Fun in Saratoga

Saratoga Springs - balloons, pizza, coffee, and more

More thoughts and follow-up from the past several days:

• I went to the Adirondack Balloon Festival up near Glens Falls on Saturday.  I had never went before and was really excited to go, but unfortunately the winds and then rain caused the cancellation of the Saturday evening and Sunday events.  The most I got to see was a few balloons that were stood up and filled with air - and even that was difficult for the few crews that tried it.  I sure wish I would have seen all 90 go up as scheduled but Mother Nature had different ideas.  The Glens Falls Post Star has the story and a great picture here plus I added a few pictures below from the time I was there.

• I once commented on here how the pizza slices at Inferno Pizza seemed dried out when I went there.  I am happy to report that I had a very good pizza from there Saturday night - I guess there's a big difference when you order a whole pie and it's fresh, as opposed to slices which could have been cooked hours ago.  I still think Marino's is the best in the Spa City but they inexplicably close at 9PM on Saturdays, so I went with Inferno which turned out to be pretty damn good.
• I was on Broadway a while back and I found out that the Ever After store at 372 Broadway was closing.   The boutique offered clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, hand bags, plus gift ware. I guess seeing some of our downtown stores close is not unexpected - but you hate to see it anyway.  No word on whether any new business will go in that space right away.

• It seems like Uncommon Grounds is the place to be for coffee, light food, and free wi-fi.  Occasionally I like to experience a change of pace and go to Saratoga Coffee Traders across and down the street near Bruegger's Bagels.  

Saratoga Coffee Traders is not as spacious as Uncommon Grounds, but their coffee is good and they offer some nice options including wraps and salads.

• Remember the Epiphany Theater?  It was a Theater Company based, at least for a time, on a big old building on Regent Street between Union Avenue and Spring Street.  I was going past the building the other day and I noticed it was for rent.  Then, on the subject of unique and old buildings for rent, I noticed a church annex building on Washington Street near Universal Preservation Hall that was also available. Interesting if nothing else.

 

• Speaking of Universal Preservation Hall, the organization refurbishing that beautiful building on Washington Street is holding a unique fundraiser this coming weekend when they will host the Phinney Design Group Tour of Homes. From the UPH web site: "The tour will feature five beautiful homes in the Saratoga area, all designed by PDG. This event will take place on Saturday October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from noon - 5pm.  On Sunday, there will be a reception at UPH from 5:30 to 8pm."  Tickets are just $35.00 - which is very inexpensive considering the usual price of Saratoga Springs fundraisers - and the tour sounds great and Universal Preservation Hall is of course a great cause.  I unfortunately will likely be out of town.  To find out more, click here. 
• Credit below goes to the Putnam Wine Shop on Broadway for some clever marketing, as evidenced below.

• The YMCA of Saratoga is adding some much needed parking to the Saratoga Springs (West Avenue) branch.  This is a good move, because there have been times when I've gone there at maybe 5 or 6pm and there was virtually no available parking.  By my very rough estimate it appears that there may be about 60 new spaces available when the construction is completed.  I love the Saratoga Y!

 

• Sushi Thai Garden is so consistently good.  My girlfriend and I ate there Friday night and we really enjoyed our meals - they always deliver great food and great service.
• I see 38 High Rock Condos has a sales office at 425 Broadway.  I'd hate to see any empty places on Broadway so it's good to see them filling a location, although I noticed the upper floors of that old building sure look like they've been empty for a long time. 

• I went to the Saratoga Farmers Market on Saturday.  It seems like my weekends are missing something if I don't get to the market - it's such an upbeat experience.  Apples, apple cider, pumpkins, and many other autumn treats were in abundance.  I mentioned to one of the workers how extra lively it was there on Saturday and she pointed to the band and said "they're very good and they just lift the whole place up".  I never thought to get the band's name, but they were playing a Johnny Cash song at the time so they instantly got a thumbs up from me. 
• It's always good to see building owners taking care of the beautiful old buildings in Saratoga.  I took this picture of a worker repairing the exterior of Saratoga Arms Hotel on Broadway. 

• I'll end this by telling you to go to the Bread Basket Bakery on Spring Street and get one of their shortbread cookies.  They sucked me in with a free sample and I had to buy one for myself then bought another one for my girlfriend.  So good!  Maybe that great taste is from what seems like the entire stick of butter in each cookie - and I of course say that with admiration.  Have a great week.

Track season is over. Bummer.

