Restaurants in Elmira

After a revelatory trip to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks in 2006, outdoor enthusiasts Laura and Alan Falk cast off the shackles of software careers to begin new lives as tour guides and planners. The pair created standard tours to introduce travelers to the area's local wineries, gorges, waterfalls, and historic towns, as well as custom tours that let natives and visitors design their own experiences based on personal preferences and hunches about the location of buried treasure. Past custom tours have included birthday scavenger hunts, bachelorette weekends, and private birthday celebrations with wine tastings. Experience! The Finger Lakes draws on more than 30 years of intimate local knowledge to create lasting memories in a thriving area replete with natural beauty, rich culture, and a captivating history.

Putt-putters can bask in the soothing phosphorescent splendor of Glowgolf’s mini course as they navigate their illuminated golf ball through glowtopia. Courses contain sights such as light-defying blush corals, incandescent fishes, and lush foliage. Each pass is good for three 18-hole games, giving golfers ample opportunity to outmaneuver any vividly bright and very alive windmills that may appear. Equipment is available on the spot, so you won't risk bending your own putter when you chase after that pesky, good-for-nothing, hole-digging, ball-stealing, and most likely hallucinated gopher.

Resort, Hotel, Restaurant, Weddings

The kitchen and wait staffs at Lemongrass Kitchen understand the importance of first impressions. With that in mind, they have surrounded the booths and plush chairs in the dining room with plum-colored drapes, vases full of lilies, and Asian-inspired artwork and pottery. To take it to the next level, each of their contemporary takes on Asian culinary traditions is plated with panache, such as jumbo shrimp suspended above a bed of fried rice noodles or Malaysian fried rice served inside half a pineapple.

Run by the Domm family since 1990, Mo-Jo’s Tacos serves up classic Mexican fare with occasional American twists. The taqueria’s menu features classic hard ($2) and soft ($3) tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas ($4), and inflatable burritos ($4+). Ambitious devourers can tackle the Mojo burrito, a floury sleeping bag puffed up with meat, beans, rice, lettuce, salsa, cheese, sour cream, and olives ($5). Plates of mexican spaghetti ($4), featuring butter beans and bacon over corn bread ($4), offer comfort so deep and pervasive that it often triggers naps upon sight. Finish a hearty meal sweetly and make use of fully operational pie-serving fingers by picking up a slice of the shop’s homemade grape or elderberry pie ($2) from its self-serve fridge.

Quirky, enigmatic owner-and-adventurer Karina Murphy founded The Blue Frog Coffeehouse as a venue for similarly spirited sippers to take in live music, delectable bites, and obscene amounts of caffeine. Blue Frog's main event— coffee—entices java junkies with a wide selection of morning medicines, such as the finger-fluttering triple espresso ($2.50), the creamy white mocha ($2.95–$3.95), or the smooth, sleep-banishing breve ($3.25–$4). Classic coffee companions, such as steel-cut oatmeal ($4) and a bagel with cream cheese ($2.40) are the pillars of the breakfast menu, and creative concoctions, including the banola bagel with banana, honey, granola, and a choice of peanut butter or cream cheese ($3.50), exude an enticing, experimental allure. Late-risers and night owls can satisfy cravings with an assortment of savory, café-style sandwiches, such as the curried chicken-salad wrap ($5), or the warm, turkey-bacon-guacamole panini, which is topped with avocado, melted together with asiago cheese, and kept zestfully keen with a cilantro and onion bite ($6.25).

The Deli Downtown keeps it simple. They serve comforting American cuisine of baked-daily bagels, as well as inventive sandwiches made with tangy balsamic dressing, fresh mozzarella, smoked turkey, and homemade focaccia bread. An air of nostalgia permeates the restaurant, with its chessboard linoleum floors, silver-and-vinyl soda-fountain stools, and red-neon accents. The savory smells of toasted reuben and turkey-club sandwiches fill the remaining air as chefs labor at the panini press. For those who refuse to conform, diners can plot out their meal to perfect specificity with the build-your-own-sandwich menu.