Fun in Saratoga

Saratoga Thoughts April 15, 2012

Saratoga Thoughts - weekend edition:

• Margarita and I ran the Peppertree Rescue 5K yesterday at the Saratoga Spa State Park.  Great cause, great weather, and a great run (OK, a slow, great run).  I probably spent $80 on our race registrations and other items and raffles, but all for a good cause.  It was an unusual 5K b/c probably about half the runners ran with their dogs.  If you are thinking of getting a dog, I would suggest looking at Peppertree because they seem like a well-run organization that really cares about matching the right dog with the right person/family.  Click here for Peppertree's Facebook page and you can like them. 

• It looks like Elizabeth's Table may open this Tuesday.  I am glad it's that close - Mike and Liz Phillips worked their butts off to get the place ready and if their food is half as good as it was at the Cupcake Lab, the place will be a hit.  Give them some support and check it out later this week. 

• I've written on here more than once that I felt (now former) Saratogian sports editor Nicole Russo was an extremely talented writer, and it looks like the Thoroughbred Times has agreed with me because she was hired by the Lexington, Kentucky based company as their internet editor.  Congratulations Nicole!  Her recent departure as sports editor and subsequent replacement by Matthew Donato means the Saratogian has had five different sports editors in just over two years.  
• I wrote a post last week about Siro's either not completing its web sites or letting the URL's expire for its main restaurant on Lincoln as well as Siro's Trattoria web site, the latter of which incidentally closed quietly for the season.  Then I mentioned how I thought the New York City location apparently wasn't opening.  Steve Barnes of the T-U's Table Hopping Blog linked my entry, and then a Siro's manager quickly replied on Table Hopping. I was apparently wrong about the NYC location, which apparently is opening within a month, but the other facts were hard to argue with. Siro's PR people (probably an outside PR firm) contacted the Business Review to do some damage control, and this article was printed Friday.  Well I'm glad The Trattoria at the Lodge is opening back up soon, and I'm really glad the NYC location is opening as well.  Siro's has to pay some more attention to the details, namely completing their web sites and not letting the URL's expire, but I'm glad they're otherwise on track. 
• It says here that Stewart's Crumbs Along the Mohawk Ice Cream is fantastic.
• Below is a picture of a race horse I used to own, now a guide pony, Minister's Appeal, working with his rider at the Oklahoma Track.  I was thrilled when the training track opened last week, but when is the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association, or Convention and Tourism Bureau, or better yet all three, going to encourage NYRA to open it to the public, at least on the weekends?  With mimimal effort, you could limit public access to an area near the timer's shed and attract numerous people up here on the weekends from April to November.  That's numerous people, and families, who will eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and, by the way, get all that much more excited to attend the track in the summer which can only help attendance. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

• Who is Amy Sutton, and why does she have so many prominent listings at Roohan Realty?  I seem to see her names on signs everywhere.
• Finally, Margarita and I met some friends last night at Lake Ridge Restaurant in Round Lake (exit 11).  I was never there before but had the feeling for some reason it was a rustic, basic place, but it was very nice inside and had great food and service.  If you're ever looking for a restaurant down that way I do recommend it.

OK folks that's it for now.  It will be nice today (Sunday) and up to 80 tomorrow on Monday. Have a great week!

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Saratoga Thoughts April 7, 2012

OK I haven't done one of these in a couple of weeks so here we go:

• I see the Harness track will open back up on April 11th.  That is doubly good news - the fact that the equine disease strangles is apparently contained means the Oklahoma Track can open on time the weekend of April 14-15. 
• Hey the Megabus is here!  Great prices, useless schedule.  It leaves Saratoga at 7pm and arrives in NYC at 10:30, and leaves NYC at 8:30am and arrives in the Spa City at noon.  Huh?  The Saratogian has an article here.
• It looks like the prep work is beginning (in other words an ugly fence has gone up) on the building that is going up next to the Bread Basket on Spring Street. 

