The Great Guide to Binghamton, NY (mostly food)

I went to Binghamton University, formerly SUNY binghamton a couple of years ago. Every year was very different for me, different friends, different extracurriculars... Freshman year sucked. but after that, I started to have a lot of fun diverse experiences.
Something that really helped me was having a friend who knew the ins and outs of the school and the city of Binghamton (and vestal, and Johnson city). He showed me all the secrets of the school and the city, and really advanced what I knew about the school.
I am the type of person to keep exploring in order to find the best of everything available. The best places, to me, are not the student hangouts. You want to go to the places where the locals hang out. You want the best food, the places that are hard to find, the little known places, and the best deals. This post has been 6 years in the making. Here is what I've found in Binghamton:



FOOD:
the Dugout in appalachin. Great Pizza and Wings. rarely crowded. townie like bar, but friendly to students too - there arent many there. You get there by going on Vestal Hwy, towards vestal. past everything. once you think you are too far, go about 5 more miles and its on the left.

Wegmans! If you don't love wegmans you are not human. the greatest supermarket in history? possibly. They have great quality foods. comparable to whole foods, but not as strict with the organic types. I dont even think they mention organic there. But thats the type of standards they have. Plus they have great ready foods : subs, pizza, wings, chinese, soups, sushi, and others. Most times I went there just for dinner. My favs were the buffalo pizza, hot wings, and danny's sub with the sub sauce. might as well.


Theos - southern style fried chicken, ribs, cornbread, huge wings. This is real southern style food. Go to the buffet - I think its either on fridays or every day. and there is a Sunday brunch which I've always missed but sounds great. maybe I did go...

Walmart deli section. You don't get these supercenters downstate ( that is a word I never heard before going to Binghamton) They basically have every food you could want - crappy, but cheap and they use a lot of salt. I liked the sweet and sour or hot chicken nugget type things at the deli section. No, I love them.


indian restaurant on main st pretty much sucks. but what other choice do you have for punjabi?

J. Michaels - This was IT for me when I was a sophomore. Its right off main street, but hard to find. You open the huge door, and you have to go downstairs - into the basement. They have a piano player sometimes. Its real italian style. The mafia had a big presence in the area for a while. I could see this as an establishment frequented. Its not too nice that you would feel uncomfortable, but its far from the rest of binghamton. If you bring a date here - things will go well.

Southside Yannis - my friends got hustled there recently, because one 28 year old forgot her ID and they wouldnt serve a drink to a 24 year old. They are pricks about IDs. Dont bother drinking if you dont have a good ID. and if you have friends underage, they may give you a problem. This is an upscale townie bar. they wear hawaiian shirts often. The food is inexpensive and passable. Very few students go there (something which I personally like). The atmosphere is great though. I liked it there (before my friends got into a fight with the manager) . I am hoping that if enough students pack in there, they will change their ways and grow up. Age has nothing to do with maturity.

Tonys - Best pizza in Blinghamton? yes, best pizza. yes. the best. Its not in binghamton, technically. its in endwell. Their mussels in white sauce are amaZing! Seriously - capital Z.


Lost Dog Cafe - if you are female. just go and be sex in the city.

Pepe's - drunk food. good food. famous. experience.
he is the only one in the picture that does not look like a douchebag. and has a mustache.

Ice Cream Corner and also Pat Mitchels, but he died, sooo....

Belmar and Sportsman bar for wings. but its annoying to eat wings while people are macking it in back of you. the other bars have wing nights. Monday - thursday you can eat wings well downtown.
Tom and Martys is having a resurgence. Good for them. I like that place.

Whole in the Wall - earthy food. all natural. wheat grass. pitas. you know the deal. Its very good. welcoming environment

Nut Shop on main street - next to the indian place. its small. family owned. try it. you will probably like it, but might not come back. no one really needs nuts in the first place. they need to expand or something.

