Welcome to a new series of posts in which I begin the process of becoming a local by venturing to new places, eating new things, and trying secretly to mimic the central New York accent. And as my contribution to the genre of online reviews, I’ll write about them here.
Today, I’ll take a look at Mother’s Cupboard, a diner on James Street in Eastwood.
If there’s one thing I love in life, it’s a good diner. If there are two things I love in life, it’s a good diner and small businesses that are low on room but overflowing with character.
Knowing full well that when I say I wish we could go there every weekend, I very well could with all of my recent free time, my partner has declared Mother’s Cupboard a “one-in-a-while treat.” And I have to agree. As much as I’d love to be a Sunday morning regular, I would quickly die. Especially with the (lack of) exercise I get and the hearty portions they serve there.
No, not hearty. The portion sizes are more than simply hearty. They’re chesty. They’re upper-body-y.
They’re two-meals-worth, is what they are. All for insanely cheap prices.
Anyhow, Mother’s Cupboard has two famous specialties: their gigantic frittata and their gigantic pancake. This time around, I had the former, and it was superb. The pile of egg, potato, vegetables, and meat was great (the side of rye toast was superfluous but a nice touch as well). And all of this was a quarter-frittata; the six-pound whole is reserved for the adventurous and incredibly hungry types, as you may have seen on “Man vs. Food.”
As memorable as the food here was the joint itself. It’s a small place that looks like a shack from the outside, but the inside resembles more of a shack with a griddle. The walls were made of wood, what few doors there were seemed mismatched. The vestibule at the entrance was definitely a late addition, which endearingly brought to mind the shed that my grandfather and I built when I was 13.
We sat at the counter, and it was surprisingly entertaining to watch the employees darting back and forth behind it, working the grill and sliding past each other in front of us. It was either a policy or a coincidence that all of them had visible tattoos.
If I have one tip for this place, it’s “go at a weird hour.” We went around 1pm on a Sunday, and even then we were lucky to snap up the last two seats available in the place. We always like sitting at the counter if we can anyway, but the table seating (for maybe 20 total?) was all gone. I can’t imagine the line they must have during a normal breakfast or brunch time on the weekends, although the size of the parking lot probably helps keep the crowds down.
Overall, Mother’s Cupboard had great food and holds a great experience. It was a great introduction to the Syracuse food scene, and I cannot wait for my return visit. (I’ll be getting the pancake next.)