Good food, strong drinks, video & arcade games and nostalgia: restaurant critic @jaredpaventi.com found it all at Three Lives in Syracuse's Armory Square. www.thisiscny.com/living/2026/...

Critic @jaredpaventi.com found a lot to like about The Exchange, the nearly three-year-old gastropub situated in an historic bank building on North Main Street in Homer, about a half-hour south of Downtown Syracuse and a 15-minute drive from Tully. www.thisiscny.com/living/2026/...

Meatballs were one of a couple surprises when reviewer @jaredpaventi.com visited the 27-year-old Thompson Road Tavern on a recent Saturday evening. www.thisiscny.com/living/2026/...

Some Central New York restaurants impressed food critics Charlie Miller, @jaredpaventi.com, @jacobpucci.bsky.social and @wandercuse.bsky.social with ambition, others with consistency. A few managed to do both, night after night. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

More than 20 years after opening, the Limp Lizard in Syracuse remains a reliable haunt for smoked meats, cold beer, excellent service and solid value. @jaredpaventi.com reviews: www.thisiscny.com/living/2026/...

Reviewer @jaredpaventi.com shed tears when he visited LakeHouse Pub in Skaneateles. Was it the excellent quality of the meal or the copious amount of horseradish he added to his beef on weck sandwich? www.thisiscny.com/living/2026/...

Yeah he did!

The upscale Southern cuisine at Ruby Begonia's in Chittenango largely delivered, reviewer @jaredpaventi.com said. I know I've got my eyes on that cornbread. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

While there were some inconsistencies, cheese-centric bistro The Wedge in Eastwood has many bright spots, finds reviewer @jaredpaventi.com. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

If you're a fellow French fry fan (I am), @jaredpaventi.com has been kind enough to point us in the direction of Amber Inn in Marietta. He said the dive bar met all his criteria for excellent fries and has plenty else to enjoy. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

In many ways, Gangnam Style Korean Kitchen reminds reviewer @jaredpaventi.com of another popular local restaurant: A family-owned and -run restaurant with limited seating and little to look at, but a menu of traditional, homestyle and unpretentious dishes. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

@edsbs.bsky.social @celebrityhottub.bsky.social Salute to you both on this day.

It's not quite the much-missed Clark's Ale House, which several of its menu items invoke, but Crooked Cattle is certainly worth a visit, says reviewer @jaredpaventi.com. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

One would hope that a restaurant named Mr. Pho would make a decent bowl of its namesake noodle soup. One would be wrong, says reviewer @jaredpaventi.com, because it turns out Mr. Pho makes an exceptional bowl of pho bo, the traditional Vietnamese beef broth and rice noodle soup.

Aurora Brewing Co., a well-regarded maker of hazy IPAs, tasty sours and true-to-style lagers, has brought their beers and a full-time kitchen to Tipp Hill. Reviewer @jaredpaventi.com visited recently to sample some starters, deep dish pies, skillets and more. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Buyer’s remorse at a restaurant is real and was the topic of conversation after reviewer @jaredpaventi.com's most recent visit to Daniella’s Steakhouse in Geddes. It’s not that anything was wrong with his meal; quite the opposite, actually. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

The Syracuse.com surge is all because of @jaredpaventi.com, I assume

When @jaredpaventi.com doesn't miss, he does not miss. This is truly excellent, on Hulk Hogan and what he means to men of our age. realdirtnap.substack.com/p/dont-ever-...

"At the Golden Spike, chicken breast tenders are hand-cut, hand-breaded and deep-fried until golden and just cooked through. ... I’d put them alongside the Western Ranch Motor Inn as purveyors of the area’s best chicken tenders," said reviewer @jaredpaventi.com about this pub in East Syracuse.

Reviewer @jaredpaventi.com visited Su Su Dim Sum on East Brighton Ave. 🥟 Dim sum is the Chinese equivalent of small plates. Popular in the cuisine and culture of China’s Guangdong province, a dim sum menu is made up of small fried, steamed or baked items served in shared portions.

“Wok and roll nachos.” The menu at Meier's Creek Brewing Co. in Cazenovia whispered these words to @jaredpaventi.com, demanding his attention and a place on his dinner order. www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Meier's Creek Brewing Company's Cazenovia location has been a fun spot to visit since it opened five years ago. We return this week for syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com to a new menu, including an Asian-inspired riff on nachos.

