Almost everything in Ithaca is pretty casual - the college town vibe extends everywhere. Not sure what you like, but there are several good restaurants on Restaurant Row.

Mia's is very good. Moosewood is awesome if you like vegetarian. Mahogany Grill, Coltivare, Red's Place, Mercato, Ithaca Ale House - all are good choices in the actual downtown area. All are local places (not chains) and have rarely ever let me down.

http://www.visitithaca.com/dining.html?gclid=CPyS6OWtl9ICFQhWDQodoHQFOw

Our daughter goes to Cornell and I agree with patriceny, Ithaca is a very casual place and all the restaurants we have been to were good. I recommend heading down the hill past Collegetown (let them eat greasy pizza with their friends if they attend school there) and head to the pedestrian mall, Ithaca Commons, wander around and find what suits you, lots of options. I agree with the Moosewood recommendation, it's an institution and worth the trip. Close to North Campus (where all freshmen live) is Ithaca Bakery, in a fairly large, hideous yellow strip mall called Triphammer Plaza, excellent quality and service, with inventive sandwich options, bagels, baked goodies, creative salads, etc. There is also a drugstore in that mall, which is helpful for last minute needs.

Kelly's has a rather seedy reputation so I've never eaten there. Boatyard used to be better than it is now, IHMO. They opened a second restaurant called Ciao up near the mall, and it seems the quality declined since then. But lots of people still love both Boatyard and Ciao - they are always packed - so what do I know.

If you like Thai, then Taste of Thai is really good food. The "restaurant" (such as it is) is a renovated Dunkin Donuts so its appearance is pretty hideous - and the service there can be very lackluster. But again, the food is usually outstanding and it's amazingly cheap. Great lunch place in any event.

Ithaca Bakery has a few locations - the main facility is on Meadow Street and has fabulous baked goods, fabulous soups, and really good/inventive sandwiches/pitas/wraps, etc.. It's another great lunch stop. They also own CTB in Collegetown, and the location mentioned above in both Triphammer Mall as well as one in East Hill Plaza (very close to Cornell). Good food in all locations, but all get jammed at lunch time - as in, it can be hard to find a table in some locations.

Lakeaffect, we just drove past Triphammer and "hideous yellow" is exactly the phrase I used.

It turns out that while DS is doing the prospective student thing tomorrow, DH has to work, and we forgot to put me on as a driver of the rental car, so hopefully I will be able to pull DH away long enough to wander the commons. We had lunch in a dining hall today so definitely not spectacular, just normal.

thanks for all the recs! I love dining waterside, but it sounds like the two mentioned aren't worth it, especially when it's cold and no boats out. I haven't told DH that Moosewood is vegetarian, maybe I should break it to him before we go lol!

ooh, I just looked up from my nook in the hotel lobby to see that they have a big book of restaurant menus, I think I will peruse it when the gentleman flipping through it is done.

i see the Mia menu in this wonderful album, and it looks like a winner to try.

Funkyart, I have to say I agree with you about Moosewood. I didn't find it a thing special. We were there for lunch, the Thai cakes, soup, ice cream were good, but I can't say it was remarkable. It didn't help that I'm sick :( We were going to try Mia's for dinner but instead we came back to the hotel and DS and I napped while DH worked, and went for take-out.

I'd like to try the Bakery before we leave Sunday morning, and there is also a waffle place in the Commons!

Moosewood is meh, IMHO, and yes, overpriced. I go to Ithaca all the time as my best friends live there, but we don't go out to eat very often, we're all too good at cooking our own food. Frankly you can't hardly go wrong in Ithaca, really. I usually hit up the food court at Wegmans since we usually stay next door at the Super 8, and as I recall, there is a Thai restaurant near there too. I love Mediterranean food which is another type of restaurant I go to but can't remember the name. The hole in the wall places usually open and close fairly frequently so best thing to do is peruse the menu. Thai is one of our favorites for eating out.

I live 45 min from Ithaca and go there every 6 weeks or so. I love Ithaca Bakery ( the location off rt 13). It's fabulous.

I'm so sorry to hear about Moosewood, I was vegetarian for many years and used Molly Katzen's cookbooks often and my last meal there was good, but it was probably eight years ago, well before DD was even thinking about college. bpathome, sorry for the bad Moosewood rec, I should have mentioned i had last been there ages ago. And bpath, if you want to hear about DD's Cornell experience, pm me, she's only a freshman, but I'll share what I know.

Ya know, it isn't that Moosewood was bad, but it was just so so. And with so many other great restaurants in Ithaca, it just can't compete anymore. Back in the day, it was cutting edge, now that kind of food can be gotten in so many places, and so for Moosewood, the devil is in the details that just aren't there.