Everything But Anchovies

[Greg Berge]

There are very few things that bring back the experience of being a West Campus freshman 21 years ago, and precious few of those can anybody under 30 relate to.  The Palms is a fern bar, the fish bowl's gone, and nobody gives Sperry a second thought, let alone organizes late night raids.  But the Hot Truck lives on.

For the record, I still think the food was great, but only if you made it *in*convenient.  (i.e., it just didn't work to wait for your WGC in a car... you had to freeze your butt on those wobbly steps like everybody else).

[jeh25]

'cause adam finds it really hard to make a dagwood sandwich at 2am after getting tanked on *baileys*...


:-P

[Keith K]

Sacrilege!!!  But seriously, Hot Truck is one of my all time favorite foods.  With or without the experience it is totally worth it for me.  If Bob still did mail order I would consider ordering PMPs from him periodically, as insane as that sounds.

[tml5]

I hate to say this, but I think being so close to Binghamton and Syracuse (aka Binghamton North) counts as two strikes against Ithaca. . . ;-)

Bistro Q is good.  The food was fantastic the one time I went there, and we tried a whole bunch of stuff from the menu.  I remember it being more than $8-14, but I think we managed to average more than one entree per person, too.  Neat design on the psuedo-pint glasses, but be warned: they look like pints, but they only hold 12 ounces. . . those bastards.

Joe's closing wasn't such a bad thing, seeing as how the food wasn't very good.  Besides, I think Maxie's probably put them out of business.  Mmmm . . .Maxie's. . .  now I have no desire to make dinner.  :-(

[ugarte]

I wouldn't. I loved Hot Truck when I was in college, and I would probably love it again if I could get it fresh from the truck.  When I was in Ithaca in '98 at someone else's 5th reunion, Hot Truck was serving pizza that had been premade. Sucked. I certainly wouldn't get it by mail.

[ugarte]

I also thought Joe's was overrated. The vaunted breadsticks were just like the crap at Olive Garden.

[ugarte]

Just what the hell is a fern bar, and have they really ruined my old watering hole?

[Robb]

BRA - you didn't miss Purity because it's too new; you have missed it all these years because Cornell students don't go downtown any more.  Purity has been down on Rt. 13 since before my parents attended Cornell ('64 and '65).  And you definitely are missing out - Hagen-Daaz and B&Js are corporate knockoffs as far as I'm concerned....

[tml5]

Note to vegetarians (since Ithaca breeds such folks) - apparently Purity contains gelatin.  It's not a big deal for me, but it matters to a lot of people around these parts.

[Jim Hyla]

You're right it has been there forever. After a night of goofing off, and right before one had to get to the books, someone would yell "Purity run" and we would all pile into a car for a fresh packed pint, or so, of delicious ice cream.

And yes it's still there and just as good as in the sixties. When I drove back from Elmira with our new Gordon Setter puppy last summer we stopped there and just had ice cream for dinner. Good ice cream, great memories.

[Josh '99]

big red apple wrote:

Just what the hell is a fern bar, and have they really ruined my old watering hole?

A fern bar, as I understand it, is a place in the style of Chili's or Applebee's or TGI Friday's, but I wasn't aware that the Palms had become such a place.

[nshapiro]

Greg, I could have written that  post about waiting for the WGC in the cold....i never did trust those people who ordered and waited in their cars or inside the truck's street-side door.

The other thing missing from West Campus is the Dust Bowl.   Where did
freshman learn to play ultimate when they ruined (beautified) it?

And Purity Ice Cream, as previously mentioned is a long lived institution, available at Olivers (doesnt exist anymore) or at that Scoop Shop (doesnt exist anymore) in the Straight, as well as down on Rt. 13 at the factory.

One final note: I agree that the most recent incarnation of Joe's was mediocre, but the early 80's version was delicious.  I dont know how many Joe's there have been, maybe someone here does.

[Graham \'02]

Unfortunately Hot Truck has really gone downhill since Bob sold it.  Not only is the food not as good, but it just doesn't seem right for a 25 year-old guy with two earings in a backwards baseball cap to be cooking it.

[judy]

is purity open in the winter? now i want ice cream!

[Dave \'02]

Aside from Hot Truck going downhill, I've personally always preferred Louie's Lunch Truck.  How come nobody talks about it?