New York Eats guide · checked October 2026
Utica & Binghamton classics
15 places for chicken riggies, Utica greens, half-moon cookies and spiedies, each checked open in October 2026 on its own website, menu, or recent local news.
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Dishes with a hometown
Chicken riggies are rigatoni with chicken and hot peppers in a creamy tomato sauce, and Utica greens are escarole sautéed with prosciutto, hot cherry peppers and breadcrumbs; both are Utica's. Half-moons are big soft cookies frosted half chocolate, half vanilla, from Utica and Binghamton bakeries (New York City's black and white cookie is a cousin). Spiedies are Binghamton's marinated, grilled cubes of meat, served on a slice of Italian bread.
The 15 on this list
5 places for riggies or greens, 7 half-moon bakeries, and 3 spiedie places, some of them more than one. They're in 4 regions of the state. The longest at the same address: Florentine Pastry Shop in Utica, there since 1945; Holland Farms Bakery & Deli in Yorkville, there since 1966; Lupo's Char-Pit in Endicott, there since 1966; North Star Orchards in Westmoreland, there since 1986.
How the list was built: In October 2026 we looked up every place here in a 2025 or 2026 source (the shop's own site or menu, a dated post, local reporting, or a tourism listing) and matched its address. No current source, no listing. Review sites played no part, and the order is by region and city, not by anyone's rating. Menus and hours move, so call first.
A New York City place carries the Health Department's letter grade and the date it was given, wherever we matched one; elsewhere in the state, the latest state or county inspection, where one is published. In the app, this list puts the nearest places first, with Apple Maps' live card a tap away for hours and photos.
Jump to a region
The list is grouped by New York's 10 economic development regions, New York City first.
- New York City (1)
- Mohawk Valley (9)
- Central New York (2)
- Southern Tier (3)
City and borough pages: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Yonkers, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Schenectady, White Plains, Ithaca, Newburgh, Saratoga Springs, Utica, New Rochelle, Binghamton, Kingston, Troy, Huntington, Watertown, Plattsburgh.
New York City
1 place, by borough. See the New York City page for the region.
William Greenberg Desserts
1100 Madison Ave, Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Manhattan
Half-moons Known for: black and white cookie, babka, schnecken
Upper East Side bakery whose cake-like black and white cookies are its signature.
Grade A · graded Dec 5, 2025Official NYC Health Department grade
Mohawk Valley
9 places, by city or town, most in Utica, New Hartford, and Westmoreland. See the Mohawk Valley page for the region.
Cafe CaNole Bakery & Restaurant
1 Campion Rd, New Hartford
Chicken riggiesUtica greens Known for: chicken riggies, Greens CaNole (escarole, prosciutto, cherry peppers)
Family-owned New Hartford restaurant, bar and bakery; chicken riggies and its Utica-style 'Greens CaNole' are on the menu.
Latest state inspection Jul 8, 20260 critical violations, 0 other violations (NYSDOH)
Gingerbread Bake Shop
3991 Oneida St, New Hartford
Half-moons Known for: half moon cookies
New Hartford bakery known for its half moon cookies.
Latest state inspection Apr 8, 20260 critical violations, 1 other violation (NYSDOH)
Bella Regina
15 Auert Ave, Utica
Chicken riggiesUtica greens Known for: chicken riggies, Utica greens
Italian restaurant in Utica known for its chicken riggies; also serves Utica greens.
Latest state inspection Feb 10, 20260 critical violations, 0 other violations (NYSDOH)
Chesterfield's Tavolo
131 N Genesee St, Utica
Utica greens Known for: Utica greens
North Genesee Street successor to the Chesterfield restaurant on Bleecker Street, with Utica greens and chicken riggies on the menu.
Florentine Pastry Shop
667 Bleecker St, Utica
Half-moons Known for: half moon cookies, pusties (pasticciotti) · At this address since 1945
Bleecker Street Italian pastry shop known for pusties, with half moons in the case too.
