Sometimes you’re just in the mood for breakfast food, and this week 14850 Dining is checking out breakfast in an unlikely form — at Papa John’s Pizza! The Ithaca Papa John’s started making breakfast pizza this spring.

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Breakfast food meets pizza at Ithaca’s Papa John’s

This week, 14850 Dining is celebrating National Cheeseburger Day, September 18th, with a look at some of Ithaca’s finest burger offerings.

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Celebrating National Cheeseburger Day with one of Ithaca’s fine burgers

This week, we’re in Ithaca’s southwest checking out the area’s latest buffet restaurant. Spring Buffet offers all-you-can-eat Chinese and Japanese fare, along with some kid-friendly favorites.

Large buffet restaurants are sometimes a tradeoff for quantity over quality, and while Spring Buffet sure has the quantity and variety covered, we’ve been impressed with the quality of the food they’re serving. Hot dishes are hot, veggies are crisp, and everything’s flavorful.

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Ithaca’s newest buffet restaurant serves up quality, not just quantity

This week, we’re in Ithaca’s west end visiting the Circus Truck. In a lot on West Green Street, this weekday one-man food truck is both gourmet Italian restaurant and burger joint in one.

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Gourmet Italian and burger joint in one? Meet Ithaca’s Circus Truck.

Every year about this time, Ithaca’s population swells with thousands of new and returning students, who’ll call Tompkins County home for the next several years. And, every year about this time, we know people are looking around and wondering where to eat. We have some thoughts on the matter.

Welcome to Ithaca! Now, what’s for dinner?

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Eighteen years ago this week, Andy Castrenze died. The longtime owner of Andy’s 3rd Street Cafe passed away just a few months after his eponymous restaurant closed.

Sweet Memories: Feast of Saint Andy marks 15 years since restaurateur’s passing

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Here’s the 14850 Dining Report, checking out two new eateries in Collegetown. SoPoong is a Korean street food spot, and Campustown Pizzeria is a new name for an old eatery.

We were quickly impressed with SoPoong, which opened earlier this year on Dryden Road across from the parking garage. Think of a market stall or a corner noodle shop, and you’ve got the idea.

SoPoong has counter service and fresh food made to order, like ramen and rice bowls. Try the kimbap, a Korean style of sushi roll, with spicy tuna, chicken, or pork, or with sausage. No matter the filling, it’s seaweed rolled with rice, carrot, and radish.

There are noodle bowls, ramen with beef broth or udon or soba noodles. A vegetarian version features onion, potato, and black bean.

A traditional rice cake and fish cake combo with spicy sauce is hearty and filling.

And on a hot summer day we love the cold summer noodle bowl special, with a tangy spicy sauce, lots of crisp vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg. Add pork, chicken, or tofu. Bring cash instead of a credit card and you can get free drinks with your meals. Snacks start at about $3 and meals run $7 to 10.

Meantime, on the same block what’s old is new again — Campustown Pizza is open this week in the spot where Collegetown Pizza offered lunch specials and late-night slices the last few years, and it’s where Mama Teresa was for years. CTP actually changed hands several months ago, but the new owners didn’t last long. Expect some familiar faces at Campustown — the new new owners are related to the old old owners.

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Here’s our annual summertime reminder to hit those favorite Collegetown and South Hill eateries in Ithaca while the students are still mostly out of town.

Quick, hit those Collegetown eateries before the students return!

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Remember when the neighborhood bar used to be the community focal point, offering not just food and drink but a place for family events, fundraisers, and gatherings? Just a few minutes south of Ithaca, Newfield’s Seabring Inn is just that.

The traditional neighborhood bar lives on at Newfield’s Seabring Inn

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The signs haven’t changed yet, but two decades-old Ithaca businesses are now part of the family-owned Dandy Mini Marts chain of gas stations and convenience stores. Rogan’s Corner on south hill and Pete’s Grocery in the west end became Dandy Mini Marts as of July 1st.

Two landmark Ithaca shops are now Dandy Mini Marts

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