The Return of Funday

Has it really been six months since I’ve posted a collection of press releases? Where does the time go? Look. It’s Good Friday. The kids are out of school. Fish Fry places are mobbed. I’m on deadline with a future issue of The Local Yelp.

As far as I can tell, this isn’t really going to be a high readership day regardless. Plus, as it so happens, I’m sitting on a bunch of press releases from some of my favorite people in the PR community.

So let’s give Sell Out Funday a roll, and see what things the local public relations agencies want you to know. But first, I have a couple of promotional plugs myself.

The best Yelp giveaway in awhile

Have you heard that the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York are having a fundraising event next Tuesday? It’s a gala of sorts. Tickets cost $60, but they’ll cost $75 at the door. But what you get for that sounds awesome. Top chefs and bartenders are pitting their skills against each other to try and come up with the best Girl Scout cookie inspired food and drink.

I wish I could be there to taste all those fabulous creations. But as it just so happens, that’s when I have The Melting Pot event with the Yelp Elite Squad.

Anyway, Yelp is giving away a pair of tickets to this event. Entering to win is super simple. And the odds are pretty darn good. All you have to do to enter is:

1. Go to the Yelp Event Page, here.
2. Click “Sounds Cool” before 11pm Sunday

The only caveats are that you need to have a Yelp account to click on the button, and that your Yelp profile has to include a picture to qualify. But that’s easy stuff.

Save the date: Let’s have lunch on Thursday, April 28

I’m getting back involved with Dining Out For Life. This time, instead of just writing stories about the participating restaurants, I’m going to get my feet wet and actually work the event as part of a larger Yelp promotion. But I’m totally excited. There are still some details to work out, and I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag. So just save the date. And remember it’s lunch. And it’s in downtown Albany.

I can’t wait to tell you more.

Shmaltz Brewing Releases 5th Iteration of Barrel-Aged R.I.P.A. on Rye®,
Limited Edition Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.® Aged in Jim Beam Rye Whiskey Barrels

Clifton Park, New York! — Thursday, March 24, 2016 — Savor the provocative spirit of R.I.P.A. on Rye® (10% ABV), a He’brew® monument to the richness, the bitterness, and the sacred sweetness that is life…and bawdy satire. Shmaltz Brewing aged its trademark Rye Double IPA, Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.®, in Jim Beam Rye Whiskey Barrels for just the right amount of time for the perfect blend of charred rye whiskey barrel, caramel, and vanilla notes to be infused into the beer. With only 700 cases available nationwide, craft beer lovers should head out and grab a bottle for now, a goblet at their favorite craft bar, and keep one for the cellar.

Having introduced Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.® for Shmaltz’s 10th Anniversary in 2006, proprietor Jeremy Cowan is thrilled to continue to pay homage to legendary satirist Lenny Bruce (1925 – 1966) with the release of R.I.P.A. on Rye® for the 50th Anniversary of his passing. Cowan’s interest in releasing a Lenny Bruce tribute beer dates back twenty years when he first launched He’brew® beer.

Carless yet highly motivated and ambitious in 1996, Cowan would borrow his Grandmother’s Volvo to deliver the first batches of He’brew® to Bay Area shelves. Though his grandmother passed away right as he quit his day job to pursue Shmaltz full time, Cowan recalls that years prior she would talk about seeing the late comedian perform at burlesque houses in North Beach (San Francisco, CA) and how she took his mother to visit a shoe maker in Los Angeles (Lenny Bruce’s dad…). Later, Cowan read Lenny Bruce’s autobiography.

April 2016 would have marked the 95th birthday of Cowan’s grandmother. Shmaltz proudly commemorates the memory of Lenny Bruce with two specialty craft beers “brewed with an obscene amount of malts and hops, far beyond contemporary community standards for taste and flavor.” Past releases of this bi-annual, barrel aged beauty have been rated 98 by Ratebeer.com.

Renowned beer critic Stephen Beaumont notes in All About Beer magazine, “The nose certainly doesn’t seem out-of-kilter, with large amounts of vanilla and whiskey-soaked raisins beating down the spicy hoppiness. On the palate, there is more harmony, with gentle Mayan-style chocolate notes up front leading to a more muddled fruit-chocolate-oily hop middle and hophead joy on the warming and lingering vanilla-y finish. This has mellowed greatly since I sampled it last year and I expect it will remain a gentle giant.”

On Saturday, March 26, 2016, Shmaltz presents the Rye On Rye tasting event, featuring the release of R.I.P.A. on Rye®, a cask of Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.® with cinnamon and chipotle, guest pours of Yankee Rye Whisky (from Yankee Distillers), mini reubens and nosh by Powers Pub, and live acoustic music by Rich Ortiz. Rye On Rye takes place at Shmaltz Brewing (6 Fairchild Square, Clifton Park, NY) from 2 pm – 6 pm; $25 advance tickets are now available on ryeonrye.eventbrite.com ($30 tickets at the door).

