A short, 25-minute side trip from US-20 north to Syracuse (pop. 149,435) via I-81 yields an informative tour of the fascinating Erie Canal Museum (daily; free; 315/471-0593) at 318 E. Erie Boulevard in the shadow of I-690. Housed in an 1850 weighlock building straddling the mostly paved-over canal bed, the museum has a 65-foot restored 1850s canal boat, and offers free guided walking tours of the city that gave birth to the electric typewriter, the loafer, and the turn-of-the-20th-century, arts-and-crafts-style furniture of Gustav Stickley. A short film describes the staggering impact of the canal’s 1825 opening on the city, an impact also visible in the cast-iron commercial districts of the historic and still-lively downtown, south and west from the museum around Clinton and Armory Squares.
East of Syracuse down the I-90 NY Thruway, hilly Utica (pop. 60,651) is another good detour. Beer fans in particular will want to make the trip: Since 1888, the old West End Brewery F.X. Matt Brewing Co. ($3; 315/624-2400), at 811 Edward Street on Brewhouse Square, has pumped out barrels of Matt’s trademark Utica Club and Matt’s Premium regional beers alongside its more heavily promoted Saranac line of premium microbrews. In-depth tours of the compact, family-owned facilities take you through the entire production process—where you are apt to spy some contract-brewed Brooklyn Lager, New Amsterdam, Dock Street Ale, or Olde Heurich slipping out the door—and drop you off in a velvet-lined Victorian tavern for your complimentary glasses of Saranac or frothy root beer.
Shake off your post-lager drowsiness with a thick, delicious cheeseburger, coffee, and slice of lemon meringue pie at the timeless Triangle Coffee Shop (315/735-4692), at 244 Genesee Street downtown, which manages to cram four sit-down tables, seven counter stools, and a hungry crowd of professionals into its tiny, bright, triangular space.
