Dish and Dirt from Troy, New York

Cooking again

2009-09-17T19:09:00.010-04:00

I know, I haven't posted here since February. What can I say? I've been busy. But a little time has opened up again, and I'm thinking a lot about food and cooking these days.

I've been clearing out books I don't need, including cookbooks, which has made me think about which cookbooks are the ones I really like and use. One of those is called Ottolenghi, a cookbook I had to order from abroad. It's the cookbook from a café in London run by an Israeli and Palestinian, with vegetarian-friendly (but not exclusively veg) dishes and an emphasis on Mediterranean cuisine= lots of lemon and garlic. It took forever to get it, but it's worth it. Pictured above is a dish I've made a few times from it.

It's Israeli couscous, which is the large-grained kind, with tomatoes that have been roasted for a couple of hours with olive oil and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. You would be astounded at how sweet tomatoes get when you roast them like this. Then, they are tossed with herbs (here tarragon) and slabs of goat cheese, and add more olive oil. You can get the Israeli couscous in the bulk section at Honest Weight Coop. These tomatoes are from the Troy Farmer's Market. Something magical happens to the oils and juice: they meld, creating a tomatoey, orange oil that coats the grains of couscous. By the way, the Ottolenghi recipe tells you to put in regular couscous, too, but I think it's better without.

Something else I made lately: pickled turnip, which sounds awful, but is addictively good. I got the idea for it because I love the bright pink pickled turnips they have at the Lebanese restaurant in Troy, Al-Baraki, now called Beirut, reviewed recently in the TU by Celina Bean. By the way, if you read Celina Bean's reviews, you will get very very hungry! She makes me want to go out and eat food. Anyway, these turnips "torshi left," are typically served with felafel, hummus, or baba ghanouj. They get their color from beets, which are part of the pickle recipe.

Anyway, I had a ton of turnips (not to mention beets) from this year's garden, and thought it would make a great experiment. It's easy because you don't have to seal the pickles: they are your basic refrigerator pickle, which will last a month or so. I used a basic recipe from online (this one from the Palm Beach Daily News is similar). The fuschia-colored pickles are garlicky and tangy and are *amazing* with a sandwich (I put them on a salmon burger), or just by themselves as an appetizer with olives and a glass of wine. What makes them great with humus is that they are piquant and slick where humus is heavy and dry.

Tosca's Brunch a Winner

2009-02-26T11:22:00.008-05:00

This is a long overdue post, as we went to Tosca for brunch almost a month ago. Chef Larry Shepici does a themed brunch every month, and this one was Armenian. The next one, slated for March 15, is Irish for St. Patrick's Day. It's a wonderful idea and keeps the menu interesting. At these brunches, in addition to the special ethnic choices, there are also brunch standards, all scrumptious: eggs benedict, waffles, potatoes, blintzes, and a carving station. Unlike Tosca's dinner menu, which I felt was too pricey, the $25 brunch menu gives you tons of excellent food at a reasonable price (plus coffee). It goes from 10 am to 2 pm-- also a great idea for those of us who might not be up at the crack of dawn on the weekend. It's an excellent place to keep in mind when you have relatives or friends visiting from out of town and you want to show them a good time.

At the Armenian brunch, I got a combination of the ethnic food-- a delicious chicken in tomato sauce, a cheese turnover in phyllo dough, some grains and beans--along with my usual high-calorie breakfast favorites. Here the eggs benedict were great, and the waffles came with a sumptuous array of sauces and fruits.

Then, there was dessert. Mini eclairs, tarts, and even a selection of ice cream/gelato.

You'll notice that, tucked in between all the sinful choices (cinnamon twist, chicken dish, fried potatoes) I placed Caesar salad-- yes, it was a pathetic attempt to eat my veggies. No, I wasn't fooling anyone.

Creo

2009-01-14T11:07:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we went to explore Creo: I'd heard a lot about its renovation as it replaced Mangia. (Warning: their web site starts playing some lite jazz as soon as you go there!) You can read about it in the Times Union. I am always excited when there's a new restaurant in town, and so I went with high hopes.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. While I was really impressed with the renovations and interior, the food left me disappointed. Not entirely disappointed-- and I have the feeling that if you become a regular, you can find things that truly satisfy, because some of our dishes were good. But I did feel quite let down.

All Over Albany liked it , while others posting on Chowhound seem to agree with me about the food. Also, while the interior room is nice and big and airy, the volume was pretty loud. They brought us salted edamame to start with. Sorry all my photos are so dark; it was actually pretty dark in there, and I should have used the flash.

They also brought bread. These are the potato chips we ordered for appetizer. They are smothered with a bleu cheese sauce. As good as they sound, they actually weren't that great. They didn't taste potato-ey at all, (or for that matter very bleu cheesy) but rather just greasy. Just looking at them, I could feel my arteries stiffening up.

If you go to the All Over Albany site, there are better pictures of the food we had. They seem to have ordered many of the same things: I think it might be the novelty factor, because the things we ordered are things you can't find elsewhere around here. I got the fig pizza and was really disappointed there. First of all, the crust was more like thin pita bread or lavash than pizza crust; secondly, the thing was covered with gooey sweet balsamic sauce. This confused me, because you can see into the kitchen, and they have big brick-style fire ovens, so it would be the ideal scenario for authentic crust. Then there was the overly sweet issue with the balsamic sauce (which Daisy Baker's also seems to use with abandon). I agree with Mark Bittman's recent judgment that balsamic is something people have gone way overboard with. It's now everywhere, the quality tends not to be that good, and a little goes a long way. Unfortunately it's overused. The cheese on the pizza was totally unflavorful, with no saltiness to balance out the sweetness of the figs and balsamic. And the pizza wasn't really warm, either.

My husband got the pasta with mushrooms, and this was actually quite good with homemade noodles and a nice mushroomey, buttery sauce. (I envied him) For dessert we got the creme brulee, which was pretty good also.

The waitstaff were excellent: very attentive but not overweaning. I had a lovely glass of prosecco; and the bar is really nicely done. Overall, a good place to get drinks and something simple, but, I'm sorry to report, it left me underwhelmed in the food department.

Sushi Thai at the Park

2008-11-08T13:40:00.009-05:00

It was a rainy day, and I was about to get a head cold (although I didn't know it yet). My husband and I had lunch at Sushi Thai, and it was just what I was hoping it would be-- warming, good, and modern. I think it may have postponed my cold a bit. It at least gave me some good food memories while I recuperated.

There really aren't that many Thai places in the Capital Region (one on Lark Street that's very hole-in-the-wall; and Thai Bangkok on Wolf Road), so I was excited to learn of Sushi Thai. There is another one in Saratoga, where I have been once before. The Clifton Park location has a clean, modern feeling with an open airy big room with a bar/sushi area. A pleasant place to dine. At around 1:30 pm we missed the lunch crowd, but there was one other couple there while we ate.

We shared spring rolls to start, and they were small, but good. Then came the main courses: chicken thai melon curry for me, and red curry for him. They looked pretty much identical, but they did not taste entirely the same. My husband's dish was milder and had a definite, yummy basil taste. There were actual basil leaves in his sauce. Mine was nice and spicy. Thai melon is a sort of zucchini. I had fun imagining the big vats of sauce they must keep in the kitchen, along with prepared vegetables and meats.

The menu is extensive, although we ordered from the mix 'n match curry section. There are also sushi options, rice, noodles, and fried dishes. They also have things like Tamarind or Bangkok duck. And of course, Pad Thai, which I plan on trying next time

There is something sweet and inviting about the place that makes you want to go back. Maybe it's the little good luck kitty in the entranceway.

Sushi Thai is located at 1707 Route 9 in Clifton Park.
Telephone: 348-0100. Hours:
LUNCH
M-Sun. 11:30-3
DINNER
Sun.-Thurs. 5 pm - 10 pm and Fri. and Sat 5-10:30.

Making Pierogies

2008-10-21T12:20:00.004-04:00

Well, I actually did it. For the first time in my life, I made noodles from scratch and then filled them to make pierogies. I have to say it was way easier than I imagined! I used my hands to blend the dough together and it was really easy to knead (way easier than bread dough). The most time-consuming part was filling and boiling all those little dumplings (about 50 total!) But the best part is that now I have lots of frozen pierogies that all we have to do to eat is defrost and fry. The picture to the left shows the pierogies after they've been boiled for about 8 minutes.

And here they are after they've been fried in coconut oil:I got the recipe from this About.com web site; none of the cookbooks I have at home had really adequate recipes for the noodle dough. I knew that just flour and water wasn't going to cut it (as one of my cookbooks advised). So I went for this one, which uses a high fat content with butter and sour cream. And indeedy they were delicious! I also managed to use up 3 heads of cabbage that I had grown in my garden for the filling. For the filling I used a recipe from Please to the Table, a wonderful cookbook with Russian and Eastern European recipes. It called for cabbage, chopped egg, dill, and salt and pepper. The dill I had growing in my garden, so that was easy. I also added some fried onion.

There is something wonderful about really making food from scratch like this. I thought it would take up lots of time; but instead, it expanded out my time and involved all my senses. And I involved my husband in the filling/boiling part, so it was even bonding time. Ultimately it saved me time because I didn't have to go to the grocery store or out to get food, and instead I made several meals' worth of food in one evening.

August notes...

2008-08-23T19:31:00.004-04:00

I've been really delinquent on this blog lately because I've been busy! The garden is bursting right now and I have some food canning/preserving to do. Farmer's Market today for eggs and cookies. Making zucchini pancakes and salsa tomorrow. I've been buying wild-caught salmon at Hannaford and grilling it= out of this world.

Some notes:
last night went to Bellini's in Clifton Park and it was okay, but not the kind of place you'd go out of your way for. Typical suburban strip mall Italian joint with huge portions, over-friendly waitstaff, but decent pastas. Our salad was pathetic, though: lots of the greens were actually yellow. Which to my mind is inexcusable this time of year. We needed to get out of the house, though, and the pasta with chicken in garlic cream sauce was pretty good.

We Love Troy!
Just in case you haven't seen this, it's worth a gander:

It says: Burke's Blue Collar, A Working-Class Bar. CHEAP BOOZE, NASTY STAFF, PRETTY GOOD FOOD.

You can't beat it for truth in advertising. And then there's this life-sized cardboard cutout just as a bonus:

Wednesday Farmer's Market, Little Italy

2008-07-04T17:04:00.008-04:00

Troy now has a farmer's market on Wednesdays from 3-6. It's in Little Italy, behind the old Vanilla Bean bakery. It's a perfect spot for a farmer's market-- lots of parking and lots of space. There were maybe about 12 or so vendors selling everything from fresh produce-- strawberries, greens, carrots--to yarn and candy. I stopped Four Brothers, a cheesemongery, and bought some delicious, fresh haloumi.

I also got some cookies at the nearby Ridvan bakery. And this is what I did with the haloumi:
Salad. First I toasted the walnuts and the haloumi in the toaster oven. Then added olive oil, pepper, and salt. The lettuce is from my neighbors' garden. Delicious.

Chow Down at CCK

2008-06-26T11:08:00.007-04:00

CCK
299 Central Avenue, Albany
433-2658

Hours:
M-Th 11-10:30 pm
Friday 11-11:30 pm
Sat. 11:30am -11:30pm
Sunday 11:30am -10 pm

CCK is a Chinese food-lover's dream come true. It is run by the same people who brought us Ocean Palace, which closed this year because of something having to do with the ownership of the building. Bring a big appetite with you: you will want to order everything.

CCK is much smaller than Ocean Palace, but the menu is just as dazzling with variety and the food just as authentic. If anything, there is a cozier vibe at CCK.

I went with my friend who also loves Chinese food and we had a feast:

This was the flounder in black bean sauce (a special, similar to the sea bass I used to get at Ocean Palace). You can get the dim sum all day, which my friend did, as they didn't have the crispy chicken he wanted (they said this particular dish would be available on Saturdays). We also tried their congee, something I had never had. This one had chicken and peanut in it. It is very simple (just a mushy rice soup basically) but delicious, something that I imagine would be supergood in the depths of winter:

The menu is mind-bogglingly huge and includes everything from your typical dishes loved by Americans (spring rolls, beef with broccoli, Lo Mein) to the more exotic: Conch with Brown Mushrooms, Jelly Fish (part of their dim sum menu), Fried Fish Head in Casserole. I will have to go back and see if their in-house menu is different from what I remember at Ocean Palace. It seemed pretty similar to me. Thank God. I was so worried when Ocean Palace closed. I know now that I will be able to make it through another winter, thanks to CCK.

3 Great Things in Troy Right Now

2008-06-07T22:39:00.003-04:00

This was a cup of hazelnut and blackberry cabernet gelato from Le Marche Vert. It didn't last very long after this photo was taken.

Lots of yummy things to report on in Troy.
In no particular order:

1. Ciao Bella gelato at Le Marche Vert! I'm growing quite fond of this little market; it is like a food boutique,a small shop offering gourmet foods, and you can always find something worth getting here (cheeses, some takeout prepared foods, chocolate). The Ciao Bella gelato, served in cups to go, is not to be missed. Favorite flavors: Hazelnut; Blackberry Cabernet; and Chocolate Orange.

2. Parmesan cookies at Spillin' the Beans. I bought 6 of these for just $1.25 the other day. They are so good-- great with wine, salad, or just as a snack. They are basically like a shortbread cookie but flavored with parmesan-- savory. I am addicted.

3. Oliver's Naturals rocks! I can't say this enough. I went in there the other day and got, get this: a shiitake grilled cheese sandwhich, on Ezekiel bread with some kind of wonderful pesto or garlic mayonnaise. And I got a cup of joe that had been *hand ground.* (Baby Oliver likes to crank the grinder-- he's so cute). You will feel totally nourished-- physically, spiritually, mentally-- by the food, and Diana, Adam, and Lauren make everyone feel right at home.

Updates

2008-05-28T19:31:00.004-04:00

Since I've written about Ocean Palace before here, I thought I should tell any readers that it has closed. This post by Steve Barnes at the Times Union explains that their lease ran out:

Click here to read all the info. we have so far.

Does anyone know what CCK is? Or what it stands for?

You'd think that a restaurant wouldn't just abandon loyal customers like that-- that they'd leave a sign on the old building or issue a press release or something.

In other news, Moxie's is open again-- there is a reason to live.

Ask and Ye shall Receive (Pizza)

2008-03-26T22:04:00.005-04:00

Just after I was bellyaching in my last post about the lack of gourmet Italian, what happens? The appearance of some really good, contemporary Italian in Troy. It almost makes me believe that wishes come true if you whine long and hard enough.
Enter: Bacchus, a brick-oven pizza joint downstairs from Daisy Baker's at 33 Second Street in Troy. It's operated by the same folks who do Daisy Baker's. We've been to Bacchus already twice. This is just the kind of spot Troy needs-- casual dining with a little gourmet flair. Somewhere to have a glass of wine with your dinner on a weeknight. There are so many nights when we don't have anything planned for dinner at home, don't want to do take-out, but don't want to go anywhere fancy: and for those nights, Bacchus is the perfect solution.

The menu itself is small-ish: there is basically pizza, or pasta. On the pizza, you can go with their suggested toppings, or create your own. Toppings included artichokes, broccoli, shrimp, some meat toppings, and garlic. We've done our own pizza, both times using ricotta and extra garlic with spinach. I ordered a salad; and the second time there I tried the roasted garlic with foccaccia, which I can't say enough good things about.

The salad is simple but good, made with fresh mixed greens and a lovely oil and vinegar type dressing. It's the perfect foil for the pizza. You can order wine or beer, and the service has been friendly and helpful. They've done a great job renovating the space; it's warm and cozy with authentic brick walls (good old Troy bricks). There are little nook-like spaces with booths, or you can dine in a larger area all the way inside to the left.

I love DeFazio's, but I am a sucker for a good thin-crust pizza. If I could pick only one food to eat day in and day out, it would probably be pizza. What, actually, is there to food besides pizza? It's got all the four food groups: dough, cheese, oil, and tomato.

This pizza is thin-crust, which is great because in Troy we already have DeFazio's, where the crust is more substantial. DeFazio's crust is not deep dish, but it's certainly not thin-crust. You can never really have too much pizza in one town. As they grow, which Bacchus most certainly will because it's already proving a popular spot, I hope they add maybe more dinner-type salads along with more pizza and pasta toppings: for example, things a little more 'upscale' like goat cheese or basil. The ricotta and spinach are great, though.

Until then, though, cheers: we finally have a casual, contemporary Italian joint to call our own.

Verdile's, an old standby

2008-03-01T16:57:00.008-05:00

Verdile's has been on my list of places to try, and we finally made it there last week. I was impressed by the spaciousness, the calm decor, and the crowd, obviously made up of long-term patrons. This is truly a family Italian restaurant. It's like an old pair of jeans: you can dress them up or down, making a meal at Verdile's into something casual or fancy, as you wish.

We were three, and although there were plenty of seats, it took them a while to seat us (although granted, we were waiting for our 3rd member for a while, too). While we waited we got to see that everyone who came in was warmly greeted and there was definitely a community feeling afoot.

We were hungry. They brought white bread. It was not warm. I was somewhat disappointed by this. We ordered a salad for two, which really covered all 3 of us nicely. Nothing unusual to report about the salad. Then came the main courses. I ordered fettucine alfredo with shrimp; my friend ordered regular fettucine alfredo. I figure, I never make anything this sinfully rich at home-- why not? If it's truly a family place, then their fettucine alfredo would show it. It was good-- I mean, how can anything with that much cream *not* be good?! The shrimp were fine, too. But again, no surprises here. The waiters wore tuxes, or tux-like outfits-- very formal. Yet there was the crumbly kind of parmesan on the table-- not real parmesan. I found this incongruous. It's sort of like having chef Boyardee on Wedgewood.

My husband got the manicotti, which I tried, and it was perfectly adequate. His portion was a normal-sized portion, whereas the fettucine gave me lunch the next day. We didn't have room for dessert. I gained 2 pounds from my fettucine. (Yes, I've been very weight-conscious lately, as I've been trying to lose some of my significant winter padding.)

Verdile's is located at 572 Second Ave., between 115 and 116th Streets, not far from the Snowman in the 'Burgh. These are their hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm, Sun 12pm-9pm.

Great hours. Still, I don't think I'm going back there any time soon. The food just isn't interesting enough-- which is a problem I have with so many Italian restaurants here. Where are the healthy greens, the whole wheat crust breads, the many artisanal cheeses that could easily be sourced from NY State? Obviously the vast majority of the ingredients here are shipped in, highly industrialized. The food is formulaic, heavy (tons of veal), and you might as well travel back to 1955, which frankly, I do not care to do. I do understand the sentimental connections people have to places like this, though, and it's good to know that such a standby is still thriving.

Course on food writing

2008-02-25T16:27:00.003-05:00

There is a new course at the Arts Center of the Capital Region just for us foodophiles:

Food Writing Basics

Stir the sauce of your experience into a good serving of words. We'll study the genre and how it's developed over the years, in order to create a recipe for writing about your life at the table and stove.

Prerequisite: None

7:00 - 9:30, Wednesday, March 12 - April 2

Amy Halloran

Tuition:     $145.00 Non-Members

                  $125.00 Members

To register contact The Arts Center of the Capital Region, 273-0552.

It's a Family Affair: Oliver's Naturals

2008-02-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

Troy is lucky to be garnering quite a bit of buzz lately on the food front. We've got the Troy Food Co-op coming up, promising to be a wonderful destination. If you haven't joined yet, do so now!! From what I hear, they are close to reaching their initial membership goal-- and you know you want to be one of the pioneers. In years to come, it's going to be one of those things you can boast about to your kids and grandkids: "I was one of the first to join in the Troy Food Co-op." "Really, Grandma? You are *so* hip and cool." There's Tosca, and now Le Marche Vert, the little gourmet market right next to Tosca also owned by Chef Larry Shepici. Not to mention all the old standbys: DeFazio's, First Choice Caribbean, Francesca's, Shalimar, Shake Shake Mama's, Ilium Café, Brown's Brew Pub, José Malone's.

The latest addition is Oliver's Naturals, a cozy, inviting vegetarian café on Fulton Street (#459, same block as Shalimar) run by a family: Oliver is the 8-month-old adorable baby mascot. Adam and Lauren are his also-adorable parents, and Adam's mom is the divine Diane, who makes the fabulous biscotti. Even Adam's grandma is involved sometimes making biscotti as well.

You walk in and feel like you're in your best friend's living room. You know, the best friend whose mom was cooler than yours. And you always wanted to hang out there because they had the coolest food. There isn't much seating, but there's enough. They have funky decor, like crystals scattered on the tables. And you've got to see Oliver's stuffed Jerry Garcia doll.

Go to meet Oliver; go because this is community building at its best, with a lot of locally sourced food, all organics. But you'll want to go back again and again because the food is so AWESOME.

I've been there twice already, and everyone I've talked to who's been there gets this kind of converted dazed look in their eyes when they talk about it. The food is that good. I had a cream of tomato soup with a grilled cheese when I first went there, and I'm still thinking about that soup. The grilled cheese was made with a garlic mayonnaise, and came on Ezekiel bread. The next time I went, I got a spinach salad with gorgonzola, and roasted pine nuts. It was so delicious that I forgot I was eating just a salad! It made me feel full, satisfied. It came with home-toasted pita chips. They have fair trade coffees, Maté, and last but not least, home made biscotti. The biscotti I had were dipped in dark chocolate and, get this: made with olive oil. You'd never know it because they sure tasted sinful! They also had nut and cranberry biscotti.

They just opened in late December. As of the last time I was there, their hours were Sun 9-12 and Monday- Saturday 10 am- 4 pm. It's not many places in Troy that are open Sundays for breakfast. We need this. I'm going to be going there a lot; the food is fantastic, and they just make everyone feel welcome.

Guess: which fruits and vegetables contain the most pesticides?

2008-01-11T19:11:00.000-05:00

The Environmental Working Group has put together a chart of the worst vegetables and fruits for pesticide load. Can you guess which ones are the most harmful? What do you think: strawberries? That's what I would guess. Oranges? Nah, should be okay, all that rind...What about leafy vegetables?

Guess again. The top five worst offenders:

1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84

Click here for the full list from foodnews.org.

The Hudson Hip Factor

2008-01-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

Scrumptious pizza that I took home from Baba Louie's:

Those are figs! And spinach. And real mozzarella!!!! This weekend we went to Hudson, where hipness seems concentrated like a shot of espresso. It was just what one needs this time of year-- a little spot of razzmatazz- and I had two sublime food experiences: one at Verdigris, a tea bar/art salon, and the other at Baba Louie's, a fantastic sit-down gourmet pizzeria that also has pasta, panini, soup, and salad.

