CoreLife Eatery — Restaurant in Town of De Witt

CoreLife is kicking off a twenty one day challenge, an opportunity to change health, exercise and eating habits. This would include eating at CoreLife Eatery, which has low calorie, high nutrition options that cost a little less than ten dollars to a little more than ten dollars. I can't wait to try a dish. Open later until Nine, I might be able to make dinner.

So CoreLife brought in a speaker, Catherine Conte, to introduce the challenge. The manager, I think, introduced her, but hardly set Conte up for success. I've never, in years of attending presentations, watched a introduction by a person wearing a full winter coat. Introductions are intended to warm up a room, create a safe space. Hard to do when one retains a layer of synthetic down armour. Of course, when the staff is opening the back door and letting in 14 degree Fahrenheit hyper chilled air, why would anyone take off their coat?

Second, the one who introduces a speaker has the power to be a space holder for the speaker. That means sitting down, giving full attention, listening as if the speaker was turning words into gold. The manager "checked that one of the list" and went to boot up the restaurant, a distraction. "This speaker isn't that important", is the message. If the manager is too busy, appoint a space holder. Libraries have this role staffed for most presentations.

It is awkward to have beautiful reservoirs of beet juice and lemonades and refuse to sell it. That again breaks the connection between the invited guest speaker and the house. I am sipping a coffee right now as I reflect upon the experience. People sip and think. So where was the hospitality? Nothing more than an urn of ice water, maybe with a touch of lemon, was required. Yes, half the audience brought thermoses and Yetis. Still, if you are not selling beverages, you must provide at least water.

If presentations are part of CoreLife Eatery's business model, that hasn't been translated into architecture or planning. The high acoustically poor ceilings plus a monodirectional microphone plus a speaker with one broadcast direction produced echoes and distortion. Invest in a sound system. I sat less than ten feet from the speaker and I had to lean forward and really attend to the message, which used up all my energy for reflection. At least move the tables out of the way to produce classroom seating. We were strung out all over the room, one to a table. Study proxemics. And plan for speaking in your space by making sure the audio can reach every ear. Look at Tony Robbins, who has a light headset to pick up his words.

I really had to leave. Reflecting, I wonder if Ms. Conte was compensated for her appearance. Maybe she was invited and allowed the "carrot" of exposure? I really wonder. Did CLE provide a standard script to support a nationwide kickoff? Or endorse Conte's message by hearing it out at a reherseal?

Sigh, what a far cry from a wonderful experience like Esalen, where there's always a space holder. And the water is beautiful. And the food sublime. But that's your benchmark. Esalen.

By the way, Tebow is a controversial spokesperson. Makes me think of Anita Bryant and...

I had a list of restaurants to try during my business trip to Syracuse and I keep finding myself coming to Corelife Eatery and skipping my list of stops. It's just hard to resist.. They serve the way I like to eat.

So far I've tried the following: Tuna Fire Bowl, Greek chicken quinoa, Steak, bacon & blue cheese ( swapped the bacon for avocados). Southwest Chicken, Sides: chicken broth, beef broth, Brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes.

The Tuna bowl is still tops for me, I plan on getting it again before I leave. The Greek Chicken comes in second, this one hit the spot, so fresh and tasty, loved the hummus & dressing. The steak, bacon & blue takes the third spot, the salad with the dressing was Devine, the steak was good quality, but I would've liked it more if the steak was hotter and done medium rare. Had high expectations for The southwest chicken, but I was not crazy about the flavor profile, it was just ok.

As far as the sides. All have been outstanding, I was impressed with the chicken broth, it was so good, caught me by surprise, I can see myself ordering it during regularly during the winter months. Beef was good also. Think I prefer the chicken though.

As far as the fountain drinks go. My favorites are the fig & vanilla, mandarin cardamon, and berry patch, in that order.

Corelife reminds me of a restaurant I used to frequently visit in Tampa called Fresh Kitchen. Both have a similar concept, healthy, fresh,...

My partner and I love corelife, but I will no longer be going to this location or any other. Unfortunately, I have more often than not received incorrect or incomplete orders when ordering online. Most commonly, forgotten bread or sides (over 75% of the time), but in other situations incorrect protein choices or bad food--an entire black and moldy avocado in a bowl that was hidden by tortilla strips is particularly memorable. Last week the Camillus location forgot bread and a side, no response from their customer service. Sometimes there's a large line and workers seem overworked. Today was different, no line at lunch! But when I came up and ordered an item I saw on the app (Tinga bowl), the worker rolled their eyes and asked me to show her where I was seeing that on the menu. It really took me back to be treated that way, no apology and no offer to make the bowl (I am pretty sure the ingredients still exist). The manager or lead working the register was nice and answered me when I asked why I received incorrect orders more often than not. With prices being as high as they are, and the variable service and quality of food, I can't afford this food anymore. I have received a free bowl before for the moldy avocado, but at this point spending $16 for maybe a good experience or maybe an non edible order...