🇺🇸The south Albany Syracuse restaurant🍴

A National Day Trip from NJ to Buffalo for the Waterfalls🙉 🌳🌳We set off from NJ on National Day to visit the waterfalls in Buffalo, passing through Albany (New York’s capital) and Syracuse along the way. We had great meals at two restaurants 😌. Though the prices felt just as high as in NYC—maybe we just eat too much, lol. 🇬🇷 Athos Restaurant The ambiance was fantastic. When we went in the afternoon, we were the only table dining. It has classic Mediterranean-style decor, and the window seats offer nice views.👀 💓The hydrangeas in the courtyard were in full bloom; we wanted to dine outside, but the outdoor seating wasn’t available 💐. For food, the Appetizers come highly recommended: The zucchini chips are thin, with a crispy batter and soft inside, and they taste great with the dipping sauce.💕💕 Mediterranean dipping sauces are always a win, and the kalamarakia (calamari) was also decent. For Mains, we ordered beef filet and lamb chop—they were just so-so, with average meat quality; maybe the fish would be better. 👍 The drink was visually appealing, with a very Greek name: Lavender Daisy, but the taste was nothing special. With desserts and other items included, the per-person cost was around $90 🔪. 🥓 Chengyang Village (Syracuse) It seems like any Northeast Chinese restaurant in any city tastes better than those in NYC 😓. The beef skewers and lamb skewers were amazing—we originally only ordered beef, but they were so good we got lamb too. 👣 Even when reheated, they still tasted great. The braised chicken with mushrooms was okay, and surprisingly, it had cornmeal pancake chunks, which were nice. 👍👍 At a restaurant where the average per-person cost is $30, we spent $80—we couldn’t help but laugh at how greedy we were 🥺. 😊😊We passed by a public swimming pool in a park in Syracuse. It’s a free public pool—you can’t even imagine how crowded it would be if this were in NYC! The small park had a chill vibe, with barbecue areas and playground facilities; it’s exactly what I picture for a summer family gathering. Compared to NYC, I’d be slightly more willing to pay property taxes in this city.🍐🎼 #NYCEatsAndEntertainment #Syracuse #AlbanyFood #UpstateNewYork #NYCFood