Verdigris has a bajillion kinds of tea for sale-- greens, reds (rooibus), black teas, tisanes-- and an adorable bakery with luscious looking cake and wonderful cookies. I took home oatmeal cookies and orange shortbreads. They also sell artwork and you can sit down indoors and enjoy your tea or hot chocolate (my husband tried the hot chocolate, which was truly wonderful-- dark and luscious and subtly flavored with something smoky, like maybe vanilla). They have a lovely outdoor patio area where you can sit in nicer weather. There are lots of places in Hudson to spend the afternoon reading with a cup of something warm and tasty, and Verdigris is definitely one I'd like to go back to.

I can't imagine anyone who *wouldn't* like Baba Louie's. Ingredients are fresh, often organic (the crust is made with either organic sourdough or wheat-free spelt; mixed greens in salads are organic), toppings are imaginative but not overweening, and the crust is thin and crispy. We debated heavily between the Melanzana Cardinale pizza, which comes with eggplant, plum tomatoes, fresh mozarella, smoked gouda and pesto; or the Isabella Pizzarella, which comes with roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips (I'm a sucker for parsnips), caramelized onions, roasted garlic, mozzarella, fennel, and balsamic vinegar. We decided to go with yet a third choice, the Dolce Vita: spinach, tomato sauce, mozzarella, figs, gorgonzola, prosciutto and parmesan and "topped with rosemary infused oil" except we ordered it without the prosciutto. It sounds like a lot, but the flavors married brilliantly, and all these toppings were just that-- toppings--they didn't take over the whole pie.

This pizza was so good that I now dream about going back for another. The figs tasted like sausage, which for a vegetarian is pure heaven= having that meaty sweety fat flavor without fake 'meat' (veggie strips, texturized protein, etc). It was just a gorgeous blend of sweet and salty, picante and mild, chewy and crispy. Heaven!

With a large pizza we still had half of it to take home (and that's something to look forward to). They also offer smaller (10 inch) pizzas. They have a pasta every evening and a choice of salads: we got a salad with figs and pecans, and it was served with a lemon dressing that was out of this world.

Service was warm and prompt; and the restaurant is open and airy yet you have privacy because there are booths and tables separated by half-walls. There are candles on the tables-- you could take a date here and feel at ease. We also saw families with kids who seemed like they were loving it. What a place!

And it all left me a bit starry-eyed and wondering about Hudson. And I realized: there isn't a SINGLE place in the entire Albany area (including Troy, Schenectady, Clifton Park, etc) that is like Baba Louie's: a simple but gourmet/organic restaurant with pizzas and pastas amenable to casual but quality dining. There are tons of Italian places, but they are either family style restaurants, where you are basically served enough food to power a small football team; or they are ultra-shmancy, like Cafe Capriccio or Tosca. Nothing in between. The only middle-of-the-road casual dining category includes places like Brown's Brewpub or the Pump Station-- nothing particularly memorable about the American food (burgers, wings, fish), and gargantuan portions. I just want a decent casual European style dining place-- *not* another big deal leather-banquette necktie and chandeliers place--that satisfies. A restaurant that serves things like goat cheese and balsamic vinegar without making these ingredients seem fussy or unusual. They aren't unusual for me-- these are things I use in my kitchen all the time, along with pine nuts, fresh imported parmesan, organic greens, and fresh mozzarella. But often when I see them served in a restaurant around here, I get the impression that the chef thinks they're 'exotic' as though they've just discovered them. Newsflash: The Silver Palate cookbook came out 25 years ago! Get with the times, Albany, and take a page from Hudson's dining scene-- I think we're ready.

Organic Roots in East Greenbush

2007-12-10T18:48:00.000-05:00

Where was I the other day? Near the corner of nowhere and Route 4 in East Greenbush. It doesn't look like much, but trust me, if you're living in East Greenbush, this is going to be heaven because you can get good clean organic food for lunch here: at Organic Roots. Apparently the place has been around for a while (like a couple of years) but I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago thanks to one of my sources.

Organic Roots is a cozy café with sandwiches, a soup of the day, coffee, and assorted health-nut drinks. Service was quick and attentive. There were two women in there when I was there, and they also commented that it was surprising they hadn't heard of the place until recently, in spite of one of the women living right nearby. Organic Roots needs better advertising (like better signage for starts). It also needs desserts. When I was there, they didn't even have chocolate bars by the register. Isn't it some kind of law that all lunch places must have chocolate? [Edited to add: the owner has written to me and expressed that they usually *do* have dessert but happened to be out the day I visited. She wrote, "I went to school for pastry arts and the day you came we hade no cookies or muffins but if you were a regular you would have known we usually always have cookies or some kind of dessert." Thanks for the clarification. Also, she says there are chocolate bars on the retail shelf.]

Chocolate appeases the masses.

I had a lovely sandwich with avocado and veggies plus a cup of broccoli soup. It was tasty; there was some kind of flavorful sauce (I want to say aioli) on the bread, and everything was fresh. They gave me a cup of bean salad (I could have also gotten something else-- I think pasta salad) and some croutons. I felt so healthy! I was then ready for sinfulness with dessert. See, this is the real reason to eat healthy: then you can feel so virtuous you don't mind being a little sinful from time to time.

Organic Roots is at 91 Troy Road, at the intersection of Route 4 with Route 151, just West of I-90. It's a bit far for me to go there often, but it's nice to know it's there.

Cella Bistro: If You Lived There, You'd Be Home By Now

2007-11-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

Cella Bistro is for me a schlep. I define 'schlep' as anything more than about a 15 minute drive around here, especially if it's winter. Also, I define 'schlep' as anything taking place in the greater Schenectady area-- apologies to Schenectady folks. I'm sure you feel the same way about Troy, so it's even. The word also is appropriate here because, ultimately, I felt that this would be a fine restaurant if we lived nearby, but it isn't something I plan to go out of my way for again. And that's not just because I'm grouchy. If you met me in person, you'd never realize how grouchy I am. For the most part I hide it really well.

For your consideration is this wall of family photos that my husband and I had almost an hour to contemplate as we waited for our appetizers. It didn't make me feel like part of the family. It made me feel like maybe there is some kind of competition, and the people with bigger families win.

I had heard numerous good things about Cella Bistro from acquaintances and also from various reviews. Click here for Steve Barnes' review of them this summer. It's supposed to be a more contemporary Italian place than what we usually expect in the Capital Region, where old school red-sauce joints are King. So we schlepped, and then we further schlepped, because we parked about a block away on a quiet residential street that was full of cars. The parking lot there is small (although to our chagrin once we hoofed it in the cold to the restaurant we discovered there were, in fact, plenty of spaces right in the lot). It's in a building that looks like it was once a house, although it's been nicely redecorated, with warm-toned brown painted walls and new beadboard.

After our initial expenditure of schlep energy in the drive, we further depleted our patience resources by waiting for service that was creepingly slow. At one point, our waiter, who was of the more obsequious and frighteningly cheerful variety, apologized, saying there was a large party of 20 people that was slowing everything down. We were understanding, really we were. And then we realized that we had been sitting there for almost an hour and hadn't even gotten our salads yet. So that was count one against Cella Bistro, although as an experienced restaurant-goer knows, sometimes these things happen. Still, times like this I feel like saying, "Hey, will you just show me the kitchen-- I'll fix the salad!"

The food itself was uneven. The appetizers weren't that good: this spring roll
is an example of nouveau cuisine making too much of itself, with goat cheese and artichoke filling (artichokes should never be used to 'fill' anything. I have too much respect for artichokes). The endive salad we shared was mostly just that-- endive with a too-heavy dressing sitting inside a radicchio leaf. But by that time, we were hungry and grateful.

I had a lovely rosé wine from Provence. I wouldn't mind another right now.

Then dinner: my husband's bolognese was really good, with homemade wide pasta noodles; mine was mahi-mahi with a sauce that was too sweet. There's nothing that turns me off more than too much sweetness. Cloying and saccharine, too much sweetness is always trying to hide something. But the haricots verts were the real thing, which I appreciate because I don't have much luck growing them like that (nice, dark and skinny) in my garden.

The scene was quite the Niskayuna-Schenectady do-gooders scene. People at a table behind us were yukking it up in that way that people who function in society yet like to get drunk do. And our waiter seemed to egg them on by chatting them up. This loud group then moved to the bar area and it was remarkably quieter.

We opted out of dessert. It's probably a good thing because today alone I hate half a large farmer's market chocolate cookie (Placid Baker, I love you!) and a biscotti as well as a bag of Cheetos. 'Tis the season, folks. Happy Thanksgiving.

Chai Tea—Masala Chai, That Is

2007-10-11T22:50:00.000-04:00

I tend to be something of an obsessive personality. I get fixated on a thing, and then I worry it like a dog worries a bone. I look at it from this angle and that. I gnaw. I ponder. Lately I've done this with Chai tea, which is inherently obsession-worthy: it's everywhere (Starbucks, restaurants) yet it's hard to find good, truly spicy Chai tea. Chai means 'tea' in many languages, but I'm after masala chai, which is what Westerners mean when they say Chai. Wikipedia has a decent entry on it. Go to a grocery store and you will find several different things claiming to be Chai: vanilla chai tea, even green chai (yuck), powder mix for Chai that includes the sweetener.

I do not drink caffeine, and so it became of the utmost importance in my life to find Chai decaf tea that didn't taste like cardboard water. Many of the teas purporting to be Chai (sold by Stash, Celestial Seasonings and the like) *smell* good and spicy but when you taste them they taste like nothing. Worse than nothing, because at least if you're drinking nothing, you expect nothing. When you expect spicy warmth and find nothing, it's disappointing. So I visited the India Bazaar, a great store on 1321 Central Ave., where I bought fresh ginger, cardamom still green in its pods, and peanuts coated with hot spices.

I had found this recipe, which claimed that you do not want to use leaf tea to make Chai-- and right they are. Every time I made Chai using leaf tea, it turned out wrong. The tea leaf turned the tea too bitter, and the spices couldn't compete. I wanted to buy authentically Indian tea-- not the expensive leaf kind of tea, but just the everyday kind, hoping to find decaf. But apparently, people from India do not believe in decaf.

These are the right brands, but they all have caffeine.
I can really understand their point about caffeine (alas, I love things that are bad for me), and maybe next time I will feel brave enough to buy one of these boxes of tea.

So I started experimenting with the Chai recipe. At first it was not good. So I added more spice and made it again. And then, when I finally got it how I like it, I decided that it's no use to make just one cup of Chai. You want to have lots of it around, so you can easily reheat some for a midnight snack or early in the morning.

So here's what I came up with.

Big pot O Decaf Chai

You will need a sturdy mortar and pestle for this, as well as a strainer with fine holes, around the size that can fit over your standard tea mug. I found an excellent cup-size strainer at the Hannaford.

6 cups water
8 tsp. Orange pekoe tea (or tea from 8 tea bags) but DO NOT use leaf tea! I have used Tetley and Salada.
20-30 pods cardamom. Cardamom can make it taste bitter, so maybe more like 20, depending on your taste.
1 hunk of ginger (1-2 inch chunk)
15 or so black peppercorns
4 medium sticks of cinnamon (more if the sticks are thin)
15 allspice berries
15 cloves
some honey
2 cups milk or half and half

Place the cardamom and ginger together in your mortar and pestle and pound away until you are satisfied, and until the cardamom seeds, which are black, emerge from the pods and are crushed. (This part is very therapeutic). Then do the same with the rest of the spices, making sure you break up the cinnamon well enough that there is some powder as well as little bits of cinnamon bark. The more you break things up, the more surface area there will be = the more spicy your tea will be. Put it all in the water with the tea, and then simmer it for about 10 minutes. This part is important: too little time, and your tea won't taste like much of anything, but too much time, and it will be bitter. Add 2 cups of milk or half and half if you're feeling decadent, and heat through. Then add about 2 Tbs. honey (or to taste) and strain.

Harvest time!

2007-09-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

September is well on its way and my garden is still giving forth tomatoes every day. I've also got eggplants, fennel, cabbage, squash (summer and winter this year! A banner year!), potatoes, carrots, chard, kale, and broccoli. Today I made a cold tomato soup--kind of a gazpacho with lime, cumin, and cinnamon. Tomorrow: what to do with the lovely tiny eggplants that squirrels keep taking little nips out of?

Above is a salad grown entirely from my garden this spring.

I don't believe that I can ever become self-sufficient. Unlike some writers who have argued for the locavore movement lately (I'm still really wanting to read Barbara Ehrenreich's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; and there was a really funny feature in New York Magazine by Manny Howard detailing his many failures trying to live off what his yard produced in Brooklyn), I don't think we will solve our many environmental problems by hunkering down by the campfire eating moldy but homegrown turnips through the long Northeastern winters. Every place has its own local food culture, and trading to mutual benefit is never a problem. It's not the 'where' as much as the 'what' and the 'how.' Do I really need to buy apples from Washington when I can get them from New York? No, but if I want pineapple, bananas, or green peppers in the winter, I'm going to have to get them from afar. Is this reasonable? Yes, but it's also reasonable to ask that these things be sustainably farmed and shipped with respect to the environment.

We are social creatures, and we need each other to survive. There is no such thing as truly self-sufficient. Still, my vegetable garden has become central to my life these past few years, changing the way I think about food, and I've gotten better at growing stuff. Mostly, I'm more organized than I was (my first year I had a tomato forest and total chaos! But it was beautiful) and better at spacing plants. I just never believe that such tiny seedlings will grow up into edible veggies. But look, a casserole of roasted garden veggies:

As a result of growing my own vegetables for a small portion of the year, I've come to realize how much sweat labor food takes. (Answer: lots.) From digging and composting to planting, weeding constantly, watering, and harvesting, it's pretty much non-stop work. It's one of the most pleasurable forms of work I know, however, and oh do those tomatoes taste sweet! Even at the farmer's market there aren't such juicy, flavorful tomatoes as I grow. My fav. varieties: Lillian's Yellow heirloom tomatoes, which really don't become ripe until September 1 or so, and Cherokee tomatoes, a dark winey tomato with dark green shoulders. Here is my little plot of earth.

The reason I called this blog "Dish and Dirt" is because I believe that what we 'dish' ultimately relies on the condition of our dirt. In plain terms, what we eat grows on this earth, and its quality depends on the soil. Despite a certain degree of cantankerousness (and the desire to keep eating imported chocolate), I do believe that we could all do a lot more local eating. I try to resist processed foods, foods that have traveled too far to get to me (except for chocolate), and especially foods that have been slapped together and shipped with no thought to quality, care, or health. So let's all get out and enjoy those farmer's markets, apple picking farms, and local honey while it's harvest season.

River Street Café

2007-09-11T20:52:00.000-04:00

My husband and I went out to eat at the River Street Café to celebrate our anniversary recently, and it was passably good. I had the cod with an avocado cilantro preparation, my husband had the pasta dish--noodles with vegetables--but I left feeling as I often feel at restaurants: my culinary life has just been made unecessarily complicated.

Simplicity is hard to come by. People think that once they've hit on a good thing, we all want more of it. Restraint is the natural companion of quality, but they are both so often missing in life. The stomach doesn't have to be overwhelmed with quantity nor the taste buds drowned in excess.

The River Street Café is located on 429 River Street, right next to the big parking lot where the summer Troy Farmer's Market takes place. Their telephone is 518-273-2740, and their hours are Tues-Sat. 5:30 until closing, but it's a good idea to call. There were several months this year when it seemed that the restaurant was just closed; perhaps the proprietor was on vacation.

I like the relaxed atmosphere at the River Street Café and its romantic candlelit tables with views of the Hudson River. It's a trustworthy spot, one that many RPI students and professors frequent and take parents and relatives to. Still, I see some room for improvement.

To begin with, there is my fish predicament, which isn't really a criticism of the River Street Café alone, but keeps coming up. Since I'm a vegetarian who eats fish, all the many meat dishes there (the duck, the lamb, the beef) were not options for me. I didn't feel like eating pasta, since I can easily make that at home. That left salmon, Chatham cod, or swordfish, and swordfish I know has high levels of mercury, so that's automatically out. Salmon is everyone's favorite 'safe' fish choice, but unless it's wild Atlantic salmon, chances are you are ingesting PCBs (farmed salmon are fed some fairly vile things, and according to this web site, can be toxic). That left the Chatham cod, and, well, it sounds safe and New England-ey, but it's not much better than salmon. The Oceans Alive guide to fish claims Atlantic Cod is not such a great choice, although this isn't as much because of high chemical levels as because it is not sustainably fished. When I asked the waitress what "Chatham cod" meant, she just said it meant it was from Chatham. Hmmm. Well, it's what I got, but I didn't feel that great about it. These days, restaurateurs need to reassure their patrons about fish. We need all the information we can get.

The food we got was good-- it began with a huge plate of tangy tomato noodles that I remember from other times at the River Street Café (but it was a huge plate, too much really). The cilantro-avocado preparation on my fish was wonderful, and the butter homefried potatoes that came with our main course were divine. But it was *WAY* too much food, which made me feel uncomfortable: after an appetizer (a pita pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, and mushroom), a salad that comes with the meal (delicious 'mock' Ceasar), main dishes, and dessert (a triple layered chocolate and coffee-buttercream confection that was also a bit overpowering), I actually felt kind of disgusted with myself, and with American restaurants.

This is sad: Vanilla Bean closing

2007-07-26T22:03:00.000-04:00

After many years being an important business for Troy, the Vanilla Bean has announced it's closing.

The story is here.

What I don't understand is why. I mean I know there are financial difficulties. But given how much people around here love it and how successful they've been, surely someone can come along and salvage it.

I prefer European style baking (read= less sugar, more chocolate) but I do have a soft spot for the Vanilla Bean's peanut butter fancies, and they've often saved me a lot of hassle when I have to bring something to someone's open house/pot luck/birthday and don't have time to bake myself. The donuts are good, the bread is good (although several years ago I stopped being able to find the sandwich loaf I used to like there). And the Cookie Factory is no match.

Ethnic food festivals

2007-07-14T21:30:00.000-04:00

This is a brief post to say that I'd like to get out to more of the wonderful ethnic food festivals in the Capital Region.

I've read signs that advertise for an Armenian food festival on Sunday, August 5, from 11-4 on Spring Ave. in Troy.

I think it's here.

If I do go I'll post with pics. Also there are Italian and Greek festivals, not to mention Lebanese, Ukrainian... if anyone has tips on other good festivals to go to, please post and let me know.

National Ice Cream Month

2007-07-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Nosher, and today I'm confessing that I'm addicted to ice cream. Not just any ice cream: it has to be Moxie's. Moxie's has five-- count 'em, five!!!-- different kinds of vanilla, based on where the vanilla bean came from: Tahitian, Mexican, Indonesian, Venetian, and Haitian. They have a Cajun chocolate peanut butter that is out of this world, not to mention the coconut with chocolate almonds, Horchata, an intense rum raisin, and many other unusual home made creations (orange-pineapple, red wine sorbet).

There are two kinds of people in the Capital District: those who like ice cream, and those who like Moxie's.

The servings are rational (not the ginormous pig-o-rama portions we Americans have gotten so used to). The ice cream is not too sweet. Way way too many people put too much sugar in their desserts, until you can't taste the real flavor anymore. Not Moxie's. The business has been around since the 1930s and runs out of an old dairy building, complete with the screen windows where you place your order. Moxie's will even sell you 1/2 gallons -- larger for parties if you call ahead. You can read more about ice cream stands in this great article by the Business Review.

July is National Ice Cream Month, and tomorrow (Sunday the 15th) is National Ice Cream Day, so I'm going to go do my patriotic duty and head to Moxie's again. Moxie's celebrates by having the most flavors of the season on National Ice Cream day. Tomorrow, they will add 17 more flavors to their already impressive list. There will also be face painting, free pens, and lots of people.

The only thing I have to object to at Moxie's is that some of the flavors are just... odd. For example, I tried banana walnut today, and it was pink, and didn't taste much like bananas. Or walnuts. Other flavors have just been strange. But there are so many great flavors here, and you can always taste test before you make a commitment. AND you can get a special vanilla-around-the-world sample dish; some day I will do that.

Diehard Moxie fans often buy gallons of ice cream to last through the winter, because the stand closes at the end of August. As I support seasonal eating, I think it's great that Moxie's is seasonal. But I'm certainly not above stocking my freezer with stores for the winter.

My New Addiction: Roma Importing Co.

2007-06-02T13:25:00.000-04:00

Roma Foods Importing Company is in Latham in Cobbee Road, in the shadow of the Price Chopper plaza. It's one of those great secret places you can live here for years and not know about, because it's on one of those little side streets off Route 9. It's awesome and you must go, now and again! I didn't have my camera with me, but here's a pic of the booty:

If you want to skip reading this blog and just go there to get delicious food here is their info:

Roma Foods
9 Cobbee Rd., Latham
tel. 785-7480
hours: M- Th and Sat: 9-6
Friday: 9-7
Sunday: closed

There is also a location in Saratoga.

Although they are a deli, there is a whole separate meats shop next door, and "deli" doesn't even begin to explain the nummyness here. (It will take a meat eater to go there and report on their salamis, but they looked really, really good. They also had things like chicken sausage and whole turkey).

There is an entire aisle of different kinds of pastas: imported types from Italy, Farro pastas, and all different shapes and sizes. There is a frozen foods section with raviolis (plain as well as things like lobster ravioli), and spinach pies that looked wonderful. They have those homemade Italian lemon cookies with icing. Sauces galore, both Italian and salsas (I got a bottle of mango salsa). Greek tarama and taramosalata. Relishes, every size and shape of caper you could possibly want in large or small bottles, about a dozen types of olives in their deli section (plus others in jars). There are hard-to-find baking ingredients like marzipan and chestnuts. There are chocolates, panettone, biscottis, Italian cookies (the typical American kinds that are outlandishly colored pink and green and such, in a glass case) and a whole selection of packaged taralli, those heavenly little donut-shaped Italian crackers I became obsessed with two years ago after finding them at the Italian festival in Schenectady.

I bought the anise kind (for dessert) and the fennel kind (for snacking). They are dangerously addictive!

You can easily pick up dinner there, and the prices are very reasonable. I got the chef Paul caponata, which is just bursting with big juicy capers, olives, and pine nuts. The grilled eggplant and zucchini weren't as good, but still, who's complaining-- that you can *get* these things in Latham is a major achievement. I got a large jar of Maille dijon mustard for just $3.99, and a large jar of red peppers for just $3.49. I got a gorgeous bottle of unfiltered olive oil (the real thing, with smoky green olive sedimentation) for just $16.95 for a whole liter, where that would easily cost me $35 or $40 anywhere else.

