So I had a super fun week with battling a violent bout of food poisoning, and I finally felt alive enough to try to leave the house and get some real food in me. And what better way to do that than by trying a new restaurant!
We decided to try out At Long Last, a new diner at the edge of Auburn and Skaneateles. With the place being extremely new, we called ahead to see if there was a wait list we could be put on before getting there and we’re told they DO take call-ahead, so we put our names in and we’re told it would be approximately 35-45 minutes. We got there in about 18 minutes after we called ahead and, to our surprise, received a call while waiting in the car about 6 minutes after we got there. So 24 minutes on a 45 minute wait is a good sign that they are telling people to expect longer just to be met with the happy surprise of a shorter wait.
When we got inside, we were immediately greeted by a hostess and sat. The dining room is very open with vaulted, cathedral ceilings and an impressively long single bench running the entire length of the longest wall with tables set up along the bench and chairs opposite the bench at each table. There was a few booths in the back and a quite large bar area with adequate seating and a couple of televisions playing local news and such on mute. Our server, whose name I cannot remember but it started with an ‘S’ came over immediately upon our seating and introduced herself and got drink orders while we looked at the menu. We didn’t even read through the entire menu before deciding on our breakfasts, so when she came back to drop off our coffees and waters we were immediately ready to go.
Chelsea told our waitress to choose between one of two dishes because she couldn’t choose, and she ended up with the Strawberry Crunch Cakes, which were advertised as “strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries, crunchy topping and whipped cream” and a side of extra extra crispy bacon. The pancakes came two to a plate and were massive with a light drizzle of strawberry sauce, a generous sprinkling of whatever the “crunchy topping” is, a nice swirl of whipped cream and some freshly sliced strawberries. Right away we could tell that there was a lot of attention to detail and aesthetics as the plate was really well put together and just LOOKED delicious. The pancakes were wild. Somehow dense and heavy but also really fluffy at the same time. The strawberry sauce was just enough to get a bit in each bite and the crunchy topping was insane. The pancakes had a wonderful vanilla-y, creamy flavor and were just perfect. Bacon was cooked to Chelsea’s perfection and crispy but not burnt.
I ordered the Sausage, Biscuit and Gravy which is “house made biscuit and gravy with home fries” and requested an over easy egg on top. The egg came out as two eggs and were on the side, which isn’t a problem at all, I just figured I would save them a dish because I planned on putting the egg on top of the biscuit and gravy anyway. I was a little off-put when I saw the biscuit and gravy because the sausage gravy looks like absolute slop that came out of a can and instead of a rich, thick, creamy gravy it’s more like a thinner butter and cream sauce. It looks like creamed chipped beef (or S.O.S. as some of us know it as) compared to sausage gravy, but I’m not a naysayer just because something doesn’t LOOK like I expected it to. The gravy was really flavorful and there was plenty of crumbled sausage in it. The biscuit was massive and dense but still held a great flavor as well. The “home fries” weren’t what I would personally call home fries, but they still really worked. Plenty of flavor in the potatoes and a nice, lightly crispy crunch on them. My eggs were cooked perfectly and overall it was a good dish. I probably wouldn’t order it again purely because it isn’t the type of gravy I prefer, but it was still tasty and the biscuit was the real standout.
While we were eating, Chelsea heard the table next to us talking to our waitress about “the cotton candy one” and she asked what they were referring to. We never even looked at a drink menu and Chelsea got excited to hear that they have Mimosa Flights with several flavors to choose from and one of them was a Cotton Candy Mimosa. She was immediately in and ordered a flight with Cotton Candy, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lemon Blueberry and Pomegranate Mimosas. It took a bit for the flight to arrive, but the dining room AND bar were both packed and our waitress came by to check in on us and apologize for the wait on the mimosas. Upon arrival, Chelsea tried each and loved the Cotton Candy and Pomegranate Mimosas right away. I don’t drink at all, but I tasted a tiny sip of the Strawberry Cheesecake one and it was very sweet, I just have an undying hatred for champagne in any form, even when I drank. Overall, she liked all four but said she would order the Pomegranate and Cotton Candy as a whole beverage any time compared to the other. However, the bartender seemed to be a touch heavy on the pour because the champagne was a little stronger than expected. That’s not a bad thing, per se, but just be prepared if you order a flight that you may end up with more champagne than you expect out of what should be approximately two full mimosas.
Overall, everything about the meal and the experience was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the owner of the establishment and I both used to work at the Sherwood Inn at the same time, I was in the kitchen while she managed the floor. She was an absolute work horse then and it’s clear her hard work has paid off. This is an extremely well-oiled machine that operates on the same efficiency and quality as the Sherwood did when we both worked there. The atmosphere is open and trendy, the food is delicious and looks as great as it tastes and the service is insanely prompt. Despite being slammed with business, everyone seemed to be happy and enjoying their jobs instead of rushed or stressed. Absolutely a 10/10 experience overall, I cannot wait to go back and try the Dutch Apple French Toast or Cookie Dough Waffle on the breakfast menu or even some of the lunch menu that I didn’t even look at at first but I’m sure it will be just as incredible. Call ahead to reserve a spot to save yourself a bit of a wait, but I promise it’ll be worth any wait you may have.
3193 East Genesee Street, Auburn NY
(315) 282-7561