• Speaking of The Bread Basket, I am trying to eat healthy but yesterday I had a bear claw from there.  Geez that was freakin' delicious.  Gigantic too. I guess that's why they call them "bear" claws and not....squirrel paws.
• Restaurant updates:  PJ Davis advises me he is hoping to open the new PJ's Barbecue (new name:  "PJ's Bar-B-QSA") in early May.  Elizabeth's Table should be opening up soon.  I assume Russo's is getting close as well.  We're at least a month out from David Zecchini's new Broadway Spanish tapas restaurant Boca Bistro.  The new Arby's that is going into the old Grey Gelding location should be finished by late June.
• I love our library but I hate hate hate the new tables on the second floor.  The old ones were roomy, sturdy, and comfortable, but these little replacements look like they are for third graders.
• I was kidding above on the Arby's in the Grey Gelding.
• I saw on Tom Dimopoulos' Facebook page that his position was eliminated from the Post-Star.  In other words he was let go.  That sucks - first of all because he is a great reporter and a class act, and second of all does that mean the Post Star is giving up on Saratoga news?  Perhaps - the Saratoga Snippets blog hasn't been updated in a month - and that was an entry by Dimopoulos.
• Click here to find out about the Nacre Spring dance performance at Universal Preservation Hall
• Man that addition on the Wilton YMCA is huge - it appears to be about the size of the original building.
• I had a note to write something about SPAC, but I don't remember what it was.  If anyone has any SPAC news or thoughts, feel free to comment and help a blogger out.
• If you need to make last minute Easter plans - Maestro's, The Wishing Well, and Capriccio Saratoga are a few of the restaurants that will be open - but there are several others as well.

OK that's about it folks.  Have a great Easter!

Hurry and sign up for Saratoga Olive Oil's Food Demo on March 30th.

You can find the details for Saratoga Olive Oil's March 30 Food Demo here.  Spaces fill up fast so if you wish to attend you should register immediately. To see video from Saratoga Olive Oil's inaugural food demo, click below.

Breakfast buffet this Sunday, March 25 from 7:30am-11:00 am at the Waldorf School on Regent Street

Let's Do the Twist at Vapor - rock pioneer Chubby Checker is coming to Saratoga!

It would be unfair to call Chubby Checker a one-hit wonder, but let's face it - the song we all associate with him was his #1 hit from 50+ years ago - and that song was noneother than "Stairway to Heaven".  Ok, of course it was "The Twist".  His follow up song, "Let's Twist Again" was also a top 10 hit, and I would guess he had some other songs, but to be honest, I have no idea what they are. 

But just to see him perform his signature song, which created a dance craze and had several other artists performing twist-themed songs, is enough to get me to scrape up $30 and go to Vapor Nightclub on April 12.  In 1989 I had a chance to go see Jerry Lee Lewis, and I passed.  I hate myself for missing that because even though Lewis is still alive, he's not in the greatest of health and I don't think he performs at all anymore.  My advice: Go see these original rock and roll artists - because the few that are still living are in their 70s and 80s, and they won't be around forever.  I hope to go see Chubby Checker - it sounds like a fun time. I can't twist to save my life, but with a few beers I try anyway - and hell I got the chubby part down pat.  See you there.

Saratoga thoughts March 8, 2012

And awayyyyyy we go....

• Spring is essentially here, and I am thrilled.  Let's hope that gets some people on the sidewalks and in our restaurants.
• I hope I'm smart enough never to open one of those restaurants - it just seems like backbreaking work that will eventually bankrupt you.  If I ever did open one,however, I would want it to be like Ralph's on Central Avenue down in Colonie.  Ralph's has great Italian food with a near-perfect homeade sauce for very reasonable prices.  Their soups, which comes with every entree (or you can choose a salad) also have that great homeade quality as well.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, in Saratoga comes close as far as Italian food goes.
• For those of you that have HBO  - have you been watching the program "Luck"?  I've mentioned before how it's centered around thoroughbred horse racing and it has a stellar cast (Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, Nick Nolte, and several others). I'm really enjoying it.  They have a brief snippet at the end of each episode called "Trackspeak" where they will replay a scene from the show where something very specific to horseracing occurred (ie. claiming a horse or a steward's inquiry) and break it down for you and explain the rule all in about two minutes.  Cool stuff.  The other thing I'm enjoying in the show is the acting of retired jockey Gary Stevens.  His character is just a miserable prick in that show - no - make that a coke snorting, F-bomb dropping, mean-spirited miserable prick - but funny at the same time.  Let's hope my mind can separate his character with the real life Stevens when the well-dressed, amiable, and articulate commentator appears on NBC Sports at Saratoga this summer.
• I saw how NYRA channelled a ton of the casino money into their stakes races at Saratoga and Belmont this year.  That's great, but I wondered why they didn't up The Travers a bit.  Every year it seems like there are a few top horses that pass on the Travers for other races, and I hate to see that.  I guess a million bucks doesn't buy what it used to. 
• Back in Novmember it was reported that the Bon Ton Fish Market out of Connecticut would be opening a new store in the same strip mall as Chipotle and The Meat House in Wilton.  I was at that strip mall the other day and there has been no construction performed on the proposed Bon  Ton location to date, and I found out the earliest the place will open will be May. 

