Hello Sourcers!

Bless my heart, it’s nearly Valentine’s Day. Or Galentine’s, or Palentine’s, or, you know, whatever works for you. What have we got line up this week?

🍷 A beverage with your sweetie

🎸 80s cover bands (sort of)

🥪 A lunch spot in Corning

Before we get going, a couple bits of business. Last week, we were talking hot stuff in bowls, and I failed to mention the Chili Bowl in Oneonta, run by the Community Arts Network of Oneonta. While we at Locally Sourced make no claims to being exhaustive, I feel like I should have been more thorough in my regional hot stuff in bowls coverage. Oneonta’s Chili Bowl heats up on February 28th.

On a completely different topic, a number of folks have asked if we could start including more music listings in Locally Sourced. The short answer is, we’re continuing to look for ways we could cover more music and feel like we’re doing any kind of justice to the dozens and dozens of shows that take place across the region every week. So far, it’s a problem we don’t have a solution to, but finding ways to support local music is always something that’s on my mind.

Lots to do on Valentine’s Day if you’re looking to take a special someone out for a beverage. At Lucky Hare Brewing in Hector, their Love on Tap event offers cocktail and chocolate pairings or beer and burger pairings. Seneca Lake Brewing is hosting four of the region’s winemakers for their Wineries Without Walls event (please note: this event is indoors, in a room fully equipped with walls). And if, like me, your Valentine’s Day is likely to be a folie a trois, the Ill Eagle in Elmira is hosting Donuts with the Grownups, a family-friendly donut and beer mashup.

If you’re looking for something a little different, the Almost Annual Crappie Derby is taking place in Whitney Point on Saturday. Because nothing says love like…ice fishing.

After the romance, it’s Ithaca Loves Teachers week in, well, Ithaca, and WSKG will be hosting a little meet and greet for educators with our education department at our Ithaca offices. The event will be Thursday February 19th from 10am to noon, with coffee and snacks from Ithaca Bakery. 

And with that, we will be halfway through February, a month that is either the shortest on the calendar or the longest month in history, depending how you slice it.

Hope all's well with you, Sourcers!

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Out of My Way- sharing stories of food across the region that I would go out of my way for…and so should you! 

Hand + Foot

69 Market St

Corning, NY 14830

Mon-Thurs: 11:30AM to 11:00PM

Fri-Sat: 11:30AM to 12:00AM

Last weekend, I was in Corning with a few of my crafty lady friends visiting one of our favorite yarn shops for a relaxing knitting session. When lunchtime approached, we decided to take a pause from our creations and walked over to Hand + Foot, a few blocks away. Even though it was ten below outside, we were glad we braved the elements and made the short trek down the street. 

Upon entering, the staff at Hand + Foot welcomed us and encouraged us to find a spot. The space manages to be both modern and cozy, with many different seating options. There is one long communal table in the center of the room, two smaller tables along the back wall, and a gorgeous, speak-easy looking bar along the left wall. There are also small nooks near the front windows with comfy upholstered chairs, a small couch, and bookcases. We were a group of six, so we sat at one end of the communal table closest to the door. 

I’ve been to Hand + Foot several times since they opened in 2014, and what I appreciate most about them is the diversity of options they have on their relatively small menu, which makes it the perfect place to come with a group. I have no idea how they pull this off, but the menu is essentially one page divided into two columns: “sandwich” and “not a sandwich” and the selections change periodically. You’d think it would be easy to make a selection given the limited number of options, but I often find myself struggling to decide because everything on the menu sounds appealing.

On my last visit, I had the “ewe my gyro” which consisted of flavorful lamb topped with pomegranate/tamarind yogurt, roasted bell peppers and pickled onions rolled into a spongey flatbread. It was a substantial sandwich, a bit messy to eat, and quite possibly one of the most delicious gyros I’ve ever had in my life!  

This time, I went with the beer brisket sandwich which was topped with Narragansett beer cheese, dilly onion and bacon crumbles on a giant soft roll. I had intended to cut the sandwich in half so I could ask the server to pack half of it away, but my tastebuds got the best of me. The combination of flavors and textures was so good that I ate the entire sandwich with no remorse, using the frigid temperature outside as justification for my gluttony! (We could all use some additional layers this time of year, am I right?) 

