Jared Paventi 🧂

If you like French fries, you need to visit the Amber Inn in Marietta (Dining Out Review) Cold beer and warm vibes on the shore of Otisco Lake.

If you're a fellow French fry fan (I am), @jaredpaventi.com has been kind enough to point us in the direction of Amber Inn in Marietta. He said the dive bar met all his criteria for excellent fries and has plenty else to enjoy.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Gangnam Style Korean Kitchen brings the heat in more ways than one (Dining Out Review) No-frills Korean restaurant offers big flavors in Syracuse's Westcott neighborhood.

In many ways, Gangnam Style Korean Kitchen reminds reviewer @jaredpaventi.com of another popular local restaurant: A family-owned and -run restaurant with limited seating and little to look at, but a menu of traditional, homestyle and unpretentious dishes.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

a man in a leather jacket is holding a white cup ALT: a man in a leather jacket is holding a white cup

@edsbs.bsky.social @celebrityhottub.bsky.social Salute to you both on this day.

Armory Square’s Crooked Cattle brings the roast beef sandwich back to Downtown Syracuse (Dining Out Review) The owner of Ale 'n' Angus pays tribute to the legacy of Clark's Ale House.

It's not quite the much-missed Clark's Ale House, which several of its menu items invoke, but Crooked Cattle is certainly worth a visit, says reviewer @jaredpaventi.com.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Mr. Pho in Armory Square: A pho so good you name the restaurant after it (Dining Out Review) Restaurant brings popular Vietnamese dishes, extraordinary value to Armory Square.

One would hope that a restaurant named Mr. Pho would make a decent bowl of its namesake noodle soup.

One would be wrong, says reviewer @jaredpaventi.com, because it turns out Mr. Pho makes an exceptional bowl of pho bo, the traditional Vietnamese beef broth and rice noodle soup.

There’s more than beer at Aurora Brewing Co.’s Tipp Hill taproom (Dining Out Review) Tipp Hill taproom slings burgers, pizzas and a first-rate chicken wing dip.

Aurora Brewing Co., a well-regarded maker of hazy IPAs, tasty sours and true-to-style lagers, has brought their beers and a full-time kitchen to Tipp Hill.

Reviewer @jaredpaventi.com visited recently to sample some starters, deep dish pies, skillets and more.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Service and high standards remain hallmarks of Daniella’s Steakhouse (Dining Out Review) Playing shoulda, coulda, woulda after dinner serves as a reminder to trust your instincts.

Buyer’s remorse at a restaurant is real and was the topic of conversation after reviewer @jaredpaventi.com's most recent visit to Daniella’s Steakhouse in Geddes.

It’s not that anything was wrong with his meal; quite the opposite, actually.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

The Syracuse.com surge is all because of @jaredpaventi.com, I assume

Don't Ever Meet Your Heroes When someone dies, the good memories don't always outweigh the bad

When @jaredpaventi.com doesn't miss, he does not miss. This is truly excellent, on Hulk Hogan and what he means to men of our age.

realdirtnap.substack.com/p/dont-ever-...

Striking gold with elevated bar food at East Syracuse’s Golden Spike Pub (Dining Out review) Scratch-made dishes focus of family-owned bar and grill.

"At the Golden Spike, chicken breast tenders are hand-cut, hand-breaded and deep-fried until golden and just cooked through. ... I’d put them alongside the Western Ranch Motor Inn as purveyors of the area’s best chicken tenders," said reviewer @jaredpaventi.com about this pub in East Syracuse.

Feasting on dumplings and noodles at Syracuse’s Su Su Dim Sum (Dining Out Review) Former diner on East Brighton Avenue now home to dumplings, duck and more.

Reviewer @jaredpaventi.com visited Su Su Dim Sum on East Brighton Ave. 🥟

Dim sum is the Chinese equivalent of small plates. Popular in the cuisine and culture of China’s Guangdong province, a dim sum menu is made up of small fried, steamed or baked items served in shared portions.

Not-cho typical nachos at Meier’s Creek Brewing Co. in Cazenovia (Dining Out Review) Cazenovia brewpub continues to pack 'em in after nearly five years.

“Wok and roll nachos.”

The menu at Meier's Creek Brewing Co. in Cazenovia whispered these words to @jaredpaventi.com, demanding his attention and a place on his dinner order.

www.thisiscny.com/living/2025/...

Not-cho Typical Nachos at Meier’s Creek Brewing Co. in Cazenovia (Dining Out Review) Cazenovia brewpub continues to pack 'em in after nearly five years.

Meier's Creek Brewing Company's Cazenovia location has been a fun spot to visit since it opened five years ago. We return this week for syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com to a new menu, including an Asian-inspired riff on nachos.