The people who work there are efficient and friendly, and the woman behind the deli counter cut in half a big ball of fresh cow's milk (fior di latte type-- the kind in water) mozzarella* for me to take home. It's the best buffalo mozarella I've found around here. They had these intriguing antique wooden bins of salted chickpeas that are a snack I'd never seen before. They had bags of black melon seeds (also a snack). They have reassuringly large glass jars of spices (beyond cinnamon-- things like sumac) so you can get as much as you need (not like those stingy little dank pricey plastic or glass bottles at the supermarket).

They also do catering and parties.

I was so excited when I left that I forgot entirely why I was out on Route 9 anyway and had to backtrack to do my errands. I'm planning on becoming a regular at Roma's.

*Note that "buffalo mozzarella" technically means the kind made from actual buffalo milk: read the comments for more info. I often use "buffalo mozzarella" just to refer generically to "mozzarella in water" but usually the kind in the US is made from cow's milk.

Ambitiously funky: Ambition in Schenectady

2007-05-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

The Ambition Café in Schenectady is disco-funky and cool, with user friendly food and hours. They even have a disco ball hanging in the center of their elongated dining area, which is also decorated by a wall of soda bottles. And while you are eating, pop-alicious songs by Janet Jackson ("My name aint 'Baby'! It's Janet. Miss Jackson if you're Nasty!"), her bro Michael, and Pat Benatar keep you feeling upbeat. (But are not too loud at all, for the disco-phobic.) I love a good vintage pop tune. Album covers decorate the walls and bar area, with an album of Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer together. I had no idea they collaborated! This valuable information is only one of the benefits of dining at Ambition Café. But you can take anyone here: your mom, boss, friend.

The food is quality lunch fare: lots of sandwiches, a daily soup (tomato rice was yesterday's option), and a daily special, which I ordered: salmon over greens. It was tender and just perfect for a healthy lunch. My husband got the black bean burger, which I had had the last time I was there, and it is scrumptious, served on herby focaccia style bread.
Next door to the café is Skinny and Sweet, a candy and gift shop with fun cards, chocolates, and gelato. We got gelato for dessert in the café: two chocolate peanut butters. It was only 1:30 pm and WHOA!!! Talk about sugar high. But it was so good-- it had a hazelnut tinge to it. The small, pictured here, was really large to me= 3 scoops! We could have (should have) shared.

What is also nice about Ambition is that they have ample space in the back for people to spread out and read or work. It's a bit dark in the restaurant, but the cheeriness of the decor and friendliness of everyone makes up for that. And both times I've been there, it's been pleasantly full of people enjoying themselves.

They are located at 154 Jay Street, which is on the pedestrian walkway in downtown Schenectady. They are open M-Fri 8 am- 6 pm and until 8 pm for Proctor's events; Thursdays until 9. Saturday 10-5.

Eat out tonight! Thurs., April 26

2007-04-26T13:21:00.000-04:00

Check this out: you can dine out tonight and 25% of your bill will be donated by certain restaurants to an AIDS council.

Click here for WTEN promo

I just found out about it last night; hence the short notice.

Also, you can go here for discounts on dining and other things. Pretty cool!

Dazzlement at the Cheesecake Factory

2007-04-22T17:36:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, my husband and I went to the Cheesecake Factory because it was one of the few places we knew would be 1) open late and 2) near the Borders Bookstore, which is also open late. Plus we had heard the rumors about it and couldn't resist going.

The service was speedy and cheerful; it was a Thursday night, around 8:30, so we didn't have to wait at all. From what I have read online, though, be prepared for quite a wait on weekends. It wasn't packed, but there were plenty of full tables there, with people having lively conversations. Can I just say how lovely it is to be in a pleasantly buzzing place around here? Too many times, I've dined out and been the only diner in a spooky restaurant readying to close at this hour. It proves that there *is* a market out there, -- a *hungry* market!!-- for mid-to-upscale, late-night dining in the Capital Region. We are ready, restaurateurs!!!

The decor of the Cheesecake Factory is a cross between the movie set of "Cleopatra" with Miami Vice. There are palm plants, hugely lofty ceilings, and these faux columns with Egyptian-goddess-like heads on them. You forget you are in Colonie; which is mostly a good thing.

I don't usually like to promote chain restaurants, but I will consider returning to the Cheesecake Factory when I'm in the neighborhood of Wolf Road because the food was really good, the atmosphere is lively, and it's the kind of place you can take anyone: your mom, your colleague, kids, your internet date. It's convenient.

Their menu is intimidatingly huge: you can get just about anything from hamburgers of various stripes to pizzas, fish, steak, and pasta. The food is vaguely fusion style, heavy on American fare like "fried Macaroni and cheese" (appetizer), Nachos with cheese, and meatloaf. We shared the avocado eggrolls, which come with a tamarind dipping sauce that was truly addictive. Then, I got the fish tacos, which were also quite good; my husband got Evelyn's Favorite Pasta, which was essentially pasta with pesto and lots of fresh vegetables. It was much better than anything similar we've had down the street at the Macaroni Grill.

The cheesecakes were the least impressive part of the whole experience. Because of their name and the dozens of types of cheescake available (peanut butter, white chocolate, cookie dough... on and on) your expectations get pumped up. But I found both cheesecakes (a vanilla bean and a key lime pie) to be overly sweet and chemical tasting.

The other downer here is that the portions are HUGE!!! I mean they're really big. BUT they seem to know this, and they made it easy for both of us to go home with ample doggy bags. That one meal of fish tacos lasted me for two more days!

And it's hard to ignore the chirpy box-within-a-box feeling that is inevitable from a corporatized chain. Their menu is the first I've seen that actually has full-page advertisements (for things like jewelry) alongside the list of entrees.

But the things I do like outweigh my dislike of the chain restaurant phenomenon. The Miami Vice: Cleopatra vibe is fleeting; the interior of the restaurant is mostly airy, modern, and clean feeling. You can select from a good array of salads ("Weight Management TM" meals on their menu), like a cold salmon salad served on top of mixed greens; shrimp and crab salad; and a bunch of chicken salads. This is crucial!! Everyone that I know is weight conscious, and in this day and age, a restaurant has to have healthy options.

Via Fresca: If You Lived There, You'd Have Lunch By Now

2007-03-28T11:52:00.000-04:00

After the ferocious snows I had quite an appetite, so I decided to find Via Fresca, which has been given good reviews in the Albany blogosphere. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it is a respectable Italian lunch spot and deli with many tasty treats. Their panini especially have drawn raves (I didn't try the panini, but I believe it from their overall good quality).

Via Fresca is at 1666 Western Ave., on the left hand side if you're coming from Albany, past the entrance to Crossgates.

Let's get this out of the way: the building looks like an el cheapo location for the future manicurists of America to flunk out of beauty school. It is not at all attractive. From the looks of it, it might as well be a dentist's office or a skeezy pet shop with goldfish dying from unfiltered water or an insurance agent's office that will finance your drug habit. Okay maybe I exaggerate just a little bit. But. The entrance from the parking lot actually made me wonder if I was in the right place.

And it's not really the kind of place you can hang out or relax and have your meal. There are a few tables in the back for wastrels like me, but I was the only one using them. This is really more of a takeout place.

But if I lived nearby I'd go there regularly to stock up on their wonderful deli salads like artichoke, shrimp, and pastas. They had a nice lineup of meats, some hot dishes (the eggplant parm looked addictive), and some gourmet grocery items (mascarpone, chocolates). We need more places like this in the Capital Region so those of us who are busy can still do takeout and eat well.

And last but not least, they have excellent cookies. I went for the coconut rounds and the raspberry bars, which rocked my world.

Peruvian food in Troy!

2007-03-05T14:46:00.000-05:00

This post has been edited (4/22/07) again. While a friend of mine said the other week that she had a pretty bad experience at Hotspot with bad service, she has returned with a better time of it, and she feels that all in all, it's worth supporting the independently owned Hotspot. Plus, the owner has posted a comment (below). I personally plan on returning.

After attending the first official Troy Night Out, we worked up an appetite, and murmurings from the crowd led us to Hotspot, which claims on its website that it is "Troy's best café." Well! Since we have what-- like about 20 cafés now?-- that's saying something! We had to check this out.

I hadn't brought my camera, and even if I had, it was pretty dark in there, so unfortunately no pix. However, I will be going back, with my camera.

I had papa a la huancaina-- described on this blog about Peruvian food-- and I am now an addict. This simple dish was just boiled potatoes served with a creamy yellow sauce made from yellow peppers and cheese. There was also a hard boiled egg. It was DELICIOUS! And I had it with their Greek salad, which was decent.

The menu here is a combination of Peruvian specialties (fish, meats, etc) and American bar food: pizzas, sandwiches, salads. The pizza my husband had was okay, but I'm interested in going back for the Peruvian food. The best news? They're open 7 days a week from 10-10pm!!! With breakfast all day!!! Yessssss! (Somewhat less good news: they're having music there, which means figure out if whoever is playing is someone you don't mind hearing, because it's a small restaurant).

Check it out, and let me know what you order!

Scratch That

2007-02-21T18:33:00.000-05:00

I had heard about the Scratch Bakery Cafe from a few sources: online readers (thank you online readers! I really appreciate your comments!), the Times Union's helpful and frequently updated Table Hopping blog by Steve Barnes, and the Scratch Bakery web site, which enticed me with promises of "artisanal bread." But despite (or maybe because of?) this buildup, I'm sorry to report that my experience was an unininspiring one.

First off let me preface this by saying that I went on perhaps one of the most depressing days to be in Albany, with piles of dirty snow everywhere and February scowls on everyone's faces. Well, at least there would have been February scowls on people's faces if there were *people.* Mostly there was just a scowl on my face as I wondered, "how the hell did I end up in this blighted city?" I seemed to be the only person around midafternoon. It really wasn't Lark Street at its best.

Scratch is in an ideal location (unless you want to talk parking!), on Madison just west of the intersection with Lark Street. Near the park and shops and restaurants, this definitely would be a place I'd want to open a cafe if I were in the business. And their menu is nice, with lots of options for both meat eaters and vegetarians: salads with nuts sprinkled on top, a couple of soups each day (yesterday it was chicken noodle and cream of spinach), panini, and individual pizzas with options such as white or grilled eggplant. Sounds healthy and even a bit chichi for Albany, mais non?

But my experience was that Scratch is your pretty basic lunch joint, a small place with somewhat absent-minded service and yes, healthy food, but nothing to go out of one's way for. I ordered the grilled eggplant panini, and it was the bare minimum: grilled eggplant (it was dry like it had been grilled on one of those George Foreman grills without any oil), provolone (tasteless but nice melting cheese) and plain panini. The server assumed that I would be leaving with my food, and had to unwrap it and put it on a plate. The other traffic in there was from people doing grab and go, or locals just checking in to chat.

With my panini, I got a pickle and, inexplicably, a container of Pringles.

See the lack of scorch marks on the panini? It reminds me of those faux brick walks they create in cities nowadays by pressing lines into asphalt; they're just scored with lines to hide the fact that they're not real brick. Same deal here. No real grilling, just scoring. And no herbs in the bread, or anything fun or festive like pesto sauce or aioli or anything to liven it up. In February in Albany, we need *something* enlivening.

I should have known from the sign outside. It says "Flavored Coffee of the Day: Butterscotch." Gag! I do not do flavored coffee. And flavoring coffee doesn't go along with being artisanal. Nor do multicolored Rice Krispy Treats (one of their desserts). They also had butterscotch bars, cheesecake with blueberries (this looked pretty good, but the slices were huge) some cookies, and a bar that looked more like a candy than a pastry. I got an apricot bar for dessert, and it was okay, but none of the desserts struck me as artisanal.

So the Scratch Bakery web page is deceptive. If you're on Lark and Madison and you need something homemade, go to Debbie's Kitchen. Her Dream bars are out of this world, and there are also plenty of soups and sandwiches for everyone. And Debbie's has more table space, so you can go with a few friends.

Cookie Monsters Aloose and Hungry

2007-02-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

You know that Vanilla Bean advertising billboard on Route 2 as you're heading from Troy towards Latham that warns "Don't be fooled! There's only *one* Fudge Fancy at the Vanilla Bean"? I always thought it was a joke. Like, yeah, right-- there are these high-stakes competitions between imposter Fudge Fancies around here? The Vanilla Bean has such a dominating presence in the grocery stores that I never really thought they should be worried about these supposed pretenders to the throne. Fudge Fancies are good, but they're pretty basic and very sugary; what's the big deal?

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that in fact the Vanilla Bean has something to worry about. Apparently other area bakers do try to copy the Fudge Fancy. Now at the Cookie Factory in Troy, you can find similar cookies called "Fudge Fantasies." How sad is that? They can't even come up with their own signature cookie, so they have to copy a cookie that's pretty mediocre to begin with.

The Cookie Factory is on Congress Street (aka Route 2), east of Prospect Park but before the intersection with Pawling Ave. I'm always up for trying out cookies, so I went.

One thing that anyone who knows me well knows is that I LOVE cookies. In fact, if I don't have "a little something"-- meaning, a bag of cookies-- in the house, I feel downright unsafe. My favorite place to get cookies is Dean and Deluca's cookies by the pound counter, where I go to salivate whenever I visit the city. I have been known to snarf down some Fudge Fancies (I like the peanut butter kind), but well, they're pretty fluffy and there is definitely shortening involved. And I'm sorry, but shortening just isn't what real bakers use.

So I even splurged, buying a box of the Cookie Factory's almond cookies. This was not because I wanted an entire box, but because you couldn't buy these particular cookies by the pound. I took them home to have my way with them but discovered they are so sweet that they are almost inedible. The consistency is right: a bit crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. But there is no subtlety here. The marzipan flavor is overpowering, and then you're completely knocked out by the sugar blast.

The Cookie Factory had the usual collection of cookies they call "Italian butter cookies" but they are basically the particle-board of the cookie kingdom: fake and highly proceessed. You know, they're the kind of cookies you find at every office party piled high on a plastic plate covered in maraschino cherries and sprinkles. Dry, and depressing. The biscotti they had looked drier than the Sahara.

Some cookies they did sell singly: they had some ginormous hearts that looked like they were trying to be shortbread but were again mostly sugar and shortening, not real butter. Or, hullo, how about real eggs? The almond horns looked fairly saturated by sugar, and their jam cookies looked suspiciously pale (=too much sugar, no butter or eggs).

So I got a hermit and a chocolate chip covered heart.

The hermit was too sweet, without any of the fruity cinnamony flavor they're supposed to have. And the chocolate chipper was hard. The pre-mixed Tollhouse cookies you can buy at the grocery store are better! This is just sad.

I can't say that the Vanilla Bean is that much better, but they do have a passable chocolate chip cookie, some pretty good donuts, and OK pastries like Napoleans and eclairs.

It's really pathetic when we can't even get decent baked goods in America. What is "freedom" if it doesn't include good pastries? I honestly believe that if we had better baked goods, we'd be satisfied from eating less, and we wouldn't have an obesity problem.

Food, not nutrients

2007-02-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

Michael Pollan did it again in this past Sunday's New York Times Magazine. His in-depth essay shows the many ways our "food science" agribusiness-fueled industry has created a sick country with unhappy, food-obsessed, unhealthy people.

"Our personal health is inextricably bound up with the health of the entire food web," he writes. One cannot eat healthy, be healthy, in other words, without considering the health of the soil, the planet, the ecosystem.

And:

"Today, a mere four crops account for two-thirds of the calories humans eat. When you consider that humankind has historically consumed some 80,000 edible species, and that 3,000 of these have been in widespread use, this represents a radical simplification of the food web."

His recommendations? Eat real food, not polyhydrocarbonated high corn-fructose-crack. Eat more plants, less meat. Eat less food. And enjoy what you do eat.

Van's on Central Avenue is King!

2007-01-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

This is exciting for me, because while I like to try out new places to eat, it's rare that I find one that will become a regular spot. Van's is going to be the place I gravitate to when I'm in Albany from now on. I wish I had known about it before! Van's is on 307 Central Avenue, on the north side of the street.

I had read about it, but it's always hard for me to trust the Times Union review, because the paper reviewers here haven't had a free meal they didn't like.

So it was after two friends spoke highly of it that I went. Their spring rolls in particular are a favorite, and with reason: I tried the vegetarian ones and they were out of this world. Fresh, not greasy, and yet deeply satisfying with a nutty mellow flavor, they hit the spot. The portion was a generous one, too, with I think 4 rolls served as an appetizer. My friend got the rolls with meat, and he ate his right up, too. They came served with nuoc mam and fresh lettuce and sprigs of mint that are just the right light complement to the complex flavors of the rolls.

The space is a bit odd, because it's so large, and the tables are spaced in such a way that you feel you are eating at a dance hall. It was a good thing that our waitress was energetic and filled our water glasses frequently, because to be abandoned in a space like that would be spooky. They should put a carpet down or something, or even put more tables there to make it feel a little cozier. But Van's filled up pretty well on a weeknight, as it seems to have drawn people like me who cherish its good food and helpful service.

For my main course I got salmon with ginger. It was quite good, tender and flavorful, with generous shreds of ginger on top and a light citrus sauce, but not too sweet or overpowering. My friend got the chicken-- they were out of the roasted chicken, but he got another chicken dish that was similar, and he reported that it was very good. They have an extensive offering of tofu/vegetarian dishes, noodle dishes, and soups of all kinds (but unfortunately not many that weren't beef-broth based).

It's worth going just for their dessert selections alone, too: this is the only place in Albany that I know of where you can get a Durian shake, a mango shake, or something called basil seeds with sugar. I tried the key lime pie, which was nice and light but not as tart as I like it. They also had turtle cheesecake and a few other typical American desserts. Their prices are reasonable; in short, in every way Van's rocks. Next time I want to try the basil with sugar.

I highly recommend this place. In fact, as I type this, I wish I could go there right now. But there's a 'winter weather advisory' up and we're stuck here for now.

Tosca Grille Fills a Niche & our tummies, but empties our wallets

2007-01-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

We splurged and went to Tosca Grille. My husband and I are re-instituting 'date night' as a way to remember to really be together instead of falling into our habitual and antisocial reading-internet-surfing evenings. So to inaugurate date nights, we went to Tosca, which I've been so curious about since they opened in December. Ever since last summer, I've seen Chef Larry Schepici pacing the intersection of Broadway and Second Streets, watching over his new domain (Tosca joins Illium as Schepici territoire) like a restless papa bear watching over his bear-lets, and now all his hard work is paying off.

He's done a distinguished job renovating the interior of the building. It's warm but open and spacious, with dark wood floors and paneling and a bar and a pleasing aquarium. I didn't see into the "Victorian Ballroom," but it's nice to know an upscale space in Troy is available for people to host weddings and conferences. Tosca is going to be the place RPI takes its prospective profs to impress them, and it already seems to be the place lawyers are clinking their glasses. BUT: there is NOTHING vegetarian on this menu, except for salad appetizers. Nada. Zippo. I can swing it with fish just fine, but I was thinking of my friends who do not eat fish and picturing them destitute in the midst of Tosca's plenty. Really, it's 2007; every restaurant should at the very least have ONE vegetarian entree. My other hairy-armpitted hippie granola-eating gripe is that there wasn't much local produce emphasized on the menu, except for the Berkshire Farms pork rack and one dish with something called "Honey Bee Farms" wildflower honey. Tosca is a restaurant of the globalized age: there is Dover sole, flown in from Dover; chilled Wellfleet oysters; and Colorado lamb.

We started off on the entirely wrong foot when we were seated at a dirty table. We alerted the waitstaff to the issue, but they were noncomittal. I said we could easily wait until they re-set the table, but they sat us at the bar and we waited for 5 minutes or so. The restaurant was pleasantly full for a Thursday night, but it wasn't busting out at the seams, and while we waited we could see a couple of set empty tables available. Finally a woman came over and seated us at one of these tables and apologized for the wait.

I'll chalk that up to just new-restaurant syndrome.

The bread came but was just okay, and they only brought us two pieces. Considering we ended up paying $96 for dinner for two with a shared dessert and no beverages, they could have put out a basket.

The next annoying pretentious thing we noticed was that the menu, instead of printing prices as numbers, show them written out as letters. So instead of seeing $28 you see twenty-eight. Which makes it seem both more and less expensive, because your brain doesn't readily interpret letters as numbers and yet it looks a lot fancier and therefore costly, like fancy script or written-out dates on official documents.

The appetizers we got were good, chosen with difficulty from an impressive and hubristic list ranging from salads to Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Calamari. My "In-house Made Mozarella" with tomato and basil was pretty good, although I couldn't detect any specialness about the mozarella, and in fact I've had much better (more buttery, probably fattier) imported. My husband got the pear and gorgonzola salad, which was quite good; it came with bacon. Actual bacon, as in two strips of the stuff. On the menu it said 'pancetta' so I was picturing smallish bits of crispy ham, not *bacon.* But he gobbled it up.

My entree was swordfish, but only after I agonized over the Oceans Alive Best and Worst list of fish. However, as I've pointed out before, once I cancel out the fishes that are high in mercury (most shellfish) or PCBs, I'm left with only about three fish that I like: Atlantic salmon, freshwater trout, and catfish. Anyway basically nothing on this menu was ecologically friendly (and veal turns up in several dishes). Since I was going to sin anyway, I might as well enjoy myself, so I got the swordfish. Only later did I discover that it indeed is one of those fish that not only has high levels of mercury but is caught using environmentally unfriendly methods, at least internationally. I don't know where this swordfish came from. Click for a handy list of the mercury and environmental fish lists combined!!

It was good, though, mercury or not. In fact, it was cooked to perfection: not a minute too long or a minute too soon. Served with a nummy puddle of pesto sauce and "wilted greens with lobster and roasted corn cake." I totally polished off my meal, leaving not a crumb. Only now as I'm typing did it register that there was lobster in that cake thing. I mean the cake was good, but except for mild corn, and the intensely comforting knowledge that I'm eating carbs, nothing else really stood out to me. So overkill? Definitely. But good? Indeedy.

My husband's entree was excellent: Sirloin encrusted with Truffle and sage & c. Cooked exactly as he likes it and with a side of potatoes, it has probably been one of the best steaks I've seen him eat around here.

And for dessert we got cheesecake. Geez just recounting this meal I'm starting to get calorie guilt! The cheesecake part was good, but the cherries on top tasted like Robitussin.

So my verdict is that Tosca is a great thing for Troy. I'm not going back any time soon, mostly because my wallet and my belly need time to recuperate. And Tosca is not vegetarian-organic friendly, or particularly environmentally friendly. And to me, that's a health as well as a political issue, so I do take it seriously. But I'm going to get off my grandstand now.

