Fun in Saratoga

Springwater Chef to appear on the Food Network

The Times Union's Table Hopping blog is reporting that Springwater Bistro chef-owner David Britton will be appearing on The Food Network's "Dinner: Impossible".  According to the post, Mr. Britton has appeared on the network before, but has not been on lately.   Springwater Bistro, located at the corner of Union and Nelson Avenues, is almost within site of my house but I have yet to get there. 

 

Also on the Table Hopping blog:  An entry about Springwater Bistro launching a to go option, and an entry about Chianti and Forno Bistro announcing their New Year's Eve details and a class schedule and finally an entry about a new Five Guys burger chain location coming to Wilton.

Merry Christmas and Saratoga Reserved seat tickets 2009 added info

I wish all of you a merry and safe Christmas.  As a Christmas gift, I will get you thinking about the 2009 Saratoga Season, which is just 7 months away!  The NYRA site is now updated if you want to click on the Saratoga reserved seating section of it to download a ticket application.  If you want reserved seats for Saratoga, especially on the weekends, then you are best off if you fill out the application and mail it in by the January 31 date. 

For my previous post with more information regarding this issue click here.

Saratoga Chowderfest and Bartenders Ball

The Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau will be hosting their 10th annual Chowderfest on January 31, 2009 from 11am to 4pm at various restaurants in the Spa City.  Chowderfest is basically a fun winter thing to do - you buy a Chowder sample (for just a buck)  from participating restaurants, and you vote on the best ones via the ballots they make available.  They are even serving Dog Chowder so Fido can get in on the culinary fun! 

 

To read about how this year's Chowderfest will be going green, read this entry in the Post Star's Saratoga Snippets Blog.  After Chowderfest, the Chamber of Commerce will be hosting this year's Bartender's Ball in the Saratoga Springs City Center from 6:30 to midnight.  The proceeds will benefit Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County.

VLTs at Belmont?

One of the proposed revenue enhancers in Gov. David A. Paterson's preliminary 2009-2010 state budget was to add Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) to Belmont Park Racetrack.  For those who aren't familiar with the terminology, VLTs are basically computerized slot machines, like the ones at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway. 

These gambling devices have already been planned for Aqueduct for a while, but that has been stalled for a few years now and will finally happen (we hope!) in 2009.  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has spoken out against having these at Belmont and has said he wouldn't support such an effort, however that was before the realization of the depth of the state's budget crisis.  I believe the severity of these budget problems and the need for new funds may make the Speaker reconsider his original position.

The Saratogian had an article on this yesterday, and here is an article from Long Island's Newsday on it.  This is not simply a downstate issue.  Besides the revenues additional VLTs would provide to the state, VLTs at Belmont would certainly provide more money for NYRA.  Would this mean that needed improvements at Saratoga Race Course would be addressed more comprehensively and quickly?  I would hope so.  Let's face it, Saratoga is attached at the hip to NYRA, so what's good for NYRA is arguably good for Saratoga.  Let's put the VLTs in Belmont and help out the state, NYRA, and ultimately our beloved Saratoga.

Saratoga Race Course 2009 seat ticket applications due January 31, 2009

Added 5/13/09 - click here for an update on Saratoga Reserved Seating for the 2009 season.

ADDED 12/23/08 - Click here for the recently updated link to the NYRA site to get 2009 Saratoga Reserved seat tickets.

I contacted NYRA recently and found out that reserved seat applications for the Saratoga Race Course 2009 meeting will be mailed out to those on their list in early January and must be postmarked by January 31, 2009 to be eligible for "the lottery". 

The NYRA employee I spoke to also said the applications would be available on-line at that time, but she couldn't give me a specific date.  If you would like to be put on their mailing list, email your postal mailing address to admpark@nyrainc.com.  They aren't giving a whole lot of time for people to mail their applications back in, so if they miss their own early January timelines to mail applications out they may have to extend that postmark date.  Either way you may want to jot that January 31 date down and keep an eye on your mailbox or the NYRA site during January.  You heard it here first.

A great Saratoga Christmas gift

There are some great books out there about Saratoga Springs and they would make great Christmas gifts for anyone who loves the Spa City like I do. 

The one I just finished is "Saratoga Springs - A Brief History" and it is really fantastic.  The author is Timothy Holmes, who was involved with at least one other Saratoga book - "Saratoga Springs - A Historical Portrait"  which is all photographs and drawings (great photographs and drawings!) but has detailed captions.  I don't know much about Mr. Holmes but I believe he has been involved with other books as well.  The "Brief History" book that I just finished was so well written and is very precise in it's facts. 