Jared's Genetic Testing Journey: Did I Inherit Cancer? (Part 2) How DNA and cancer work, plus a friend makes me bleed.

My journey with genetic testing continues this week at Dirt Nap. If you've ever lost a loved one to cancer, particularly a parent or grandparent, we look at how your risk increases and why genetic testing could be helpful.

Feasting on Dumplings and Noodles at Syracuse’s Su Su Dim Sum (Dining Out Review) Former diner on East Brighton Avenue now home to dumplings, duck and more.

You can get Chinese dumplings and noodle soups anywhere in #CNY, but how many places make their own dumpling dough and hand-pull their noodles?

Su Su Dim Sum does. It was our latest Dining Out review for @syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com. Go read it and drool a little bit. I won't tell anyone.

Jared's Genetic Testing Journey: Did I Inherit Cancer? (Part 1) I'm going to die one of these days, so I might as well narrow down how and when.

realdirtnap.substack.com/p/jareds-gen...

Jared's Genetic Testing Journey: Did I Inherit Cancer? (Part 1) I'm going to die one of these days, so I might as well narrow down how and when.

We all die eventually, but few of us get a chance to dig into how while we're still kicking. Today begins a three-part series at Dirt Nap where I take you through my genetic testing journey to determine if I inherited genes for the cancers that have affected at least two generations of my family.

Hey! Thanks. Wait until next week when I tell the story about how I might die.

Fred Stays With Me! Fred Stays With Me! [Coffelt, Nancy, Tusa, Tricia] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Fred Stays With Me!

My in-laws bought this book for my daughter's birthday bc they thought it was abt a girl + her dog. It's really abt a child trying to control her world as her parents divorce. They didn't realize this until my mother-in-law started reading it to her. (We're still married.)

My 7-year-old was really annoyed at my voices for the goblins in her fairy book last night. It's amazing tones you can get out of your head when you pinch a nostril.

Every Funeral Has a Director How do people who deal with death of every day not allow death to overwhelm them?

We all experience grief differently when death impacts us, but what about people who work in death-related industries? How do they separate their days being around grieving from their everyday life?

We ask a funeral director how he achieves work-life balance when death is always a phone call away.

It’s no wonder why Grotto in North Syracuse has such a loyal following (Dining Out Review) It's a throwback to when value, quality and service were restaurant hallmarks.

It took two weeks to get a reservation at Grotto in N. Syracuse and, when we got there, it was a roomful of regulars. And, we can see why. It's mix of red sauce and out-of-the-box, but not too crazy, Italian brings a little something for everyone. Read my review at @syracuse.com + @thisiscny.com

A business woman in a grey skirt suit, pointing a rifle at a boxy 90s PC

trying to switch off the AI bloatware that has been pinned to the top of every single menu in every single app

I'd like to think that it's part of the mix, but consider that the QBs already selected include a guy who has never met an INT he couldn't throw (Dart), one who is about as healthy as my dead dog (Shough), and another who was benched at least once last season (Milroe). The pearl clutching is...

a man in a military uniform is talking and says `` no problems , everything is fine . '' ALT: a man in a military uniform is talking and says `` no problems , everything is fine . ''

I understand that ESPN and NFL Network are the sport's state media, but the feigned surprise at Shadeur Sanders' fall, knowing full well that no one wants Deion lurking, is a little much.

The craft is on display at Fayetteville’s Craftsman Wood Grill and Tap Room (Dining Out Review) Upscale casual dining with well-crafted entrees and cocktails.

I’ve always thought of the dining room at the Craftsman Wood Grille and Tap House in Fayetteville to be cozy. The open-hearth kitchen is stellar, the cocktails are potent and the service is solid. It’s my review this week for syracuse.com and @thisiscny.com.

The internet becomes more tolerable once you realize that 99% of the people who are being assholes to you online have never actually engaged with your work and have no plans to.

Laura Lewis: The Girl with One Leg Who Tackled the Ropes Course (ft. Kate Torok Lewis) "I have missed her advice over the last three decades, and sometimes get really angry that she was taken from me."

There are names from your childhood that live rent free in your head. Laura Lewis is one for me. Laura's sister helps us remember the legacy she created in her short time on this planet in another exploration of someone who died before their time.

Sports Grief: Because There's Always Next Year...Probably Yes, I'm mostly talking about the Buffalo Bills

This week, Dirt Nap takes a dive into the world of sports and how fans of losing teams cope and rebound with the grief of losing. Big thanks to @celebrityhottub.bsky.social, @bmoritz99.bsky.social and @jeffpearlman.bsky.social for their help.