Tully, N.Y — So, what sets apart the menu at The Loft at Vesper Hills in Tully from other golf course or burger-and-beer restaurants in the area? It’s a three-letter word.
Yak.
Owners Mark and Suzanne Drumm bought the golf course on Octagon Road in 2012, committing to extensive renovations of the property, including the clubhouse and restaurant. The couple already owned a nearby alpaca farm and added yaks to their brood in 2014. Their Bentwood Alpacas and Yaks farm supplies yak meat for the menu, which finds itself utilized in various menu items, including chili, meatballs and burgers.
The first two items were unavailable for our recent Friday evening visit, so our only option was in burger form. In order to get a full flavor of this exotic meat, we ordered a simple cheeseburger with cheddar cheese ($17).
The menu likens yak to chicken in terms of nutritional benefits: low in cholesterol and saturated fat. It’s a very lean meat, so you don’t get juiciness from the rendered fat, but it’s not dry or crumbly either. In fact, the menu recommends burgers served rare or medium-rare for this reason.
It has a distinct flavor. A variety of websites and news articles compare it to bison, but with a lighter, more subtle flavor. I found the burger’s flavor to be earthy with nutty notes, different than the average beef burger or a game meat like elk.
All nine burgers on the menu, including the Jamming Sunset burger, can be made with yak meat for an additional $4. This particular burger ($14) is a fork-and-knife effort. The 8 oz. burger, made with Angus reserve beef, was grilled and topped with pepper jack cheese, bacon jam and roasted garlic aioli. It covered many of the flavor bases with spicy cheese, sweet and smoky bacon jam and the earthy, creamy aioli. It was also a pretty sloppy endeavor, as the jam and aioli mixed with the burger’s juices to become a quick mess. It’s not a complaint so much as a warning, as my dining companion thought it was well executed.
Burgers are served with a generous portion of coated French fries.
Friday evenings are a focal point for The Loft, as the burgers, salads and sandwiches on the menu are supplemented by a lineup of special entrees showcasing the capabilities of the kitchen staff.
The walleye ($24) tasted so fresh it could have been caught that day from Otisco Lake, which was in our view from the patio. Walleye has the flavors of a mild whitefish and deftly picked up flavors from the other ingredients on the dish. The fish fillet was wrapped in prosciutto and served over rice in a puttanesca sauce rich with artichoke, mushrooms and capers.
Barbecue is a regular menu item and the smoker is in full view for diners on the lower rear patio. The helping of pulled pork ($16) was generous but rather dry and bland. The strands of shredded meat had plenty of smoky flavor but not much else. An accompanying ramekin of barbecue sauce only served to make the meat wet, doing little to flavor or remedy the dryness of the pork.
Smoked meats are served with sides of very good cowboy beans and foodservice-quality cole slaw.
The bam bam shrimp ($11) is clearly the most popular dish on the menu, based on our unscientific observation of orders that emerged from the kitchen. Cornmeal-crusted shrimp are fried until just golden, preserving the snap of biting into the shellfish. Drizzled over top is the namesake bam bam sauce, which tasted like sriracha-infused mayonnaise. If we were to return, we might get a double order for a starter.
The spinach-artichoke dip ($9) was a solid choice as well. The dip was creamy and lumpy, showing all the hallmarks of being freshly made, with strong flavors of artichoke and cheddar cheese. The accompanying pita triangles were wispy and not up to the heft of the dip. Toasting the pita into chips or opting for tortilla chips would have made for a hardier dipper.
Buffalo chicken egg rolls were the evening’s special appetizer. Two egg rolls stuffed with chicken and cheese were halved and served with a bowl of blue cheese. The latter was a necessary partner in this dish, as the kitchen spared no expense when it came to the cayenne-based wing sauce; they were on par with your average hot wing. The fried egg roll wrapper added an interesting flavor — in a good way — that we’ve never paired with Buffalo wings or Buffalo chicken before.
The housemade apple crisp ($8) for dessert showed promise, with big chunks of apples flaked with oats and spices, but the undercooked fruit created an underwhelming result. Rather than poached apples that split with a fork, we were presented with apple slices that offered resistance when bitten.
Dinner was paired with one item not featured on the menu: an amazing view. Seated on the rear, northern-facing porch, we had the opportunity to watch the sunset over Otisco Lake and the hills of southern Onondaga County. More than one group, including our own, got up to take photos as the sun progressed towards the horizon.
Outdoor dining in Central New York is often a four-month affair, sometimes stretching to five if we’re lucky. In addition to providing one of the best outdoor dining spaces in the Syracuse area, The Loft at Vesper Hills offers a relaxed, neighborhood tavern-like atmosphere for a relaxed meal.
The Details
The Restaurant: The Loft at Vesper Hills, 4291 Octagon Road, Tully; (315) 696-8328.
Takeout/Delivery? Takeout is available by calling the restaurant.
Reservations? Reservations can be made phone, especially if you want to sit outside on the rear patio.
Credit cards? Yes.
Outdoor seating? Yes.
Noise level: It was manageable outside. The music was loud in the bar area.
Access to the disabled: Entry is at parking lot level. There are stairs inside to get to the restaurant however, you can walk around the exterior of the building on a sidewalk to the back sliding glass door to enter.
Parking: A large private parking lot.
Special diets? The menu can easily accommodate vegetarians, and those following gluten- and dairy-free diets.
Children’s menu? Not that we are aware of, but we saw families with children seated for dinner.
Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: Most of the menu items are $20 or less. Specials were between $20 and $35. We ordered as many items as was reasonable to showcase the menu. Dinner for four with beverages, starters, entrees, dessert, tax, credit card surcharge, and 20 percent gratuity was $209.63.
Jared Paventi is a restaurant critic for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. You can reach him at jaredpaventi@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Sign up for our free weekly Where Syracuse Eats newsletter here.
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