Eat Here Now: Carriage House Café

Eat Here Now: Carriage House Café

Story and photos by Carly Browning

Local food meets local vibe at Carriage House Café, located in Ithaca’s Collegetown. The building itself is a two-story carriage house from the 1850’s. The full-service brunch restaurant is on the first floor and the Hayloft, an event space, sits above. Ambience is the reason to come to Carriage House, but the food is the reason to stay. Carriage House sources many of its menu items from local producers, including Stick & Stone Farm, Remembrance Farm, Indian Creek Orchard, Three Swallows Farm, Highpoint Farms and Hermann J. Wiemer. On the breakfast side of things, try the sconewich: local scrambled eggs with New York State cheddar on a freshly baked ham and cheese scone. Or, if you’re feeling sweet, go for the Brie Stuffed French toast (pictured below)–which speaks for itself. On the lunch side, their Grilled Cheese with Serrano and Fig puts all other grilled cheeses to shame. It’s gooey and crispy with just the right amount of kick. The Steaks and Eggs is the perfect indulgence without any guilt—after all, it’s local! Although the menu doesn’t change, the specials constantly do and they are worth perusing, especially the strata of the day. On a recent trip, I tried the special strata (pictured above), which featured bok choy, cheddar and roasted turnips. Carriage House is a very popular Ithaca brunch spot and lines can be out the door and then some at prime brunch time on the weekends. If you don’t want to wait for a table try going on a weekday or early on the weekends, but if you don’t mind waiting, the hayloft is a beautiful place to sip coffee and enjoy some downtime.

305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca, 607.645.0152, carriagehousecafe.com, open Tuesdays-Sundays 9am -3pm

Carly Browning is a senior at Ithaca College and the writing intern at Edible Finger Lakes.