Spring Cleaning 2017

Facts? Who needs facts. Facts would tell you that it’s still winter. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that spring has arrived. Just look out your window. Walk outdoors. You don’t need a jacket. You may not even need a sweater.

Saturday, I walked around Albany with a bunch of fellow eaters in an attempt to find the best wings in the downtown corridor, and I broke out in a sweat. No, I don’t think they were the meat sweats. Actually, all the hot sauce could have been a contributing factor. So could my lack of exercise. But it was a glorious day. The sky was blue. The sun was shining. And the snow was melting.

I know some of you are anxious to hear the Tour de Wing results. And those will be here tomorrow. However, in good conscience, I couldn’t post another FUSSYlittleTOUR result without taking care of a little housekeeping.

There’s a part of the blog which has been long neglected, and maybe you can even help.

Before writing the results of the Tour de Buffalo Wing: Downtown Albany Edition, I wanted to refresh myself with last year’s Tour de Buffalo Wing recap. Believe it or not, but I do occasional conduct a bit of research in advance of writing my daily posts.

So I went to the spot where I keep the tour results. Did you know there’s a repository for such thing? Well there is. They live under the #518Recos tab, which is at the top right of every page on the FLB.

However, it turns out that I’ve been delinquent in updating that page for a long long time.

Last night I added all of the FUSSYlittleTOUR results since “The Best of the West Cider Donuts”. That means “Schenectady’s Wings Don’t Suck”, “The Best Soft Serve East of the River”, “A Survey of Schenectady Subs”, and “Cider Donuts: Broadalbin to Schaghticoke”.

Man, that felt good. But it still felt wrong to update that list without refreshing the other lists which make up the page. A few places had gone out of business, and of course new businesses had opened up. And some great places had been eclipsed by their competitors. It happens.

The region has been experiencing some dynamic change in the culinary landscape.

It used to be that there were no places for good coffee, and now we have a bunch. The same is true for cocktails, and frankly the scene is so diverse I’m reluctant to list the Speakeasy as the standard bearer for the category. Because we have Savoy, Hamlet & Ghost, Ama Cocina, Wellington’s, The Tavern Bar, The Shop, and more. The same goes for craft beer bars, because the beer scene these days is suprisingly good. Go ahead and pinch me. These are very exciting times to be a drinker in the Capital Region, even if you are a tea totaller, your options have exploded.

So, how can you help?

Well, I’m absolutely convinced that I’ve left things off my list. This isn’t a request for nominations. We’re not voting on the best places to consume things in the Capital Region. But if I left anything truly remarkable off this page, I’d like to hear about it and your case for why it should be in the spotlight.

After all, I will need to update the #518Recos page again very soon, since tomorrow you’ll get the results for the Downtown Albany Tour de Buffalo Wing.

Man, I’ll just say right now that the experience was eye opening, but it wrecked me. Although perhaps that was good preparation for tonight’s Wild Game Night at The City Beer Hall. If you don’t have your ticket, I’m sorry to report that not only is the event sold out, but there’s a waiting list to boot.

Next time, you’ll have to move quicker. Surely, I’ll write a post later this week detailing what you missed at this epic food and drink event. Then, perhaps, you too will start obsessively following The City Beer Hall Facebook feed, awaiting the next announcement for one of these brilliant culinary events.

Cheers.