Tosca is also now serving Sunday brunch with live jazz, 10-3. They're open Mon.-Sat. 5-10; reservations are recommended. Chef Larry Shepici used to be executive chef at Sargo's at Saratoga National Golf Club, among many other tony places. He's also won lots of impressive culinary awards. According to this web site, he gave a wine dinner at the James Beard house in 2005. Not bad, Troy.

I have earned the chowhound merit badge (warning, gross ahead)

2007-01-15T16:07:00.000-05:00

I have sworn to be honest to my readers (well okay, I never swore, but I did sell my soul to the chow gods); therefore, let it be known that for the first time that I've ever been aware of it in my 30 plus plus years of life, I had a form of food poisoning. I figure this should earn me true blue membership in the chowhound club, even though chowhound.com has gotten pretty lame lately, and their posts on Albany are way out of date.

And I'm ashamed to admit that my case of the sick-as-a-chowdogness was because of an otherwise great experience at Saso's in Albany. Saso's is on 218 Central Ave., in Albany near-- uh, well, it's near nothing really! It's not too far from Ristorante Paradiso, on 198 Central, which we stepped into to check out and quickly exeunted when we saw how gloomy and dark it was inside, with a waitstaff who ignored us.

That evening we had almost made it to see the movie "Dreamgirls," but it was so crowded we decided to forego the long line and parking hassle and eat somewhere instead. We were cruising up Central Ave. and after rejecting Paradiso, I said "Hey! I think that's Saso's, the place Albany Jane loves! Let's go!" I'm a fan of Albany Jane's blog and, while we have different tastes, so does everyone, and I trust her judgement.

Saso's is a cozy place on Central Ave., and it was pleasantly busy, but they were able to seat us right away on a Saturday night. I wanted tea and they had barley tea, which was excellent; sort of like tea Guinness, heavy and oaty in a hearty winter warming way. The sushi I had was also great: I got the ume shiso (sour plum) rolls. I didn't feel confident enough yet to order raw fish sushi, because this was my first time at Saso's, but (despite what I'm about to tell you!) I would feel confident doing so in the future. You can watch the sushi chefs doing their thing at a bar where a number of other patrons were sitting.

My sense is that Saso's really is a sushi joint, and their other main entree type food is a bit more uneven, although they have an impressively inclusive menu. You can get more than just the standard tempura here, if you're not in the mood for sushi: they have 20 different kinds of appetizers alone, from shumai (dumplings) to stuffed squid and grilled beef. Entrees range from noodles (ramen, udon and soba) to teriyakis and specials. My husband got the Yakiudon (noodles with veg. and tofu), which was a heaping helping of food, but somewhat bland with noodles a bit overdone. I got the special fish dish of the evening which was a MISTAKE!!! Bad news. But I have been educated. The fish was called "Escolar," which the waitress said was like "white tuna." I wish I had paid more attention to her "like," because white tuna it was not.

At first when I tasted it, it was good: tender, white, flaky salty fish. But after a few more bites it became too salty. And when I got home I had the Revenge of the Chowhounds. Yep, I got the major runs. But it turns out that this was almost certainly something having to do with this strange fish. According to wikipedia:

"The escolar is dark brown in colour, growing darker with age until it is quite black. It is a fast-swimming fish with a prominent lateral keel and multiple finlets. It grows up to 2 m in length.

Like its relative the oilfish, Ruvettus pretiosus, the escolar is consumed in several European and Asian countries, as well as in the USA. Neither fish metabolises the wax esters) naturally found in their diet, which causes an oil content in the muscle meat of the fish amounting to 18–21%. These wax esters may rapidly cause gastrointestinal symptoms following consumption; however, these effects are usually short lived."

I also read that this disgusting oil stuff can be tamed through proper preparation, but honestly, the fish looked fine to me and, despite my bad experience, I would try Saso's again (but with an emphasis on sushi!)

We had the fried ice cream for dessert, which was like a total fattening lard ball covering dollops of ice cream and good in a completely junky bad-for-you kind of way that left us both feeling like bloated pigs afterwards.

We hear that Okinawa in Wynantskill is pretty darn good, and we're likely to try that out next when the craving for Japanese food hits us. Here is a review of Okinawa by the Times Union in their inimitably dorky, provincial style that doesn't actually tell you anything informative. Anyone have recommendations of what to get (or more relevant, what NOT to get?!?)

Your faithful, sometimes suffering

Nosher

Ali Baba and the 7 Side Dishes

2007-01-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

Ali Babi, on 2243-15th Street near RPI, is one of our standbys. We go there usually once a month because 1) they're nearby 2) the food is good 3) the food is cheap. Plus it's mesmerizing to watch them make lavash bread in their brick oven.
The menu consists of Turkish influenced Middle Eastern fare, with an emphasis on deli-style items like kabobs, pizzas, and dips (hummous, yogurt sauce). They have a huge schwarma rack roasting fresh meat.

By googling Ali Baba I found this excellent site, which I'm adding to my links: Zabiha.com, which tells you about restaurants that are halal or Zabiha or not by region. Ali Baba is apparently halal in some respects but may not be entirely. Since this is not my area of expertise, I'll leave it up to readers to help me out on this one. I also found this web site: Never Mind the Ramen. It has a great name and some lively exchange on Troy food, but it doesn't seem updated.

Anyway their food is usually really good, even though there are only two vegetarian dishes I get there: the Mixed Plate (pictured), which gives you a selection of deli things like grape leaves, humus, and eggplant salad; or the veggie gyro, which comes with their excellent and addictive yogurt sauce inside a hot-from-the-oven lavash.

Last night, my husband got his usual Pastrami in paper, which he loves. But this time he did not love it, and he looked so forlorn as he picked his way around it! The pastrami was obviously a different brand, and not as thin or flavorful as the one they usually have. I encouraged him to send it back and ask for another dish, but he was too shy.

I got my usual Mixed Plate, which was the same as it always is, but for some reason didn't really satisfy me (I think I was craving something warm, instead of this which had all cold things). But overall, Ali Baba is someplace I will continue to go, and it is a favorite of RPI types, although they too admit that sometimes it can be uneven.

Thunder Mountain Curry: on vacation for now

2007-01-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

This is a fond farewell, for a short time, to Thunder Mountain Curry. Proprietor Mike Gordon is bound for Southeast Asia for a month, but he reassures his devoted fans that he will be back in February.
Here he is at the Farmer's Market. If I had to elect a "Best of 2006" of all dining categories in the Capital Region, Thunder Mountain Curry would tie with Mrs. London's. They are pretty different, though.

Thunder Mountain Curry is a Southeast Asian gig run by the energetic and enthusiastic Mike Gordon, who is Culinary Institute trained, yet chooses to ply his ambrosial meals from a sidewalk stand. Weekdays find him at the corner of Peoples Ave. and 15th Street near RPI or, on weekends, from the Troy Farmer's Market. The menu offers superb vegetarian as well as chicken and sometimes lamb and a wonderful seafood curry. My husband and I often go to the Farmer's Market just to get the divine Buttercup Squash Curry or Palak Paneer (pictured) for brunch. Meals come with basmati rice, papadum (thin, spicy large crackers) and home made chutneys such as, recently cranberry apple, mint, and tomato onion. Thunder Mountain Curry puts out a menu, and you can become a regular by signing up with your email. This is not the kind of food I would attempt to make at home: Gordon told me once that about a dozen different spices go into one of his dishes. Below is a photo of the variety at Thunder Mountain Curry, including fried pakoras.

Have a great vacation, Mike! You deserve it. And we'll be here when you return.

Home Made Egg Nog and Food Porn

2006-12-16T15:47:00.000-05:00

Lookee what I did!
It's food porn! Isn't that the most luscious thing you've ever seen?

I just finished making my annual batch of egg nog in time for the solstice/Hannukah. Making it was a sensual experience. I may be slightly tipsy right now. But I only had, like, maybe 1/3 cup of the stuff. I love making egg nog. First, there was shopping for the freshest organic ingredients at the Troy Farmer's market. It's important to get only fresh organic eggs, milk, and cream, because it has to last for a while. The ingredients get to sit and deepen for about a week.

Okay this is where I say that you are technically *NOT SUPPOSED* to use raw eggs. Legal disclaimer: Nosher and her dependents and household items and her future progeny DO NOT recommend you eat raw eggs! Don't! Okay?!? Click here for scary USDA warnings about it. They recommend pasteurized eggs when you have to use raw eggs in a recipe. And here it says that "According to a recent USFDA report, between 128,000 and 640,000 Salmonella infections are annually associated with the consumption of S. Enteritidis-contaminated eggs, and the CDC estimates that 75% of all Salmonella outbreaks are due to raw or inadequately cooked Grade A whole shell eggs." Almost 600 people die in America every year from Salmonella infections. So, consider this a major caveat.

I buy all my eggs from Cornell Farms. They are from free range chickens. Dale & Edna Cornell
Cornell Farms
292 Lower Pine Valley Rd.
Hoosick Falls, NY 12090
686-5545
dcornellfarm@aol.com

They carry: "Dried/fresh herbs, vegetables, berries, honey, maple syrup, eggs, cut flowers, crafts."

Then I whip up the eggs (I'm not disclosing my full recipe here, but there are plenty of great egg nog recipes floating around on the web, so you can experiment and put one together). Then I feel warm inside looking at the beautiful yellow color of the yolks.

It's the color of the returning sun. Now I have to go pack up the bottles and ship them off to all the good little girls and boys.

This has been a nog blog (yuk yuk).

Café Utopia in Mrs. London's

2006-12-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

If I could have my way in the world without the restraints of reality, I would eat every day at Mrs. London's in Saratoga. In fact, I would live there. I can't think of enough good things to say about it. In every way it is the ideal café, with the highest quality European style pastries, cakes, espresso drinks and teas. Even their chinaware is of the best quality. And their almond croissants are as good as the best almond croissants in Paris (and I've tasted lots of them both in Paris, and here).

But that doesn't even begin to explain why I love Mrs. London's. Here is a photo of their famed chocolate nebula, a cake of chocolate mousse of such featherweight chocolate heaven and ethereal beauty it approximates the ideal afterlife in chocolate. I've been to Mrs. London's many times, and each time it seems to be even better than what I had remembered. Last week I went there after an incredible spa experience at esthetiques-- my birthday present to myself. I would recommend esthetiques, although they don't have the mineral waters of the Lincoln Baths or Crystal Spa nearby. Anyway, I was already on cloud nine, but eating at Mrs. London's was in itself a transformative healing experience.
I went hoping that they would have my favorite soup, a simple cream of tomato served with grated cheddar that is out of this world. They didn't have it, but they did have a white bean pureé soup that was so good I can't stop thinking about it. It was flavored with rosemary and had a blush of tomato coloring in it, and was just so simple yet so delicious that I became determined to learn how to cook it at home myself.

See how they drizzle top-quality olive oil on the top of the soup? Doing that really enhances the flavor, which was just sublime. I was lucky enough to be in the café at the same time as Mrs. London herself, who explained to me that the soup was actually quite easy, and she makes it with dry beans that need to be soaked, but in a pinch one can make it with canned. Although the dry really are so much better. Beans, some tomato-- a little, not too much-- rosemary, and sage were the ingredients, and some stock.

They have sandwiches and salads at Mrs. London's as well as those stupendous soups, and I am thrilled to announce that they are in the process of expanding to become more of a restaurant. Along with the soup, they serve toothsome fresh bread and a generous pat of butter that is always at the exact right temperature for spreading, and not at all salty or unctuous. I suspect it is European butter.

Here is my full meal, including a pot of jasmine tea and a dessert:

My dessert, called Night and Day, uses the same airy chocolate mousse as the Nebula, but is swirled with fine, light layers of white cake, and topped with dark chocolate. It is just not possible to enter Mrs. London's and go without ordering a dessert. They are works of art-- some of them small domes decorated with tiny sugary honeybees, some of them elegant swirls of chocolate, and yet others classic tarts with perfect berries perched on top.

I swear, when I enter Mrs. London's, my heart rate relaxes and I feel I can breathe again knowing that the world is civilized and there is time for beautiful pastries and real espresso drinks and tea. Their decor is so classy and warm and just right, too. I usually find myself having enlightened thoughts about the state of the world. It is really food satori. But I do not consider Mrs. London's to be 'above and beyond' or 'only for special occasions.' Foods that take time and love to create are essential to life. Granted, it would be pretty unrealistic to eat at Mrs. London's every day (who knows, though? Maybe someone exists out there who does! If you are out there, write me and tell me what it's like to be in heaven, okay?), especially considering that I don't even live in Saratoga. But when I need to be reminded of perfection, I know where I to go.

EATS at Stuyvesant Plaza

2006-12-05T20:39:00.000-05:00

This is going to be brief, but I want to recommend EATS Gourmet Marketplace in Stuyvesant Plaza. They're a small deli/catering outfit with excellent stuff: Tate's cookies, a dairy section with imported yogurts, spreads and the like, smoked salmon, a sandwich of the day, gourmet chocolates, and a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish deli foods like chopped liver (it looks really good!), egg and potato salads, knishes, and stuffed grape leaves.

And their web page has photos! It's a good thing, because I forgot my camera.

My favorite item there is the Brie de la Brie. It's the authentic stuff! I don't know anywhere else around here where you can find actual Brie from Brie. The Coop has some, but it's not quite as good as at EATS.

Nicole's Italia in Guilderland and "family values" food

2006-12-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

Last night (Sunday) I went to see a movie at Crossgates with a friend. Afterwards we wanted to get something to eat and didn't want to deal with Houlihan's or Uno's at the mall (noisy, food not great). So we tried Nicole's Italia, which is about a mile west of the mall on Western Ave (Rte 20) in what is known as the "20 mall." It's near the Guilderland public library.

Nicole's has a web page, but I can't get it to click on anything.

As my goal was to escape the whole mall feeling, I felt that all in all, we had really just traded one mall for another, since Nicole's is in a large strip mall wedged near Hollywood video. The food at Nicole's was *okay* but overall I don't think I'd go back there. Next time I'm near the mall I will try BFS restaurant, but unfortunately they are closed Sundays.

We shared the bruschetta for appetizer, and that was good in a grilled-cheesey kind of way; it was on the same warm fresh white bread that was set on our table when we arrived. (And doh! I forgot my camera so I couldn't take a picture of anything! Dammit!) Then I had a Caesar salad, which was good, but unremarkable. It was a salad of the dark outer leaves of Romaine, and a so-so dressing that didn't have any of that tangy-salty bite I love. (In the case of an actual Caesar salad, I would have tasted fresh garlic and anchovy paste).

Our waiter was helpful and the service was good. We didn't have to wait at all-- that's the good news. On the other hand, the atmosphere in Nicole's Italia is something between grandmother's living room circa 1975 and the foyer of a funeral home. Lots of mauve and pink and candles on the tables with a partition between the main dining room and the bar made of that cut-glass that was so popular in the 80s. Their bathroom was clean.

My main course was the Gamberi Ortolano, "Lightly battered shrimp, sauteed with broccoli, mushrooms, mozarella in a marinara cream sauce over fettuccini." Oy! Too too much. I should have known from the description, but your Nosher is ever-optimistic and hopeful that her culinary dreams will be realized. The cream sauce was okay but a little bit watery, and there was overall too much mozarella. DeFazio's in Troy does a much better marinara-cream sauce (they call it Rosario). And as usual my portion was way too big, with the signature “family restaurant” mozarella melted and draped over everything like smog in a developing country.

The shrimps were somewhat overcooked (or perhaps just not very fresh) and absolutely buried in layers of fried stuff then sauce then cheese, until it almost didn't matter that I had ordered shrimp at all. It might as well have been tofu or chicken nuggets or eyeballs in there.

Why, one wonders, is this food burial dining referred to as “family” style? I consider "family style" these days to be a euphemism, but for what? Is it perhaps a reference to the sedentary nature of most American families, who like to eat doughy bread and deep-fried everything? Or is it our repression-- we repress our shrimps as we repress our emotions in family life? Is there something politically conservative about people who have resisted the changes wrought by the gourmet movement (a la The United States of Arugula) that aligns them with the “family values” crowd? I do suspect that the people who bring you food unchanged from the 1970s are the same ones who resist changing definitions of family like gay marriage and women's rights. Repression, smothered shrimp, backwards politics-- it's all the same, man!

Albany, apparently, is one of those outposts that has resisted changes both political and culinary, where diners can still glut on major splooges of melted mozarella.

To you, dear reader, this may be a good or a bad thing. For me, it inspired a dream last night in which I had moved back to New York City.

My friend got chicken parmigiana, which looked quite good, and he enjoyed it. It came with a generous side of linguini.

Then came dessert: I asked the waiter what he would recommend-- the strawberry shortcake, or the tiramisu. His vote was for the tiramisu. It was okay, but I must remark that it was the first time I ever had a tiramisu that came with whipped cream (the kind from a can) and chocolate goop, like as in Hershey's from a squeeze bottle.

Gack.

Usually tiramisu = lady fingers soaked in espresso with mascarpone and bittersweet chocolate. Click here for good normal recipes for tiramisu at Heavenly tiramisu!! I've eaten tiramisu all over the world, and it took good ole Albany to put doubt in my heart about it. Now whenever I want to order it, part of me will hesitate, wondering: are they going to serve the tiramisu with chocolate squeeze sauce and whipped cream?

My friend's pecan pie was pretty good, with a butterscotchy rich flavor, but I had only one bite-- it was really sweet, and more might have felled me right there to the mauve carpeted floor.

Fishy tales

2006-11-14T21:54:00.000-05:00

I've been on a fishing adventure, sailing the high seas of-- well-- Central Ave., mostly. Alas, the Capital Region doesn't have a single great independent fresh fish market. You'd think we'd be awash in fish, since we're so close to Boston and New York harbors. But overfishing has affected the market, and it seems harder to get fresh fish in general. Buying fish has also become an ethical puzzle: do I go for the fish with higher mercury content that's not endangered? Or the endangered but safe-for-me fish?
There are a few places you can find good fresh fish in the Capital Region. Above is a photo of some of the fare at the China Supermarket on Colvin Ave. Based on what I saw there the one day I looked at the fish, I would not rely on them. However, they did have fresh (live) crabs... and more.

Covered in this review:

Cousins Fish Market
581 Livingston Ave
Albany, NY 12206
(518) 449-8830

Price Chopper
716 Hoosick Rd
Troy, NY 12180
(518) 266-9947

China Supermarket
91 Colvin Avenue, Albany
458-8166

I also heard about a place near the Home Depot plaza in East Greenbush that I have yet to check out.

First I went to Cousins, with great hopes of dockside barrel talk and Nor'easters. Alas, 'twas not so. I did buy some shrimp there, and I'm still alive after eating them, so that's the good news. Oddly, some of the shrimp tasted really good, but a few of them (I had maybe 5 or 6) tasted of iodine. I hear that's got something to do with what the shrimp eat, and it's not unhealthy. But it is irksome.
Cousins seems to serve a vital function as a neighborhood grocery/deli, with lots of takeout meats. You can even buy things like pasta and sauce there. But much of their fish and shellfish were frozen. In addition, the fish didn't look too appetizing: some of the fillets were lying in their own fish juice, not on well-drained ice, as they should be.

I'm not going to completely knock Cousins, because it's an independent store, and apparently they've been in Albany forever. And this Times Union writeup, from 2000, highly recommends their fish fry, which I did not get to try:
Cousins courtesy Times Union

Next on my menu was the China Supermarket on Colvin Ave., just off the busy Central Ave. across from Westgate Plaza.

Let me say right away that I really like the China Supermarket, and rely on them for some Chinese herbs that I use. They have absolutely wonderful, and incredibly low-priced spices, beans, rice, condiments, and an impressive produce aisle with fresh bok choy, long green beans, scallions, and the like. It's worth going to the China Supermarket for these things. However, the fish department seems touch and go.

This was a picturesque barrel of fresh crabs. I haven't the foggiest clue how to cook a crab, plus I'd have to kill it first, so I didn't jump for those.

I do feel I must point out that they also have fresh, live frogs. They do not look like happy frogs. They especially do not seem happy when a customer chooses them from their crowded tank to be placed in a suffocating plastic bag, from which they are summarily taken to have their heads chopped off.

Yes, I am a vegetarian partly because I don't believe it's right to eat animals. I draw my own personal line at fish. I don't eat fish often, but I do believe I need to eat some protein to stay healthy, and I like fish. Frogs have legs, so they just seem too close to 'animal' for my comfort.

At the same time, I must here point out that, in the China market's favor is that these are undeniably fresh. And I would vastly prefer supporting the China market, which is an independent business, and suffering whatever qualms I may as I pass by the frogs (and turtles), rather than patronize a big box style grocery store--where animal suffering may not be on immediate display, but you know it is lurking everywhere in the details. For surely it is a far worse crime that millions of chickens are raised in squalid conditions, debeaked, diseased, than that a small market play a small role in frog despair, when the market's benefit to the community is so great. In case you need to be convinced about the chickens, (click here for graphic depictions of the disgustingness that is the poultry industry in the US).

I can't help the way I feel about animals. But I can make educated choices.

Alas, for fresh fish, my choice is with the local supermarket chains, for reliability and freshness. I was really impressed by the knowledge of the fish department at the Price Chopper in Brunswick, where they had *fresh* : cod, Atlantic flounder and pollock, monkfish, swordfish, catfish (one of Ocean's Alive 'best' fish choices) and clams.

They also had pre-frozen fish, much of which, they explained, is "frozen at sea," which I guess seals in the freshness. They didn't say "flash" frozen, which is a new process used by fishermen now. I will have to enquire further.

In terms of frozen they had West Coast salmon steaks, wild USA shrimp, and many other things. They also had farmed tilapia (but farmed fish is not supposed to be good for the environment), and Wild Alaskan smoked salmon (which is okay for the environment but has lots of salt in it, which makes me retain water, which makes me seem to weigh more than I really do...).

Conclusion: you can do pretty well, either at Price Chopper in Brunswick or the Hannaford in Latham (I can't speak for the other locations-- anyone out there know?)

Where's the FISH??!

2006-10-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

Forget where’s the beef. Where is the seafood in the Albany area? I’m a vegetarian who eats seafood, and I know fresh fish is healthy, low in bad fats, and high in healthy brain-food omega fatty acids. We in Albany live a mere three hours from Boston, and less than three hours from New York City up the Hudson River, so you’d think that this would be a watery, swimmin’ hub of seafood activity.

It is *so* not.

In today's blog I will cover restaurants. Next up, actual purveyors, where one can (in an ideal world) buy fresh fish to take home and cook.

