Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go! My dad knows the way to fix the sleigh, when the radiator decides to blow, OH! When I was a kid, my favorite part of the holiday season was the road trips. We have family all over northern New York and Canada, and my parents were adamant about…
3.11.2026
’Tis the season! The holidays are stressful—wholesome, but stressful. And one of the easiest ways to break the ice with Mom’s second cousin once removed whom you last saw when you were six, is to have a great cocktail in hand. Ryan Dooling runs The Classic alongside owners Drew and Marie Nye and has been in the hospitality business for…
3.11.2026
The Long Island with warm garlic butter The shores of Lake Ontario might not be brimming with lobster, but it’s not hard to find a top-tier, fresh, juicy roll right in the (585). I like a lot of foods, but seafood is my favorite, and I don’t think that will ever change. East Coast and West Coast, I’ve had it…
3.11.2026
Pasta Bolognese The cheese tray at the brewery was built for four people, not the crowd of us circling it like vultures fifteen minutes into a two-hour panel discussion. We stood there staring at what looked like a Polly Pocket accessory, doing the math on how a roomful of thirty adults were supposed to split eleven cubes of pepper jack. …
3.11.2026
Lynne Hooker It was 1967, and Monroe County was still gun shy, especially in my neck of the woods in the northeastern corner of Chili. Just six months earlier, my friends George-Ann Formicola and Kathy Bernhard had disappeared. They remained missing for a month and were found brutally murdered. So there was an immediate shudder of horror when word came…
2.11.2026
Six mornings a week, long before the lunch line begins to form, the staff and volunteers at St. Peter’s Kitchen tie on their aprons and get to work preparing lunch for the 300-plus guests who will walk through its doors midday. Outside, the aroma drifting from the kitchen evokes Thanksgiving dinner. Inside, it’s even more inviting as team members move…
2.11.2026
Growing up in Webster, Bill Polito heard all about the town’s annual Turkey Trot, a running event held each Thanksgiving morning. In 1988, he moved to a house on Holt Road, a mile from the starting line, and decided to join in the fun. “I ran in high school and decided to give the Turkey Trot a try,” he says.…
2.11.2026
Ashley Cross is a third-generation foster parent who has devoted her life to her community, providing free programs and services to Rochester youth and families through HOPE585, a relationship-centered community where marginalized youth and their families can hope, heal, and thrive. While living in Oklahoma, Cross started the first professional foster home for young ladies preparing to age out of…
2.11.2026
You may have had pie from Special Touch Bakery without even knowing it. “When you go to Wegmans and see the pies that have the hearts on them? We help make those for them,” says Jillian Nalivyko, marketing and public relations manager at the School of the Holy Childhood. Special Touch Bakery has an integrated workforce. Its mission is “Purpose…
2.11.2026
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Step inside

Imagine your house being the one that neighbors ooh and ahh over when walking the neighborhood. The colors are pleasing and cohesive and the plants, fixtures, and decorations all work together to create a look that says the owners care and they know what they’re doing. Now imagine enhancing the curb appeal of your dwelling, …

Fine dining with roadhouse attitude

Stonecat Café Regional Cuisine and Bar 5315 State Rte. 414, Hector (607) 546-5000 stonecatcafe.com   During the week, you have to look businesslike as you give boardroom presentations that close million-dollar sales. On the weekend, it’s time to get sweaty. You and your partner love the little highways that crisscross the isthmi between the Finger …

Broody and brooding

Dear Stacey, For the past seven years, I’ve been dating a man five years my junior. I was previously married and divorced in my twenties and have no children from that relationship. Throughout this time, the current boyfriend and I have always been on the same page about our relationship—we did not see ourselves having …

Seeing the wood for the trees

Entrada Woodworking has been a hot topic of discussion over the past year, with beautiful commercial projects making an appearance at several dining establishments in downtown Rochester. Entrada owner and designer, Jeff Giannone, has also been a mentor to several up-and-coming local woodworkers—in fact, John Roth mentioned Giannone as one of his local influences in …

Saturday morning can last forever

“One word. Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.” If the family friend in The Graduate was referring to tiny sculptures of superpowered characters, his advice would have paid dividends many times over. POP ROC, the coffee bar concept at 337 East Avenue, targets the grown-up kid who once sat down for Saturday morning cartoons …

Riding royalty

Many of us have undoubtedly had visions of speeding down the highway with just two wheels beneath us, the wind charging by as we careen for our destination. In a world of crises and bills and overloaded stress, motorcycles help us connect with the world around us and be the cathartic expression some of us …

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