We had a bit of an unconventional Mother's Day Weekend this year. According to the weather forecast, rain was expected on Sunday. Therefore, my family and I decided to party it up on Friday and Saturday. Besides, who made Sunday holidays when you have to be home for work by Monday? My mom wanted a nice dinner out and some shopping on Saturday at our local farmer's market in Syracuse. Luckily, The Cottage Hotel of Mendon, a small town near Victor, NY, was just the charm and delicious Mother's Day meal we'd been looking for. According to an article by the Democrat & Chronicle, The Cottage Hotel was once a stagecoach stop circa 1822 in the little four-corner town of Mendon. After having been a nightclub, amongst other venues, owners Hilary and David Stott turned the antique tavern into a family friendly restaurant with both a substantial food and drink menu.
I had been to The Cottage Hotel once before with some friends of mine who were Victor natives. We went just for drinks on a Wednesday for their special $2 mason jars filled with beer. After that day, I had wanted to go back with my family for dinner, since the food I had watched come out of the kitchen looked fabulously good. However, little to my knowledge, Fridays were the busiest day of the week for the small restaurant. When my parents and I arrived without a reservation, we gave our name to the host and was told our wait would be around 45 minutes. Thankfully, there was a live musician named Mike Edwards playing 80's and 90's hits in the corner, a few open spots at the bar, and free popcorn, so we all waited happily with our drinks, chatting, and singing out to songs that we knew.
I was very excited to introduce my father to my absolute favorite craft beer, CB Craft Brewers' Caged Alpha Monkey. Usually, my Italian father only likes lighter beers like your typical Heineken or Budweiser, which taste very similar to the Italian Peroni or Birra Moretti. Surprisingly, my dad finished his Caged Alpha Monkey before I did, of course claiming that it "reminded him of Italy." I retorted with, "Oh really? I hope you're referring to a Doppio Malto!" A funny thing about drinking Caged Alpha Monkey in The Cottage Hotel is the fact that the ABV, or Alcohol By Volume, was listed as 5% on their bar's drink list, when the true ABV of Caged Alpha Monkey is 6.5%. I wonder if that was simply a typo or, rather, a tactic to get people to drink more Caged Alpha Monkey.
When we finally got a table and sat down, I noticed something very interesting on the menu. Indeed, The Cottage Hotel offered a Caged Alpha Monkey themed grilled chicken sandwich. Although I looked at other options for dinner, my eye kept going back to that sandwich. When, I thought, would I ever get the chance to have a sandwich themed after my favorite beer? According to the description, the sandwich is "topped with Alpha Monkey Sauce, Roasted Red Peppers, and Shoestring Onions" and I was sold. My dad found a fried "Calamari Salad" with a balsamic dressing on the menu, and my mom ordered the "Wings & Mac Snack" which included a lofty amount of Buffalo wings and macaroni salad.
After dinner, they offered us their dessert menu which included my dad's favorite, Banana Cream Pie. I tried a few bites and, although I'm not a huge fan of pie, I can say that it was definitely ranked in my top few best pies I've ever had. The pie was more custard-y than pudding-y, and contained thick slices of banana inside and a rich, crumbly crust. Every bite of the food we received was so delicious that we couldn't stop raving about it. Turns out, all of the food and drink is locally sourced!
If you'd like to try the famed "Caged Alpha Monkey Chicken Sandwich", or want to head to the cottage for some tunes and some beer in a mason jar, they are located right in the middle of town at 1390 Pittsford Mendon Rd. Mendon, NY 14506. According to their Facebook page, they are open everyday until 2AM except for Sunday, when they close at 12AM. They have $2 beers and 50 cent wings on Wednesday, and live music just about every Tuesday through Saturday. Thank you for reading my restaurant review, keep an eye out for more articles like this by following my Twitter or my Instagram for post updates!
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