Track season is now officially over and with my less than brilliant betting, I singlehandedly brought NYRA back into profitability.  I posted a few very fun Youtube links from the Woodward (I also went back and posted them on a previous entry of mine, so that is why you may have seen these videos twice on here) and I added a few more thoughts:

Here is the Woodward Stakes with Tom Durkin's passionate call:

Sam the Bugler's Call to Post/Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman"

• I appreciate MSG Plus dedicating at least an hour of each day to live Saratoga coverage.  It was nice to tape and see when I got home (let's face it the OTB feed without any commentary doesn't quite cut it).  I recently wrote about what a great job ESPN did on the Travers coverage, and while I can't expect the smaller MSG Plus to match that top quality production, they can still try to rise to the next level and improve it next year.  One specific suggestion:  Have the crowd noise overlay Tom Durkin's call when it's on TV - that alone can make the coverage that much more exciting.  I'm a big crowd noise fan now that I experienced the crowd's roar for Rachel Alexandra on Saturday.
• Going back to Sam the Bugler - Are there two Sam the Buglers?  Three?  That guy was everywhere this year!  I saw him at Gaffney's when he sat in (well stood, actually) with a band (I think it was Big Medicine)  for a few songs.  He was great - it is good to hear him play something other than the call to post - he's gotta be sick of that by now even though it's made him a living. Then I saw him with the Bud Light girls in another bar, then playing in the parking lot of the Community Court Motel  at about 8am (for reasons I don't know), then finally at at wedding at the Union Gables Bed and Breakfast on Labor Day weekend. 
• It was good to see NYRA do some special promoting for Rachel Alexandra's running in the Woodward.  They've improved this year but still have a ways to go.  I hope they scrap their current marketing plan and come up with something totally new next year. 
• My favorite Saratoga restaurants for track season, in no particular order, are: Springwater Inn, Maestro's, Siro's, Gaffney's, and PJ's Barbecue.  Springwater because it's right near my home and the food, service, and prices are all excellent, Maestro's because you get a really great meal that wows you, Siro's because it is even better than Maestro's and knocks your socks off, Gaffney's because you get a very good meal with the best atmosphere (Gaffney's backyard with a band) when you sit on the patio, and PJ's because both the food is excellent and the 1950s sights and sounds put you in a fun mood. 
• Have I complained enough about the wet, gloomy, and low turnout at the Travers? One more time: that really sucked.
• It was still a great season. Any season in Saratoga is great and I loved this track season.

OK, just 46 more weeks til track season 2010.  Have a great week!

Weekend wrap

Wow this was a great weekend!  The weather, the opening of several seasonal establishments, and the overall excitement with positive energy in the Spa City just put me in a great mood! 

My girfriend and I went to Shanghai Grill on South Broadway Friday night.  I am commenting on that visit in a separate posting.

We weren't the first customers at PJ's Barbecue on Saturday, but we did make it just a few hours into their 2009 season for a veggie burger  some great rib dinners with all the trimmings.  I'll start that low cholesterol diet some day.  The T-U's Saratoga Seen had a nice entry today on the opening of PJ's. 

I also made it up to the Oklahoma Race Track to check out the horses training.  Again that just put me in a great mood.  It's just over 3 months to track season - can you feel it?

I stopped into the Diamond Dance to see Doc Scanlon play Saturday night.  The crowd was surprisingly sparse - usually these guys pack  'em in but not this night.  

I got there late and my friends had already left and called to tell me they were drinking beer at the Harness Track.  Doc Scanlon took a distant second to friends inviting me for beer so...out Nelson Avenue I went. 

Finally on Sunday I went to Universal Preservation Hall for the a capppella concert/fundraiser which was well attended and really great.  Congratulations to UPH for a successful and fun event! 

Universal Preservation Hall fundraiser recap

Well it was not my intention to disappear off of here for 12 days, but I guess life happens.  I can think of no better way to restart the blog posts than to talk about the fundraiser I attended along with my girlfriend and about 175 other people last night at Universal Preservation Hall.

The event, as previously reported on here, was called "Rust Rocks the Hall", and included the Rust Brothers Band, a fun and talented group that kept the crowd dancing the whole night.  It was really a great party and I enjoyed meeting many of the guests and of course being a small part of the fundraising that will be used to continue repairs and renovations to that beautiful and historic building on Washington Street.  It was a fun and successful night for a great cause!

Next up on the UPH schedule is an a cappela concert on April 19th.  The Hall's web site has this information about the concert:

This event will feature performances by many local a cappella groups, such as the Bandersnatchers, Drastic Measures, Sonneteers and Accents. The groups will be performing at the first of a series of concerts being held at Universal Preservation Hall. A 50/50 raffle will be held with some excellent prizes! $10 tickets are available at the door (children 10 and under FREE) and all contributions will go towards the restoration and operation of UPH. Contact Mary Beth McGarrahan at the UPH office for reservations.