Foliage. This was my first real chinese food discovery in Binghamton. Across from the cemetary on Riverside. Its legit. It won't make you sick like Red Wok, sodexho sponsored wok or China One. I am critical about my Chinese food. Those places suck. Foliage is good.

Moon Star - in Endicott or Endwell. I cant remember. Its the same road as tony's though. This is the closest thing to china town within 150 miles. Seriously. its good. legit. I dont think they serve sesame chicken there. This is probably not the best for the highly allergic or squemish because the people don't speak english and the food is not typically american. after bubble tea, this is a very real asian experience (near binghamton). Why the hell are they where they are though?? its strange.

Mei Kong, Vietnamese. its nice there. There are a few of them.

endicott Cortese. People love their pizza. I respect it.
Along those lines, Nirchi's. They are very unique. A nirchis pizza is distinctive. Dont bother with the normal NY style there. Go with what they do best. squares. You get about 4 different kinds at a time. I recommend the italian style wings, and the garlic are great - I was obsessed for about 2 months. The sandwiches are good too, surprisingly. Im hungry.

Grotta Azura- good REAL italian and crazy woman. Mama, I call her, but not to her face. She is blunt, she owns the place, she serves the food, she will tell you stories, shes big and shes a lovely person. What makes it is probably half about the experience, and a third the food.

Reveiller - johnson city -This is a little coffee shop style place. Its a bunch of middle age to old ladies running the place. The food is passable. its more of a fun experience though. They have good natural lighting, from what I remember. Also a coke is good. The diner across the street looks appealing, but Ive heard many bad things about it from the locals. It is called - green owl.

Sharky's - Binghamton is famous for their spiedies. Im not sure why, to be honest. Its originating from the area, yeah, but I really dont care. Spiedies are good there but so are perogies. they have good specials I hear. Its a place I wish I would have explored the menu more. You can also go to Lupo's for spiedies (there are a bunch of locations, slightly out of the way). Sharkeys has a better dive bar kind of experience.

Kampai is great for the special night out. Its habachi. its everything you can expect. They do the tricks with the volcanos and the hats and shooting shrimps, you know the rote.

its fun though. bring a 20. and call ahead to get your friends name on the sign.


I cannot vouch for these, but my friends like them...
java joe's, buffys burritos
dannys, rolandos, chris's, park diner, the spot - I am from LI and these diners are by comparison greasy shitholes. but a lot of people go to these every day.

NOT FOOD, but things to do:
Laurel bowl - mondays are cheap, probably other days too. You can drink there cheaply.
Cinema Saver in Endicott - 2 dollars - you can make a mistake and not feel so bad about it.
Salvation army!
Speedway gokarts
Nathanial Cole Park. free kayaks, rowboats for the lake. there is a beach there too.
First Fridays is a great thing to check out if you want to get cultural. blah blah. but it really does seem cool
the zoo - ive heard the animals are sad though.
I went to a hockey game at the arena last year. It was great! its a really small arena, no bad tickets. and they are very reasonable. so, why not? go at least once in the year.
Along those lines, the baseball games at the stadium are fun too. In a small town kind of way.
Clinton St. antique row
Harpur Film Society

I recommend getting a car, and exploring off campus. I also recommend getting into some club or social aspect in Suny. I was in the tv station and the student govt. dont stay in your room, and don't join a frat or sorotity if you want to have a variety of friends. Every town has something to offer. There are the triple cities around Binghamton, and even the neighboring towns are nice too. This is a list Ive been meaning to create for a long time. I want to pass what Ive learned on. Give back some places that you love by commenting here! I want to hear. I tell myself I will never come back to binghamton, but every 6 months or so, I find myself there somehow. I usually go to Weggys at least once, yannis, and tonys.

If you want more information on what Ive given you, go to this site, I created it, it has all the information you ever could want to know about anything. type the name of the place, and binghamton and you are there.


thank you matt, dene, chet, and gail for refreshing my memory