Eddie’s
Some people say that the official kick off of the summer is Memorial Day, however I would argue that the real summer kick off is actually marked by your first trip to Eddies for the season!
Eddie’s is located on the Eastern shores of beautiful Oneida Lake right in Sylvan Beach. The restaurant is just a lovely scenic drive along the lakeshore from Syracuse. We love the ride along Route 31 (exiting 481 or 81 in Cicero) almost as much as we love the ride along Route 49 (exiting 81 in Central Square). Eddie’s restaurant is located at 901 Main Street Sylvan Beach and they are open for dine in and take out seven days a week Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For takeout orders and reservations give them a call at 315-762-4269. Be sure to check out their menu at www.eddies1934.com and for some insight about the history that makes Eddie’s so cool.
Generations of Central New Yorkers would agree that it’s just not summer without a trip to Eddie’s Restaurant in Sylvan Beach. Eddie’s Restaurant started with a hot dog stand and a dream as the country was finding its way out of the Great Depression. Since its inception, Eddie’s Restaurant has been owned, managed, and operated continuously by the Stewart Family through good times and bad, making people’s days a little brighter by serving them a great meal! You might also be interested to know that Eddie’s is famous or at least they have certainly had their brushes with fame! Eddie’s has been visited by celebrities over the last nearly century including Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, The Ink Spots, Liza Minelli and even George Foreman! For nearly a century Eddie’s has been happily serving scrumptious food to everyone from beach bums to celebrities! 
Whether you are at Eddie’s for their scrumptious breakfast (served all day!), lunch, dinner, or even an extraordinary dessert, there is certainly something that will satisfy the old young and everyone in between! One of my favorite things about the menu is that it incorporates nostalgic items that were classic dishes but have left menus elsewhere with selections such as the Cold Plate, a generous serving of potato salad, cottage cheese, ham, turkey, lettuce, and tomato, or the Tuna Stuffed Tomato, a vine-ripened tomato filled with tuna salad on a bed of lettuce with wedges of provolone, and even the Liver And Onions, two tender pieces of calves liver smothered in grilled onions. With that said, Eddie’s has definitely not strayed away from incorporating new and inventive menu items like their Chicken Cutlet Milanese Salad with a pan fried chicken cutlet over mixed greens, with grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, Parmesan flakes and Eddie’s soon to be famous balsamic vinaigrette, the Sassy FiFi with a heaping portion of pulled pork and beef slowly mixed in barbecue sauce and cherry peppers served on a Kaiser roll, or the Mediterranean Salmon Wrap with Romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, 5 ounces of grilled salmon with Caesar dressing all wrapped up, hand rolled and served with chips and pickles. Of course I would be doing a disservice to all of you (my favorite readers) if I failed to mention the most famous item on Eddie’s menu, and an absolute must order, The Original Hot Ham BBQ sandwich! The legend of the Original Hot Ham BBQ Sandwich is that on one busy summer day in 1946, Eddie Sr. the founder of Eddie’s, ran out of hot dogs! As the tourists grew hungry Eddie decided to make a sandwich that he only made for his family, a toasted seeded roll piled high with capicola ham! The tourists fell in love and the famous spicy sandwich was born! You may end up liking this hot ham enough that you need to take it home but you would be in luck because they now offer 1 pound of Eddie’s hot ham for there or to go. Folks, please listen to me when I tell you this sandwich (well this AND the desserts) are worth the trips alone! 
Kyle and I were just so excited to take the kids to our first trip to Eddie’s for the season. We were quickly seated at a roomy table with plenty of space to spread out with the kids and eagerly looked over the menu while our amazing server Hannah told us about the specials. That evening they were featuring a special with jerk chicken served with cilantro lime rice that sounded absolutely wonderful. Hannah was not only super friendly but also very knowledgeable and happy to make recommendations and answer any question. For starters we first decided on the Zip Zap Shrimp, a generous serving of beer battered shrimp tossed in a spicy, creamy sauce and served on a bed of spring mix. This dish was the perfect amount of spicy and totally mouthwatering! We also decided to try a newer menu item (which is a combination of longtime favorites), Meatballs With Ricotta Cheese, this sharable dish is made up of three of Eddie’s famous giant hand rolled meatballs served on a bed of ricotta cheese and smothered with their famous meat sauce and topped with fresh basil! Each bite of this dish was absolute perfection on a fork! Both of my kids just couldn’t get enough of those amazing meatballs. While we waited for our entrees I enjoyed a super fresh Caesar salad topped with shaved parmigiana, and homemade croutons while Kyle and the kids had buttered rolls. For an entrée Kyle decided on the Eddie’s Famous Steak Sandwich, a heaping portion of Beef that is thinly sliced in house and smothered with fried onions and served on a toasted long roll. Kyle also had the sandwich topped with Italian greens (which are of course made with Eddie’s famous hot ham) and served with crunchy chips and pickles. He enjoyed every bite and didn’t even have anything to take home for lunch the next day! I was in the mood for something Italian so I decided on the Chicken Riggies. This generous helping of riggies is tossed in Eddie’s homemade vodka cream sauce along with chicken, sausage, banana peppers, and spicy cherry peppers. This dish is a spice lover’s dream especially when paired with a side order of their roasted long hot peppers. As I mentioned before no meal at Eddie’s is complete without dessert. My favorite dessert is a little slice of heaven, and by that I mean Banana Cream Pie! I ordered the Banana Cream pie but ended up taking it to go when the ice cream that Kyle ordered had arrived at the table! Kyle again took Hannah’s suggestion and ordered the Eddie’s Old Fashion Banana Split complete with vanilla and chocolate soft serve ice cream, split banana pineapple strawberries whip cream, nuts and of course topped with a cherry. This dessert was LOADED with toppings and is an absolute dream for any ice cream lover. The best part was that there was plenty for all of us to share! The milkshakes are also amazing. Whatever you do, don’t skip dessert!
It is time to enjoy this beautiful summer, and I can’t think of a better way than a meal at Eddie’s! For more information, menus, and events be sure to check out Eddie’s on Facebook and on their website at https://www.eddies1934.com/. Just remember that it wouldn’t be summer in Sylvan Beach without Eddie’s.