My companions’ lunch choices ran the gamut and included a delectable fried buttermilk chicken sandwich, “the Galdino,” a pork carnitas sandwich with jalapeno carrot relish and chili-garlic aioli, “General tso’boy” a vegetarian mash up of a po boy sandwich and General Tso’s chicken made with tofu and cauliflower, fried rice with a Thai basil and coconut cream topped with cheerio chicken and veggies, and “yaka mein” a ramen-like dish of thin-sliced beef and hard boiled egg served over noodles in a spicy beef broth. 

We also shared an appetizer of friend pickles and pearl onions which came with an outstanding homestead dressing that I would happily dip everything in. We would have ordered their delicious tostones (fried plantains,) but sadly they were not available that day. If you do visit, I HIGHLY recommend that you try the tostones!

In contrast to their one-page food menu, Hand + Foot has a 20+ page drink menu that includes an impressive selection of beer, wine, and spirits, as well as a robust cocktail list. They also have non-alcoholic options available including Mexican coke and Barrit’s, my new favorite ginger beer, which according to one of my friends is also the perfect mixer for a Dark & Stormy cocktail. She then proceeded to order one after realizing they had Goslings on the menu, her favorite rum. 

Hand + Foot is located on Market Street which makes it an ideal destination when visiting the Corning Museum of Glass, the Rockwell Museum, or one of the many quaint shops and galleries in the area, including my favorite yarn shop, Rabbit Row Yarns & Haberdashery. 

Do you have a favorite place to share a meal with a group of friends or family? Send me a note about it at nthompson@wskg.org.

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Grab my hand, we’re going down a rabbit hole.

Back in the early 80’s, when I was a college radio nerd (before I grew up to be a public radio nerd), New Wave music not only introduced me to new artists, but also older songs. Many bands covered songs from different decades.

For example:

• The Flying Lizards covering the 1959 Barret Strong song, “Money.”
• Billy Idol with the 1968 Tommy James and the Shondells tune, “Mony, Mony”
• Devo’s version of 1965’s “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones.

This was the early 1980’s, before Al Gore invented the internet, so connecting the dots to the original versions of these covers took a lot of sleuthing.

One song I particularly enjoyed was Fun Boy Three’s single “It Ain’t What You Do,” so when I saw the 12-inch single at Angry Mom Records, I had to give it a place in my collection. FBT was led by Terry Hall, a British ska on the 2 Tone label, known for a sort of a reggae-pop sound.  He was with The Specials and formed Fun Boy Three with two of his former bandmates. 

Hall went all the way back to 1939 and decided to make his own version of the jazz song recorded by Jimmy Lunceford, “T’ain’t What You Do.” However, he transformed it into a New Wave-Ska hit. Enlisting the help of the female trio, Bananarama, they released a very danceable song that hit #4 on the UK Singles Chart in 1982.

But I wanted more…I wanted to know more about this song and who else has covered it over the years. So you, my friends, now get to have many different versions of this song in your head too.Click on the links to enjoy!

1982 

From the British “Top of the Pops” TV show, this is Fun Boy Three and Bananarama. 

1939

Jimmy Lunceford recorded the tune written by trumpeter Sy Oliver with help from trombonist Trummy Young. This song was the first recording and release from Lunceford’s band.

1940

The same year that Jimmy Lunceford released this song, Chick Webb and his orchestra added it to their repertoire. This was recorded live at the Savoy Ballroom in 1940 with the fabulous  Ella Fitzgerald.

1955

Louis Armstrong and His All Stars  gave a shout out to co-writer Trummy Young before performing the song in 1955’s The California Concerts recording.

1961

The oh-so-sultry singer Julie London released a torch song version of the song on her album, Send for Me. It’s still got the jazzy beat, but London just makes it sound so intimate.

“Tain’t What You Do” is a simple, repetitive song that tends to be bouncy and fun. Look for covers of it and tell me about your favorite version.