A little background: the salmon I had at Tai-Pei the other week was some of the worst salmon I’ve ever had in my life, *counting* airplane food. After that horrid experience, I was determined to find fresh fish. I'm a woman with a mission. I already knew that Jack’s Oyster House is top of the list, with fresh fish prepared elegantly in a classy, Old Albany style setting.

Next comes the Real Seafood Co, although there’s a BIG distance between Jack’s and Real Seafood in classiness. Real Seafood is a more down-home, family friendly, almost diner-esque type restaurant, which you’d expect on Wolf Road. Real Seafood Co. is at 195 Wolf Road in Albany, tel. 518-458-2068.

My first experience with Real Seafood Co. was last week. Even though I’ve lived here for 8 years, I’d never wanted to go to this restaurant on Wolf Road with the huge lurid neon octopus sign out front (pictured above). It just looked-- scary. Kind of like the sleazy motel version of seafood. But then I heard from someone that it was actually a good place. So we went. And I was immediately reassured by the impressively long menu: name the fish, and you can pretty much get it here. And by the oyster bar, and the helpfully informative background on fish on their web page. They have total disclosure here in terms of what comes from where when, which is excellent.

Although, of note is that some of their fish is not top-of-the-line. The salmon is farmed, not Wild Alaskan salmon. Most of their seafood does seem to be fresh from the East coast, however, which is good. Click HERE for a printable list from Oceans Alive of ecologically and healthy fish choices to make!!!!! You NEED to take this list with you to ensure that you are not ordering something full of mercury or creatures from depleted stocks.

The good news first: my main course, which was the Lemon Cod, was excellent. Fresh, cooked just right, and with a simple breaded buttery lemony crumb and a side of sweet potato fries, this is just what I look for when I’m needing some extra omega-3s and sixes. Most of their main dishes come with potato and veg, and prices are reasonable.

Now the not-so-good news:

We waited. And we waited. And then, we had to wait. I’m talking, I watched my nails grow into talons while we waited for, first our appetizers--nothing exciting here: Asian-style tuna spring rolls, in which the tuna was indistinguishable from any other meat-unidentifiable object-or-tofu filler; and my clam chowder, which was abysmal--only a few languid clams, NOT fresh, in a Campbell’s-Cream-Soupy glutinous pasty broth-- then our main course. I swear my hair grew about an inch as we waited.

We arrived around 8:45, and there was a decent crowd, but not anywhere near a full house. So why the incredibly agonizing wait, while we watched the ornamental fishies in their aquariums swim doomfully around and around, and commented on and noted each object of acqueous decor (the fish-shaped planter, the jellyfish-like lamp)? Then, to add insult to injury, they started using a battery operated vacuum near our table as we finally started in on our main courses. I hate it when it's only 9:30 and restaurant staffers start cleaning up around you as you eat. Anyway, I know the wait was not due to lack of staff.

The other bad thing: my husband does not eat seafood, so we need a restaurant where he can also find good things to eat. And Real Seafood Co. does not, so far, do the trick here. They only have a couple of steaks and one pasta dish as non-fishy options. He asked if he could get the pumpkin ravioli appetizer as his main dish, which they courteously agreed to. It was basically pumpkin pie filling in ravioli, smothered in, again, a kind of Campbell’s-Cream-of-Mushroomey sauce.

Bleah.

But-- silver lining--my main course was very very good. Next time I go to this restaurant, I’m skipping the appetizer and asking to sit near the kitchen so we can be within closer nagging distance of the waitstaff. Or just telling my credit card to shut up and going to Jack’s.

Next: Cousins’, Hannaford/Price Chopper, Lee’s Market, suffering frogs, foreign national shrimps, and dull-eyed urchins!!!! Stay tuned at dish and dirt.

Not impressed with Tai-Pan

2006-10-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

Tai Pan is in Half Moon, on Route 9, in a good location. What I mean by this is that if you liked their food, it would be easy to get there, from Clifton Park, Troy, Loudonville and Latham. Tai Pan is on 1519 Route 9, in Halfmoon; tel. 383-8581

But unfortunately, Tai Pan is very far away. I forgot. I forgot I didn't like their food, and it's not worth driving 20 minutes there. Then this weekend I thought suddenly, "Why don't we try Tai Pan?" It has an aura of respectability about it lacking in some of my favored dining institutions of the Capital Region. People who dress nicely go there to eat. I'd heard good things about their dim sum.

The building itself is nice, spacious inside with lots of wood. Nothing fancy, but it feels welcoming. The menu offers plentiful choices, with soups from Chicken or Vegetable Coconut soup with basil and lime to Lentil soup with mustard oil, tomato and chives. Appetizers also range from Thai and Vietnamese, with Vietnamese pork kebabs and Grilled pancake wrap with roasted duck, cucumber and cream sauce-- to Chinese (Dragon and Phoenix, Evil Jungle Prince-- sounds exciting!). I don't really know where to classify something called Orange 'n Steak 'n Scallop-- maybe Chinese-Hillbilly? Anyway, it sounded good and there *seemed* to be lots of yummy ethnically diverse fusiony choices. So I got the Laksa Lamak ("Spicy and sour rice noodle w/shrimp, bean curd puffs, and silky coconut broth") to start, which the waitress informed me was really the same thing as the vegetable coconut soup w/lime. Huh? Okay maybe I misunderstood, because it didn't have any lime flavor in it, and was instead a rather spicy curry soup. Not bad, but a bit too much, both size and spice-wise, for an appetizer. The curries on the whole here seemed muddy.

The other thing I must mention here is that everything took sooooo loooong that I was ready to schedule a hair dye appointment because I was greying. There seemed to be only one waitress for a fairly large section of the restaurant, and the restaurant itself is spacious, so she would just disappear for long periods of time. Lots of other people seemed to be waiting, too. How many of those crispy fried noodles can you eat with mustard sauce and duck sauce? I'd say that between our appetizers and main courses maybe about 40 minutes elapsed.

My husband's Vegetarian Rice Paper Rolls were quite good, despite not having any sweet potato as promised. For his main dish he ordered the sweet potato curry dish, which I tasted-- it was just okay. The curries here seem to be of the more heavy, confused variety (lots of cumin and turmeric and heat), not the bright vivid curries I tend to favor (I like freshly ground spices, cardamom, mustard seed, etc.). Anyway so his dish was okay, but mine was really horrible: I got the Grilled Salmon on Udon noodles, and first of all the salmon was dry. Second of all, nothing was particularly hot (temperature wise). Thirdly, the salmon came with a viscous sort of sauce on top, which seemed nothing more than some oyster sauce.

I brought home the portion of salmon I didn't eat for my cats.

Note to Albany business leaders, government officials, and entrepreneurial chefs: WE NEED WAY MORE GOOD RESTAURANTS HERE. Do something about this, someone. There is a lot of money here to be spent. People are desperate for good places to go out to eat. Places that aren't stuck in some sort of weird 20th century time warp. Please. Okay? Eliot Spitzer, I'm counting on you.

Home made soup from my garden

2006-09-30T13:10:00.000-04:00

I cannot tell a lie: I prefer eating at home these days, mostly because my garden is bursting with produce. This is a picture of the yellow tomato soup I made the other day.

It was delicious and had a real tomato-ey flavor, despite the yellow color. It had exactly two ingredients:

1) Lillian's yellow heirloom tomatoes from my garden and
2) garlic, also from my garden.

It doesn't get much easier than that!
First, I boil the tomatoes each for about a minute, and peel the skins off. (The tomatoes get hot and can burn your hands, but if you wait another minute, it won't hurt!) Then quarter them and put them in a pot with garlic. Let simmer for about an hour, longer if you want a thicker soup. Then put all in a blender.

This is the way food is meant to be eaten: really fresh, totally organic of course, and just brimful of flavor.

Now, if we could only get some restaurants around here with the same philosophy....
Does anyone else around here grow Lillian's yellow? They are absolutely my favorite tomato, even better than the red tomatoes. I don't know why, they just are. They also come very late in the season. I've always been fond of late bloomers.

Illium Cafe: Where It's At

2006-09-17T21:20:00.000-04:00

Troy is no longer lacking for coffee houses. We used to have just one-- the Daily Grind-- and now we have four and counting (Daily Grind, which moved a year or so ago to Third Street; Java ++, next to RPI; Illium Cafe; Shake Shake Mamas; and for a while the mysterious Mean Bean, whose atmosphere was just as uninspired as its coffee and food selections).

I want to get this out of the way up front: "Illium" as a word does not exist. There are two meanings for the spelling "Ilium" (*one* "L"): one of them means "Troy" (as in our intended meaning here); the other means part of the large intestine.

Ahem.

So "Illium" is some new kind of meaning. Oh and another thing to get out of the way: The Illium Cafe web site does not appear to be working at this moment. I'm including the link in case it decides to get its act together, though. Illium Cafe site here soon we hope.

And for me anyway, the jury is still out on exactly what this cafe will mean to Troy, as in Ilium, as in Ilium fuit, Troja est. For the past year or so, the Ilium cafe, despite its ideal location, was a fairly humdrum cafe, with just-okay coffee, some good tea choices, and dicey food. Once, I had a piece of quiche there that was the worst quiche I've ever had. And quiche should be easy to make!

Anyway, now there is a new owner and chef, Larry Shepici, whose Tosca Grill will be opening soon-- in November.

My first experience at the new and improved Illium was wonderful. I ordered a soup of the day-- there are usually two or three choices-- and it was one of the best potato soups I've ever had, potato with jalapeno. It was smooth and creamy with none of that watery taste that can sometimes bog a good potato soup down. It came with homemade croutons on top-- just the right touch. For dessert I had a slice of chocolate polenta cake, which was good and mysteriously trendy (see recent entry on Nicole's Bistro at Quackenbush). I can't say I'd order it again, but it was better than the choices used to be.

My second experience was okay, but not as blissful. I got the grilled vegetables on ciabatta, and it was just so-so. Plus, the service had started to annoy me; both times I've been there there has been some confusion as to where I place my order, when I pay, and exactly how the food is to be conveyed to my table (or not). Sometimes they bring the food over but sometimes (as when I ordered on my second visit a peanut butter cookie) they leave it sitting on the counter for you to pick up.

Plus, on my second visit I was sitting in front of two people who were apparently just released from the mental hospital. Now, I am a strong advocate of mental health. However, it is somewhat distressing to be trying to enjoy one's lunch when the conversation nearby consists of hopeless, despairing, and more depressing. ("If you want to be a shut-in, you can be a shut-in." "I'm not that kind of sick. I can't just lie down and get better.")

This is the problem Troy is up against. Troy seems to have attracted, with the power of a magnet, all the wretched, the tired, and the poor that the rest of America no longer has any time for.

However, at least for now, we're getting some decent coffee.

Nicole's Bistro at Quackenbush

2006-09-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

For our anniversary, my husband and I went to Nicole's Bistro at Quackenbush, a French restaurant that has gotten excellent reviews in Times Union among other local rags. It's in an old brick building (dating at least to the 1700s, perhaps earlier) with wide worn wood planks and a cozy feel. There's a narrow bar at the front. Nicole's Bistro is located at 25 Quackenbush House Albany, right off 787. They think the building was at one point a Dutch family's kiln and pottery building, and they also think the building served as a garrison during the French and Indian War.

All intriguing stuff, really.

But what really counts is food. And is it good?

I'm going to depart from the other restaurant reviewers and say that honestly, I think you can do better for the money.

I started with a mixed-greens salad, pretty standard, but in with the nice fresh greens were several rotten leaves. And I don't mean just slightly yellow. I mean almost composted, and slimy.

Now, come on!! Everyone knows that when you buy greens, some of them can go bad pretty quickly. But you clean them, and you pick out the bad ones, folks. Don't serve them to your clients at a supposedly fancy restaurant. Yuck.

My husband's tomato and mozzarella appetizer with basil pesto was quite good; they had in-season flavorful tomatoes (why does *he* always luck out?!)

My scallop entry was very good: diver's scallops with a lime-cilantro sauce that wasn't too overpowering. They were fresh and cooked to perfection, and came with slivered carrots and tender haricots verts. My husband got the steak au poivre in brandy sauce, which was quite good, although they did NOT cook it well as he had requested. He was okay with it but really was craving more of the poivre, the pepper flavors, that come with true steak au poivre.

Desserts were only so-so. I got the peach tarte tatin, which was flavorful but texturally disappointing (peaches kinda mushy, and ditto on the crust). Hubs got a slice of the chocolate polenta, which was really a kind of ganache with some polenta in it. It was good, but seems trendy (see: upcoming blog entry on the Ilium cafe!!). And this seems really picky, but they did not fill my one-cup teapot for mint tea with hot water; it was only maybe 3/4 full, and as we were the only ones there at the time, it seemed kind of-- stingy.

The walls are painted pink, there are some charming prints of Albany. But the whole effect of the paint, the somewhat shabby carpeting, the self-consciousness of the whole 'fancy dining' experience--was overweening. A fancy (read: expensive) restaurant should be classy and understated, so that you are made to feel that you are experiencing the ordinary elevated, as it really ought to be. The best upscale restaurants make me think: "Every night should be like this! This is how to live!" Not: "God, this is stuffy and expensive, let's go home and get more comfortable." True fine dining elevates the mundane until it feels beautiful, and makes the exotic comfortable.

The rotten salad greens detail was bad, but oddly, not enough to make me overall nix on the restaurant. No: it was the combination of so-so food (for the price: we paid a total of $97 plus tip, and no drinks) plus the somewhat worn atmosphere more than anything else. There were a number of other parties dining when we got there, but we closed the place (at what, like 9 pm I think. Come on people, we can keep restaurants open longer around here!! This is a complaint against Albany in general, though, not this particular restaurant). Our waiter gave good recommendations, and they kept an eye on us, but something was missing (maybe excitement? Joie de vivre?)

Well, we need fine restaurants, and I wish Nicole's Bistro the best. They are close to something really good, and maybe it's gone downhill since the previous rave reviews. I think what they need is a revamping of the menu (less sauce on the whole, more simplicity, some more vegetarian/pasta entrees), maybe a vacation for the proprietors, and some better feng shui. It can't be good for your karma to be so close to 787 (Take out the old carpeting, paint it red instead of pink, play some soft music and replace those dorky vine-encrusted candle holders on the table with something simple and classic.)

Drop everything and go to Moxie's for ice cream.

2006-08-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

Before I wrote about how much I liked Coldstone Creamery out in Stuyvesant Plaza, and about the ambience at Snowman. I had not yet tried the ultimate in ice cream: Moxie’s. Moxie’s is far east of central Troy on Spring Ave, and as you drive, you keep thinking, “there can’t possibly be ice cream here, let alone great ice cream.” It becomes rural; crickets chirp and the smells of the countryside sooth you. Then, just when you think there must be some mistake, you see the ginormous bug light, then the Moxie’s sign, and it’s like an oasis of pleasure in the worn down grind that is the Capital District.

I would like to empower you in your search for the good life here, the pleasurable things that aren’t necessary to sustain life, but without which life can become dreary and deadening. It is possible to live la dolce vita in the Capital District, but it takes some doing.

Moxie’s is a roadside stand of ice cream pleasure. And we’re not talking garden variety. We’re talking serious ice cream buffs. There are FIVE different types of vanilla ice cream at Moxie’s, all homemade, depending on where the vanilla bean was imported from (Haitian, Tahitian, Mexican). You can even get a sampler: “around the world with vanilla,” trying all six flavors, plus Moxie’s signature flavor, blue moon-- and a bottle of water “to cleanse your palate.” There is a flavor called Horchata, that has a creamy cinnamoney flavor (it is based on a rice pudding-like concoction). There is a flavor called chocolata peppercino, which is chocolate with a little aftertaste of spicy heat. These are all excellent flavors, and much much better than anything else I’ve had in the area. Not all the flavors are great: for example, fig was a disappointment (not much flavor, tasted too much like plain vanilla), and the pomegranate cherry was not as vibrant as it could be, either. Tonight, I had a sundae, and the fudge sauce is only so-so (I prefer my hot fudge really dark chocolate; this was too sweet). And the whipped cream, although supposedly from a better brand, was out of a can and not impressive (Ben and Jerry's has the real whipped cream).

Despite these minor flaws, there is a European influence here, and the proprietress has traveled to Italy when not running Moxie’s, during the winter. This year she plans to go to El Salvador, and says we’ll just have to see what new flavors get inspired by her travels there. Moxie’s has its own lovely backyard park with lots of space to run around and playground equipment for children, and picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy your icy confection.

Another benefit here is that the sizes are reasonable: a regular cup consists of two scoops of ice cream, not a whole pint. This is sensible! This is good. Prices are very reasonable, with a regular cone at $2.95; you can buy a half gallon of this heavenly stuff for $6.15.

Moxie’s is a family business, having been started by a father and now being run by his daughter. It’s in Wynantskill, at 1344 Spring Ave. Other flavors that sound good I have ended up not liking: the fig doesn’t have much ‘figgy’ flavor, and the cherry pomegranate was similarly disappointing. However, when they get it right here, they get it so right that it is downright addictive.

Moxie’s remains open only as long as supplies last. As of tonight (8/16/06) they estimate staying open only until the 29th. They aren’t making any more ice cream, and already the vanillas are gone (except for a vanilla with peppermint). So go now, and enjoy summer while it lasts.

At the Farmer's Market: Vegan Creations

2006-08-05T21:06:00.000-04:00

I took this photo a week ago of Rada and Nena, purveyors of Vegan Creations at the Troy Farmer's Market. Their cookies are one of the weapons in my diet arsenal. See, I have to have something sweet to nibble on during the day. Most days around 3 p.m. I hit this real low. I get a craving for some little tidbit or sweet morsel to go with a cup of tea or decaf. But this can lead to a cookie here, a piece of cake there... and before you know it I'm up a waist size.

The solution is to nosh on something delicious and tasty but light. Enter Vegan Creations, with the just-right-sized cookies they sell in many flavors. My favorite are the double chocolate and the regular chocolate. Just one or two of these fulfills my craving, and you see since they are Vegan, there is no sinful butter or egg.

Just for the record, I am not vegan. I am a lacto-ovo-fisho vegetarian. But vegan baking intrigues me (it's such a challenge: how to make delicious baked goods without the dairy or eggs?). It's not often well met. But Vegan Creations have figured out how to do it, at least for the things I've tried.

They also sell baklava, and things like carrot cake. Some of their delights are wheat- free as well, and their card says they specialize in seitan.

Their telephone number is: 518-479-5112
They also take orders.

The other intriguing development here is that they say they will soon start selling their baked goods at a vegetarian cafe that's supposed to be opening up in Averill Park (not far from Troy) called Slow Jed's Mud House Inc.

Here is their web site, but the links don't seem to work yet: Slow Jed's

More when I know for sure what the story is.

Brown's Brewery: Mixed Results. Too Damn Noisy Last Night.

2006-07-29T12:19:00.000-04:00

Brown's Brewery in Troy on River Street is a perfectly adequate place to go most of the time. It is not one of my favorite places. But after discovering last night that Al Baraki closed at 9, we were left with hungry tummies and not too many options. So Brown's it was.

They seated us quickly, our waitress was friendly and efficient, and the menu offers a wide range of options. It's your typical brewery fare, although I read an article that I can't seem to find online that says there is a new chef there now.

I ordered the linguini with clams and white sauce, which was quite good. I am somewhat of a stickler about my linguini vongole, and this one passed the test. (Although don't expect actual parmesan cheese here. It came with one of those little shake jars with the crumbly kind of parmesan, not the real stuff). It was adequate (I seem to be using that word a lot, but it does describe the food, at least so far).

Some things they do really well: burgers. I don't eat meat but their vegetarian burger is one of the very best I've had. I've had the salmon there before, and it was just okay, not really great. I think they have a new version of it on the menu now, but I'm not eager for it, based on the mediocre quality of version the first.

My husband got the Reuben, and he complained that the corned beef in it this time was chipped. Apparently other times he's gotten it, it's come in the whole form that is preferable.

And the onion rings he ordered were below par. First of all there were exactly 6 onion rings of a standard size. That's not very many. The sauce they came with was basically just plain mayonnaise with flecks of something in it (pepper? I don't know. It didn't have any flavor). And they were doughy, not crunchy.

The other bad thing about Brown's last night was it was so noisy. They had this guy who was channelling Van Morrisson or Creedence Clearwater Revival or just drunk folk guy and I couldn't hear myself talk. So we skipped dessert and left early. Too bad, because I would have liked to try their Porter Chocolate cake.

This remains a standby, a kind of backup plan for us. And, it is a good place to go for beer. But beer alone doesn't make a restaurant.

76 Diner in Latham: Always Open, Always Something Good

2006-07-29T12:08:00.000-04:00

The 76 Diner in Latham is exactly what every diner should be: open all the time, warm and welcoming, and chock-full of so many different options (breakfast all day, dessert all day, Greek salad, shrimp scampi, steak....) that it boggles the mind where they store all that food. How do they keep all those options in readyness, at a moment's notice, 24 hours a day? Plus the beverages.

The 76 Diner is located on 722 Loudon Road, Latham, tel. 785-3793.

They have a lovely dessert case that greets you and gets the salivary glands going just as you walk in. In it are all kinds of over-the-top things like Napoleons bursting with cream you know isn't good for you, strawberry cheesecake, and cherry and blueberry pies.

We were there the other night after having made an emergency run to the Lowe's in Latham Circle, and I got the broiled Haddock that came with: salad, side vegetable (I chose the spinach with mushroom, very good, almost creamy), potato (I chose the home fries, very good again). The piece de resistance was the garnish: a canned pineapple round with a maraschino cherry in the center on top of a piece of lettuce.

Where else can you go and order broiled Haddock and get a garnish like that, I ask you?! You know that love and care goes into that. And it is the essence of dinertude. My husband got the omelet with tomato and cheese (and home fries) and it was quite good.

Now let's be frank here: we're not talking organic eggs or quaint Berkshire-style diner. We're talking working man's, 24-hour, nightshifters, Greek-food inflected diner. But for what it is, it's at the top of its form.

The waitress, who spoke with a Russian accent, and I had a frank discussion about the fish. Was it fresh? I wondered. Well, she said, don't believe ANYONE if they tell you that fish is fresh at any restaurant, unless it is very very expensive. Almost all fish will be frozen in some way. But, she assured me, this Haddock would be good. I appreciated her honesty.

And the fish was good. It wasn't the best (or the freshest-- despite what she said, there are levels of freshness) I've ever had, but it was quite good. Better than I expected.

So go. Don't hesitate. And at $23 for two full meals, you can't beat it.

