The Inn Between
As a lover of all things delicious I have found that my favorite dining experiences are those that appeal to all five senses. Indulge me for a moment and let’s take a trip together to one of my absolute favorite places to enjoy an evening, The Inn Between in Camillus. 
While you are taking a scenic drive out of Syracuse, past where the highway ends, you see a gorgeous sprawling farm complete with pond, apiary, fruit trees, beautiful landscaping and of course a prestigious manor house. The historical building has been adapted into a restaurant where you are lucky enough to have reservations. As you walk through the double doors you are welcomed both by the warm hostess and the intoxicating scents of this evening’s offerings and you feel your mouth already start to water! You are quickly seated at the best table in the house (after all, every seat is the best one if you get to occupy it here!) You may hear the words “welcome back!” “great to see you again,” or even “wow I can’t believe how big your kids are getting!” and you will again be reminded that you made an excellent choice in coming to The Inn Between. As you get comfortable at your table you may notice being overcome by a feeling of luxury as you touch the linens, glassware and silverware. You may also notice that as each dish arrives, from the amuse-bouche all the way to the dessert, the plates and plating is exceptional and adds a wonderful visual element to your enjoyment. As each dish arrives you will again regale in the intoxicating aromas each ingredient adds. And of course, with each and every bite you will delight in handcrafted flavors that appeal to every last taste bud! Now that you’ve expirenced this journey through your senses by reading, let me suggest making a reservation at The Inn Between! They are located at 2290 West Genesee Turnpike in Camillus. They are open Wednesday through Saturday with dining service with reservations beginning at 5 pm. Due to the fact that each meal is hand crafted to order, seating is limited so you will want to make reservations ahead of time by calling 315-672-3166. 
There are so many things that truly stand out at The Inn Between. Let’s start with the chefs, and by that I mean well trained, highly skilled, and masters of the culinary arts. The culinary team consists of some of the finest chefs in upstate NY, all from the Camillus area with certifications and awards too numerous to mention! This team of culinary artists consists of Certified Executive Chef Cesta, who shares his 40 years of talent with Chef Randy Colman, and his 50 years of experience (a man truly deserving of the title “Master Chef”), Chef de cuisine, James Neuman, Sous Chef (and award winning pastry chef!), Jeremy Patterson, and Santo Rosario, the amazing steward. These people have tirelessly worked together at The Inn Between for many years. Then there is the dining room staff and, my goodness, I don’t know how they find these staff members but their service is strictly top notch. Not only do they seem to remember every single customer that has ever been in, they do it with such warm and grace that even if the dining room is full they somehow still make you feel like you are their only table. The service that every customer receives is just remarkable and makes this dining experience from remarkable to completely incredible!
Kyle, the little ones, and I went to The Inn Between on a crisp fall Wednesday evening. Upon entering the warm and cozy restaurant we were immediately greeted by the friendly hostess and brought to our romantic table near the window. Shortly thereafter we met our friendly and knowledgeable server who made us feel like we were her only table; her service was absolutely exemplary! One of the nice and unique things about The Inn Between is that dinner begins with a super creative amuse-bouche, a single bite hors d’oeuvre hand crafted by the chef. Tonight’s creation was a beautiful seasonal butternut squash soup served in an adorable cup and saucer. We always look forward to this little treat and we love how the Chef incorporates seasonal flavors. After hearing the delectable specials, we decided to start our meal with an order of the appetizer special for the evening, the Calamari served with lemon and aioli. These were generous pieces of lightly fried calamari that paired perfectly with the creamy aioli – even the kids loved this dish. We also ordered the Baked Oysters with spinach, parmesan and garlic butter, mornay sauce served on the half shell. This dish was as visually stunning as it was delicious. If you are a lover of oysters you absolutely must try this dish because it was perfection on a plate. Next, we were then served our beautiful salads with homemade rolls and their famous date nut bread served with honey butter from the onsite apiary. Kyle decided on the specialty salad which was a beautiful salad topped with toasted almonds raspberry vinaigrette with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. I decided on the Caesar salad topped with anchovies (I love anchovies!) so there was no way I was passing that up! For an entrée Kyle decided on the Tenderloin Steak Neptune, a positively stunning dish with grilled tenderloin steaks, lobster, crab, asparagus, béarnaise and beef demi-glaze and served with whipped baked potatoes and fresh vegetables. This dish is equal parts beautiful and tasty and I certainly snuck a few bites from his plate! The oysters and calamari set me on a seafood kick so I decided to keep it going and ordered the Maine Lobster Plate! The dish is centered on the most perfect broiled lobster tail with Clams casino (whole little neck clams topped with bacon, pepper and crumb topping and served on the half shell- so yummy!) and crab stuffed shrimp that are just out of this world amazing. We absolutely could not pass up a dish from the beautiful dessert tray. We actually had a hard time making our selections because everything was absolutely mouthwatering! Kyle was absolutely blown away by the apple crumb dessert and I would highly recommend the strawberry almond puff pastry filled with lavish cream!
Chef Cesta would like to tell the readers that he is honored to receive the Table Hopping readers’ poll award for best chef over the past three years. “I am truly humbled by this and acknowledge that it is my entire team that earn and deserve these accolades additionally there are many talented chefs and cooks in our region that deserve to be honored as well. Chefs and their respected restaurants and cuisines have truly added to the enjoyment and wellbeing of not only the residents but the many travelers to our region as well. I honestly share the honor with each and every one of these culinarians from breakfast cooks to burger makers and anyone who picks up a knife and set of tongs to serve the public with the passion we do.”
At The Inn Between they have a saying that “You haven’t dined at your favorite restaurant until you’ve dined at The Inn Between” and I promise you that this saying is absolutely true! Visit the website at www.inn-between.com or check them out on Facebook to stay up to date with their amazing specials and pictures of the delicious selections. Whether The Inn Between is already your favorite restaurant or it is your soon to be favorite restaurant after your first visit you need to treat yourself to a fantastic meal at The Inn Between as soon as possible! Make reservations today and treat yourself to an amazing meal and an all-around fantastic dining experience.
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