Assonance

There must be something in the air… good diners seem to be proliferating!  Cathy’s Homestyle Breakfast opened recently on Burnet Av., right across the street from Shifty’s.  It’s also near Dominick’s Restaurant and the corner of Teall and Burnet, which is, in turn, close to the Teall exit from Rt. 690.

The staff was very friendly, and the restaurant was clean.  Two of us ordered Sausage and Cheese omelets, and the others got a Spinach Bacon omelet and a breakfast sandwich, respectively.  They were very tasty, definitely better than average diner food, and the portions were large enough that we were very full.  Anyone who knows me is aware that I almost never leave food at a meal, at least not food that I like, but that happened here.  I almost finished!  Also, there is a pretty good selection of sides.

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We discovered yet another fun diner over in the University area, the New York Style Diner.  Of course, diners tend to have a fairly standard menu, and all the usual favorites are there.  Their angle consists of a New York theme and decor (I know, hard to believe), so they have breakfast specials with names like Little Italy Fretta, The Bronx, Union Square, Greenwich Village, and so on, each with its own special touch.  I will, however, be avoiding the Rudy Giuliani. 

I enjoyed The Bronx, which was a breakfast burrito with eggs, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and cheese.  Another intriguing selection is Anna’s Central Park, two eggs grilled into the center of Italian bread, meat and homefries on the side.

It’s quite clean, and the staff is friendly.  It can be a little crowded on weekends, like any diner.  We know the chef, Mike, and we’ve more or less followed him around from Friend’s Diner in Eastwood, to the Jamesville Diner, and now here.  He’s a great guy, and Mike, I dare you to actually go online and read this.  Why?  I’m not sure, exactly.

New York Style Diner
535 E. Brighton Av
Syracuse, NY
(315) 214-3303

We were over in Baldwinsville one night this July where I was playing an outdoor concert.  After the show, which ended early in the evening, we decided to go in search of ice cream in the village.  Several places were closed, but we found Mohegan Manor open.  This is a nice restaurant with an historic feel.  We had eaten a fancy meal there before and had enjoyed it.

We went in and inquired about dessert.  They seated us in their newly remodeled bar area at a table.  The four of us ordered three Blueberry Ice Creams and one Cheesecake for a total of four servings.  The ice cream consisted of 2 scoops, and we found it to be creamy and tasty.  The cheesecake, though quite small and not as excellent as what you’d get at Ambrosia, was good.  But then we got the bill - $27.  Ouch.  Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re choosing a company to host your website, there are an enormous number of choices. With so many companies offering hosting, it’s tempting to choose the cheapest.

As a web developer, I frequently work on sites where the client has already chosen hosting. I’m seeing a negative trend, and that is the number of people hosting with GoDaddy. They advertise so heavily that it may be the only hosting company that some people have ever heard of. They get you by offering rock-bottom prices, slick sales pitches, and many features.

There’s just one problem with that - if your site has any complexity at all, be prepared for your site to run very, very slowly. For instance, I was just working on a site that offers various types of searches - certainly a very typical feature. While testing the search, the site would take upwards of 5 minutes for a single page to load. Unbelievably bad, and sometimes the page would freeze indefinitely, causing me to just give up. Imagine your customers - they’d probably never come back. Read the rest of this entry »

Flamenco guitarists - if you’re looking for a good capo (cejilla), I just got a great one! If you’re interested, read further. Read the rest of this entry »