At lunchtime, lines form down the sidewalk outside of Pasta's Daily Bread, a bakery and extension of Italian restaurant Pastabilities in downtown Syracuse. People place large orders for the holidays and even pay to ship the goods overnight. In fact, the bread and its culinary companion, the restaurant's signature spicy tomato oil, even earned rock-star status: One customer sent packages of the pair to Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton as a thank-you gesture.
"When people think of us, they think of our stretch bread and our spicy tomato oil," says bakery owner Karyn Korteling. "It's like a marriage." The bakery offers an assortment of other breads, including raisin pecan and cheddar oregano, but Korteling says the best-sellers remain the stretch bread and the spicy tomato oil. Each day, the bakery sells about 500 loaves of Italian stretch and about 5 to 8 gallons of the oil.
The bakery began in 1997 as a small operation occupying half the dining room in Pastabilities. Demand for the bread outgrew the space, and in 2000 Korteling opened Pasta's Daily Bread across the street from the restaurant, which she also owns. She says she created both the bakery and the restaurant with the same mission: "An unwavering commitment to serve food from scratch."
Several bakers make the bread fresh over a 24-hour period by a process that differs from ordinary loaves. The baking process goes on around the clock, and prepping for the next day begins just hours after the shop closes each evening. "It's like a good wine that ferments well," Korteling says. "If people even had the ingredients, they probably wouldn't want to put in the time." Laura Holland, the woman behind the recipe, spent countless hours perfecting it before passing it on to the bakers at Pasta's Daily Bread. The bakery has since tweaked it to make it their own. "Our customers taste the difference and become addicted," Korteling says.
In Syracuse, most people equate the idea of great bread with Pasta's Daily Bread. Diners at Pastabilities enjoy Italian stretch as part of their meal, and the bakery's primary focus remains to cater to the restaurant's needs. But many restaurants in the downtown area serve the bread, including Blue Tusk and Ambrosia. The Syracuse Real Food Cooperative and the Central New York Regional Market do, too. The bakery's wholesale and retail business are blossoming, with sales up 30 percent from 2006, Korteling says. She credits this growth to the Italian stretch bread and its spicy partner.
The bakery, located at 308 South Franklin St., opens daily at 8:30 a.m. The price of a 20-ounce loaf is $2.75. The tomato oil costs between $2.75 and $8.50, depending on size. For more details, call the shop at 315-701-0224.
At the heart of the "eat local" movement is the wish to close the gap between person and produce and to encourage consumers to participate in the process of what ends up on their forks or spoons. Along those lines, Baldwinsville’s Beaver Lake offers the perfect opportunity for some much needed ice-cream education. For $5, you can hike through a series of trails guided by a naturalist and pick either raspberries (at the beginning of July) or blackberries (at the end of July). After your forage, take the berries back to the lodge and make a fresh batch of ice cream with your juicy loot, suggests Heidi Kortright, a Beaver Lake naturalist.
Blackberry hot spots abound in this region, and picking enthusiasts praise Highland Forest and Pratt's Falls for their beautiful backdrops and their berry abundance. Minus the cream, sugar, and hours of churning, berries make a sweet trail snack. With only about 62 calories per cup, blackberries also deliver anti-inflammatory properties and may even improve blood pressure and night vision. For more delicious berry details and to participate in the hike-and-eat experiences, contact Beaver Lake Nature Center at 315-638-2519 for more information.