The Hall will also hold a raffle at Siro's on Kentucky Derby Day, which is May 2nd.  I hope to be able to attend both events and continue to be a part of the Hall's future. 

Valentines Day and the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs

I mentioned in a previous post that I waited too long to make Valentines Day dinner reservations.  I think the suffering economy made me think it wouldn't be such a big deal, but what was I thinking?  I guess Valentines Day on a Saturday night made reservations fill up fast.  Last year I was able to get reservations at Beekman Street Bistro maybe just a day before - and that's my favorite Saratoga restaurant. 

On Thursday I called Springwater Bistro, Limoncella, Longfellows, Beekman Street Bistro, and I'm sure two or three others.  They all were either booked or only had very early (5:00pm) or very late seatings (9:30pm).  Chianti, Forno Bistro, and the Old Bryan Inn advised they don't accept reservations and seated people on a first come basis.  I was starting to get worried as I called each place so when Tiznow told me they had 8:30 seating available I jumped at it. 

Tiznow didn't come close to cracking my top 5 choices, or top 10 for that matter.  It seems like the place has no buzz about it - no ardent fans like many other Saratoga restaurants have, which told me that it was at best average.  With that being said, beggars aren't choosers and I have never been there for dinner so I'm always happy to try new places.  

The wine list at Tiznow is modest and for that matter so is the menu, which also is not too adventurous, but my girlfriend's eyes lit up when the waiter mentioned the short rib special and I decided to go with the shrimp and prosciutto entree.   We shared the calamari appetizer, lightly breaded with an excellent Caribbean lime dipping sauce. The calamari itself was cooked perfectly and the sauce was different - that was the best calamari I have had in years.  The short ribs and the mushroom risotto was excellent, my shrimp dish with jazzmine rice was good but didn't blow me away.  The service was pretty good considering how busy they were - those people were running.  I would say that Tiznow surpassed my expectations and I would go there again - at least for the calamari!

My girlfriend had come in town from her downstate job on Saturday, so I knew with all that traveling (she had to go back on Sunday) we would likely miss all of the Dance Flurry.  That was a shame because I had a full house of friends staying with me that were attending it. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see we had the time (and energy) to hit at least a small part of it - and a good part of it.  We walked in just in time to go to the Zydeco Dance Party in one of the Hilton ballrooms.  They had a great band - C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, and they played a long and energetic set.   The nice thing about Zydeco is that you can dance virtually any style to it - at least that's the conclusion I came to.  While we only made that one event, I was glad we made that much considering our time limitations.  I posted a video from one of C.J. Chenier's prior gigs below.  The camera work and sound are less than ideal, but the video gives you at least an idea of how upbeat, fun, and uniquely American Zydeco music can be.  All in all it was a great weekend in Saratoga Springs and certainly unlike one you can have anywhere else. 

Camp Saratoga 5K and PJ's Barbecue

Well, the Saratoga Season starts tomorrow and that of course is great.  It came so fast - I can't believe summer is really half over.  Hope to see everyone this weekend.

I ran a 5K along a trail at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park's Camp Saratoga last Monday.  It was easily the most rugged 5K I ever ran - but it was also the best.  It was really challenging with all the roots, mud, and most significantly the steep hills.  I enjoyed it and they had a little party afterwards, of which I posted a picture of below.

This is a great run, and if you're a local runner then I encourage you to go to one of the upcoming races  (July 28, August 4, and August 18th).  Don't worry if you're not in top shape - there were people with times well into the 40 minute plus range, so the words "fun run" definitely applied.   You can find more information about them here.

The next night I went with a few friend to PJ's Barbecue on Route 9 off of exit 13.  The barbecue is always great there, but Tuesdays are extra special there because Tuesday's are "Classic Car Bar-B-Cruis-in" dates, where, on a clear evening, the lot is loaded with classic cars from the 30's right up to the early 70's.  I say a "clear" evening because at the first sign of a cloud these guys, who I'm convinced love their cars more than their kids, are hightailing it for the garage and the lot is empty.  Check out some of these great machines from a bygone era below:

 

Like I said, PJ's is always fun and the owner, AKA "PJ the DJ", spends his night spinning great 50s tunes from his DJ booth (pictured below) and his days cooking up great barbecue.  If you are free any night of the week, but especially on Tuesday evenings, stop at PJ's for some great food or at least a loganberry.  Also, if you do make it on a Tuesday evening, don't forget to check out the 50s house.

