Fun in Saratoga

Empire State College's Saratoga based television commercial

From the beautiful buildings in Saratoga Spa State Park, to Broadway downtown, and even the Spring Street Deli and Little India rooftops along Court Street, Empire State College's new television commercial sure has a Spa City flavor to it.  

The commercial was filmed in June, and you can read the Saratogian article on it here.  Man, that dude can move!  The term of moving in that fashion is called "parkour", and you can read the Wikipedia entry on parkour here.

Take that, Skidmore!  You're not the only higher education player in this town!

Hattie’s casual location now set to open in mid-November

Hattie’s casual location now set to open in mid-November.

Latest news from DZ Restaurants

I am copying the latest newsletter from DZ Restaurants below:

In This Issue WITT Showcase Block Party Wood-Fired Wednesdays Harvest Supper Cooking School Fire & Ice Happy Hour Pasta Pane's New Happy Hour $3 Draft Beers & House Wines $5 Signature Cocktails $8 Pizza Combos $8 Small Plate Combos   WITT Showcase Block Party and House Crawl Saturday Oct 2 | 5pm - 9pm | $35/pp Join Chianti Il Ristorante at the WITT Showcase Block Party & House Crawl this Saturday to benefit the Double H Ranch. Double H is a seasonal camp in Lake Luzerne for kids and teens, ages 6 to 16, with critical illnesses. An amazing opportunity to tour seven custom built homes in the Saratoga Farms Neighborhood in Malta, enjoy a Block Party catered by Chianti and help support the Double H Ranch. For more information visit www.doublehranch.org Wood-Fired Wednesdays at Pasta Pane Two wood-fired thin crust pizzas and a ½ tray of our Casa Insalata to-go for just $18! Every Wednesday at Pasta Pane get two wood-fired pizzas, a ½ Tray of Casa Insalata & fresh baked Italian Bread to-go for $18. Try the featured pizza each week or you can always get our classic Margherita. Featured Pizza for September 29 Salsiccia (tomatoes, mozzarella, Italian sausage) We begin taking orders on Wednesday at 2pm at 518-371-5762. See Pasta Pane's website for more details. Pasta Pane's Wood Fired Wednesdays - These days everyone can use some extra dough. A Night With with Mamma October 4 | 7:00pm | $45/pp Eat, drink, laugh, cook and celebrate with Mamma on October 4th at Pasta Pane. Part cooking class, part family reunion her one woman show "A Night with Mamma" is reminiscent of the kitchens from our childhood, but bawdy enough for when we've sent the kids to bed. Call the restaurant at 518-371-5762 for more details and to sign-up. (Limited seating is available for this event.) Harvest Supper Cooking School October 5 | 7:00pm | $45/pp On October 5 Chianti Il Ristorante's energetic and whimsical Executive Chef Fabrizio leads you on a culinary journey while you sip wine and watch a bountiful Harvest Supper prepared from start to finish. There are still a few seats at the table available for this Harvest Supper Cooking School with Fabrizio. Call Chianti Il Ristorante at 518-580-0025 for more details and to sign-up. PASTA PANE 18 Park Avenue Clifton Park, NY 518.371.5762 www.pastapane.com CHIANTI IL RISTORANTE 18 Division Street Saratoga Springs, NY 518.580.0025 www.chiantiristorante.com FORNO BISTRO 541 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 518.581.2401 www.fornobistro.com

Brindisi to end running Union Grille

The Saratogian broke the story here.  The Union Grille was sort of the restaurant that wasn't - quickly forgotten soon after it opened, unless you happened to be staying at the Hilton. 

 

I hate to say it, because we all benefit from the competition, but Saratoga seems to have more restaurants than this city can support year around.  With the economy what it is, it doesn't take a Harvard economist to figure out that more Saratoga restaurants are going to close or make drastic changes over the off season. 

No longer pretty in pink

There was a noteworthy housepainting that occurred this summer along Union Avenue, and I have been meaning to write a post about it for a while now.  If a picture says a thousand words, I guess two of them should say, oh I don't know, perhaps at least 1,800 words. 

This house at 73 Union Avenue, which was predominantly pink for a number of years, was painted what I believe is a very dark green, as seen in this recent picture below.

First, let me acknowledge that the owners probably don't give a rat's behind what I think about the color of their house, but I'm going to weigh in anyway. At first I was appalled.  I realized that the pink color may have been hindering the showings and I surmised that the Realtor suggested a change.  This new color, however, (which looks black from the street) made the place look almost haunted.  I was dying to make a joke about  acertain 60s TV character.  OK, I just did with the pic on the right.  Anyhow, you know what?  I walk or drive past the place daily and the dark color is growing on me, at least a little.  I think there were other colors they should have chosen, but again, I don't have $2.4 million to plunk down on the beautiful home and the carriage house so....

I wrote an entry on this house last year, noting in part:

According to my "Hoofing It" book, a walking tour guide of Saratoga Springs published by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, 73 Union is a "High Victorian Gothic" which was built in 1883 for John M. Jones.  It's a unique, beautiful, and historic home, but with an asking price of $2.4 million, I would like to remind the owners that the economy is recovering from a recession and they aren't likely to get anywhere near that figure.

So there you have a somewhat tardy reporting of one house's painting in Saratoga Springs.  You can find the real estate sale listing here, and the virtual tour of the house, complete with annoying music, here.  How were you ever able to manage living your life before blogs came along?

 

 

A Saratoga bed and breakfast that is not for sale

I've written a number of posts on Saratoga Springs bed and breakfast businesses that are for sale, the most recent of which can be found here.  One B & B that is not for sale is the Spa City's newest, The Springwater Bed and Breakfast, which opened earlier this year and recently went on-line with its web site.  

 

The other east side B & Bs are generally 19th century Victorians with lots of history and charm.  The Springwater B & B, on the other hand, is actually new construction, and the web site touts its comfort, the positive comments the proprietors received on the "thought and planning" of the building, and the fact that it is a green property that has achieved energy star certification. 

Well, no matter what curves the economy throws at the Spa City, it seems that there are always entrepeneurs willing to invest and make our city that much more vibrant.  Good for Peter and Leslie DiCarlo for opening this Bed and Breakfast, as well as of course their adjacent restaurant The Springwater Inn. 

On a note related to my ongoing reporting on Saratoga Springs B & Bs, the Kimberly Inn, which was once a B & B but is now a boarding house, has been for sale for a while (You can link the listing here).  I  just recently noticed that the sign also had an added section below it showing the "Reduced" asking price of $500,000.  I always find this stuff interesting, I hope you do too. 

Rachel Alexandra still training in Saratoga

I sort of lost track of the ol' girl, but this Miami Herald article reminded me that she's right down the street in a stall at the Oklahoma track. 

Wood-fire pizza to go from Forno, Pasta Pane

From the Times Union's Table Hopping blog:

Wood-fire pizza to go from Forno, Pasta Pane.

The Hollywood of upstate?

Check out my entry about the possibility of a new movie being filmed in the Spa City that I just put up on the Times Union's Saratoga Springs residents' blog.

Check out the Times Union's "House of the Week" on West Circular Street

You can view the pictures here of this house on the west side near Beekman Street.