighting Buffalo. By the end of highlighting Buffalo, we mean the majority of the highlights. Ok, ok, they gave us a Sponge Candy reference too. MOVING ON...

Next we take a trip to Rochester. I applaud their research on this one. The Garbage Plate is the big daddy of that region. They outdid their selves on research, and made you dream of college days where you had massive heartburn after eating this delicious treat. Rant over about Rochester.

Buckle up, we really dropped the ball with Syracuse here New York Times! Or, can I just call you NY Times? Can we have that relationship here?

While Syracuse is famously the home of the first Dinosaur BBQ restaurant, its strongest impact on the region’s food culture can be seen more at picnics and cookouts than at any dining establishment, where crisp, barbecued Cornell chicken legs and salt potatoes are commonly consumed."

FACT CHECKERS- Dinosaur did not BEGIN in Syracuse. Granted, they worded this with "first restaurant", which is correct. The idea was born near Albany, and traveled around New York before settling down in Syracuse. That's not even the beginning of while I'm upset with how they highlighted Syracuse.

They had the golden nugget: Salt Potatoes. What did they highlight? Cornell chicken. I've grown up in this region my whole life, I've never ever heard of this brand EVER. I've asked several Syracuse natives, they were stumped as well. No offense to the great people behind Cornell Chicken, but you must know you're not the main dish of Syracuse right? NY Times chose to highlight chicken, and skipped the main dish of the region: SALT POTATOES. Literally, the most popular dish BAR NONE to the region, you mentioned briefly. Every single city has a local twist on poultry, you chose poultry. Salt Potatoes could have kept you going for hours.

From Syracuse one would think you’d continue down the thruway to Utica and beyond to Albany. NOPE. Apparently Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie, Greens, Turkey Joints, The Doughboy, The Bombers Burrito, and the Peppermint Pig aren’t important enough. There are dozens of other options, but they chose to keep this article short and sweet. You SKIPPED actual Upstate New York. Do you need a map of the state in your office? About 90 miles North of Syracuse and Rochester you’ll hit Watertown, known for Croghan bologna and croghan subs. If Canada and New York were dating, they would meet up for dinner in Potsdam and enjoy Glaziers hot dogs!

So where did they consider Upstate next? Binghamton. Granted, their work on spiedies in Binghamton was well done, but you SKIPPED foods all over the state. A statewide food trip doesn’t include just four cities. That’s a day of travel, not a road trip. Next time the NY Times highlights Upstate foods, maybe choose more than 4 options. Also, maybe do more than brief Google research.

Rant Over.

P.S. YOU MISSED Halfmoons. Oh, you’re from New York, you mean black and white cookies? No. Those are complete garbage. I’m talking halfmoons. Google that.

BONUS VIDEO- GROSS LOCAL LUNCH