My journey with genetic testing continues this week at Dirt Nap. If you've ever lost a loved one to cancer, particularly a parent or grandparent, we look at how your risk increases and why genetic testing could be helpful.

You can get Chinese dumplings and noodle soups anywhere in #CNY, but how many places make their own dumpling dough and hand-pull their noodles? Su Su Dim Sum does. It was our latest Dining Out review for @syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com. Go read it and drool a little bit. I won't tell anyone.

We all die eventually, but few of us get a chance to dig into how while we're still kicking. Today begins a three-part series at Dirt Nap where I take you through my genetic testing journey to determine if I inherited genes for the cancers that have affected at least two generations of my family.

We all experience grief differently when death impacts us, but what about people who work in death-related industries? How do they separate their days being around grieving from their everyday life? We ask a funeral director how he achieves work-life balance when death is always a phone call away.

It took two weeks to get a reservation at Grotto in N. Syracuse and, when we got there, it was a roomful of regulars. And, we can see why. It's mix of red sauce and out-of-the-box, but not too crazy, Italian brings a little something for everyone. Read my review at @syracuse.com + @thisiscny.com

trying to switch off the AI bloatware that has been pinned to the top of every single menu in every single app

I understand that ESPN and NFL Network are the sport's state media, but the feigned surprise at Shadeur Sanders' fall, knowing full well that no one wants Deion lurking, is a little much.

I’ve always thought of the dining room at the Craftsman Wood Grille and Tap House in Fayetteville to be cozy. The open-hearth kitchen is stellar, the cocktails are potent and the service is solid. It’s my review this week for syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com.

The internet becomes more tolerable once you realize that 99% of the people who are being assholes to you online have never actually engaged with your work and have no plans to.

There are names from your childhood that live rent free in your head. Laura Lewis is one for me. Laura's sister helps us remember the legacy she created in her short time on this planet in another exploration of someone who died before their time.

This week, Dirt Nap takes a dive into the world of sports and how fans of losing teams cope and rebound with the grief of losing. Big thanks to @celebrityhottub.bsky.social, @bmoritz99.bsky.social and @jeffpearlman.bsky.social for their help.

Vegetarians and dairy-free diners can navigate the menu easily, and the wait staff was genuine in its friendliness and knowledge of the menu at new Cicero restaurant Kenziee's. Dining review by @jaredpaventi.com: www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

i don’t see the issue this is how the and one mixtape tour ended every game

The absolute correct take regarding pizza toppings. Finally someone gets it.

An open invite to @sarajbenincasa.bsky.social to come to Syracuse and go grocery shopping with me at Wegmans. I’ll even push the cart. (I’ve never had a panic attack at Wegmans. Always saved them for the office.)

The irony isn't lost on me that I am posting on social media in an attempt to get you to read my essay on why social media is dead. Social media was intended to be a social community. Then one day, money got involved, and everything changed. Mourn it, grieve it, laugh at it, or do all three.

@cornpuzzle.bsky.social @darthamin.bsky.social @talkhoops.bsky.social I know you guys don't usually respond to listener requests, but can we have this for Christmas '26? www.syracuse.com/entertainmen...

Describing the vibe at Kenziee’s in Cicero is easy: espresso martini. It’s in the logo, inspires the décor, and two versions top the list of beverages. What about the food, you ask? Well, I guess you’ll just have to read my latest @syracuse.com/@thisiscny.com review...

Well this aged like unpasteurized milk🤌 3 days ago: “Under the previous administration, we looked like fools. Not anymore.” –Pete Hegseth

I never met Shane Colligan, though I feel like I have a better understanding who he was and, in some instances, still is. This week at Dirt Nap, we confront the topic of dying young, the order of life, and a fundraiser to commemorate Shane's life.

@edsbs.bsky.social: Q abt today’s Channel 6. Once went to a conference in San Antonio. The hotel bar at the Hyatt had huge plate glass windows where we watched & cheered as ppl were thrown from e-scooters & nearly into the Creekwalk. Smart or dumb city? Also: Louis and Nash villes need placement

Most people will learn about it weeks later when Whichever Thing They Care About breaks, and at that point they'll start thinking about who's in charge, and then they'll blame that person

If there's one thing we've lost over the years in fast food advertising, it's giant scoops of raw ground beef

Doing my part. @homefield.bsky.social @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social