Restaurant Week in Binghamton is occasionally the subject of negative talk from cynical students and residents. For many of the participating local restaurants, the fixed prices for a three-course meal are not significantly less expensive than the total for the same items on the regular menu, and it’s easy to overeat if you wouldn’t order three courses on a normal night out.
Number 5, one of the oldest restaurants in the Binghamton area, is a standout exception to this rule. For $30 this week, you can get one of the best-quality meals available, comparing to a regular menu that boasts most of its entrees well above the Restaurant Week fixed price by themselves.
Everything about the restaurant indicates that its standards are nothing short of the top shelf. Though the first floor is overrun with faux cobwebs and other Halloween paraphernalia at the moment, the facade melts away to expose a slice of historic Binghamton: The name refers to Fire Station Number Five, which serviced Binghamton’s South Side until the 1970s. The first floor is somewhat more mod, but the second floor of the building — where myself and my accompanying photographer were seated — reflects a well-preserved and dated interior.
Our meal itself was bookended by sugar; besides the dessert offered on the fixed menu, we began our meal with bread accented by lemon-vanilla butter. The bread itself was delightfully fluffy, but the butter was what took center stage — the restaurant whips it fresh almost every day, and the accenting flavor always changes. While our server, Kara, informed us that the sweeter flavors can get mixed reviews from diners, I had to pace myself to prevent spoiling the rest of the meal due to overeating.
Just as quickly, our appetizers arrived. I had ordered the French onion soup to start, which incorporated applejack brandy into the beef stock, with a Parmesan base and topped with provolone cheese. It was immediately clear that the rich soup clashed with the unseasonably warm 80-degree weather outside and was more suited to a wintry day, but the evident slow-cooking that went into it made me reminisce of meals that my parents would make on cold days when I was younger. The photographer, Kojo, ordered the honey bourbon shrimp; the only aspect of the dish that we were disappointed with was the size, but the sweetness of the honey balanced the stronger flavors of the shrimp out well.
After inquiring about the strikingly seasonal seasoning of the appetizers, we learned that Number 5 uses Restaurant Week as a way to gauge and edit its fall menu. Though it offers staples — like the petite Greek tenderloin — that bring in regulars each time the event is organized, the dependable influx of visitors allows the establishment to experiment with its fall flavors. This couldn’t be more noticeable in the harvest salmon, which I ordered as my entree. The filet was served upon a layer of sweetened butternut squash puree and topped with a burst of choppy walnut butter. The delicate flavors of the butternut squash complemented the pungency of the walnuts, but more importantly, the combination offered a welcome distinction in texture from the uniformity of the salmon.
My dining companion ordered the more traditional medium-cooked prime sirloin, which was well-seared and maintained an evenly grilled pinkish complexion when he cut through for the first bite. While we both agreed that the quality of the cut couldn’t be beat, he felt that the house-made steak sauce was a bit overpowering; if you venture to Number 5 for Restaurant Week and would prefer a meal where the focus of the plate is more to the beef, consider ordering the tenderloin cut instead, which is broiled in lemon and garlic salt.
The entree itself was a truly hearty meal by itself, but we were up to the task of finishing our desserts. We went for a mix of old and brand-new items on the menu, trying a slice of the flourless chocolate decadence cake, a melt-in-your-mouth option that is offered every season for Number Five’s gluten-free diners, and the apple-pumpkin bread pudding. The bread pudding was particularly pillowy, and the fragrant apples were far more present than the subtle notes of pumpkin. It didn’t win for visual presentation, but it took the cake for autumnal essence.
Upon leaving the establishment, we were surprised to find that it was still warm out — the meal had momentarily taken us into full-onset fall. We also left feeling overly full; true to Restaurant Week cynics, we did overeat by what may have been a wide margin. Yet, contrary to this take, Number 5 may succeed in offering the best quality food for what is genuinely the best value.