The Great Ice Cream Lick-Off

2006-07-29T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Capital Region is blessed with several options for ice cream indulgence. At the risk of my street cred, I am going to endorse as one of my favorites the Cold Stone Creamery chain. We went to the one in Stuyvesant Plaza the other night and it was packed. The ice cream itself is of superior quality, and then there is the whole 'add-in' thing, whereby you personalize your ice cream. You can ask for any kind of mix-in (Snickers, Heath bar, M&Ms, nuts, sprinkles, etc.) and the servers then pound it all into a sludgy cold gooey submission on a marble slab. It's part of a larger trend of everyone being their own movie star/dreammaker/barista/iPod music mixer. They give you choices, and I got the peanut butter/chocolate concoction. It was chocolate ice cream with Reese's peanut butter cups plus actual peanut butter mixed in.

Can I just say YUM?!? Intense chocolateyness, plus peanut buttery goodness.

I was torn, though, and in retrospect I think I should have gotten the strawberry cheesecake concoction or the birthday cake one (actual pieces of birthday cake thrown in, with sprinkles!!!) There will just have to be many other samplings.

I might suggest ordering the smallest size, just because of the richness of the ice cream. It must have a high cream content, so a little bit goes a long way. There's another Cold Stone Creamery in Saratoga.

The other option for ice cream is of course the Ben and Jerry's on Lark Street in Albany. And I'm never going to pass up the chance for good old politically correct and intensely delicious ice cream by them. Plus, they use REAL WHIPPED CREAM!!! That is a big bonus in my book. And their fudge sauce isn't too overly sweet. One of the problems is parking, though: where are you gonna park, say, on a Friday night!??! It's not like there's a whole lot of room to double park with your flashers on while your sweetie runs in and contemplates the 20 or so incredibly delicious flavors.

It's problematic.

The institution we have come to love almost in spite of ourselves right here in Troy is The Snowman in Lansingburgh. Here is an article from the Business Review about ice cream with information about the owner of the Snowman, who makes his ice cream from scratch. Add to that all the soft ice cream options your heart could ever desire (vanilla and orange sherbert swirl for creamsicle effect cone, butterscotch or chocolate dipped cones, low-fat sherbert....) and you have a real conundrum. Pencil in about an hour's time just to decide what on earth out of all this sinful goodness you want. Recently I've had Maple Walnut, which was quite good. Their chocolate is okay, but not nearly as chocolately as Cold Stone's. Snowman tends towards the sweeter side of things, whereas I prefer less sugar, more flavor.

However, the Snowman is a social scene. Go on a Friday or Saturday night around 8 pm and you'll see everyone there: old, young, and in between lined up for their cold sugary goodness. It's so nice to see people out enjoying themselves in the Capital Region, where more often than not people are rushing around being workaholics.

The Snowman is on 5th Ave around 114th Street in Lansingburgh.

The article in the Business Review also mentions a place called Moxie's near Emma Willard which I'd love to try.

Happy lickings folks.

Wild blueberries on State Street

2006-07-26T13:36:00.000-04:00

I haven't been active here because I've been battling my demons. I've had an extended period of the major demons. But I'm coming out of it. In the meantime I've relied on DeFazio's pizza and Edie's frozen yogurt (vanilla) as well as the double-chocolate vegan cookies sold at the Troy Waterfront Farmer's Market (subject for another post) to get me through. And of course, now that I'm starting to feel better, the first thing on my mind is food.

Today (a Wednesday, around noon) I was in downtown Troy, and there were three farmer stalls set up on State Street and Third. One woman was selling, among other things (cukes, zucchini, corn, potatoes), tiny wild blueberries. Natch I got some.

That I can buy wild blueberries on State Street in downtown Troy gives me hope, not only for our fair city but for humanity.

Feast well, friends.

Al Baraki: Excellent Lebanese food with heart

2006-07-10T15:15:00.000-04:00

Al Baraki is one of the best places to eat in the Capital Region. You may be surprised by that statement, but you shouldn't be: consistently, immigrant and 'ethnic' restaurants in this area outpace more traditional (read: white) eateries for freshness, originality, and heart.

What is heart? Heart is that personal connection to food, that sense of emotional nourishment and connection we get when we eat food prepared with care and love. Too often, that quality is missing from overly corporatized chain restaurants and overbuilt, overly fussy places that try to pass as gourmet, like Provence in Stuyvesant Plaza.

At Al Baraki, you get garlicky, fresh food with great variety and a down-home feeling. Paul and Simone are the proprietors, and the restaurant is situated in what used to be a pizzeria. Apparently, Paul started out selling pizza pie, but was encouraged to prepare foods that reflect his Lebanese heritage. It has been working, and I for one will be going back for more. They had a very successful Lebanese festival recently and they tell me they plan to do it again next year. Also, students, be on the lookout for a promotion in the fall.

Today I had the sampler platter, and usually with these types of platters, I'll like one or two of the samples while the rest are pretty bland. But on the Al Baraki platter, I *loved* everything: the baba ganouj was light and garlicky; the stuffed grape leaf and the makdous (baby eggplant stuffed with walnuts and peppers) were topped with Al Baraki's stupendous, home made garlic mayonnaise (which sometimes you can buy to take home in jars); and the tabbouli was full-bodied with mint and lemon. Another one of their signatures is the homemade turnip pickle. It doesn't sound like much, but it packs a wonderful flavor punch, and they use it as a garnish/side on a lot of their dishes.

They also offer meat dishes such as shawarma (chicken or beef), home made pies (lahm-ajeen, which is ground beef with tomato; or goat cheese pie, which I want to try next); and hot vegetable dishes like mousakaa (this looks like a vegetarian version, with onion, eggplant and chickpeas) or loubieh (green beans cooked with onion and garlic).

Their hours are:
Daily 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday 10:30- 9 p.m.
Closed Sunday

telephone: 270-9404

Today it was nice, so I sat at an outdoor table, but they also have seats inside. Go to Al Baraki; it'll make you want to become a regular.

Emperor's gets another A: dim sum this time

2006-06-27T22:17:00.000-04:00

Emperor's has a quiet but persistent way of making its excellence known. Its location and design are unassuming. It's in a small building on Wolf Road, and the decor is comfortable but not flashy. They don't have a huge dining room. But the food is quality and authentic, with fresh ingredients and an extensive menu. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's as good as Shun Lee in Manhattan-- it's not upscale or gourmet--but it does honor to traditional Chinese dishes and has enough variety to please everyone.

This weekend we had dim sum for three, and just about every dish we ordered was excellent: the sticky rice in lotus leaf was one of the best I've had; Chinese broccoli with garlic was good; and the sesame balls were awesome. We also had a variety of dumplings (shrimp, vegetable, etc). I had a hankering for mini-custards, but they were unfortunately out of them. The sesame balls were a deep-fried dough concoction with a bean paste inside that tasted chocolatey and smokey. I'm going to get cravings for those again soon! The spring rolls were filled with fresh vegetables. While we had to wait a while for our order (instead of the various dishes being paraded on carts as they are in big-city Chinatowns), everything was fresh and delicious, and the waiters were helpful and answered all our questions.

Let's be truthful: dim sum is all about heavy, greasy foods (unless you're really virtuous and order from the menu, which you can do here). Yet the food we had wasn't limp or soaked with fat as greasy food can sometimes be. It was crisp on the outside and light and heavenly on the inside. And what better way to start off a new week than with that repleteness that comes from the right combination of salty/savory/oily plus scads of hot tea?

It was slow at 1:30 pm on a Sunday, but the friend we were with said that he's been there at noon and it was more crowded.

Dim sum is such a wonderful ritual, and this afternoon felt like time off from the grind and the worries of life. I'll definitely be going to Emperor's more often.

Latham: Seat of Ho-Hum-ness

2006-06-12T23:13:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is-- maybe all the rain-- but something's been pushing me towards middle-of-the-road experiences lately. I've been burning myself out a bit with an article I'm working on, so that might be it. Anyway I needed a beer, so we went the other night to the Malt River Brewing company in the Latham Circle Mall. The restaurant was eerily quiet for a Saturday night, but that might be because they were about to close for two days of renovations, and we did go on the late side (around 8:30 or so).

They have excellent beers on tap, but I always order a stout, because it's always good. They have fine appetizer selections and bar food like Thai Peanut Wings that have won a Metroland award, and the sweet potato fries, which we got and that come with spicy dipping sauce. I have to stick with Bomber's Burritos as the place for best sweet potato fries in this area, but Malt River's are quite good. Other times I've been there I've gotten their black bean nachos for my main course, and it is just what you'd expect from a huge plate of nachos piled with beans and cheese: it's good but not great, and it loses its appeal when it starts getting cold and congealed.

You can also select from a couple of soups (onion soup, Texas red chili) and salads (they do have a caesar you can get with either chicken or grilled tuna, which is nice to know for dieters). Entrees are heavy on the meat and chicken, with strip steak, Cuban Pork Tenderloin, and Buffalo Meat Loaf. For vegetarians there is a pasta primavera or a tomato sauce and pasta. I got the Caribbean salmon, which came with an orange fruit salsa (really not very spicy, just more like some chopped fruit on the side); it was decent but not anything to distinguish itself. They also have a tuna-steak sandwich that I've gotten before. I've never been tempted by their desserts.

They have pizzas, too, although from the looks of it not that many people order pizzas there. Perhaps it's more of a bar food thing. My dining partner got the Red Barn Burger, which comes mixed with red onion and sun-dried tomato; he wasn't too impressed, since his came less well-done than he likes.

As my dining partner said to sum it up, it's the kind of place you go if there's a group of you all trying to meet somewhere convenient, but it's really not anything to get too excited about. Unless you're up for some beer-- and meat.

Dakota's in Latham: Comfortable Mediocrity

2006-06-12T22:34:00.000-04:00

It's been raining so much here that it feels like the Pacific Northwest, and under such conditions, my husband and I hightailed it to Latham, that seat of all things comfortingly middle-of-the-road (and location to the only grocery store in the Capital District with a semi-decent natural foods section--the Hannaford). It's been a while-- like, a year?-- since I've been to Dakota, so it was worth re-testing, especially since they specialize in fish and meat, and I had an appetite for fish.

Dakota is a chain with other restaurants in Connecticut and Massachusetts. When you drive there you pass their wood-carved totem-like bears holding their sign up, and that's only a hint of the Adirondack-cum-American-Indian-pelted-carvings extravanganza that awaits you inside. The decor is an unholy alliance between Great Escapes amusement park style (carvings, fly-fishing wallpaper), an actual museum (they have real American Indian artifacts on display) and one of those stores that used to be on godforsaken highways everywhere that sell moccasins and papoose dolls. They have fireplaces in some of the rooms, which is a real bonus here in the winter. And they have real wood panelling in some areas, as well as life-sized stuffed bears climbing branches as a centerpiece of the main dining room. You have to be in the right mood, but sometimes that kitschy Adirondack style hits the spot. That mood may be psycho-- let's not forget that Humbert Humbert took his Lolita to many kitschy Pioneer themed motels and restaurants-- but I humbly admit that I am an American, and that kind of tacky faux camping stuff brings back memories. (That those memories are of being stuck in some cold smelly roadside campground or highway rest area only makes the restaurant experience seem comparatively better. These designers know what they're doing.) It's nice to imagine that you're in a lodge somewhere when really, you're in predictable Latham: it puts a hazy film over any disquieting reality.

Dakota is a large restaurant, and I've never had to wait more than about 20 minutes there on their busiest night. This time they were busy but we didn't have to wait at all, and it was a Saturday. They used to sell meat, fish, and lobster deli-style, but I don't know if they do that anymore. It seems there have been some changes and they're trying to become even more of a chain than they were, so quality is taking a kick in the pants.

Some things have changed for the worse: the Buffalo bread, to name one important one. It used to be that as soon as you ordered, the waitstaff offered you the Buffalo bread and the salad bar. The Buffalo bread *was* this malty, dark, rich and warm bread that was melt-in-your mouth good. Now, however, it is dry, lighter, and not nearly half as good as it used to be. Even if there were nothing formerly great to compare it to, I would have rejected this version. Another disappointment was that the salad bar is no longer compris: we had to order it separately, at $2.99. The salad bar is still, at that, a good deal: it's buffet style, and has many things to choose from, including some nice marinated vegetables (baby corn, broccoli). However, the carrots I chose with poppy seeds, while they looked spectacular, tasted like cardboard. No farmer's market here.

The choices on the menu are not as sophisticated as they used to be, with more things now surf n' turf style, and fewer types of fish. However, this is a meat-lovers paradise, and one can get things like crab cakes and shrimp dishes. (Forget it if you're a non-fish eating vegetarian, however).

I ordered the trout as my main course from their lighter Grill section of the menu (which they seem to be de-emphasizing: I don't know why, as everything else is overkill), and it was good, but not as good as it used to be. It's gotten heavier, and trout should really be the lightest possible fish, like a whisper. However, if I went back there, I would get the trout again; it did have nice grill flavor. My husband got the sirloin, which is like a hamburger without the bun, and it was good: "juicy and flavorful, better than it used to be. It used to be drier." So some things seem to have improved. "The side dish of onions was a bit-- much," he says, and what he really means is that it was lame. They were sauteed and liquidy, not caramelized as they should have been.

Desserts are still strong here, with a pie a la mode or, what we got, the falling chocolate cake with ice cream.

Overall, this is a good place to go when you know you want and it's fish or meat, and you're not feeling too fussy. It's a good place for a rainy (or snowy) evening, but I'm not going to be a regular there. It's too corporate, and they took away that awesome Buffalo bread.

Francesca's in Troy hits the spot

2006-06-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

Well I've been out of commission here for a while because I've been working my butt off on an article that I may actually be paid for. But yesterday I went out to lunch at Francesca's -- it was the rainiest dreariest day we've had so far this spring. It felt more like autumn than summer. And Francesca's made it all better with warm, nourishing soups: I had a mixed-bean soup with vegetables-- it was vegan based, although I had mine with a lovely sprinkle of parmesan on top-- and my lunch compadre had a chickpea soup that she also said hit the spot. Along with our soups we shared a toasted buttered ciabatta roll, which was excellent: fresh and full of that great sourdough flavor. Francesca is accomodating, and they keep a regular group of customers coming back for more at this family operated cafe. They also have sandwiches like turkey, veggie, and roast beef wraps that you can order on different breads, salads (chicken caesar, chef salad), and "gourmet sandwiches" with things like "The Approach" (named after the nicely restored stairway from downtown to RPI) with artichoke hearts and roasted peppers on focaccia.

Desserts are also on tap: we tried chocolate chip cookies and a lemon bar. Both were adequate although the lemon bar crust was bland and mushy, and the lemon part didn't have the tang I usually like. The chocolate chip cookies were of the dry, smaller kind.

Drinks are the usual but they do have an espresso machine where you can get cafe au laits or lattes and steamers.

I definitely want to come back here.

Mezzo Marketplace and Eatery

2006-05-13T23:32:00.000-04:00

Mezzo on 340 Hamilton Street, near the intersection with Dove, is a fantastic find. If I lived in downtown Albany, I'd probably be there a lot. They'd get tired of seeing my urbanite face every week. As it is, I have to settle for when I get to Albany and can actually find street parking.

Mezzo has absolutely top-notch deli foods as well as amazing baked goods (when I was there, I saw but didn't try what looked like a giant pie-sized lacy pecan cookie smooshed sandwich-like with some really yummy-looking creamy frosting stuff.) You can treat it like a mini gourmet shopping mart and pick up your fun fruit-shaped marzipans to brighten up someone's day; you can go there and forget you're in Albany for a moment while you sip your European espresso (or latte, chocolate, tea, etc) with baked delicacy of choice; or you can actually do lunch there and sit inside or in the courtyard. The staff is friendly and enthusiastic, and they also do catering and cooking classes.

I sat in the courtyard and had a little plate with crab cakes and roasted vegetables, picking and choosing from their deli counter. The crab cake I ate there was one of the best I've *ever* had anywhere: fresh lump crab meat with a minimum of the other stuff or breadcrumbs that seem to weigh down even the best-intentioned crabs. (I like to think of myself as a crab with only the best intentions!) I saw, but didn't pounce on (yet) their salmon (not sure if it's baked or poached) filet, some great looking pasta salads and chicken salads. Pestos, people! They actually have pestos in Albany, and it's only, what, 25 years after the gourmet food revolution?!?

Did I forget to mention that they also have sorbet and gelatos? These people know how to please.

They sell unusual ingredients (extra-fine sugar, marzipan, specialty seasonings and the like). My hope is that they will be hugely successful and have to buy out the whole block and then just work their way up the river to Troy.

Holmes and Watson, briefly

2006-05-13T23:18:00.000-04:00

Holmes and Watson on 450 Broadway is an old Troy standby. Their cottage fries are fantastic, and they have an extensive list of beers; you can usually get some kind of stout on tap, which is my idea of beer heaven. The location couldn't be better for downtown dining.

Holmes and Watson consists of a nice bar in front with a few tables, and more tables in the rear. Since I'm not a drinker, I usually sit in the back. The steps down to the rear tables can be a bit tricky, but the restaurant has the atmosphere of a down-home English pub, which can be comforting especially come mid-winter around these parts.

They have sandwiches, steaks, fish, and soups, like the *excellent* Manhattan fish chowder I had when I was there with a group a few weeks ago. The food is good quality, with fine fish and chips and burgers (although not much by way of vegetarian fare: I think there's one veggie wrap option, or a grilled portobello-cum-burger. Just like England!).

The service when we were there was scattered; the waitress didn't want us to move two larger tables together, and so instead we had to move to a bench with two non-fitting tables, even though practically no one else was in the joint.

This competes with Brown's Brewing Co. on River Street for brewpub dominance. While Holmes and Watson has reliably good sandwiches and beers, Brown's has a much classier atmosphere (although it still feels like a pub) with many more tables, and a bigger menu with a great veggie burger. Holmes and Watson does fish really well, though, I think better than Brown's.

Brown's is where you take your out-of-town family visitors, while Holmes and Watson is where you hunker down for some down-home Troy lounging.

Karavalli makes me grateful to live here

2006-05-03T21:14:00.000-04:00

Karavalli just keeps getting better and better. My husband noticed that they raised their prices; I was too busy chowing down to see. Besides, I think they are totally worth it. (NB: Their web site, while informative, makes the dining room look like a musty cave, which it is NOT, so just ignore the lame photos and instead get mesmerized by the psycadelic Hindi goddess cartoon).

You’d never know that a world-class Indian restaurant is hiding in the sleepy little plaza where Comfortex window treatments and an Arthur Murray dance studio do business. It’s off of Route 9, near the Ford dealership: official address is 9B Johnson Road, Latham, telephone 518-785-7600. I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant, but let me start off by asserting that I think Karavalli is as good if not better than Dawat, the only other really authentic Indian restaurant I’ve been to. Dawat is on the East Side in New York City. The fact that we have a restaurant here in little Latham that rivals that is news indeed.

Karavalli specializes in dishes from India’s southern region, Kerala, which is known for its heavenly food. Some of the dishes are your standard Indian restaurant fare (Aloo Gobi, or cauliflower potato dish) but a majority of dishes are unusual, like Okra Masala or Avial Malabar (with green bananas and yams in coconut sauce). Or Chicken Kashmiri in a cashew and almond sauce. This past weekend, I went with my mother and husband, and my mom got the More Kozhambua, listed as a Tamilnadu specialty, and it was AWESOME!!! It was okra and lentil dumplings in a tangy buttermilk sauce that was out of this world, yet somehow also managed to taste healthy at the same time. Karavalli food doesn’t succumb to the bane of many Indian restaurants in America of adding too much grease. Spicy dishes are clearly labeled, and you can find things here that are mild (and you can ask them to turn down the heat). Not that I would do that. I love spices. The other great thing for us vegetarians is that they have two separate vegetarian sections on their menu: one is vegan, with no dairy or animal products.

The appetizers alone are outstanding and diverse: Calamari Cochin (fried masala squid with red onions and pepper), tangy shrimp, Uttapam (a lovely potato pancake), Idly, which is steamed rice/lentil patties served with sauce, and tamarind eggplant. Running at $6-8 dollars per appetizer, this is more than reasonable for the high quality you're getting. The service is also very good and attentive here, and the place is always hopping. Reservations are a good idea for weekends.

I had the Salmon Tikka, which was stupendous, and came served on a platter sizzling with onions and green peppers. We also had at the table a coconut chicken, which I heard was excellent, and Green Beans and Lentils, which sounds plain but is anything but. Other times I've had the Malai Kofta, which was excellent, and the only dish I've ever not adored was the Avial Malabar (but I will probably try it again, just because this was early on in their tenure). It had a strange woody tasting vegetable in it that I ended up spitting out.

One most amazing thing is that they now have two Calcutta Jewish specials. One is a chicken with raisins and cashew sauce, and another is a lamb with okra. I don't eat meat but these sound really awesome. It is obvious that a master chef is at the helm here.

Karavalli uses spices the way that I have learned to use them from one of my favorite cookbooks-- Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi--so that you can taste five or six distinct sensations when you eat. The theory is that in order to be nutritionally satisfied, we need all the flavors represented in one meal, such as sweet, salty, bitter, tangy, savory. It makes a lot of sense to me. Why go around feeling bland all the time when so much color exists for the palate?

My favorite side dish to order here is the Hot Lemon Pickle. It is the kind of food that I imagine, if I really flip out for good (I wonder sometimes), and someone were to put a small dish of the Hot Lemon Pickle in front of me and I tasted a triangle, I would immediately come to my senses. Like smelling salts, only really really tasty. I have waxed ecstatic about it before, but I am a little concerned that it’s not as hot as they used to make it. However, it truly is delicious, and tastes like a lemon that is the Platonic ideal of lemon essence. The lemon from the Garden of Eden. It beats psychotherapy.

Karavalli has an $8.95 daily lunch buffet, which is an excellent way to get started on your addiction. Go ahead. I dare you to go just once.

Daisy Baker's: Hold the sugar!!!!!!!

2006-05-02T17:04:00.000-04:00

I have news for food-loving Americans. We eat bad stuff, and it's showing in our health patterns. Today, the Associated Press reported that Americans are less healthy than even the English. Now, if you've ever been to England and seen how they live and what they eat (beer, beer, and greasy fried stuff), this should be cause for some major consternation. The study even excluded minorities, who would skew results. I think the reasons for our ill-health are two-fold. First, we have a government that relies on polluting corporations to police themselves, and we sell and use chemical stuff to clean our homes. So I think part of it is this chemical soup we live in.