 

 

 

• Click here to sign up for the Saratoga Olive Oil Food Demo on March 16.
• From the 'you can't make this stuff up' files, did you catch the profile of Michele Riggi in Sunday's Times Union?  The online version even came with video.  The article had a few interesting tidbits - notably that she's from Broadalbin-I just sort of expected her to be from Long Island or something.  It went to length to point out the good, and gave less mention to the bad, but at least mentioned it.  I just about fell over when the article not once, not twice, but three times mentioned Michele Riggi's name in the same sentence with Marylou Whitney.  Please.  While I don't hate the Riggi's, I'll always have a certain amount of disrespect for them for what they did to that Civil War era house on Greenfield Ave.  Marylou Whitney wouldn't even think of doing something like that.  The article also quoted I-Saratoga's 2009 entry entitled "The Riggi's suck" in which the blogger called the Riggis "arrogant ego-maniacal gasbags", however the article didn't name the blog.  Probably the reason I don't hate the Riggi's is best summed up by a quote of Whitney's husband John Hendrickson when he said "Saratoga has always been about characters".  He's right, and whether you like them or not the Riggis are characters and they make life here in Saratoga that much more interesting and special. 
• I mention this every now and again - I miss that I-Saratoga blog. 
• The Tiznow and Virgil's House location are up for rent, and Paper Dolls store moved to Broadway a few months ago - Henry Street sure has been undergoing some volatility lately hasn't it?  I wrote about Henry Street a few years ago and asserted that it was "one of the hidden, and evolving, gems in the Spa City".  Things are different now, not dismal, just a bit down in my book.  My take: Things really went downhill when they removed the Skycopter.  BTW:  I wonder how Capriccio Saratoga has been doing this winter - I sort of forgot about that place lately but would like to get there again soon.  I also wonder if the condo sales at 54 Phila (the Phila Fusion building) have improved.  Last I knew none of them have sold.  Oh well, if anyone has information or thoughts on this, let me know.

OK well that's it for now.  Have a great weekend.

Saratoga Thoughts February 25, 2012

Well it's not my intention to make this the "Saratoga Thoughts" blog, but lately my schedule has limited my efforts, at least somewhat, to these types of postings.  OK, with that half apology out of the way, here we go:

• Well I went to the Beer Week events, sort of. I stopped out for some food and beer with the Funsaratoga field agent and an out-of-town guest.  I'm glad to have any event that brings visitors (and their wallets) to Saratoga Springs in late winter, but as someone who was in several of the venues, it didn't seem so well organized.  Perhaps if I actually bought tickets and went as an attendee, it would have been better, but as an accidental attendee, I was underwhelmed
• I saw the Maestro's porch was getting some use in Thursday's and Friday's nice weather.  Who ever thought that porch would get nearly year-round use in 2011-2012? 

File Photo

• Well it sure seems like there are several Saratoga restaurants that are hiring.  A perusal of Craig's list shows that Ravenous, Forno Bistro, Jacob & Anthony's, Sabina's, The Parting Glass, and Angelo Mazzone's several restaurants and catering establishments are looking for employees.  That doesn't count the several unnamed Saratoga restaurants that were advertising jobs as well, including one "new restaurant opening in late March" that I assume is Russo's, which is opening in the former Brindisi's location. 
• Speaking of  Craig's list, you'll never know what you'll find on there - here's an ad from someone looking to have a partner in opening a bar in downtown Saratoga.  Yea, bars and business partnerships always work out well - especially when they start out from Craig's list.
• Continuing with the Saratoga bar/restaurant scene, I reported way back when that Mine would have a full menu and I noticed them promoting it along the sidewalk on Broadway this past Friday night, as evidenced by the picture below. 

            I give Mine credit for trying, and their menu looks like it has reasonable prices, but I'm not sure if I can take a dining establishment seriously that is offering a full dinner menu, and also a "Pisces night" (it was last night - "Pisces get in free all night"), a teen night (tonight - for all of you under-21 kids that fanatically read this blog), and has a web site that is not working (at least when I checked).  My casual walk by and internet look gives me the feeling they are all over the board.  Just my thoughts.