 

Great Weekend

I went to the Freihofer's Jazz Festival at SPAC with my girlfriend on Saturday.  I have wanted to attend for a few years now and she wanted to see Andrea Tierra perform.  We got there about 11:30am Saturday and it was already hot outside but the music was great and we enjoyed the different bands a lot.  We really didn't know the tricks to going to the Jazz Fest but we learned a few for next year.  I think if we go again we will (1) get a group of friends together to go, (2) get there early to pitch a large tent to shield us from the sun and rain (both were issues Saturday), and (3) learn a little more about the bands performing so we can enjoy the Festival that much more. 

Here is an article from the Saratogian on Jazz Fest.

When I met my girlfriend just about a year ago she was fairly new to the Capital District and she asked me why I lived in Saratoga.  I told her to ask me that after she has visited me there a few times - I think it was her first visit when she quickly said she figured out why I lived here.  Often times when we are doing really special things that can only be done in and around Saratoga one of us will remind the other about that converstion and how the answer to her question is so obvious when you simply experience all that Saratoga has to offer. I'm glad we got to the Jazz Festival this weekend and it was just one of many great experiences I have had while living here for the past two years. 

Chowderfest winners etc.

THIS ENTRY IS FROM 2008, FOR THE 2009 CHOWDERFEST WINNERS CLICK HERE.

In case you missed it in the news link roundup below, there are at least five blog entries in the blogosphere announcing the Saratoga Chowderfest winners and/or comments on the event.  If you have comments on it feel free to comment below.  The entries are linked below for your viewing:

Spa Chowderfest winners announced - Post Star Saratoga snippets blog

Chowder hostess with the mostess - Times Union Saratoga Seen blog

Chowderfest into Monday - Times Union Saratoga Seen Blog

Chowderfest - Blogmaster G

Chowderfest - Reality Sandwich 

(C'mon guys you need to come up with more original headlines - see how silly they look right after one another?)

Chowderfest Results are in - Times Union Table Hopping blog

I'll also add these news links:

Chowderfest 2008 a success - Capital News 9

Saratoga chowderfest video - Saratogian (nothing special here,but good job to the Saratogian for obtaining and posting this.  I would like to see more of this type of effort.)

Residents line up for chowder, fun and games at Winterfest - Saratogian

Saratoga Arms and The Saratoga Show blogs comment on the Saratoga Springs Victorian Streetwalk

I have added three new blogs in the blogroll, and have two links from them on the Victorian Stroll.  Saratoga Arms, a beautiful "concierge" hotel right in the heart of the city on Broadway, has a great web site that is visually appealing and includes - holy new media savvy hoteliers Batman - a blog!

Good for them for giving some extra effort.  I Technoratied in (Hey if Google can be a verb, so can Technorati) and they had an entry on the Victorian Streetwalk (I apparently incorrectly previously referred to it as the "Stroll" - OK that must be the one in Troy).  To the Saratoga Arms proprietors I say good for you, and I really like your writing style. One suggestion: add some pictures in your entries. When I read the sentence "Our front porch and steps were a natural stage for three different singing groups" I would have loved to see a few pictures of them singing.  Well that's just a small suggestion - keep up the great work!

I've met David Levesque once or twice before because he is a (good) dance instructor (swing, ballroom etc.) and I've dropped into his classes once or twice.  David and his wife Dawn own Dancin' Time DJ and Dance instruction company, and WordofMobile, a Saratoga Springs based marketing and media company specializing in new media.  They produce the closest thing Saratoga Springs has to a TV station, which is The Saratoga Show, a video podcast/blog which has good coverage of events as diverse as the recent mayoral debates, social and community gatherings, and of course the Victorian Stroll err Streetwalk.  You can subscribe to The Saratoga Show via itunes, which of course is a great feature.  I give David and Dawn credit because as far as I know they are the most advanced of those of us using new media (which is part of what is called "Web 2.0") to communicate about Saratoga Springs. 

Well I am postponing this entry because I want to run out and get a picture of Saratoga Arms before I press send. I found one on Flickr but the tree blocked most of it, and the one on Yahoo isn't working for me either. I am not really sure of what the protocol would be for taking it off their site. It's free publicity, so they probably wouldn't mind, but I guess I just feel a little better getting one of my own. 

Victorian Streetwalk

Well I had fun last night at the Victorian Streetwalk - another of the many events that make Saratoga Springs great and unique.  My Mom and brother came from Buffalo, and my girlfriend and part of her family came up from Albany.  I hope to get some pictures up when I get them from the people that were with me.  In the meantime, if you missed it, here are some news links that should tell you about it.

WNYT News 13 story

Times Union Story