Find the Profussor

We played Find the Profussor in the beer bottle challenge not too long ago. By the way, congrats to Bob W. for being the winner of that game. Now I owe him a beer. Hopefully, he reaches out to me so I can make good on that. You know, once the beer is actually in the bottles.

But now we can play Find the Profussor in real life.

With the late season snowpocalypse, I’ve been told that some people are at their wits end. Me? I’m doing fine with the winter and the snow. I keep on telling myself, “This is the unlocking. This is the unlocking.” And that helps me keep my head on straight.

I’m doing less fine with this new range. The appliance itself fully meets expectations. I just forgot that before you can cook with a new oven, there is an initial “burn-in” period, where all the manufacturing residue is cooked off. And a half hour isn’t sufficient. The vapors were awful even with the windows and doors open during the entire process. I’m sure I’ve reduced the lifespan of everyone in the house and possibly the neighbors.

Next time, I’m buying something used. Or spending the same amount of money to fix something old. New stuff is terrible.

But I digress. Now that I’m properly worked up into a tizzy, maybe we can go to a happy place together. Fortunately, there are lots of moments of joy on my calendar coming up down the road. I thought perhaps I could share those with you, and maybe, just maybe, you might be able to join me at one of them.

This Thursday, 3/16 I’m definitely going to join a Yelp crew of tavern lovers for our monthly communal sharing of fried foods and beer. This month, Third Thursday Tavern Time is going to be at the Tipsy Moose, and we’re gathering at 6 o’clock. If you want in on that, you will have to RSVP on Yelp, but that’s easy enough to do. You can do that here.

Then on Saturday, 3/18 I’m hoping to make it to another one of farmer Gordon’s pop-up dinners at Saratoga Apple. The last one was crazy crowded for poutine. But this one he’s making a happy reuben sandwich, which sounds brilliant. And of course there are local beers and ciders on tap. It’s a totally casual scene, but it can get mobbed and snagging a table can be tricky. The pro-tip is to come early, or fashionably late. If I can be there, I’ll be on the early side.

Tuesday 3/21 is when I get to put on my judging pants, because I will be part of small official panel officiating the results of Cookies & Cocktails. This is the annual fundraiser for the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. The kids aren’t invited. It’s 21 and over only. Because entry into this event gets you cocktails and nibbles from some beloved local restaurants, all inspired by Girl Scout cookies.

What might that look like? Well, The Ginger Man is making Savannah Smiles fried chicken over Trefoil waffles with Samoa syrup. That sounds really good, especially if they get the brine right on the chicken. Tickets are still available, but it’s best to act soon. All the details are here.

Saturday 3/25 at 4pm is the next Official Yelp Event. If you’ve never been to one, these are a lot of fun. It’s not always the easiest thing to get on the guest list, in part because OYEs are always free for anyone with a Yelp profile and their guest.

We partner with a great local business, and give the establishment a chance to demonstrate to Yelpers what makes it truly special. So this month, Savoy Taproom is going to give us some samples of dishes from their kitchen, each thoughtfully paired with an adult beverage. And more than that, we’ll get to hear from the people behind the scenes and learn about what they do and why they do it.

I love getting to make Yelp come to life and bring it off the screen and into the community. If that sounds appealing, all the details including how to RSVP can be found here.

Sunday 3/26 is the Jewish Food Festival in Schenectady. This is the delicious annual food event that’s been going on for almost 20 years, which almost nobody has ever heard about. Well, the pastrami is out of the bag. I’ll be there judging the Passover dessert contest. But this is open to everyone. Tickets are available for purchase at the door, and you can get a discount if you bring in three non-perishable food items for the food bank. All the details are here.

And there’s just one last thing for right now, and that’s Josh Coletto’s new pop up concept.

It’s not until Sunday 4/9, but there aren’t that many seats. I probably shouldn’t even tell you about this yet, because I don’t have my tickets. I’m trying to see if I can swing attending, because the next day I’m going to have to serve a Passover dinner. So Sunday night I might be locked in my kitchen.

I hope not, though, because this menu sounds terrific. There are only a handful of chefs in the area who I would trust to make something like beef heart tartar a delightful culinary experience. Josh is one of them. And he’ll be working with Michael Lapi who is also incredible, and who we don’t get to see too much of in these parts.

Plus the whole thing will be done in the Peck’s Arcade dining room. Man. It’s not inexpensive, but there’s nothing else like this going on in the area. You should check it out.

Whew. Maybe I should start exercising.

So, these are the things that are keeping me going. There’s also the AOA9 Party on Friday 4/7. I almost didn’t mention that because the tickets for that were gone in a hot minute. They are running a wait list, so perhaps you might get lucky. I might like the AOA events even more than the Yelp ones. But that’s only because I’m not responsible for any of the event. I just get to go and let my hair down… so to speak.

What’s remarkable is that the above are only a small fraction of the amazing events on deck in the Capital Region for the rest of the month. What are you looking forward to doing in the days and weeks after you dig out?