by Patrick Martin » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:30 pm
My favorite part of the Finger Lakes region is the SE half of Seneca Lake, from Lodi to Watkins Glen -- the scenery and the collection of wineries there may be the best in the region, and there's some good food too. Check out Stone Cat Café for dinner in Hector- casual/hip setting with terrific food and corkage friendly.
My info is 8-9 years out of date (when I last lived in Ithaca), but I was impressed with Shale Stone winery in that area. Standing Stone is a nice place to visit (with merely quaffable wines in general, though the whites and stickies can be good) and they have/had a nice Hungarian-themed lunch bistro attached to their tasting room.
Also, that area is readily accessible to hikes in the Finger Lakes national forest.