Hemstrought's Bakeries
900 Oswego St, Utica
Half-moons Known for: half moon cookies
Utica bakery that calls its hand-frosted half moon 'the original', made to a 1920 recipe.
It's a Utica Thing Kitchen and Bar
350 Leland Ave, Utica
Tomato pieChicken riggiesUtica greens Known for: chicken riggies, Utica greens, tomato pie
Utica kitchen and bar built around the city's own dishes: riggies, Utica greens and tomato pie.
Latest state inspection Feb 10, 20260 critical violations, 0 other violations (NYSDOH)
North Star Orchards
4741 State Route 233, Westmoreland
Half-moons Known for: half moon cookies · At this address since 1986
Westmoreland family farm market with a greenhouse and an in-house bakery that sells mini and jumbo half moon cookies.
Holland Farms Bakery & Deli
50 Oriskany Blvd, Yorkville
Tomato pieHalf-moons Known for: half moon cookies, tomato pie, jelly buns · At this address since 1966
Family bakery and deli known for half moons, jelly buns and Utica-style tomato pie, with a drive-up window.
Central New York
2 places, by city or town, most in Manlius and Syracuse. See the Central New York page for the region.
Holland Farms Bakery & Deli
343 Fayette St, Manlius
Tomato pieHalf-moons Known for: half moon cookies, Utica-style tomato pie · At this address since 2025 · A branch of Holland Farms Bakery & Deli, Yorkville
Manlius branch of the Utica-area bakery, bringing its half moons and tomato pie to Onondaga County.
Latest state inspection Mar 4, 20261 critical violation, 0 other violations (NYSDOH)
Pastabilities
311 S Franklin St, Syracuse
Chicken riggies Known for: Wicked chicken riggies, spicy hot tomato oil, stretch bread
Syracuse Italian restaurant making its own pasta, with 'Wicked' chicken riggies on the menu and stretch bread from its bakery across the street.
Latest state inspection Sep 10, 20260 critical violations, 1 other violation (NYSDOH)
Southern Tier
3 places, by city or town, most in Chenango, Endicott, and Vestal. See the Southern Tier page for the region.
The Spiedie & Rib Pit
1274 Upper, Front St, Chenango
Spiedies Known for: chicken spiedie, spiedies, ribs
Binghamton spiedie and barbecue spot offering spiedies with a choice of breads, toppings and sauces.
Latest state inspection Jul 8, 20260 critical violations, 5 other violations (NYSDOH)
Lupo's Char-Pit
2710 E Main St, Endicott
Spiedies Known for: spiedies · At this address since 1966
Endwell drive-in, the original Lupo's Char-Pit, serving spiedies since 1966.
Latest state inspection Apr 9, 20260 critical violations, 1 other violation (NYSDOH)
Spiedie and Rib Pit
3908 Vestal Pkwy E, Vestal
Spiedies Known for: chicken spiedie, spiedies, ribs · A branch of Spiedie & Rib Pit, Binghamton
Vestal location of the Binghamton spiedie and rib shop, same menu.
Latest state inspection Apr 7, 20260 critical violations, 3 other violations (NYSDOH)
About the inspection results
NYC letter grades are the NYC Health Department's own, labeled official and shown with the date of the graded inspection: A, B or C, posted at the door. N means not yet graded, Z grade pending, and P grade pending on re-opening after a closure. We never compute a grade from an inspection score. Source: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC Open Data, records through Sep 29, 2026; the full history is on the Health Department's ABCEats site.
Outside New York City there is no official restaurant grade, and we don't make one. Where shown, the date and counts are from the New York State Department of Health's latest inspection on file (health.data.ny.gov), records through Sep 24, 2026. In NYSDOH's words:
“Any use of this data to develop a restaurant grading system is not supported or endorsed by the New York State Department of Health.”
Any analyses, interpretations or conclusions here are ours, not NYSDOH's. Places are never ordered by these counts.