About Shmaltz Brewing Company
Founder and owner Jeremy Cowan established Shmaltz Brewing in San Francisco in 1996. The first 100 cases of He’brew Beer® were hand-bottled and delivered throughout the Bay Area from the back of his Grandmother’s Volvo. Shmaltz Brewing now sells He’brew Beer across 35 states, through 40 wholesalers and in nearly 5,000 retailers.

After 17 years of being an outspoken cheerleader for contract brewing, Cowan and staff opened their own New York State production brewery in 2013 in Clifton Park, 10 minutes north of Albany. Shmaltz’s home boasts a 50-barrel brewhouse with 30,000 barrels of annual capacity and packages a diverse and tasty variety of core and seasonal favorites in 12 and 22-ounce bottles and kegs. The Shmaltz Tasting Room is open five days a week (Wed-Sun) and offers tours, barrel-aged previews, beer-to-go, and special releases.

RateBeer.com ranked Shmaltz as one of the “Top 100 Brewers in the World” in 2013, and the brewery brought home 9 gold and 5 silver medals from the World Beer Championships in the past several years.

For more information, please visit:
www.shmaltzbrewing.com

Nine Pin Cider clean up Albany on Earth Day initiative (from email)

Giving back to the community is incredibly important to Nine Pin Cider.

To commend those who volunteer their time to clean up our city in the spirit of Earth Day 2016, Nine Pin Cider is offering complimentary cider vouchers for neighborhood associations and groups who participate in cleanup activities this April in the City of Albany.

Please e-mail nyhardcider@ninepincider.com to register for the complimentary cider vouchers to be used at our cidery’s tasting room (929 Broadway, Albany). Maximum number of vouchers per group is 20. Please verify your group’s participation by sending us a copy of your City of Albany Department of General Services (DGS) cleanup supply order or your printed flyer promoting your cleanup.

DYNGUS DAY, BIG POLISH PARTY IN TROY AT MUZA ON MARCH 28
Polka Band, Unlimited Kielbasa in Polish Beer Garden. Enjoyski Troyski.

TROY, N.Y. (03/23/16) — Dyngus Day… yes, you read that right. Dyngus Day is this Monday, March 28, and a new Polish beer garden and restaurant in Troy will be celebrating the Polish-American holiday all day long with live Polish music, unlimited kielbasa and good beer.

“Dyngus Day is sort of a Polish version of Saint Patrick’s Day,” said Adam Siemiginowski of The Hill at Muza. “It’s a big party with friends and family the Monday after Easter, when Lent is finally over and you can just let loose. Especially if you gave something up!”

In addition to food, music, polka dancing and drink, the festivities include a few quirky romantic traditions, such as sprinkling water on a love interest or lightly tapping your crush with a pussy willow branch.

(Note: This combination of funny sounding words and customs infamously sent media personality Anderson Cooper into an uncontrollable giggle fit on live television in 2012.)

The celebration at The Hill at Muza begins at noon with live music in the indoor/outdoor beer garden by Connecticut-Based Daddio’s Polka Ensemble, playing from Noon until 4 p.m., and DJ Podeswa “spinning” Polish hits from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. There is no admission fee.

An a la carte menu will feature handmade pierogi, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, and more from the Muza kitchen. There will be butter shaped like a lamb!

Beer will include Żywiec lager on draft and a selection of Eastern European beers in bottles.

EVERYONE IS POLISH ON DYNGUS DAY, MUZA IS POLISH EVERY DAY

“There is a saying that ‘Everyone is Polish on Dyngus Day,'” Siemiginowski said. “We like to say that everyone at Muza is Polish every day.”

A first generation Polish-American, Siemiginowski opened The Hill at Muza beer garden, adjacent to its partner restaurant Muza, with business partner Timothy Tyrrell last Spring . Siemiginowski’s parents Jan and Alicja Siemiginowski immigrated together from their native Poland to the United States nearly 40 years ago. For the past 9 years, the husband and wife team have owned and operated Muza, a Polish restaurant, with their daughter Agata.

Dyngus Day revelers will be able to move freely between Muza and The Hill at Muza, with Muza restaurant transformed into a beer hall with the same music as the garden.

TROY TAKES ON BUFFALO DYNGUS

In Poland and the Ukraine, the holiday is known as Śmigus-Dyngus. Elsewhere, the name is Dyngus Day.

Though Buffalo, N.Y. is widely recognized as hosting the largest Dyngus Day celebration, Siemiginowski thinks the small city of Troy, N.Y. has enough spirit to hold its own in pound-for-pound partying.

“Buffalo might be the Dyngus Day Capital of the World, but I have two words to say to that: ‘Enjoyski Troyski,'” Siemiginowski said. (“Enjoy Troy” is a popular expression of civic pride in Troy, N.Y.)