 

The book covered the period from the geological formations that created the springs, right up to this year (it has a 2008 copywrite). Although the title says it's a "brief" history, I still felt it was comprehensive - it was an easy read and I felt very knowledgeable about Saratoga history when I completed it.  Have I plugged this enough?  Go buy this as a gift for someone - and someone can include yourself.

One side note, I bought this from Lyrical Ballad Bookstore on Phila Street.  If you haven't been there then you should stop in and browse - it's just feels very Saratoga in there and that's a good thing.  Also, going there means your keeping your money local so that's of course important.

ADDED SEPTEMBER 7th, 2009 - I just received an email from Libby Smith-Holmes, wife of the author and his collaborator on the book.  She advised me that the book was prepared for the 125th anniversary of the Historical Society of Saratoga Springs. Although it is availble at area bookstores, all proceeds from sales at the History Museum (in the Casino in congress Park) benefit the Museum.

 

 

 

Restaurant news

As I mentioned before, I'm a fan of a number of the Times Union blogs and "Table Hopping" is right at the top of my list.  Here are a couple of recent Saratoga related posts you may have missed:

$12.11 Dinner special at Max London's

Four Season's Natural Food's Cafe reviewed

Saratoga Restaurant Sales lists January Classes

Saratoga blogs

I added a few blogs on the blogroll on the right side here.  If you're craving delicious cakes but want to watch your weight, then don't read Angelina's "Cakes By Angelina" blog.  She does great work and her photography on there wants you to run for something sweet.  I've met her a few times and I know her husband Matt, who runs The Bread Basket Bakery on Spring Street - which is another place with great food - including delicious soups and sandwiches. 

Drew Kerr of the Post Star has a personal blog that he took a break from for a while but he fired it back up a few weeks ago, so I added it again on here - it's called "All Along the Watchtower" and he writes about a number of topics.

Saratoga Springs here and there

A few thoughts on Saratoga happenings:

I agree with Christen Gowan of the Times Union's Saratoga Seen blog when she wrote that this year's Victorian Streetwalk seemed more lightly attended than previous years.  Perhaps the early day's rain had something to do with it.  I don't know if the economy should affect it that much - you can get away with spending very little there and still having a nice time.  Oh well it was festive and fun as usual.

From the "you probably don't care but I'm going to tell you about it anyway because I took the time to get a picture" file:  The Gaslight bar on Ballston Avenue is closed and apparently has been since September.  I am told the owner of the building chose not to renew the lease with the proprietor. Apparently the owner is going to reopen it and his girlfriend is going to run it.  What are we going to do now on Saturday night until they reopen it?

 

Moving from dark and lonely bars to family oriented events.  The Saratoga YMCA still needs volunteers for First Night.  If you would like to volunteer, please call Helen Leonowitz at the YMCA of Saratoga's Development Office: 583-9622, ext. 134 or click here.

Back to the "you probably don't care...file"  I took a look at the new Empire State College Building at the corner of Union Ave and Circular Street.

I believe it opened months ago but it was either very low key, or I missed it entirely.  It seems to me that the college should have endeavored to get some free press and held a grand opening of sorts and made it a celebration.  Maybe they did, but I didn't find anything on the press release section of their web site.  On the plus side, I think the college does a good job with their new construction and makes attractive buildings that fit in with the architecture of the older buildings and the neighborhood in general. 

Silks Saratoga Bistro

The Post Star's Saratoga Snippets blog is reporting that there will be a Saratoga and thoroughbred horse racing themed restaurant opening in the Albany Airport next year, operated in a joint venture from Jack's Oyster House and HMS Host.  I looked a little further and found the press release from HMS Host regarding this and found out that it will be named Silks Saratoga Bistro and it will be a full service restaurant offering "several of the Oyster House's world famous dishes" as well as Saratoga Brewing Company Beer on tap and large screen televisions showing races from Saratoga throughout the day.  No word in the release about what those televisions will show the other 46 weeks of the year, or if there are any plans for betting facilities (that probably involves a lot of hurdles but...if you can bet at the Vegas airport why not Albany's?). 

I like this plan and I think Brad Rosenstein of Jack's is a class act so I am looking forward to seeing it completed.