The second reason, and the one I'm focussing on here is, we eat TOO MUCH SUGAR!!!! The British have poor eating habits, but not as bad as ours. Why? They may guzzle the grease, but they don't souse everything with sugar or corn syrup. Anyone who eats processed or pre-made food in America is imbibing quantities of sugar inconsistent with good health. Read the labels and see. The insidious part is that sugar is added in restaurants, and there, you can't read a label. But you can taste it.

Daisy Baker's is a case in point. First, the good news: Daisy Baker's is in a great location on Second Street in downtown Troy. It's in a historic building, and the restaurant is in a room full of beautiful woodwork, a cozy bar, and an original pipe organ. You don't see those around a lot! The lighting is romantic; the setting gets an A++. Worthy of taking your parents or out-of-town friends to in terms of ambiance.

The food is just okay. As usual, Nosher has higher expectations for our local purveyors of food. Daisy Baker has a really nice menu with appetizers like Crab Cake with Red Pepper Coulis; Escargot; Fried Calamari; Tuna Togaroshi, served rare; and Chinese Potstickers with pork and vegetables. Salads are also lovely sounding with one featuring poached apple filled with gorgonzola and prosciutto. So there's one thing Daisy's can do to make all this food that sounds so good also taste good. Lay off the sugar.

We got salads: mine was the mozarella and tomato, and would have been perfect if they had left off the excessive squeezes of balsamic dressing. It was like Jackson Pollock had suddenly taken a liking to ketchup bottles full of sugared-up balsamic. The design aspect is nice, but it goes downhill from there. If your tomatoes are good quality (and these were-- they served the decent grape tomatoes that seem to be the only sweet tomatoes around during our off season) you really don't need any sweet condiment on them. So why? Why, Daisy Baker, why all the fuss with sugared up sauces? Underneath all that sugar there's a gem waiting to shine.

The main courses don't leave much room for vegetarians, but there are plenty of seafood options, and I got the Scallops with an Orange liquor infused sauce. The scallops were tasty, but they were drowned by this sweet sauce. Again, I ask, why? Why not just let the scallops speak for themselves? When sugar talks, it drowns out everything else. My husband's pork dish was good but I believe it had a maple glaze.

We decided to pass on dessert for obvious reasons.

And here I have a story to supplement these observations about sugared-up Americans: Last year on our honeymoon, my husband and I had the pleasure of going to a fine restaurant in Venice (alas, I can't find the name of it! After spending half an hour looking through my files and bookshelves, I can't find the food-dominated diary I kept, either. I think this can mean only one thing: I MUST return to Italy, poste haste) run by an Italian man and his American wife. She's not just any American, though: she's Texan! She was such a nice person, and told me, while I was debating what dessert to try, that she had started baking when she was a transplant to Italy and felt homesick for American cakes. The cakes were so good that her husband wanted them for the restaurant, with one caveat: that she HALVE the sugar in her recipes!!!

I had two small slices of cake (because I couldn't decide on one) and even though she had halved the sugar, it was STILL really sweet; it was much sweeter than a genuine Italian dessert would have been.

So once again disappointed, I must give this restaurant a low grade because of the sugar addiction.

Emperor's Fine Hong Kong Dining

2006-04-21T12:41:00.000-04:00

Emperor's is located at 10 Wolf Road, next to Bangkok Thai (the Sears/Barnes and Noble/Target end of Wolf Road). Emperor's and Ocean Palace are the two consistently best Chinese restaurants in this area, and I would recommend Emperor's to anyone.

First of all, their menu is impressive, although a little less 'exotic' than Ocean Palace's (at Emperor's you can get Duck Feet, Conch five different ways, and a variety of Squid dishes, but it lacks the poetic touch. (See my review of Ocean Palace: reverence is the only appropriate emotion for "Virginia Ham and Fish Maw Soup").

My friend ordered the Shun Fan Golden Chicken, which truly looked like a feast meant for a king. It looked a lot like the soy sauce chicken I used to delight in at New York Noodle Town (in Manhattan's Chinatown), only it was a huge portion served in a regal mound and covered with crispy golden garlic.

I almost gave up vegetarianism right there on the spot.

But I had my dish, Shrimp with Peanuts and Hot Pepper, which was quite good and came with diced celery and carrot. I also ordered the Chinese broccoli (my favorite), and it was excellent. The other time I was at Emperor's I ordered trout, and it was so fresh they actually brought it out before cooking it. It was still alive. I was horrified and felt really really guilty and awful. That trip to Emperor's I considered giving up fish, just because that poor trout looked so unhappy. But I must say it was as fresh as you can get.

So go to Emperor's. You'll never run out of great things to order, and the service is excellent.

Antipasto's: cozy and fresh

2006-04-04T17:34:00.000-04:00

The other night, I *finally* made it to Antipasto's, after a few years of saying "I should try Antipasto's some time!" It's in Clifton Park: you get off 87 for Rte. 9 west, and keep going past the Clifton Park mallapalooza (pass the Borders and TGIFridays) continuing for about a mile. Antipasto's is in a small outdoor strip on the left near a Price Chopper; it's easy to miss because it's tucked into a corner.

But if you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to try it out. It is a vegetarian friendly (and also vegan-friendly) Italian/Meditteranean restaurant, but you'll like it even if you're not a vegetarian. Antipasto's has a real neighborhood feel; it actually has the vibe of a restaurant in Italy where the locals like to congregate, which many restaurants claim to have but most don't actually manage. It also has an impressive wine bar. There are signed wine posters on the walls, attesting to the owner's love of quality vino.

Before I get started describing all the gustatory pleasures at hand here, I should warn you: Antipasto's does not take credit cards. So go there with some cash.

We shared a sauteed spinach and white bean appetizer, which really turned out to be a most enjoyable huge platter (and, note: we got the small) of vegetarian antipasto: pepperoncini, really nice olives of different sorts, and the spinach and bean mixture. The waitress, who was pleasant and helpful, also brought out some warm bread (from Bella Napoli-- a real plus) and balsamic dipping sauce. For my main dish I had "The Thomas Jefferson": eggplant parm with vegetables on the side. And oh, what fresh and delightful vegetables, all convivially making way into the tomato sauce at the center! There were carrots, broccoli, and more olives, and I felt not only sated but healthy. The eggplant was wonderful, and my glass of Chianti better than the usual. My husband got the Mixed Vegetable Ravioli, which were homemade and served in a simple olive oil and garlic sauce.

Other items on the menu include many types of pizzas, which you can order in individual or larger sizes; a soup of the day; plentiful salads, like a Spinach salad with Artichokes and feta or the Josey Wales with Gorgonzola and grapeseed vinaigrette. Salads can be had in small or large sizes (what a great idea!), and you can also get a gourmet cheese course or bruschetta for appetizers or to go with wine. Other dishes include Portobello Parmesan, Cheese Melt Florentine, and pasta of many types (Cheese Ravioli, Pasta Primavera, Porta Putanesca [sic]-- mushrooms with Puttanesca). They also had a 'vegetarian seafood' dish and vegetarian cutlets as one of the main dishes.

We passed on dessert (see my entry on Angel's to come soon!) but felt sure that we'd be back to try it out some time. I left only wishing that Antipasto's would open more venues around the Capital Region; Clifton Park is too far away from everything else. This is a neighborhood restaurant-- and I want it in my neighborhood!

Provence- Yawn, Etcetera

2006-03-27T15:54:00.000-05:00

"Bon soir," the coatcheck girl greeted us. How nice! I thought-- someone actually using French in a French restaurant. But after that, it became obvious that Provence lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. You'd never find a restaurant like Provence in France: the food is way too fussy (Red Leaf, Duck Confit, Toasted Almonds, Brie and Raspberry Vinaigrette salad?). The French are, if anything, excellent editors and know that less is more. Provence is an ambitious restaurant, but I fear they have bitten off more than they can chew (pardon the pun).

We went to Provence on a Friday, to celebrate an accomplishment of mine. I got all dressed up, and--honest!--I was ready for some fine dining. I had hopes for Provence.

But both my husband and I were disappointed, at first in small ways, and then, upon reviewing our experience, as a whole. First of all, for an upscale restaurant, diners don't seem to have enough elbow room, especially where we were seated, up on the platform area. (There were some nice banquettes below, which seemed reserved for larger parties-- if you insist on going, even after you've read my review, you might want to ask for a quieter table if you want a romantic-- or even simply coherent--evening here). The volume was bearable but fairly high, and we were quite close to the neighboring tables, so the overall effect was that we were on stage taking part in a show. This can be enjoyable when the show is, say, Paris nightlife, but when you're in Stuyvesant Plaza-- I don't think so. In an upscale restaurant, the interior should be interesting but ultimately should put the focus on the food. By the end of the evening, we knew all about our neighbors' new business plans. (And, in case you're reading, no, we don't think you'll do well with your dog grooming place in Troy. You need to do more research, both on dog services and on Troy).

Provence is in Stuyvesant Plaza, the upscale outdoor shopping strip mall on Western Avenue; and let me not be the one to judge a restaurant by its location. After all, Karavalli is in the most unassuming strip mall in Latham. But Provence's location is reflected in the dining experience, both with the offerings and in terms of expense. We spent a little more than $100 for two salads, entrees, one glass of wine, and one dessert, including tip.

The space is pleasant and large, and there were plenty of people there. A pianist played unobtrusively. There are faux wood beams on the ceiling, and a nice chandelier in the center of the main room. The menu is lovely, with plenty of Continental/Fusion appetizers like Seared Tuna Sashimi and Smoked Salmon with Asian Slaw and Soy Ginger Sauce or Assiette de Charcuterie (assortment of patés and gourmet cold cuts), or Tart á la Forestiere (Potato, Wild Mushroom and cheese tart). They also have Butternut Squash and Sage Cream soup or Provençal Seafood Chowder.

Both of us ordered the Endive et Betterave Roti (Roasted Beet and Endive Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Pears, and Mustard Vinaigrette-- phew-- again with the long titles!) and the greens were lovely, but the beets were cut into cubes and served with a creamy dressing, which had the effect of making them look rather unappetizing. More thought overall could have gone into this salad (where were the endives of the title? I saw maybe three leaves).

The main dish offerings are prodigious, with everything from Fennel Seed Crusted Tuna on Gorgonzola Soft Polenta (etc.) to Steak Frites, Venison, Roasted Rack of Lamb, and Hommard á La Portugaise (Lobster, Shrimp and Chorizo Sausage in Charred Tomato and Roasted Fennel.. etc. sauce on linguini). They seem to have only one vegetarian entrée, which is Julienne Roasted Vegetables over Fettucine (etc.). On such a large menu, this is a real flaw.

I ordered the grilled trout, which bills itself as, in French, Truite Grillée au Champignon Sauvage, and translates, oddly, as Grilled Trout Filet and Citrus Caper Buerre Blanc with Exotic Mushroom and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto-- take your pick.* The trout was good, (watch out for some bones, though) but not the best I've had (I've had better at Emperor's Chinese on Wolf Road). It tasted a bit overfed and was a rather large specimen. The risotto that came with it was quite good. My husband got the Filet de Boeuf au Roquefort, which he said was too fatty, and not worth the $25.95.

For dessert I ordered the Lemon tart (I refuse to type out the long name!), which had an oddly deflated puff-pastry type shell. The filling was good, but needed to be offset by a more traditional shortcrust. The wait service was high quality while we were there, although, again, the noise was an issue: another waiter had a protracted conversation with our neighbors, and we now also know a lot about popular views on real estate.

The verdict is: overpriced, and too fussy. I doubt it will change, because it's too popular the way it is.

*It's one thing to have fussy, long names for your dishes, and quite another to insist on them both in French and English. And, yet another issue when the two do not match up. I've been wondering if the long titles are a way to force hapless reviewers like me to spend precious word counts on the inflated hype. Fortunately, this is a blog, and I don't have a word count. But, on principle, I'm refusing to type them all in. So there.

Albany Pump Station

2006-03-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

The Albany Pump Station has become one of the most popular restaurants in the Capital District. With a huge brick building (according to the information on their web site, it began as two buildings with the first built in 1874) of 8,000 square feet floor space, there's plenty of room to get comfortable. There is an ample fireplace in the main dining room with cozy couches around for lounging. And, for beer aficionados, C. H. Evans has won awards for Kick-Ass Brown Ale and Hefeweizen, among others.

Why is it called the Pump Station? Originally, it was a beer brewery run by the Evans family, who started brewing in Hudson in 1786. They've done a beautiful restoration of the building (you can see an enormous hook still hanging) and continue to brew beer here today.

Because this restaurant has become so popular (and the bar area is packed on weekends), I highly recommend making a reservation. Last weekend, we had an unpleasant experience of waiting for half an hour, only to give up when they said we would have to wait even longer to be seated.

But the other time we've gone, a bit later on a Saturday night, we were seated immediately, and found that the service and food were both great. My veggie burger was one of the best I've had, and the sweet potato fries were good (but not as good as those at Bomber's Burrito bar!) The bread pudding for dessert was also excellent. Don't expect to lose any weight here, unless you're really disciplined and can order the large salads (the Spring Medley salad features baked brie bruschetta; you can also get a Grilled Chicken Fajita or a Traditional Cobb salad).

Executive chef Gerard Fleck, trained at the Culinary Institute of America, has done a terrific job making the menu as crowd-pleasing as possible, with plenty of choices: appetizers include Nachos, Coconut Shrimp, Thai Peanut Wings, and Pale-Ale Battered Red Onion Rings. Sandwiches include a vegetarian option as well as chicken, pulled-pork, and The Gobbler (turkey on a baguette with all the trimmings). You can build your own burger; order from entrees like Chicken Sophia (chicken stuffed with ham and mozarella), Fish and Chips, Polynesian Mahi Filet; or have pasta.

It's really a bit overwhelming. And I don't envy them their heating bill come winter. But it makes for a most pleasant experience.

Let's Do Brunch: Peaches Café

2006-03-16T12:32:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we had a visitor, and she suggested brunch. The Miss Albany diner is great, but we were looking for something a little more service oriented (Miss Albany is small and can get crowded for brunch). So we went to Peaches in Stuyvesant Plaza, and it was a hit.

It was noon when we arrived, and Peaches doesn't take reservations, but they were able to seat us almost right away despite the line. The service was friendly and efficient, even with a lot of customers. Two of us got the eggs florentine (like an eggs benedict, but spinach instead of ham); the other got the New Orleans omelet.

The menu is like that of a modern diner menu; plentiful options include omelets of every stripe, sandwiches, quiches, and of course pancakes and waffles. The food is high quality without crossing over that invisible line into gourmet. They have 7 different kinds of burgers (all served with 8 oz. Angus meat); lots of clubs (including a vegetarian with eggplant and roasted pepper), and low-carb choices like wraps or a meat omelet. You can even get an egg-cream here.

The atmosphere is warm and homey; and it doesn't hurt that they have an impressive array of pastries and cakes (I tried an apple torte for dessert, which was quite good, although it needed to be heated). Everything about my eggs was great except the hollandaise, which seemed too sweet or perhaps from a mix rather than from scratch. The whipped cream is from a can, and they like to put it on everything; but that only seems to add to the diner-tude here.

And after you have your meal, you can peruse the many shops at Stuyvesant Plaza.

Koto's: No No

2006-03-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

Last night, searching for something new and craving good Japanese food, I went to Koto's Japanese Steak House, which is located on Wolf Road (actually, it's right before you turn onto Wolf Road from the 87 exit). There were plenty of people there on a Wednesday night, which is always nice, and the decor was attractive, with a fountain and bridge as you walk in. It's also fun to watch the hibatchi cookers; we sat right next to one, and watched as the chef stir-fried shrimp, meat, and veggies. Those diners looked happy, and the food on the hibatchi looked good.

From there, though, I am sorry to report my experience was not a good one, food-wise. Other people have given poor marks to the service (a Metroland review, as well as anonymous posters on the Times Union review site), but my complaint is with the food. The service was fine for me.

I ordered the bento, a box which comes with all your courses at once: salad, in this case shrimp dumplings, crab sushi, and salmon teriyaki. The dumplings were okay but pretty flavorless overall; the sushi, ditto, with the crab (cooked) being pretty unspectacular and most likely frozen. The salmon was poor: dry and thin, with a lousy excuse for a brown teriyaki sauce that had a consistency of mucus or egg whites and was too sweet. That should just not happen with a sauce. It seemed like store-bought sauce, not fresh or homemade.

It was edible, but that's about all I can say for my meal.

Ditto my dining partner: he ordered the udon with vegetable noodles, and I tried some. They were overcooked and almost completely flavorless.

I tried to make up for all this by sucking on my hot sake, but we won't be going back there. Oh, and with tip, the meal cost us near $50-- not a bargain by any measure, and I ordered only the one drink and no dessert. It seems like the kind of place that gets a lot of business just by being next to the airport hotels, but frankly, you'd be better off further down Wolf Road at Emperor's Chinese or Bangkok Thai.

Ocean Palace: a mixed blessing

2006-02-19T18:47:00.000-05:00

Ocean Palace, on Central Ave. about a block to the west of the Everett Road exit, used to be my favorite place to get authentic Chinese food in the Albany area. It still has a Biblical menu and there are always people there: a mix of Chinese folks and Caucasians. They have a very bizarre movie screen in the back that inoffensively plays inexplicable Chinese videos (landscapes and such), but this is easily avoidable, because there's plenty of seating at the front.

You really have to know how and what to order here, and it would help to know Chinese, but there are so many wonderful dishes that you really can't find anywhere else that it's worth wading through some of the not-so-great stuff. Highlights are a whole section of the menu is devoted to Chinatown Style Noodle Soups; there's also a hotpot section of the menu, as well as lots of salt dishes, like salted flounder; pepper w/salty scallop. There are, of course, the typical Americanized offerings like General Tso's chicken, fried or steamed dumplings, and spring rolls. You'll also find the more exotic-sounding Sweet Corn Soup with Fish Maw and Virginia Ham Soup with Fish Maw, which I've never ordered, but it's nice to know I could if I wanted to. I watched someone bring the soy sauce chicken (or maybe it was duck? hard to tell) to a young man, and it looked fabulous. That's the really good news.

Their dim sum is less impressive, with more of a greasy quotient. Another thing to realize about Ocean Palace is that their take-out menu contains maybe only half of the choices you'll find in the restaurant. You have to be there to know about offerings like Fresh Lily Bulb with Tofu in Special with Sauce [sic] (I think that one should win an award for most poetic entrée), or Blue Crab with Ginger and Scallion, as well as a range of lobster dishes and, the other night, Dungeness crab as a special.

Ocean Palace still rivals Emperor's for my number one Chinese restaurant. However, they seem to be experiencing some kind of change in management; the other night, the waiters seemed incredibly clueless (we were not the only diners who had to call our waiter over so we could order), and some of the dishes, like Chinese broccoli, were not as good as expected: the broccoli was cooked a minute or so too long, and they used to serve it with a garlicky sauce, whereas the other night it just came in blah oyster sauce.

Once we did catch the waitress's attention, she seemed bashful and overly attentive, and she made a valiant effort to answer my questions about types of sauce on various shrimp dishes. However, her attention to diners was still pretty erratic throughout the evening. And, at the end of the evening, she asked us if we wanted special "Chinese orange" slices; they're extra sweet. Um right; as opposed to those radically different American oranges?! Come on. I hope they get their service straightened out, but in the meantime, be prepared.

The other night, I ordered the Pepper with Salty Shrimp, which came with grilled onions, chives, and jalapenos and were quite good. The only problem (and you may feel less squeamish about this) was that all the yummy salt breading was on the outside, on the shell of the shrimp. I suppose I could have sucked it off, but I just didn't feel like it, so quite the struggle ensued so that I could de-shell the shrimp without losing all the flavor.

My all-time favorite thing to get at Ocean palace is the black-bean sauce sea bass, which used to appear with regularity on their specials board; it wasn't available the other night (although it might be the kind of thing you can ask for, if you can get through to the waitstaff, since they did have steamed sea bass available). My other favorite dish is the yellow chive chow fun; simple but heavenly. My dinner partner got the orange beef off the Schzechuan menu, which was more like your standard greasy spoon Chinese restaurant fare, although not so bad. Their noodle dishes (like chow funs and Singapore Chow Mei Fun) are pretty darn good most of the time, and they have a large vegetarian section with tofu and other dishes. I'll definitely go back and report on how they're doing; they have all the ingredients for greatness.

Justin's, Lark Street

2006-02-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

Justin's is a sedate, tastefully decorated restaurant with upscale American fare right on Lark Street near Madison. They have jazz most weeks Wednesdays-Saturdays and also Sunday brunch jazz. It's a good place to take a date you want to impress. On the other hand, if you're already nervous about your date, go somewhere else; Justin's won't break the ice.

The menu was impressive, with appetizers like Salmon Cakes with aioli or a Coconut Scallop Tempura, which I am going to have to try the next time I'm there. Their fish chowder was excellent (although it was not as piping hot as I would have liked). One of my dinner companions got the Confetti Corn Fritters--they were okay, but not earth-shattering-- my other dinner companion ordered the Salad Chop Chop, which looked quite good.

Our main courses were the Meditteranean Ravioli, which were lackluster (tomatoes are now out of season, and the filling was somewhat bland); the Zuppe di Clams-- my quite pleasing dinner, which came with pasta al dente and nice, clean tender clams in a 'clammy' broth with garlic-- and the Jamaican Jerk Chicken, which was wayyy too much to eat in one sitting but gets a thumbs up. A gripe: not quite so much broth should go into the Zuppa di Clams; without it, it wouldn't really be a Zuppa, but I think that would be quite alright. A little clam flavor goes a long way, and with a lot of liquid, pasta can get slippery to eat.

Justin's seems strongest in the meat-and-fish department, with most main courses being hearty traditional fare like Blackened Sea Bass and Spice Rubbed Steak; if you're a veggie who doesn't eat fish, you basically have only one main course option, (when we were there, the ravioli) although you could do quite nicely here (veggie or no) to order two appetizers in lieu of a main course.

Our one complaint was that the service was too slow. We had a show to catch, and even though we ordered by 6:30 (having arrived at 6 pm), our main courses didn't arrive until almost 7:30. Admittedly, we should have told the waitresses about our show right away; but we thought we had left more than enough time. Regardless of the show, the tempo in there seemed glacially stoic; maybe most people go there for the music, and so don't mind waiting.

