Visiting Utica: 16 things to see, sample, drink and enjoy (2024)

Gary Walts

Oh the places to go in Utica

Utica is small city in the Mohawk Valley known for its riggies, greens and pies. Yet Utica has so much more -- a world-class museum, an ever-expanding immigrant community, a century-old zoo.

Gary Walts

Start at the Utica Bread Company

Grab a pastry, and head to the nearby Utica Roasting Coffee (the unofficial coffee of the New York State Fair). It's that good.

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com

Marvel at Union Station

Utica Union Station is on the National Register of Historic Railroad Landmarks. It opened a century ago and remains a stunning structure today. David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com

Visit the local library

The Utica Public Library at 303 Genesee St. in Utica was built in 1904 -- and it's on the state and national registers of historic places. David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Gary Walts

Share this extraordinary slice

Grab lunch at O'scugnizzo Pizzeria, the oldest pizza shop in Upstate. It also might be the most unique. Traditional toppings such as sausage, pepperoni, onions and peppers go on the crust first. Those toppings are covered with a layer mozzarella cheese. The pie is topped with a layer of sauce after it comes out of the oven.

Gary Walts

Sample international flavors

Sample some of Utica's new immigrant cuisine from Iraq. serves home-style cooking from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

Gary Walts

Stroll up Genesee Street, and by the Utica Mosque.

A group of Bosnians saved a decaying Methodist churchand transformed it into a beautiful mosque.

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com

Visit the Utica Zoo

The Utica Zoo has been open for 100 years.

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com

Or the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

This museum and school is a crown jewel in Upstate. The art museum at the center of the complex has a collection of 15,000 pieces of art that includes works by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. It has a core of Hudson River School paintings, include a set or four paintings by Thomas Cole called "The Voyage of Life."

Sample some pusties.

The Alessandroni family has been running the Florentine Pastry Shop on Bleecker Street landmark for a half century. The bakery is famous for their Italian dessert, the pasticiottis, known as "pusties." These filled mini-pies come in vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, coconut and a dozen other flavors.

David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Peek inside the Stanley Theater

Built in 13 months, it was designed by Charles Lamb (who did Fox Theatre in San Francisco and the Capitol Theatre in New York). It's one of only three Lamb theaters left in the nation.

Gary Walts

Grab a fancy drink at Ocean Blue

Ocean Blue Restaurant and Oyster Bargoes through 1,500 to 2,000 oysters a week. The new restaurant sits atop the Landmarc Building, overlooking Utica's main street. It's a high-end seafood restaurant with a nod to traditional steakhouse dishes ranging from whole Maine lobster to salmon Rockefeller to crab fondue.

F. X. Matt (Saranac) Brewery

Or a beer at the Saranac Brewery

The Saranac Brewery has finally opened its 1888 Tavern "tasting room" to the public. Previously, it was only for visitors who went through the brewery tour.

Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com

Brag about the Boilermaker

At either place, ask your neighbors at the bar what the big deal is about the Boilermaker road race. And if they start arguing about how the famous 15K got its name, you can tell them.

Tim Hardiman

"You're not going to find strawberries here in the middle of winter," said Tim Hardiman, chef and one of the owners of the restaurant. "We really take it seriously."

Hardiman and his staff rely on more than 50 purveyors to provide ingredients. Duck confit, pork schnitzel, vegan risotto, half a pressed chicken all come with pedigrees from New York-based farms. Even the occasional ingredients that parachute in from faraway places (wild cod from Alaska, buffalo fish ribs from Kentucky) come with explanations about how they fit into best farming practices.

David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com

Get a night cap at Nail Creek

The Nail Creek Pub & Brewery is another of Utica's newer establishments. It may be smaller than Saranac -- but it's got plenty of taps to go around.

Gary Walts

And take a tomato pie home to share

It's not pizza. It's Napoli's tomato pie.

Enchanted Forest Water Safari

More places to visit near Utica

Plunge intothe Enchanted Forest Water Safari.

Take the train up to Old Forge.

Drive down to Cooperstown forthe Baseball Hall of Fame and the Farmers' Museum.

Visit Fort Stanwixin Rome.