Hi Mark,
I love the magazine and read each issue from cover to cover. I do have a suggestion, though, which would make my reading more pleasurable.
Years ago I had a gift subscription from a Kansas friend to KANSAS! magazine. Each article was accompanied with a small map of the state of Kansas and a star placed at the location that the article referenced.
I would love to see the same for Life in the Finger Lakes. At the beginning of each article you could use the regional map from the masthead page and place a star to reference the location being written about. I live on Keuka Lake, but am not familiar with the many little towns often mentioned in the articles. I have to go to another map to see where they are in the state. Having them pinpointed right at the head of the story would make my reading so much more enjoyable.
—Nancy LeVant, Rochester
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I just read the the Summer 2011 Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Wonderful! It may be your best issue to date. It was obviously a lot of work. It shows.
So, I got to thinking after reading Jason Feulner’s piece (Food & Wine, page 70). Just what is the cuisine of the Finger Lakes? If we were to drill down through what historically was caught, shot, grown and picked in this region – what would would be the fare?
What fish – lake trout, salmon, perch, bullheads? Deer would be on the menu, of course but would woodchuck and bear? Poultry of some kind – game birds perhaps. I think the Cayugas grew peaches. Wild grapes? Onions? Preparation methods?
How could we reinvent this native cuisine that hopefully does not include salt potatoes? Maybe there’s a food historian at Cornell or an archeologist that might cast some light. I don’t believe I’ve encountered any attempt at doing this. Anyway, lots of questions and some ideas.
–Gary Catt, Syracuse