Justin's brings up my biggest gripe with Capital District dining: fine dining (or at least what is considered by the majority to be fine dining) around here feels stiff and forced. In New York City or Boston, going out somewhere nice doesn't mean having to sacrifice liveliness or simplicity of food. It's *okay* to order a risotto at a fine Italian restaurant as your main dish. You shouldn't have to order the duck-encrusted-salmon-with-truffles-and-marjoram-salsa-reduction to get wonderful food; the test of a great restaurant is that its basic and humble dishes (pasta, mashed potatoes, breads-- um, am I starch-obsessed much?) should be just as toothsome as its more flamboyant ones. I do like to be spoiled, but I don't like a fuss. Too many of the more upper-price-range restaurants around here tiptoe around as though really good food were an extraordinary event like a comet or an asteroid (note: I'm not talking about Saratoga, only the immediate Albany-Schenectacy-Troy triangle). Great food should be a daily affair; elegant but not pompous. You should be able to engage in conversation with your dinner mates and almost forget that you are at a fine restaurant. Justin's had a little bit of self-consciousness about the atmosphere and the presentation, as if to say: "Yes, I AM a good restaurant, even though I'm right next to the Dunkin Donuts and up the street from Lark Street's weekend drinking goobers."

Where are the simply damn good restaurants around here? I'm still searching.

Jack's Oyster House

2006-02-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

Recently I was at Jack's Oyster House for the first time with a large group to celebrate a birthday. It's an impressive restaurant: wood paneling, tall ceilings, and gorgeous flower arrangements give it an air of Old New York luxury, a la Edith Wharton. I could just picture one of her dyspeptic characters, George Dorset, dining on terrapin here and complaining about it. Established in 1913, Jack's still draws in lots of customers; in fact, on a Thursday night it was jam-packed. The maitre d'hotel was gracious, and our waiter introduced himself-- but I have to say that after that, the service was less than impressive for such an old standard.

This is a great place to take someone you want to impress, but there are a couple of drawbacks. One is that it is extremely noisy. The floor appears to be stone or tile (with that lovely old fashioned black-and-white checkerboard pattern), and there is no carpeting; the ceilings are high, and so the sound reverberates. So don't take a date here if you want to be amorous; also, don't take grandma with the hearing aid.

The food was really good, but it's not as uniformly great as the restaurant wants you to think it is: I had the famous Manhattan Clam Chowder, which was okay; but it doesn't even approach the classic taste of, for example, Legal Seafood chowders in Boston. There is a tendency at Jack's to overdo dishes, which is a tendency of Old New York: one of the dishes on the classic menu is "Creamy Lobster Newburg Accented with Sherry Served in a Sourdough Bread Bowl," for example. A sourdough bread bowl?! Isn't that something you'd find more aptly at a Bagel Barn or Bounteous Bread franchise? That sort of thing seems out of place at a classic Northeastern seafood joint. Here's another one to accent your arteries: "Sizzling duck and foie gras fried rice with roasted pineapple, edamame, and scallion." That sounds just gross, in every sense of the word. Also, you'll find steak "bathed in a brandy mustard demi-cream," ($21.99), half a duck "lacquered with a pacific rim orange ginger glaze," and, most confusingly to me, lamb "with a garlic mustard crust and mint tomato jam" (also $21.99). When I used to eat meat, I remember being somewhat put off by overly fussy preparations. Garlic mustard AND mint tomato is a thicket of flavors, not a creative fusion. Pick one or the other, if you're going to be a classic restaurant.

We lucked out because during the month of January, Jack's had a prix fixe menu for $19.13, to commemorate their founding year. For that amount, I got a nice salad, plus the basil and pine nut encrusted salmon, and a dessert. (The chowder was a la carte.) The salmon was wonderful; it didn't taste much of basil, but the crust was buttery and crunchy, and it was 'day boat salmon,' (whatever the heck that means-- never did get to ask the waiter) which was really fresh and moist. Some of my dining compatriots got the oysters and the shrimp cocktail appetizers, which both looked fantastic. Another one of us got the sea bass, which also looked great.

The dessert was a real disappointment: I got the apple dumpling, which was a lackluster filo-type shell with boring apple filling. The chocolate cake was another item on the prix fixe menu, and it looked like a miniature bundt cake-- I couldn't tell if it was good or not, but there was nothing interesting about it.

The service was slow, and not particularly helpful; if the group I was with hadn't known about the prix fixe menu ahead of time, the wait staff never would have told us. With all the choices at a place like Jack's, you need wait staff who can explain things patiently and make recommendations. At least this one night, that was not the experience I had.

They said they do occasionally have prix fixe deals-- maybe twice a year-- so it's worth calling ahead and asking, because it's quite expensive a la carte.

Anselmo's: I wish I didn't have to say this

2006-01-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

Anselmo's in Troy is on Ferry Street, easily accessible from many routes (Routes 4, 2, and 7). It's in a venerable building that, long ago, according to my sources, used to be an Italian restaurant called Volcano. Then it was a gay bar/club. Now it's Anselmo's, and I'm really disappointed.

It's usually lively there, which is a nice change. It's creepy to go to a restaurant where you're the only patrons. I'm trying to tell you the good news first, but I'm quickly running out. Okay, one more good thing: the garlic bread is really good.

The first time we went, the waiter was pretty scary. It seemed like old Anselmo, the proprietor, just kinda picked this waiter up off the street, and plopped him down in front of the eggplant parm. The waiter kept telling us "You will LOVE the garlic bread. I don't lie! I'm telling you: ask anyone. You've GOTTA get the garlic bread." He had intense eyes and he wouldn't leave us alone. "Now Anselmo's, they cook REAL good Italian food. It's authentic! They use the best ingredients. ANYthing you want, it's gonna be good. Trust me."

I felt like he was trying to sell us on a drug deal rather than wait on us. "Um, could we please have a little less waiter in the soup?" Later I overheard this same waiter talking about women problems (am I surprised?), while he was eating his own dinner with the other waitstaff. He seemed like an angry fellow, and since he looked to be over 6 feet tall and in good shape, we didn't want to make any false moves: we got the garlic bread. And it *was* good. The salad was also good (note to vegetarians: Anselmo's puts slices of bologna in its perfectly good salad, so if this offends you, which it does me, you should tell them "no bologna.")

Now the bad news: the eggplant parm was drowning in cheesy fatty sauce. I didn't get any of that nice smoky eggplant flavor. And on our most recent visit, I had another encounter with the waitstaff that left me feeling intimidated. This time, we had a waitress, and when I asked for the mussels, she just went silent, didn't write it down, and looked at me. She looked dubious but didn't say anything. "What, is that not good?" I asked. She was still quiet. "Um, I could get the shrimp..."I faltered. I quickly looked at the menu again and said I would get the calamari. She nodded, seemingly relieved.

But it left me with a disturbing question: what is wrong with the mussels?! I'm raising my right eyebrow right now, in case you can't tell.

Since the squid was not fresh (it was just the cut rounds, not actually whole calamari), and the pasta it was served on was not particularly al dente, I was disappointed. In my grief, I gnawed on too much garlic bread. Then I was displeased with my lack of self control. I was a cranky diner. And yet I kept trying to convince myself that Anselmo's might really be good: maybe there was something flawed in *me* and I just couldn't appreciate it.

A poor dining experience can put me in a delusional mood. You might not react so extremely, but still I think you'd be better off going elsewhere, even if you live in Troy and are craving Italian. In fact, you're better off cooking pasta at home. This is the trouble with Italian food-- it's easy to achieve great results in our own kitchens. Kinda makes you wonder why so many Italian restaurants, then, get it so wrong. Anselmo's, rather than focussing on fresh food, seems to get off more on its 'atmosphere' (a sort of a grotto in the back, with stucco-ish walls, Green Man heads and foliage, dark lighting), and its prominent bar, where Anselmo himself can be found most nights, insisting you have a drink, on him.

Yeah, whatever. This is Nosher, telling you you do NOT have to settle for mediocrity.

You don't need Pancho's

2006-01-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

Spike and I were debating on where to go for dinner (that eternal debate between partners: "Honey, what do you want to do for dinner?" "I don't know, what do YOU want?" "Hmmmm... I don't know" until someone screams or decides to plunk some pasta into a pot of boiling water), and it was between Pancho's, a chain-like restaurant that has just opened up in the Brunswick Wal-Mart Plaza (warning signs should have gone off, but a fearless chowhound is never daunted), or Ali Baba's. Spike voted for Pancho's, and I was game.

It started out innocently enough: the requisite colorful primitive Mexican-esque paintings on the wall, the stucco, the free chips and decent tomato salsa. The service was prompt, and the place was crowded, with a diverse bunch there (parents with kids, older folks, younger folks. Note to Brunswick developers: This would be a great place for a real restaurant!). However, it all started going downhill when the waiter professed not to know if they had herbal tea or not, and then came back with a definite no: all they had was decaf Lipton.

That would not have been so bad in and of itself if the food had any redeeming qualities, but except for the salsa and chips, the food was pretty awful. We would have been better off just microwaving some Amy's burritos at home. I ordered enchiladas: one with 'spinach cream,' which was really more like Campbell's cream of spinach soup in an enchilada wrapper, and one with 'cheese,' although it was distinctly like American cheese (which isn't cheese at all). The refried beans were REALLY re-fried (re-refried beans) and the rice was gummy.

Spike's meat chimichanga was okay, he said, but he agreed that next time, if we have a craving for Mexican, it's going to be José Malone's. And the price wasn't too different: together we paid $29 for two meals, drinks, and a cheese dip. The cheese dip was white, and they served it in a bowl (this seems to be a trend), but it had no real flavor.

Next....

By the way, speaking of José Malone's (which I seem to be doing a lot of lately), Maria Zemantauski, world-renowned flamenco guitarist, will be playing there starting 8 pm this Thursday, so make your reservations in advance! Visit www.mariazemantauski.com for more information on her playing. You will be amazed!

Bomber's Burrito Bar rocks

2006-01-12T18:59:00.000-05:00

In Albany on Lark Street you will find the oddest combination of high and low: homeless people picking through the trash for cans betwixt and between state workers talking on their cell phones. Yet, there are not enough people to make this juxtaposition fade into the background, as there are in New York City, where high, low, middle, high-middle, bottom-low, upper-upper East Side, etc. all jostle each other as they march purposefully down the avenues, making for more gradations—more grey to help us swallow the black-and-white harshness of life. Lark Street always has this harsh, ghost street feeling about it, perhaps because of a lack of foot traffic. (Come to think of it, most of the Capital District feels this way to me).

One place where the high and low comfortably fuse is at Bomber's Burrito Bar, at 258 Lark Street. Today I had a soft taco with their amazing, spectacular sweet potato fries, and the whole thing was a little more than $5. I was more than well nourished-- the soft taco was practically exploding with beans and rice, not to mention the fixin's, and I challenge ANYONE to find sweet potato fries any better within a 100 mile radius of Albany. Maybe I'll give you a quarter to feed the parking meter in Albany if you win. I like to cover my fries with extra salt and ketchup, but these fries are NOT too greasy and not too crunchy. They are fresh fresh fresh!

One of the coolest things about Bomber's is that the people who work there are young kids who are hip yet not old enough to have become utterly embittered. They still have hope. You can see it in their quirky, fun decor-- a flat of wheatgrass propping up an Incredible Hulk action figure by their cash register would make even Gov. Pataki smile, that is if he ever left his Manse. A mirror by the tables sports all manner of band stickers people have pasted up there over the years, teenager's bedroom style. There are no napkins, but paper towels (practical!) hanging on a roll by the register. Service is strictly cafeteria style, and it's fast. A sign admonishes customers not to watch the young chefs flipping burritos, as it creeps them out (good point!), so maybe read Metroland while you're waiting for your stuff.

Now that Shades of Green is gone from Lark Street (where are you, Shades of Green?!?!) Bomber's is the best casual option for vegetarians. I thought about going to Taste of Greece (193 Lark) which is excellent, but the last time I was there service was slow. I'm glad I chose Bomber's. I felt right at home.

José Malone, part two

2006-01-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

I ate at José Malone's again the other night, and it was still impressive, but the honeymoon is over (alas, it never lasts long for me, your discerning and spoiled Nosher). While the service was as good as before, and the ambience is still excellent, the relationship is now at the stage where I don't think they're perfect anymore.

I ordered the vegetable tamale, and while the sides (rice, beans, carrots) were awesome, the tamale was quite mushy. Maybe it's more difficult to make a vegetable tamale than a meat tamale-- I don't know, I've never made one. It was presented beautifully, but it lacked flavor. My margarita was okay, but next time I'm ordering it off the rocks.

However, the cheese dip is positively addictive. And I still recommend you go there; after all, this is what, only their third month of operation?

José Malone's? Si, lads and lasses

2006-01-03T22:26:00.002-05:00

River Street in Troy is now quite the scene: I witnessed a young woman wearing stiletto-style boots there just this evening despite the slush on the ground. It could be the critical mass of pubs, restaurants, and entertainment venues : River Street Café, Brown's Brewing Co., Revolution Hall, Ryan's Wake, and now José Malone's. The young woman in the spiky heeled boots was hanging out with another young woman, whose fashion sense was questionable: low-riding jeans with belly and rear guard hanging out, and she was not one of the ten people in the country who can wear those without looking like a plumber. Okay, so it's not the Scene, yet, but it's a lower-case scene. When you see the fledgling fashionistas flocking, it's like seagulls before a storm: you know it's coming.

Yes, you heard right: I said José Malone's. You thought fusion cuisine was so yesterday. But here in the Capital Region, yesterday is-- er, well-- today.

I used to live in New York City, where Cuban-Chinese restaurants flourished alongside Brazilian, French, Italian, Israeli, Korean, and Ukrainian. So I'm a bit spoiled. In fact, I lived two and a half blocks away from Lombardi's, the city's best (and most authentic, dating back to the early 20th century) pizzeria, hands down. I lived near Céci-Cela, a patisserie. Any kind of order-out was mine, virtually 24-hours a day.

So the Capital District seems a bit behind the times. But it is catching up, and José Malone is leading the charge with its warm, understated decor. We went on a Tuesday night in January-- not a very inspiring evening-- yet several tables of people were there, and candles were lit in wine-colored glasses. The building is one of Troy's great old brick edifices, and José Malone's proprietor had the good sense to highlight the warmth of the brick walls by leaving them alone, refinishing the lovely wood floor, and adding good lighting. The place is pretty big: tall ceilings help, but it's also long, which allowed space to build a bar separated from the main dining room by a partition. They have excellent beer, wine, and alcohol (Margaritas seemed to be a speciality) but they don't shove it in your face. If you are like me, you want good quality alcohol available but not central.

Mostly, José Malone is Mexican, with a few inspired Irish highlights: taquitos with portobellos and cheese with a side of spicy mashed potatoes. Guinness stew. Lamb as the meat in some of the Mexican dishes. The food is terrific: fresh, styled with panache, and plenty of wonderful choices for vegetarian and carnivores here. For appetizer, we had nachos and cheese; the spicy melted cheese was served in a small bowl, and now I must tell you that *every* restaurant should start doing this, because the cheese stayed warm and didn't get our hands messy. Chile rellenos queso was my main dish (although I was tempted to order the vegetable tamale-- next time), and it came with flavorful, fresh carrots prepared with tequila. I couldn't taste the tequila, but I could taste the carrots, which seemed bolder and darker orange than your usual restaurant carrot. (Maybe José is ordering from an actual farm and not a biotech company!) The chile relleno was beautifully served whole with the cute little stem still on top, fried, but not greasy. The sides were black beans with a smidge of queso dusted on the top, and rice, but not just any rice: it was more like a pilaf, with lots of good healthy brown grain in there. Not just any black beans, either: these were obviously cooked from whole dried beans and had a lovely smoke in their flavor.

I highly recommend this restaurant, but there are a couple quibbles: The chile had a spicy tomato sauce that was just a bit too spicy for me, and I usually like things moderately spicy. So you might want to ask if you have preferences for heat one way or the other. Also, they are still developing their menu, and things might change (you, reader, can impact this if you want to go, try it out, and make suggestions!) Also, there was more food than I could eat, but we're not talking disgustingly huge portions here: just generous. In reality, I could have been full on the beans, rice and nachos, without the chile and carrots. But I gave it my best college try, because damn, it was good, and I was excited to find such a unique restaurant in Troy. For an appetizer, one mint tea, and two main courses, it was about $28.

According to this Times Union review, Ray Wall is the proprietor of José Malone's; he used to be involved with El Loco Cafe in Albany, but he also plays Irish music. Hence the fusion.

The great thing about José Malone's is that you can take anyone there: a date, your mom (although I don't think mine likes Mexican, and that's a topic for another post), your buddies. This promises to be a good music place, too; there's plenty of room, and what with the dulcimer-playing owner, it's bound to happen.

I had no room for dessert, but I noticed the words 'key lime' on the menu (I think maybe cheesecake, too?), and that's one of my top 5 desserts (stay tuned for the other 4).

Tomorrow, I have to go to the gym.

Details: 405 River Street in Troy
273-2196

(It looked like they were open until around 9:30 on weeknights. I will post specifics once I call them. The article I listed above states hours, but I don't believe them, because I swear I saw 9:30, but the TU says they're open until 10. )

Carmen's Cafe

2006-01-02T20:32:00.001-05:00

Update on Carmen's:
Carmen's cafe is open from 7 a.m.- 3 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. The cafe sometimes plans events for dinner/tapas nights-- she announces this usually through the Washington Park newsletter. I'll post again here if she decides to open regular dinner hours. (Updated 5/26/06 by Nosher).

Well, I haven't actually been out to eat in the past few days, because I've been too busy munching on holiday chocolates and the like at home.

So this will be a post about Carmen's Cafe, which I visited for the first time around Dec. 24th. Carmen's is located in Troy on the corner of Adams and First Streets and used to be called Isabel's.

Well, Carmen has taken over, and is changing things, all for the better. The venue is very local and very humble (probably no one who doesn't live or work in the immediate vicinity really knows about it-- *yet*), but shttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhe has a lot of potential. I believe this is only her second week or so with this new format.

Carmen's is open for breakfast and lunch, 6am - 2pm, and now also open for dinner (Isabel's was not) Tues-Sat. Call first before going for dinner just to make sure: 272-3011.

When I was there, I had lunch: Cuban eggs (eggs on top of rice) with a wonderful small avocado salad and plantains. For dessert, my lunch companion and I had a homemade creme caramel. Can I quote Rachael Ray and say: YUM?!

The menu is a combination of American-style comfort food, and Carmen's own mix of Cuban-Puerto Rican influenced home cooking. You heard it first here on dish and dirt.

Nino's bakery in Albany

2005-12-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

Today, a rainy, dreary late December day, on the way back from the Honest Weight Food Co-op, my husband and I stopped at a tiny hole-in-the-wall bakery called Nino's, on King Ave., right off Central (their official address is 718 Central Ave., but the customer entrance is on King.) It's holiday season, and they're bustling in there: phone was ringing, somewhat hassled-looking guy was alone operating the storefront, which seems to be a small fraction of the large warehouse-like bakery space behind.

They have really authentic Italian pastries: cannoli (in the back-- you have to ask special!), lemon cookies, other assorted cookies, breads, and these amazing almond biscotti that are unlike any others, but a wonder unto themselves. These biscotti are more eggy than others (the ones I make at home are crunchier and drier), but they taste fresh and have just the perfect chew : crunch ratio. I could probably eat an entire dozen of them if I wasn't thinking about consequences.

Nino's seems to do a lot of their business with commercial customers, but don't miss this little gem of a bakery right across from the dreaded Dunkin Donuts and OTB racing center. They even had taralli when I first visited back in August or so (taralli are little donut-shaped Italian crackers to go with wine-- simple but delicious, and some are baked with herbs. They are boiled then baked, so it's the kind of thing I'd rather someone else make. If I get desperate enough and try to make them myself, I'll post about it here). They also sell taralli at the St. Anthony's festival in Schenectady around August, which is when I first got the idea I might be able to find them lurking in one of the several old-fashioned Italian bakeries around here.

Indian food

2005-12-28T23:51:00.000-05:00

The Capital District is a great place to be if you are a vegetarian like me and you love Indian and Middle Eastern food.

If you love Indian food and haven't yet been to Karavalli on Johnson Road in Latham, you must go! The web site doesn't do it justice, because the decor is fresh, cheerful and modern, yet still Indian in style. Their menu is online in case you are skeptical. The service is attentive, and you will find it pleasantly full of patrons-- yet not offensively so.

Tonight I went there with my husband and his mom, and we had: Idly (dome-shaped dumplings served with yummy sauces); garlic naan (goodbye cold viruses and all but my best friends!!); chai masala teas; vegetable korma for my mother-in-law; vegetable Chettinadu for me (an actual cinnamon stick was presented on top); and malai kofta for my husband. Everyone was happy with their meal.

But the piece de resistance, for me was, is, and always will be the lemon pickle. It is hot, it is sour, it tastes of the essence of lemon, and I could actually eat a whole bowl of it. It is lemon as you've never had it before: forget lemonade, forget lemon chiffon pie. Lemon pickle is the only real, true lemon: the Platonic ideal of lemon. It clears the head and the sinuses almost instantly, and transports me to a place where lemon trees grow in abundance (not Latham, New York) and where food is multifaceted, real, and passionate (i.e., some other country besides this one, which is going to hell in a big-box chain restaurant). NB: they have lemon pickle at the affordable and delicious lunch buffet, and you can get as much as you want. Truly, it's heaven!

Other Indian restaurants of note around here are:

Shalimar, which has two locations, one on Fulton Street in Troy, and one on Central Ave. in Albany- Decent, homey American-style Indian food with an inexpensive lunch buffet. This restaurant is popular with RPI students and profs., and has been a downtown Troy standby for years.

Latham Biryani, on Route 9, near Newton Plaza- also a homey atmosphere (read: somewhat drab but comfortable) with what some friends of ours claim is slightly spicier food than Shalimar.

The Sitar- I haven't been here in a while, but it has a slightly jazzier atmosphere than the above two restaurants, but about the same quality of food (basic American-watered-down Indian).

Thunder Mountain Curry- Not a restaurant, but a mobile eatery you can find often (but not always) at the Troy Farmer's Marke t and sometimes on Fifteenth Street in front of the RPI campus center building. If Thunder Mountain Curry was a restaurant, they would probably best Karavalli (ohmigod, did I just say that?!?!) even though they are run by gringos. I say this only because their food is less greasy (there is practically no grease, well, okay maybe the pakoras, which are deep fried, have a slight shine, but they are supposed to!), and the chutneys and sauces are a marvel, all home-made.

Dining in and around Troy, New York

2005-12-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

I'm starting this web log because there is a dearth of honest, hearty information about restaurants, groceries, and bakeries in the Capital District. Chowhound.com is great, but it takes forever to load their pages. I like my food (and reviews) served fresh!

I also intend to write about other good shopping venues (clothing, antiques, and books are my main staples) and finds in this area.

Since this is my first blog, I'm not yet sure if I will write book reviews and related literary musings here, or if I need to start another blog for that.

For now, I remain yours humbly
blogista bija