There’s a phenomenon that happens every spring break in New York State—a quiet migration of in-the-know families who pack up their cars and head toward a tiny lakeside village where the food is so exceptional it’s become a tradition worth passing down through generations.
This culinary promised land is Skaneateles (pronounced “skinny-atlas” by locals who’ve given up correcting out-of-towners after the third attempt).
Nestled at the northern tip of its namesake crystal-clear lake in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, this village of just 2,500 year-round residents somehow supports a concentration of extraordinary eateries that defies statistical probability and makes big-city food scenes seem unnecessarily complicated by comparison.
The moment your car crests the hill on Route 20 and that first expansive view of the lake appears—16 miles of water so pristine it supplies Syracuse with unfiltered drinking water—you’ll understand why families have been strategically “discovering” this place for decades while trying not to tell too many people about it…