I was visiting my aunt and uncle who live in Skaneateles this past week (they're originally from…read moreChittenango/Bridgeport, and I grew up in Liverpool, now live in Chicago, come back to visit a couple of times a year), and yesterday, after a nostalgic drive to Chittenango, we stopped for dinner at Ruby Begonia's, which I found on Yelp. Southern cooking is one of my favorite cuisines, though my aunt and uncle aren't necessarily of the same mind. They went along because they love me and it was my last night in town. We were greeted by a nice gal named Danielle who got us seated and asked if we'd like drinks first since it was a little before 5 and the kitchen hadn't quite opened. My aunt and uncle loved their glasses of 19 Crimes Cabernet and I was very happy with my Mint Julep, minus the sugar cube, since I don't like my drinks sweet. We started the meal with the Housemade Buttermilk Cornbread and Fried Green Tomatoes. Neither are to be missed (the cornbread was like having a tiny dessert before dinner, which you'll never hear me complain about), but the tomatoes--dang! Next time I'm going to order two plates just for me and call it my dinner. DO NOT MISS THE FRIED GREEN TOMATOES! My aunt and uncle had the Fried Chicken Plate, which they loved, repeatedly saying, "This is way better than the fried chicken at Tops!" They couldn't finish all of it and brought it home to eat for lunch today. The online menu says it comes with Slow-Cooked Green Beans but the in-house menu serves it with Slaw. While they loved the slaw, they said they might've preferred the green beans as a more substantial veg accompaniment. Danielle was perfectly happy to make reasonable substitutions, so if we'd thought to ask her, I bet she would've said yes to shifting out the slaw for green beans, or yes with a minor upcharge. I ordered the Fried Fish & Slaw which was amazing. My favorite meal in the world is fried catfish, but it has to be done right. The place I think that does it best is me in my own kitchen, but I will now say that Ruby Begonia's is tied with my own kitchen. Maybe even slightly ahead of my own kitchen because whatever seasonings they use kick ass. The fish was actually a freshwater catfish from Southeast Asia called Swai, though it was hard to distinguish from regular catfish. It was perfectly fried, served piping hot (as were my aunt and uncle's entrees), and I stopped talking while I ate it because it was so freaking good. I asked Danielle if she could switch out the accompanying French Fries for Grits and she said no problem. I love grits but often they need to be jazzed up with cheese or sauces or other flavorings to be exciting. I have no idea what was done to make my plain white grits so fluffy and out-of-this-world, but like everything else we ate last night, they're not to be missed. I know this is a long review, but too bad y'all! I like long reviews because they give me a sense of what to order, the general ambience of a place, and the degree to which the staff is willing to engage with their diners. I like to talk to people who work in restaurants. I've rarely met a server who's steered me wrong in terms of what's good to order on the menu. I also just like to meet people, find out where they're from, and what brought them to their current jobs. Danielle was a sweetie pie. There were two large parties on either side of us and she made sure our order went in first. She also checked on us after each round of deliveries--drinks, appetizers, and mains. We would've ordered dessert but we were too full. Next time. Because we're definitely coming back. One small suggestion: None of us are vegan/vegetarian but we know some vegans/vegetarians we'd like to bring to Ruby Begonia's, and it would be good to have a permanent vegan/vegetarian entree, like, for example, the Trumpet Mushroom Ragu Over Grits listed on the Sunday Supper Club menu on the restaurant's website. My aunt would also have loved to see a salad option listed on the Sides menu.

I will start this as I always do by saying that I don't give out five stars really blown away…read more We came here because my significant other really likes southern food. There are some good things about it, but I was not blown away. The staff was super friendly. The atmosphere was nice, but there was a sort of smell that my group kept mentioning when we were sitting in the bar area that threw us off a little. Not sure if it was a scented candle or something else. The normal bartender was not there, but the one behind the bar was entertaining enough. Even if the drinks came out a little bit slow. Our waitress is awesome. Very on top of things. The cornbread was awesome. Would come back here just to eat the cornbread. Same goes for the fried green tomatoes something I wish I could have all your round they were banging. My better half that chicken was good. Nothing to write home about. My salmon was cooked perfectly but the sauce that was on it probably could've done without. The sauce was a little bland with chunks of shrimp and scallop on it. But the same being cooked perfectly didn't need that extra moisture from that sauce on it could've just been seasoned. I would've been thrilled. Just my opinion. I'm not sure I will run back and frequent this location, but I would come back if somebody else had the suggestion. Met the owner and she was wonderful. She may want to come back just to see her again.