Here's what I'm thinking while celebrating the fact that Hannaford will be selling some cheap NYRA items at many times their worth.
- It sure feels like summer, and I'm not referring to the weather. Traffic on Broadway and the other main thoroughfares are annoyingly busy, and the bars downtown weren't quite packed but very crowded both inside and out Friday night. There were many outside bands playing and it felt like August was a week away.
- I stopped into The Paddock Lounge on Caroline with some friends briefly Friday night to check it out. It had a good crowd and seemed pretty big, with nice high ceilings. There was a band playing at the one end. The Fun Saratoga field agent was with me and he made three notes about the place - (1) that it seemed like a NYC bar, (2) he was just a little nervous with what appeared to be just one exit to escape if there was a fire (I'm sure there was another way out, it just wasn't readily apparent) and (3) in Saratoga in the summer, you want to be at an outside bar, not buried in a basement. It was also very warm down there. All this is not to say the place didn't look like it had potential - the mature crowd was definitely a plus - it was just very unique.
- If you haven't been to The Cupcake Lab lately, you may notice some changes, all for the good in my opinion. The hours are expanding, the name is being shortened to "The Lab", and they are always trying great new foods like the Locust Grove smokehouse bacon, egg, and Cabot cheddar cheese on one of Elizabeth's home made southern style biscuits pictured below. I'm a fan and you should be too - check out The Lab's Facebook page for updates.
- Did you see that Zenyatta is pregnant - again. She lost her first foal, but this one has made it past the 60 day mark, which is a good sign. If the foal is sold, it will be fun to watch some uber-rich person pay silly money for a horse that will probably be a colossal letdown. Remember The Green Monkey?
- I've heard positive reviews about Maestro's new location. Apparently its expansive porch is THE place to dine on a nice night. They did a good job on Maestro's new web site as well, which has some terrific photography.
- Got books? Got books you want to get rid of? Here are two good options - call Lyrical Ballad Bookstore and check when the owner will be in and make an appointment for him to look at them. He will only select the ones he thinks will sell, and he can't pay you much, but you will be helping out a local business owner and making some customers happy. You can also donate the books to The Bookbag Shop at the Saratoga Springs Public Library - from the Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library web site: (the money from donated books) "provides not only significant money for library enhancement and programs, but also affordable reading material for the community and a convenient way for citizens to recycle used books." Plus you may be able to take a tax deduction for your donation of the books.
- If you want to check out a good Saratoga news aggregator web site check out Saratoganow. The site also has a very active twitter feed.
- That beautiful 57 Chevy that parks in front of Union Gables is back! It's parked there often in the summer months. I saw it parked there yesterday.
- I took this picture below of the sign in front of The Turf Club, the new restaurant in The Springwater Inn. You can read more in the Times Union here.
- I'm happy to see the CDTA Saratoga Visitors Trolley back, and I previously reported that I thought the new route to both tracks was a plus, but did they have to slap a bunch of ads on the side of the thing? I realize advertising is part of CDTA's revenue, but with just two trollies I'm sure they could have kept them clean - I just would have liked to seen them without a bunch of placards advertising this and that.
- Did you see that an art gallery is moving into the old plumbing location on Caroline Street. Silverwood Galleries, which has it's main location in Bolton Landing, will be opening up at the corner of Caroline and Putnam Street. This Post Star article from last month reports on the gallery as well as some other Saratoga Springs business happenings.
- Well that's about it for now. Have a great weekend. A month and a half til track season!
The library's used book shop is great! Books are neatly arranged and bargain-priced. They also have all kinds of AV stuff and greeting cards.
Posted by: SaraT | June 04, 2011 at 11:36 AM