Pumpkin spice and so much more: Where to get your fall flavors in the Mohawk Valley
Labor Day is in the rearview mirror and the official first day of fall is fast approaching.
As overnight temperatures dip into the low 50s, it’s time to start thinking about cozy sweaters, rollicking hayrides and autumnal flavors. Here are eight places you can get a taste of fall in the Mohawk Valley.
Utica Coffee Roasting Co.
Utica Coffee is presenting a veritable cornucopia of fall offerings. Their seasonal menu features six all-new beverages that manager Heather Delia and her baristas dreamed up together, including a pecan autumn latte and a spiced pumpkin chai. You can top any of their drinks with a seasonal cinnamon sweet cream.
Utica Coffee started selling pumpkin on Aug. 1 and launched its full fall menu Aug. 15. Delia said the company always gets the fall ball rolling in early to mid-August.
“That's really when people are starting to look forward to fall,” she said. “So we try to do it before everybody else does it.”
In addition to barista beverages, Utica Coffee is offering a new flavored coffee, caramel apple, which they will sell as cold brew in-house, in addition to beans for purchase. Or pick up a returning favorite like Great Pumpkin or Headless Horseman, a pumpkin-flavored version of their ultra-caffeinated Wake the Hell Up brand.
Plus, you can snack on apple cinnamon scones from Ocean Blue Restaurant & Oyster Bar and pumpkin macarons courtesy of a Manhattan-based Parisian patisserie.
Where: 92 Genesee St., Utica, NY 13502 or 1 W. Park Row, Clinton, NY 13323
Dippin Donuts
With giant doughnuts baked fresh twice a day and locations in Rome, West Rome and New Hartford, Dippin Donuts has you covered for fall.
Sugar and spice and everything nice makes cinnamon sugar doughnuts or apple spice doughnuts a tempting treat for a lazy fall afternoon. Try a glazed apple fritter or a maple-frosted doughnut to savor that fall feeling. Apple cider doughnuts are available seasonally, and a Dippin pumpkin roll, made of spiced pumpkin cake and swirled with a rich cream cheese filling, is easy to fall for.
Grab yourself a slice paired with a pumpkin spice latte if you’re craving pumpkin overload, or try an apple cider doughnut sundae to kick your autumn donut experience up a notch.
Where: 1941 Black River Blvd., Rome, NY 13440, 1169 Erie Blvd. W., Rome, NY 13440 or 8483 Seneca Tpke., New Hartford, NY 13413
North Star Orchards
North Star Orchards in Westmoreland is a family-run farm market and bakery that’s open April through December and sells fresh, seasonal produce.
Unfortunately, the orchard is not offering U-Pick apples this year due to May’s unseasonable frost, but you can still purchase apples in the market and enjoy them in other forms – in fresh-made apple cider, a doughnut, a pie or even a cake.
September also means a harvest of other produce: pears, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, squash, Concord grapes and more.
The orchard’s in-house bakery is producing pumpkin pies, pumpkin cake, apple cider doughnuts and cake and even pumpkin half-moons – all made from scratch.
The pumpkin half moons have a soft, richly spiced pumpkin base and replace traditional vanilla icing with a flavorful cinnamon buttercream.
Owner George Joseph said the cookies are flying off the shelves. He also said that the bakery is known for its dense apple cider cake, topped with a thick layer of frosting.
“It’s heavy by volume, because every cake has about 10 pounds of apples in it, and that keeps it moist,” Joseph said. “That’s our No. 1 seller.”
Where: 4741 NY 233, Westmoreland, NY 13490
Swifty's Restaurant & Pub
Belly up to the bar and choose from a menu of specialty fall cocktails. In an autumnal twist on the boozy brunch favorite, Swifty’s is offering apple cider mimosas complete with cinnamon and a slice of apple wedged on the rim of the glass.
A seasonal fruit cooler pears – sorry, pairs – cranberry juice and pear purée with vodka, simple syrup and a splash of fizzy prosecco. Sip on a feisty autumn mule made with caramel vodka, apple cider, and snappy ginger beer, garnished with a skewer of fresh apple and chewy caramel candy.
