The Homiest Hotspots in Syracuse, New York

Sophomore year has introduced me to the most coveted treasure that expands my medium-sized campus school into a much larger landscape for exploration: a car. While a car may serve as the vehicle to get me to Upstate New York landmarks, its value comes down to the little trips to the most insignificant franchised chains. Though insignificant, I might add that these miniature journeys to Fayetteville and Cicero are wonderful. They bring a little bit of my suburban hometown to my isolated college experience. I’d like to share a few of my favorite “hot take” spots in the Syracuse area that really make me feel as though South Jersey isn’t too far away.

Target. A wondrous place full of useless dollar section impulse buys and decently fashionable department store wardrobe addition. Besides its nostalgia of my first freshman orientation outing with my roommate, Target is a time-warping machine where I can spend hours going up and down the same aisles. Of all the Target stores I’ve been to, which has surprisingly been a lot all over the country, they all look exactly the same. The only difference is the layout of the sections, but I’m so easily fooled into thinking I’m in the store every time. I’ll walk into the freezer aisle sometimes, hangers dangling from my arms, prepared to enter the fitting rooms. Aside from the fantastic job Target does of replicating its stores, it also provides me with a simple way to break up my school week. I always have time to fit in a quick, little Target run even on a school day. Frankly, even if I don’t have time, I justify it by telling myself it’s only Target; it’s harmless. Hours later, I find myself schlepping armfuls of plastic bags with things I didn’t actually need, but hey, the suede plush pumpkin centerpiece was on sale.

Sweet Frog. There’s nothing quite like embracing my Jewish heritage by eating some mediocre frozen yogurt to the latest Christian rock hits. All jokes aside, Sweet Frog is truly by no means anything like my go-to fro-yo places at home. However, there’s just something about those slot machine levers the dispense that poor excuse for ice cream that makes me feel a bit more amused by Syracuse. Perhaps the reason I really enjoy Sweet Frog has nothing to do with the actual place. Wherever and whenever I get frozen yogurt, which is not that often although my tangent might suggest differently, I never fail to get tart original frozen yogurt with fresh fruit and boba as a topping. So, finding that same pay-by-the-ounce cupful of dessert in Syracuse shopping centers always helps me retrace the flavor palate back home.

Trader Joe’s. It would be a disservice to my personal portfolio if I didn’t include the grocery store that I can go on for hours about. My micro-fridge is chock-full of TJ’s products, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, I considered dressing as an employee for Halloween. I support the values the company upholds, and I stand by the food they sell. From a creative standpoint, the packaging for every product appears to be so well though-out and perfectly designed. Well, to wrap up my tangent, allow me to circle back to why TJ’s makes feel so close to home even when I’m 270 miles from home. My local TJ’s features murals of the places that have made up the past 19 years of my life: Lucy the Elephant, the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Ocean City boardwalk and the Philadelphia Art Museum, to name a few. However, when I push my cart through the doors of the Syracuse TJ’s, the environment feels so similar, yet I’m surrounded by paintings of the New York State Fair and Syracuse Orange paraphernalia. Isn’t it funny how the ambiance alone of a store can resonate with me even when the details register as nothing but unfamiliar?

Moving away from the place I have known as home for the past 19 years was never something I anticipated to be easy. Thankfully, even during those bitter winters and the bland, cyclic routine of the semester, I can find a quick escape back home—without driving 270 miles—with the most underrated and underwhelming spots off-campus.