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.

Comments

[Jackie Donnelly]

I've been watching Luck and enjoying it very much. It brings back lots of memories of when we rented out all 6 of our bedrooms to racetrack personnel during the meet: parimutuel clerks, jockeys' agents, security guards, assistant trainers, etc., who would move into our upstairs for the duration, which was only 4 weeks back in the '70s. My husband's a college professor, so this was a world completely new to us. Because of our friendship with these folks, we had access to parts of the track off-limits to the general population, including the backstretch barns and the announcer's booth. What an experience! It all comes back when I watch that HBO show, which I find enjoyable for all kinds of reasons, including the first-rate acting.

[Dan]

Oh thanks Jackie - I was hoping someone out there saw Luck so we could communicate about it. It's so good - but I still don't know if it will last just because it seems to appeal to a narrow audience (intelligent people - lol). Take care Jackie!
Dan

[Michael T]

bad news for you on Luck

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=711089

I haven't watched it yet, waiting to do the wholse season in a weekend on HBO on demand

[Rob]

Sorry to hear about Luck getting cancelled Dan. Hard to argue with 3 horse deaths though.