Sometimes adventures just happen! My husband and I are currently looking for our next "new" used vehicle. This hunt has taken us to Erie, Pennsylvania, and Syracuse, New York. (We live in a suburb near the city of Buffalo.) We still do not have a car, but we make the trips bearable by having dinner at whatever Irish pub we can find. Below is our experience at Kitty Hoynes in Syracuse, New York.
It was a 3-hour plus drive in mostly heavy to sometimes treacherous rain to look at another used vehicle. To pass the time, my husband, of 24 years, and I decided to play 20 questions. Why not? There must be things we have yet to learn about one another, right?
We arrived, looked over the car, took it for a test drive, and passed on it. The seller was surprised to find out we had driven this far to look at only this one vehicle. (Yep! We did the same thing just the day before but drove to Pennsylvania!) So, as it has become customary on our hunt to find a car we went on to find an Irish Pub for dinner.
There are a few in Syracuse, and we had settled on Kitty Hoynes for no particular reason. (Please check out their history at kitthoynes.com; it is a lovely happy story.)
We were greeted, asked if we had reservations; we did not. Nonetheless, the hostess brought us to this cute little table. She said as we sat, "There is a reservation for this table at 6:30, but you should be fine." (It was 4:30 at the time we were seated. We agreed, two hours was going to be plenty of time for us to enjoy our dinner and get back on the road home.)
Let me share with you that my husband and I love whiskey (mine being more exclusive to the Irish), and Kitty's has a fantastic selection.
Our waitress, Carolyn, was charming and informative. The decor was welcoming and delightful. The food was delicious, and the drinks were simply incredible. I asked Carolyn for a pen as I wanted to leave a note for the 6:30 reservations, she obliged.
I am unsure why I suddenly wanted to leave a note for the incoming diners, but I was very excited to do so. Carolyn, Kayla, and Mary (I will tell you more about Mary) were excited as well. It may be silly; however, it brought joy to all. I can live with that.
I had overheard the table near us, a trio of young ladies. One had ordered the Irish coffee. I had already received mine. It came in a wine glass, to my dismay! A hot coffee in a wine glass? It looked beautiful. It smelled amazing! It tasted smooth, rich, and comforting. By far, the best "cup" of coffee I had in all my days. I had to share with the young lady she was in for a treat, just as hers arrived. She was also surprised by its presentation.
The three young women, likely college friends, added to our afternoon with their smiles and laughter. They were bidding one goodbye as she was moving to Florida on her own adventure in a new job. I encouraged them to continue to stay in contact with one another and make a point of getting together again, yearly if possible. They said they've already planned it. This warmed my heart. Relationships are fragile and take work. I was happy to see these women knew this and were being proactive.
With the Irish coffee, my husband and I shared a piece of Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate-chip Cheesecake. Little did we know this was going to cause unhappiness. Carolyn let us know Mary didn't understand why we didn't have her chocolate bundt cake. It was right there on the menu. Yet we did not order it. We have an affinity for cheesecake, but we were on a spontaneous adventure, a perfect time to try something new. We apologized to Mary, but we had done the damage. Scorned she was. We are sure her bundt cake would be the most delicious of all bundt cakes. We can only hope she forgives us and recommend you try it; we certainly will the next time we visit. (Again, we meant no disrespect, Mary.)
The interactions with the staff, the guests, and the enjoyment of the food and drink made the trip joyous. We were hardly affected by the fact that we were headed back home without the prize we came to get.
There are amazing people out there in the world. There are beautiful places to explore and discover. If we focus on the less-than-favorable moments, we are sure to miss the joy. I hope the 6:30 reservation enjoyed the drink, their meals, as well as the fantastic staff at Kitty Hoynes. We did. We would like to thank David and Cindy Hoynes, Chef Damien Brownlow, Carolyn, Kayla, Mary, and all the staff at Kitty Hoynes. What could have been a day lost instead became a day filled with fun, laughter, great food, and company.
Sláinte.
Love Lots;Smile Often
MommaHattie