Syracuse skyline (from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syracuse_NY.jpg)
I considered making the 16-hour drive from Cincinnati to Warren, Maine, in one day next week for the July 13-14 Lie-Nielsen Open House…but then remembered I’m almost 50 and one really ought not be that foolish beyond the age of 25 or so. So I think I’ll stop in Syracuse, N.Y., which is a little more than halfway. Anyone in Syracuse free for salt potatoes (which Google tells me is the local signature dish) on the evening of July 11? (And what are salt potatoes, and do I really want to eat them?)
Rude Mechanicals Press Blog 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_potatoes
They sound pretty good…
Damn. Syracuse is a bit far, but if you’re hankering for a bite around Brunswick (It’s an hour or so from Lie-Nielsen I’d be totally thrilled to buy you a burger or something. There’s also an amazing cache of air dried walnut at a lumberyard called Day’s Hardwood. It’s right off the highway on your way to Warren (exit 22 in Freeport) and DEFINITELY worth the quick pitstop.
You can’t go wrong with salt potatoes. They are young potatoes boiled in water that has been supersaturated with salt (Think about two cups of salt to about eight of water). Done right, the skin holds a bit of salt but the inside of the potato becomes very creamy. Perfect for snacking at a cookout. If you alter your route through Binghamton along I86, you can partake in the spiedie, another upstate NY local treat.
Yes – I will definitely want to eat salt potatoes.
Syracuse seems a bit of a “northernly” route. Did you plan to cross through VT & NH? (RT 9 is such a picturesque route.) Or are you choosing to brave the “Mass Pike”, zig-zagging through MA?
Interstate highways can be sooooo boring. __Paul from NH
My maps app is giving me two choices: (1) North along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario then east to skirt Boston before heading up 95, or (2) A 6-minutes shorter route through the middle of Ohio (ugh) then PA (where I was on the same roads in April, then through NYC (YIKES!) New Haven, Hartford, etc. And I can get lost in my own house…so I really should stick to the GPS. But I do like Vermont and New Hampshire…
I’ve done the route through NYC, New Haven, etc – it’s always been terrible. I would take the northern route for the beauty and sanity any time
Such a nice invitation!! I am a thousand miles in the wrong direction. By the way, there’s nothing wrong with taking an evening break; that’s a long way to drive. Have fun.
That’s a great invitation. I’m in Minneapolis MN though. Look me up when you are driving to Seattle or North Dakota!
I live in Syracuse. Do you like BBQ? http://mospitbbq.com/
I’ve heard about this place and will have to give it a try.
Meghan, please don’t miss the Gustav Stickley House; 438 Columbus Ave. Our first home was an apartment there and the house is undergoing an appropriate restoration. The exterior (phase one) was completed last month. It’s considered the first true craftsman interior. I’d add a link if I knew how. Rick
I’d offer to let you stay at my house but I’ll be in Warren, ME. LOL
I’m free & you can follow us to the Lie-Nielsen Open House. The salt potatoes are awesome! Also stop by Heids of Liverpool for another local dish. https://www.heidsofliverpool.com/ Lot of history. Both are native to Central New York.
Dang! We’re having our dress rehearsal with invited audience for James and the Giant Peach on Wednesday. Well, that and I’m on the wrong coast.
Last month we went to a dinner by the chefs who are opening a fine dining/local food restaurant in town. They made salt-baked potatoes. They were wrapped in aromatics then buried in kosher salt and baked. They were incredible. Lots of flavor and the insides were almost as creamy as mashed potatoes. From the Wikipedia description I’d guess the salt potatoes will be similar. (Great. Now I’ve made myself hungry and am going to have to get out of bed.)