Photo Friday Four

The FLB in general isn’t a clearinghouse for my photography. It used to be that I’d take my pictures of food and post them on Yelp where they might actually be helpful to someone.

And maybe these pictures should go up on Yelp too.

I’ve just been behind on a lot of things. Last night I was catching up on some old email and found a note that had languished for ten days. And it was from someone who I really like and don’t want to piss off.

Oddly, there weren’t a lot of extraneous pictures over the last two months. Most of the food shots have found a home on All Over Albany or Chefs Consortium. Still, sometimes less is more. Plus these three items were all really striking, and quite enjoyable. Let’s start with dessert first.

Sweet Sue’s Cupcake

There she is in all of her beautiful glory. Those balls on the top are edible. The cupcake is chocolate. The icing is orange. And in the middle of the cake was an edible surprise. Filled cupcakes are awesome. This was taken on one of the tables outside on a beautiful spring day. And no, I didn’t order this cupcake, it was a treat that Little Miss Fussy picked out all by herself. Young Master Fussy went for a hot fudge sundae on his last visit made with Adirondack Creamery ice cream. There was no way to grab a picture of that. He ate it way too fast.

Swifty’s Deep Fried Buffalo Burger

As much as I talk about this phantasmagorical creation of a battered and fried hamburger that’s cooked to whatever internal temperature you like, I think this is only the third one I’ve had. This time I went for hot Buffalo sauce instead of medium. That was a mistake. Next time I’ll go back to medium. Sadly, this particular burger was overcooked and I had to send it back. The waitress and kitchen were very good about it, quickly taking it back, apologizing, speeding up a re-fire, and taking a token percentage off the bill. I added that discount back into the tip, and a little more. Mistakes happen. Taking care of them professionally should be rewarded.

Lunch at Evelyn’s Cafe in EMPAC

You may be asking, what the hell is that? Well it’s the green falafel summer cakes from the RPI cafe. The menu describes it as spiced chickpea cakes, pan fried and served with a wheat berry salad of asparagus, arugula, shallots, carrots and strawberries. In theory it’s supposed to come with a papaya salad, but I didn’t see one. Regardless, look at all the color on the plate. But mainly the reason I wanted to share this with you is because of that sliced strawberry. Red to the core. THAT is the way strawberries should be served in a nice restaurant. The other ones that are less than perfect should get cooked down into a jam or something and not presented on the plate. Garnishing with underripe fruit is sad.

I should have asked them where the strawberries came from. Those three slices were the best strawberries I’ve had for a long time.