“ENJOYSKI TROYSKI.” (RESPONSIBLY)

To commemorate Dyngus Day 2016, The Hill at Muza partnered with The Enjoy Troy Co. to create special T-shirts featuring a customized “enjoyski troyski.” logo based on that company’s famous proprietary “enjoy troy.” oval symbol. Shirts are available for $15 at The Hill at Muza.

Note: The Hill at Muza encourages its patrons to enjoy Dyngus Day responsibly. The restaurant is working with several area taxi companies to offer reliable transportation home to any reveler in need of a safe, sober ride home.

ABOUT THE HILL AT MUZA

The Hill at Muza is a modern European bar, beer garden and event venue nestled behind its popular parent restaurant, Muza, in Troy’s Mount Ida neighborhood, just up “The Hill” from downtown.

Patrons enter The Hill at Muza through a pair of black gates located at 379 Congress St. A narrow walkway between two buildings leads to a surprisingly charming open-air beer garden with intimate nooks of stonework and woodwork, as well as fanciful lighting by Troy-based Lightexture. The outdoor portion is heated by a roaring wood burning fire pit and a collection of commercial grade flame-torch patio heaters, creating a wonderful glow. Parking is available all along Congress Street, on both sides.

The beer list features brews from Central and Eastern Europe. The house draft is Zywiec, a pale lager that comes in full or half liter pours.

The Hill at Muza is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Spring hours are to be announced.

Street parking is available on both Congress and 15th Streets. There is also a bike rack on the 15th Street side.

**** PRONUNCIATION KEY ****

The following are pronunciation tips for the words and names in this press release.

Muza = moo-zuh
Dyngus = ding-gus
Żywiec = ziv-yets
Siemiginowski = shim-ig-in-ow-ski

Owner of Two Saratoga Eateries Purchases the Stadium Café
Renovations Underway on Kitchen and Exterior

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Saratoga Hospitality, LLC, the owner of Max London’s Restaurant and Mrs. London’s Bakery and Café, has purchased The Stadium Café, now called Saratoga Stadium, for an undisclosed amount from Dave Harmon. The deal closed on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. The new owners will revamp the menu and have already started to make significant renovations to the Pub’s kitchen, interior and exterior. Saratoga Stadium, located at 389 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, will remain a pub and sports bar serving lunch and dinner and will host sporting events with athletes.

This is the third downtown Saratoga Springs restaurant to be operated by Saratoga Hospitality, LLC who took over Max London’s and Mrs. London’s in September of 2014. Saratoga Stadium has been a part of the Broadway landscape since 2002. Saratoga Hospitality closed Saratoga Stadium for a week so that immediate repairs could be made to the facade, kitchen and the replacement of televisions throughout the bar and dining area. Additional updates and upgrades will be done to the interior throughout the course of the year including the dining room and restrooms.

“Our plan is to continue with the concept, but revamp the menu to reflect highest quality products for our customers,” said Zach Cutler, corporate executive chef. The kitchen will be run by Kyle Lewis under the guidance of Chef Cutler. Kyle Lewis was previously a sous chef at Max London’s and worked at the Brook Tavern also in Saratoga Springs.

Saratoga Stadium will reopen for outside dining soon, as renovations continue. The sports bar employs about thirty people total.

About Saratoga Stadium:
Saratoga Stadium is located at 389 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, NY. Saratoga Stadium is open Monday-Wednesday from 11:00AM-9:00PM, Thursday from 11:00AM-10:00PM, Friday-Saturday 11:00AM-12:00am and Sunday from 11:00AM-11:00PM.

The Museum of Political Corruption Roundtable Discussion (from email)

On Monday evening April 4th, The Museum of Political Corruption will host a Roundtable Discussion and Public Forum on Political Corruption. The roundtable is free and open to the public.

The Roundtable Discussion and Public Forum:
will take place from 7:30 to 9 pm at the Carl E. Touhey Forum at The College of Saint Rose, 1009 Madison Avenue, Albany. Speakers include:

–Frank Anechiarico – Maynard-Knox Professor of Government and Law, Hamilton College, author of The Pursuit of Absolute Integrity: How Corruption Control Makes Government Ineffective

–Blair Horner, Executive Director, New York Public Interest Research Group

–Zephyr Teachout – Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University, author of Corruption in America

–Jimmy Vielkind, POLITICO, New York’s Albany Bureau Chief

–Moderator: Thomas Bass, Professor of English and Journalism at SUNY Albany

We look forward to sharing this special event with you! Please RSVP to AlbanyMPC@gmail.com if you plan to attend. If you be unable to attend but wish to donate, the MPC will be launching an internet crowd-funding campaign on its website, www.museumofpoliticalcorruption.org, on April 4th to coincide with the event.

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