• When I was a kid, there was just one free newspaper, and that was of course the Pennysaver.  Saratoga Springs has Saratoga Today, The Spotlight, and the Spa City Moneysaver - and there seem to be many other free specialty publications as well.  It's almost overwhelming - and all this in the internet era. Go figure.
• With Saratoga diners dropping left and right (namely Beverly's, Friendly's, and the Saratoga Family Restaurant), I thought it would be a good time to check out Shirley's, on West Avenue.  You may recall it was purchased last year by someone who was going to add some Montreal, Quebec cuisine to the menu.  Well the chowder was excellent but the grilled haddock I ordered came out cold - I think it was prebaked and never heated for me.  Oh well, if I ever get my fat blogging butt to the YMCA anytime soon perhaps I'll get rid of enough guilt to try Shirley's rather fattening sounding Poutine -  which is a French-Canadian specialty consisting of french fries, gravy and cheese curds.  I'm half intrigued and half disgusted, but my gluttonous curiosity will get the better of me eventually and I'll report on here how it was - and what my cholesterol was before and after.
• Speaking of eating things I shouldn't - the wings at the Stadium pass my four-part test - and I'm from Buffalo, which makes me an expert. The four part test is as follows: (1) Wings should be big with plenty of meat - not those wimpy tiny ones you get in some restaurants. (2) The sauce should have the right balanced flavor and have enough substance to cling to the wings. (3) They should never be undercooked, and in fact should be cooked extra crispy, and (4) the blue cheese should be of high quality.  The Stadium passes all four of those tests, with an extra star for their chunky blue cheese. 
• From Buffalo errr...fine dining to Buffalo fine arts - I see the Buffalo Philharmonic will be playing at SPAC this summer - on July 25th.  I'll be there....in a Bills jersey with my face painted.  It's a Buffalo thing. 
• And finally, Saratogian editor Barbara Lombardo had a great idea when she proposed that the Skidmore bookstore move into the empty former Borders location.  She asked "I can dream, can't I?"  Yes you can, and I like your thinking Barbara.

Have a great weekend everybody. 

Saratoga thoughts February 20, 2012

Here we go....

• I see the third annual Saratoga County Restaurant Week goes this year from March 16-25. For $20.12 you will get a three-course dinner at more than 40 participating Saratoga County restaurants, many right here in the Spa City. When this first started in 2010, there were very few Saratoga Springs restaurants that participated, but that changed starting last year.
• I pointed out last week that Mayor Scott Johnson made the right call on the South Side Rec center, and I was happy to see the Mayor mention South Broadway's problems in his recent state-of-the-city address.  The only problem is that I was pointing out these same problems over a year ago.  The city Democratic Committee recently wrote an opinion piece in The Saratogian accusing His Honor of having no vision, being slow to react, and certainly not being proactive.  With the aforementioned Rec Center being the lone exception, I couldn't agree more. 
• Speaking of failing to be proactive and lacking foresight, I haven't heard much lately about the dangerous traffic situation on South Broadway.  Did NY State DOT go back to sleep?  I certainly hope I'm wrong, but I just have a feeling there is another awful accident pending on that deadly stretch of highway. 
• I don't know if I'm a subscriber, member, customer or what of Groupon, but I've recently signed on and have noticed there are not too many offerings for places here in the Spa City.  Most offerings seem to be centered around Albany. 
• There seems to be quite a buzz about the Brad Pitt movie about Solomon Northrup.  That's great that this historical figure, who certainly had an amazing life, will be getting his due on the big screen.  I just am not expecting a shot in the arm for the local economy from it - there are no indications that any of the filming will be done here.  In fact, why would they film here?  It would be very costly and there isn't a whole lot left, as far as buildings and such, from Northrup's time in this region.  I'm not saying this won't have some positive effects for our region; I'm just not expecting those effects to be significant. 
• Well, Van-Halen is coming to the north, south, east, and west of Saratoga on this spring's tour - namely Montreal, NYC, Boston, and Buffalo - but no SPAC.  Well a SPAC show could have been a mess, with all sorts of crazies, but I would still like to see it.

