The Best Tuesday Ever

Monday is always a melancholy day. Today is especially so. This weekend I found out that the excellent local blog Chefsday is ceasing operations after a great four year run. Dominic’s voice will be missed, but at least his cooking can still be enjoyed at The Wine Bar in Saratoga Springs.

He’s got some deep fried chicken livers that I need to get in my mouth. I just hope I can get up there before the fall menu transitions into the winter one. I had hoped that Tuesday would be the magic day. The optimist in me was willing to try and squeeze in a second dinner if the kitchen stayed open late enough. But it looks like we’ll have to find another day.

In all seriousness, this departure is another blow to the local food blog community. With Mr. Dave removing his blog from the interwebs yet again, it’s been a rough few weeks.

Given how this month started off, it’s unsettling for me to have a weekend go by and find myself not judging any culinary competitions. That said it’s also good to have a few days to recover. After all, this upcoming Saturday is the Tour de Donut. If you haven’t put it on your calendar yet, now’s the time. It may be the very last official one organized by the FLB.

Which isn’t to say this weekend was entirely food-event free. Saturday was the Family Fire Feast at Pitney Meadows Community Farm. That’s a mouthful. But I went with Little Miss Fussy and the entire afternoon was delightful. The farm is really a magical place.

Saturday, however, was just the warm up The big day is on Tuesday. But Tuesday is a big day for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons.

I’m not a Phish head, but I know that the band is a really big deal for a lot of people, and I can respect that. I have friends who travel far and wide to see the band play, so I can just imagine the fever pitch of getting to see a show right here in Albany.

My own Tuesday plans are much smaller.

There is a very exclusive Yelp Elite Event planned for The Adelphi Hotel. Forty lucky Yelp Elites and their guests are going on A Culinary Tour that will take them to Salt & Char, The Blue Hen, and Morrissey’s. There will be food. There will be drinks. And we’ll get some insight into what makes these three places special and unique.

The event has been full for a week, and has a deep wait list. If you are one of the lucky ones on the guest list, you’re in for a remarkable evening.

However, if you are neither on the guest list for the Yelp event, nor a ticket holder to Phish, you should get yourself a ticket to the Pitney Meadow’s Fire Feast. And you should go with your friends so you can split an Uber or a Lyft there, because I have it under good authority that the cocktails being served are going to be as impressive as the food.

Is it a lot of money to drop on a Tuesday? Yes. There is no doubt. However, this promises to be the most memorable food and beverage experience of the year. Seriously, what’s happening on the farm is madness. But in the best possible way.

This is the second year John Sconzo has organized this celebration of live fire cooking and cocktails. And likely it will be his last, as he spends more time traveling with his own enterprise, Rascal + Thorn, which offers worldwide gastronomic experiences.

There are chefs and bartenders coming from far and wide. People who have worked in the best kitchens and bars around the world. Experts who know their stuff, and who are bringing some very serious skill to Saratoga Springs. One of the drinks I had at last year’s Fire Feast still haunts my memories, and I would make it myself at home, except that it takes days of preparation and I just don’t have that kind of time.

Will it be chilly? Outside, sure. But the tent is designed to keep things warm. Plus you can go outside and stand by one of the six fire pits which will be cooking delightful dishes.

Might you need to cut out of work early to make it there by the 5pm start time? Possibly. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices for great food.

One of the things I talk about a lot when it comes to spending money on food is the value of the experience. And this four-hour event delivers. I shudder to think about the coordination of all these chefs and bartenders, getting them to Saratoga Springs, sourcing and transporting the required ingredients, and making sure it all comes together like clockwork.

This is the real deal. There’s no hiding behind the pretense of fancy dining rooms, heavy menus, and obsequious servers. This is food. Cooked on fire. On the farm. In the fall.

Here is what I want you to do when you get a chance sometime today. Click on this link to the fire pit menu. It is deceptively simple and doesn’t look like much, because you have to click on each pit to unlock its secrets. There you will meet the chefs and bartenders at each of the six pits. If you are unfamiliar with the names of the people or the restaurants, let Google be your guide.

Each of these could be its own blog post.

Seriously, my mind just boggles that Sconzo got all these people in one place at the same time to cook one epic dinner. I hope you can be a part of it. I wish I could too. But don’t cry for me. The Yelp event at The Adelphi is going to be remarkable and memorable as well. However, you can’t buy a ticket to that at any price.