For Restaurant Week, my photographer, Abby, and I went to Craft. A staple of Downtown Binghamton’s dining scene, the restaurant is centrally located at 135 Washington St. It’s the perfect spot to eat after a long day of studying or hanging out with friends.

Visiting on a Friday, the restaurant was lively and welcoming, with both residents and college students celebrating the end of the week with a good burger. With one wall facing the street, the restaurant was sunny and cool, filled with fresh spring air. We were greeted quickly and warmly and brought to our seats, excited to try everything Craft had to offer.

This year, rather than offering an array of sliders, as it has for previous restaurant weeks, Craft offered one big sandwich with a choice of fries, tater tots or a garden salad as a side. I chose the signature Craft burger with tater tots and Abby picked the hot chix sandwich with fries.

The burger was a classic cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, craft sauce and pickles. Served on a soft, light bun, the burger was juicy and well-cooked. Instead of using a traditional sour pickle, the sweetness of the bread-and-butter pickles paired nicely with the savory burger. The Craft burger sauce, with a sharper, more acidic flavor, added an extra punch with a tangy twist, enhancing the taste of the dish.

Abby’s hot chix sandwich featured a crispy chicken breast with buffalo sauce, blue cheese and Napa slaw. The chicken was a perfect balance of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, while the heat of the buffalo sauce was cut with the blue cheese to create a nice juxtaposition. The slaw added texture and freshness to the sandwich, using light, Napa lettuce to not overload the sandwich.

Abby, having visited Craft before, recommended the house buffalo sauce to eat with the fries and tots. While the two were perfect on their own — the fries nicely seasoned with pepper and the tots crispy — the buffalo sauce really took the cake. Even as someone who has disliked buffalo sauce in the past, Craft’s buffalo sauce, made in-house, won me over.

For dessert, two options were offered, both variations of their ice cream nachos. The first option was black out nachos, featuring chocolate ice cream and topped with chocolate chips and chocolate sprinkles. In the second, the unicorn nachos are centered around vanilla ice cream, topped with rainbow sprinkles, both strawberries and strawberry syrup and whipped cream. Both were served with waffle cone chips.

I ordered the unicorn nachos and Abby picked the blackout nachos. The unicorn nachos are exactly how they sound — sweet and fun, with the simple vanilla ice cream highlighting the strawberries. While still a fun and innovative dessert, the blackout nachos catered to a more distinguished palate, with the combination of different chocolates balancing each other out, trading some of the sweetness for a richer flavor.

Overall, Craft was a wonderful experience. From the good service and friendly and welcoming staff to the to-die-for Buffalo sauce and sandwiches, it was a lovely first visit and definitely not my last. Restaurant Week is a great time to try new things and if you haven’t been to Craft yet, check it out before Restaurant Week ends.