 

• I'm hearing word that the Oklahoma Track may open early this year.  Well that would be a good thing - and would be something that could give the local economy a shot with horse owners and trainers moving here that much earlier.  If this is true I'm assuming it means 2 or 3 weeks early, meaning a very late March/early April opening.  The buildings there aren't winterized, so I couldn't imagine how they could open up any earlier. 
• Click here for the latest newsletter from Saratoga Bridges
• How sad that Saratoga's own Tuskegee Airman Clarence Dart died a few days ago.  At least he was able to see the movie Red Tails, and he even received a standing ovation when introduced at the Wilton Cinemas' debut of the movie last month.  His death is sad, but I'm very happy that he at least lived long enough to receive honors from the President, Congress, and Hollywood, and knew before he died that neither he nor his fellow Tuskegee Airmen would ever be forgotten. 
• February is almost done and Saratoga Springs organizations are talking summer.  SPAC recently announced the lineup for the 35th annual Freihofer's Jazz Fesival on June 30 & July 1.  The Oklahoma Track is opening soon and we're talking about summer concerts.  Life is looking good in Saratoga Springs! 

• I'll end with this link of a reporter writing about a chance meeting with Whitney Houston here in Saratoga Springs in the late 1980s.  Perhaps it was the same time she was performing at SPAC in 1987 that this Youtube video below shows. The late singer sure gave an energetic performance of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" that night, and the crowd was jumping and the place was rocking.  They sure got their money's worth from Ms. Houston that night. 

 

That's it for now folks.  Have a great week!

Saratoga thoughts February 12, 2012

Had I won Powerball, I wouldn't be blogging today but....

• I've said it before and I'll say it again, the South Side Rec Center is a great asset to our city and I will give Mayor Scott Johnson two thumbs up for his decisiveness and leadership on getting that place built on an underused park site.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of The Mayor, but he made the right call on the rec center.
• The You Idiot blog has become a great source for rumors, many of which turn out to be accurate.  The latest rumors he is reporting on, and again these are just rumors and not confirmed, is that Virgil's House and Pizza Works, both on Henry Street, may be closing.  He also is reporting an unnamed popular NYC eatery may be opening in the Bonacio Price Chopper building. He also showed a picture of a sign announcing the new beer garden on Broadway - which is news I believe he originally broke as well. 
• I was out with a few friends last night at Cantina and the Franklin Micare duo was rocking the house. They had the place jumping and it was really an enjoyable show. It's good to be in a bar and not feel like you have to be 22 years old, and it's also good to see Franklin Micare still in town on Saturday nights now that the Grey Gelding is long gone.

 

Yours truly (in my scruffy phase) with my wife Margarita and Franklin Micare in 2009

• Bed and Breakfast update:  The Batchellor Mansion Inn price has been lowered again, to $2.9 million, and the Westchester Inn is not only for sale, but also for rent at $3,500 a month.  Hmmmmm.
• Congress Plaza could use a dollar store.  It just seems right.  Besides, what else is going to move in there anytime soon?
• In a post last month I noted The Saratogian had well-written editorials, but that there were too few of them. I encouraged our hometown daily to write more of these opinion pieces, suggesting a goal of two per week.  The Saratogian acknowledged that post of mine in a tweet of their own, and since then there have been editorials written consistently every Sunday.  Although short of my suggested two a week, these Sunday editorials have been comprehensive, well-written, and well researched on topics of high importance to Saratoga Springs.  Today's editorial, about the numerous empty buildings on South Broadway, also had numerous pictures of the several vacated premises along one of the key our gateways to the city.  The editorial was laudatory of the city's efforts in some respects, but encouraged the city officials to cooperate and communicate more - it noted there were two different plans that were seemingly created without inclusion of all officials.  It's good to see The Saratogian as an advocate for a reasoned and apolitical approach in fixing some of the city's problems, and I look forward to a continued effort in that role. 
• Although I somewhat agreed with the Saratogian's point (above) regarding the need for cooperation and communication, I nonetheless applaud Supervisor Matt Veitch and City Council Member John Franck for trying to take some action on South Broadway. I appreciate their initiative and effort; let's hope they can make some headway on this.
• And I'll finish up with a roundup of links with updates on various Saratoga businesses and organizations:  Universal Preservation Hall,   Saratoga Olive Oil,  Longfellows and Olde Bryan Inn, Saratoga Arts, Maestros,   Sloppy kisses, DZ Restaurants, and Saratoga P.L.A.N.  Ok folks that's it for now.  Have a great week.