And, while pumpkin may usually steal the spice show, at Swifty’s, you can mix it up with a spiced creme brulee martini, blending creamy rumchata with white chocolate liquor and a vibrant zing of nutmeg.
Where: 257 Genesee St,, Utica, NY 13501
Spressos Coffee House & Eatery
Spressos in Rome has you covered with fall beverages.
Chill out with an apple cider frappe, blended with ice and sweet white chocolate flavoring, or warm your hands with a steaming cup of hot apple cider, to which Spressos adds a rich swirl of caramel to enhance the fall favorite. Add a seasonal syrup like pumpkin spice or maple spice to classic espresso beverages such as lattes, which are available hot and iced.
Spressos has daily lunch specials, which recently have included a turkey, apple and cheddar panini, for those of you who think apples just aren’t the same without the sharp bite of cheese. You can even grab a slice of pumpkin cheesecake garnished with puffs of whipped cream and miniature candy pumpkins.
Where: 160 Brooks Rd., Rome, NY 13441
The Knight Spot
The Knight Spot restaurant in Frankfort closed in 2020, but this year, Tamara Palumbo and her daughter reopened as a seasonal ice cream stand. Weather permitting, Palumbo plans to stay open through Columbus Day weekend.
The Knight Spot is currently offering a sweet selection of fall confections. Maximize your apple cider doughnut experience with this seasonal sundae: a warm apple cider doughnut topped with Perry’s cider mill ice cream, which is cider-flavored, marbled with a cinnamon graham cracker swirl, and loaded with real doughnut pieces.
Don’t forget the whipped cream, caramel sauce and cherry on top.
As if that wasn’t enough, apple cider is available as a frozen slushie, which you can even top with smooth vanilla soft serve. A pumpkin pie flurry features soft serve blended with pumpkin and graham cracker, topped off with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice. You can try that cider mill ice cream or pumpkin pie ice cream blended up in a milkshake or in a sundae with the toppings of your choice.
As for Palumbo, she has a clear favorite.
“I just love the cider slush,” she said. “I have to have it every day.”
Where: 264 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY 13340
Joseph Putrello Coffee
Joseph Putrello Coffee serves barista drinks with Italian flair, and a scroll through its website will have you drooling over sky-high piles of whipped cream and smooth frothed milk topped with artistic chocolate drizzle.
Now, you can enjoy its take on the classic fall latte, the spezie de zucca (which translates to pumpkin spice). Made with pumpkin spice cream instead of regular milk and pumpkin-flavored whipped topping, this latte packs a serious pumpkin punch.
As if those flavors weren’t enough, the latte is further elevated with caramel sauce swirled with the espresso and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Have your pumpkin spice and eat it too: the café also has cream puffs filled with pumpkin whipped cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Where: 268 Genesee St., Utica, NY 13502
Clinton Cider Mill
Cider may be in the name, but the mill’s owners call the refreshing fall beverage “squeeze.” Ben Fehlner, who co-owns the Clinton Cider Mill with his parents Mimi and John Fehlner, said that squeeze is a name they developed to set their brand apart.
The Fehlners, who make their squeeze with a hydraulic press installed by the mill’s original owners in 1927, try to use at least four different types of apples in each batch.
“You want a good mix of flavors and a nice profile that isn’t one-note,” Ben Fehlner said.
Take a sip of perfectly chilled squeeze, and notes of sweetness and tartness will harmonize on your tongue, with the pure flavor of fresh apples coming through. Pair it with an apple cider doughnut, either plain or dusted with cinnamon sugar. The mill also offers a selection of hearty soups and not one, not two, but four different types of apple pie: classic, apple caramel walnut, Dutch apple pie and honeycrisp.
Pam Ray, a Utica native visiting from her current home in Massachusetts, made a beeline for Clinton Cider Mill when she arrived in town.
“It’s just a staple of Clinton and fall: football games and going to the cider mill,” Ray said.
Where: 28 Elm St., Clinton, NY 13323
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Where to get Mohawk Valley donuts, cider, coffee, produce this fall
