The Mission a treat but Miss Molly's misses mark
Here's the scoop on two very interesting (and very different) restaurants that we tried for lunch: The Mission in downtown Syracuse and Miss Molly's, formerly Nin's on the main highway in Norfolk.
THE MISSION RESTAURANT
304 EAST ONONDAGA ST.
SYRACUSE
475-7344
WWW.THEMISSIONRESTAURANT.COM
I drove past it twice (mainly due to some street construction), but finally found The Mission Restaurant in downtown Syracuse, a dark brown wooden structure with a steeple, so out of place next to the modern glass and cement buildings that surround it.
It's a century-and-a-half-old church, once a way-stop on the underground railroad, once the Syracuse Wesleyan Methodist Church, now an interesting restaurant that serves Pan American cuisine.
What is Pan American cuisine? I went to The Mission's Web site for the answer: "A combination of fresh, homemade Mexican, Southwestern and South American specialties featuring Latino ingredients."
Three of us showed up on a recent weekday at the height of lunch hour. Every table was occupied, but our hostess assured us we would be seated in about 20 minutes. The restaurant only takes reservations for parties of seven or more.
We hung out at the bar and admired the unique ambiance; beautiful, tall stained glass windows with shelves displaying their bottled beer choices, striking blue ceiling and a high wall at the kitchen end of the restaurant suggesting an old fortification around a Mexican hacienda.
Meanwhile, the bar filled up with women from nearby offices. We didn't realize you could eat at the bar, or we might just have stayed there.
In less than the time promised, we were seated in a corner booth and perusing the lunch menu — mainly Mexican favorites such as burritos, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas plus a variety of house-made salsas-and several other offerings that piqued our interest.
We began with Brazilian black bean soup that consisted of whole beans and vegetables, mildly spiced with the flavor of chili powder. A dollop of sour cream with a hint of orange was a nice touch.
We also enjoyed their "sopa del dia," tortilla soup, a blend of roasted tomatoes, mild chiles and pieces of chicken, garnished with avocado and cotija cheese, a crumbly cow's milk cheese from Mexico.
Complementary salsa and chips arrived with the soups, chunky tomato "pico de gallo" with just enough onion, cilantro and jalapeno to allow you to return to work guilt-free.
Pork burrito was pretty standard, a flour tortilla stuffed with shredded pork with achiote (a Mexican spice) and a touch of orange. We thought the Spanish rice that accompanied could have used more zing. Refried beans were good as was a zippy cabbage salad.
Grilled chicken quesadilla was very good, with kicked up authentic Chihuahua cheese, fresh mango, green onions and cilantro.
Grilled Argentinian-style kabobs are available with beef, chicken or shrimp.
Our shrimp "anticucho" was most noteworthy, nicely marinated, not overcooked, with the tiniest hint of charcoal flavor that married perfectly with a light dusting of herbs and spices. It was served with white rice, black beans dusted with cotija and a refreshing jicama-orange salad. (Jicama is a Mexican turnip).
Additional sides are only $2 each, so we gave a try to their sweet potato fries with homemade guava ketchup and Cuban potato salad, full of unique flavors. Both were first-rate.
Desserts were offered, but honestly, we had no room for any more food.
Lunch for three came to $43 before tip. We thought the prices were extremely affordable, portions just right, and a friendly, stress-free wait staff that had all the right answers to our silly gringo questions.
If you're planning a trip to downtown Syracuse's Everson Museum of Art to view the much-publicized "Turner to Cezanne" exhibit this fall, take advantage of the many restaurants offering cross promotions with the museum, The Mission Restaurant included.
The Mission is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. Dinner is served Tuesday through Sunday beginning around 5 p.m.
MISS MOLLY'S
27 SOUTH MAIN STREET (ROUTE 56)
NORFOLK
384-4435
For years, anyone driving through Norfolk on Route 56 went right past Nin's diner, on the hill by the blinking light.
Nin recently sold the place. Her name has been removed from the front of the building, replaced by "Miss Molly's." Inside, NASCAR memorabilia is gone, giving the small dining area a less cluttered feel.
It was just before noon, "power hour" at most any north country diner. There was no problem seating ourselves, with most tables available along with most stools at the lunch counter.
The menu had all the expected diner lunch favorites and at the expected low prices: plain burgers ($2.75), fries ($1.75), grilled cheese sandwiches ($2), cold sandwiches ($3.50), club sandwiches ($5.50), tossed salad ($1.75) and so on.
Meatloaf sub caught my eye on the menu. I love good homemade meatloaf.
Unfortunately, our waitress said they don't offer a meatloaf sub because they don't keep sub rolls around. "I don't know why that's on there," she said.
My backup was the hot meatloaf sandwich. She got this, "I think you're out of luck" look on her face and after a quick sprint to the kitchen and back she told me I was out of luck.
OK, Plan C. I ordered a special, grilled ham and cheese with a bowl of soup ($5.25).
The sandwich arrived on a large oval plate overflowing with fries. Our waitress immediately noted that the kitchen messed up and sent out fries rather than soup.
Another jog to the kitchen and back with the soup, fish chowder.
The chowder was a cloudy, gray, strange-tasting liquid that smelled like fish but had the appearance of wet paper towels with blobs of potato that looked like last night's leftovers sticking out of it. The bowl went virtually untouched.
The grilled ham and cheese was small, overly greasy and all squashed down. I think a little kid could have made a better sandwich.
My buddy got the other special of the day, hot pork sandwich with gravy and fries ($6.95). The pork was dry and required a lot of chewing. The gravy helped save it (a little), what appeared to be institutional turkey gravy doctored up with some spices.
When our waitress came to collect our plates, she took a look at the bowl of uneaten soup and astutely noted, "I guess you didn't like the soup?" We nodded in agreement and she nodded back, as though she understood.
Nin's was always known for her endless selection of homemade pies, cakes and muffins. Miss Molly's selections were noticeably slimmed down — two muffins and one pie.
We tried the pie, a large slice of chocolate with a graham cracker crust ($1.55) with the whipped cream option.
Huge mistake. It was dark brown (almost black) and lumpy with the consistency of gelatin. You had to think really hard to know it was chocolate. Most went uneaten.
For the record, my eating associate has tried breakfast at Miss Molly's with better success than our lunch visit.
The lunch tab came to $18.19 before tip.
Miss Molly's is open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
See The Mission — G2
The Mission accomplishes goal for lunch-goers, but golly, Miss Molly's disappoints
