FUSSYlittleBALLOT 3.0
We all have our favorite places to eat, drink, and shop for food and drink. Every year the Times Union asks us which are the best in the Capital Region, and we dutifully submit our picks to the paper. And you know what happens? Every year the results of the poll are disappointing.
Last year, the poll proclaimed our best sandwiches come from Subway and our best hamburgers from Five Guys.
Some of you may be so fed up with the poll that you’ve stop submitting it entirely. I was frustrated too, but instead of giving up, or simply accepting it, two years ago I decided to do something. I created the first FUSSYlittleBALLOT, which was a slate of excellent businesses from around the region, that I culled from multiple sources including the Times Union’s own reviews and trusted online sources (tempered with my own judgement). Never has the ballot been just one person’s opinion.
But even back then when the blog was smaller, the effort still seemed to have some impact around the edges of the poll results. You see, not that many people actually respond to the Times Union survey. In 2011 it was fewer than 15,000. So even if just a few thousand people cast their votes for a common slate, those amazing hidden gems in the area can be propelled into the spotlight. And despite this being the internet age full of sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon, people still take notice of the paper’s poll. Cracking the top three is huge.
This year the FUSSYlittleBALLOT is a bit different, as I’ve limited its scope. No longer does it try to be all encompassing. Now it focuses just on food and drink. Also there are no protest votes for a Wegmans or Whole Foods. Most importantly, I looped readers into the process early. We have been having ongoing conversations here about the best things in the region since early February.
I’ve synthesized all of those conversations and comments down into one list, and I’m happy to present it for your consideration today. My sincere hope is that you will join us in this effort. You do this by not just voting for the full slate of businesses below, but by forwarding this ballot to your friends, relatives and colleagues all over the globe and asking for their participation too.
It sounds ridiculous, but I’m not joking.
The point here isn’t to help out great, small independent restaurants. That’s a side benefit. What I’m hoping to do is change people’s minds about Albany, both internally and externally. There is good food here. And the more successful and well known the good places get, the better the next wave of competitors will be. The point here is to raise the bar. The point here is to instill some regional pride. The point here is to make a difference.
I’m excited because we are starting out on the right foot. After a fair bit of nudging from our Open Letter to the Times Union and the dozens of co-signers, the paper made some significant structural changes to the 2012 Best of the Capital Region questionnaire. It just goes to show, that sometimes when you participate in a crazy grass-roots campaign things happen.
Now without any further ado, here is the slate for your consideration.
The Last of the Winter Storage Vegetables
Yeah. So it’s spring. That’s nice. I just saw a picture recently of ramps breaking through the ground somewhere in the Hudson Valley. Which means it’s even an early spring for those of us living in a place with seasons.
Sure, the seasons may not make sense anymore. But don’t try and tell those in denial that this is climate change. I just hope that our local crops aren’t devastated again this year like they were in 2011.
Politics aside, even though it’s spring, there is still nothing new to eat. That’s why at this point having a spring cocktail menu is an exercise in folly. Although I suppose you could have something green and herbaceous like absinthe or chartreuse in addition to flowery mixers, spirits and liqueurs. But I’m veering off track.
What do you eat now that’s seasonal? Well, the last of the winter storage vegetables. Now I promised my temple friends at Gates in Schenectady that I would post a recipe for the dish of carrots and sweet potatoes they all loved. Really, I had thought it was already on the FLB, but I can’t find it anywhere.
Trust me, it’s a lot easier than I make it seem.
Ask the Profussor – Out From Under
Wow, it’s been a busy three weeks. The 900th post, the cupcake tasting, All Over Albany’s fourth birthday party, my first piece with the Chefs Consortium, a visit to Lloyd Spear’s honey house in Schenectady, and the Jewish Food Festival. I’m exhausted.
Perhaps with everything going on you will forgive the fact that there are plenty of questions I’ve let go unanswered until now. Because this is my covenant with you: ask a question (with proper punctuation) and it will be answered. Maybe not immediately, but eventually.
And now even though Mrs. Fussy is taking another business trip leaving me behind with our lovely, loud and demanding children, I’m feeling a bit more relaxed and peaceful. Still, there’s a lot of ground to cover. I had hoped to do this last week, so the answers might need to be a bit shorter than usual.
Okay. Let’s get cracking.
The Chef and The Writer
This isn’t exactly news for those who faithfully hang onto every tweet and Facebook post promoting my every move. But even those very dedicated readers will have a bit more context about my new gig by the end of today’s post.
So, I’ve got a new gig.
Say hello to the newest member of the Chef’s Consortium. It’s me. Hi. No, I’m not a chef. But by some accounts I am a sustainability advocate, and the group is made up of those too. Plus it was one of the chefs from the consortium who pulled me into the fold.
I still have a tough time believing it, but you can see the post on the site that lists me as one of the gang. Plus my first piece of actual writing for the CC has not only gone live, but has apparently done reasonably well. Although comments are more important than page views to me, and it feels a little quiet over there. Maybe you can help get the ball rolling.
Let me tell you a bit about how this all came to be and what you can expect in the future.
Building the Ballot – Wrap Up
Let’s have a party Albany. We are just about done building the FUSSYlittleBALLOT 3.0 and today we are going to power through the rest.
Can I get a woo hoo?
As usual, let’s just take a moment to remember the goal of today’s post. Every year the Times Union polls the Capital Region about what’s best in the area. Only a small fraction of residents respond, but their responses help to define our region and continually cast it in a negative light. Smaller but better restaurants get left in the cold as people’s loyalties are split, and mediocrity reigns supreme.
However, if we could all agree to vote on a slate of businesses that may not be our own personal choice for The Best, but that we all recognize are certainly among the best, then a few great places might be able to break through.
Today, we knock off the very last few and make sure everyone has had a chance to weigh in on each category. In the past the TU questionnaire has been posted in April. And believe it or not that’s just next week. So I want to make sure that when the time comes, we can hit the ground running.
So without further ado, please put your thinking caps on, and get ready to give me your best.
Scrambled Egg Sandwich
Egg sandwiches come in all shapes and forms. Except for the abomination served at Stewart’s, most of the Capital Region’s egg sandwiches aren’t scrambled. But we’ve talked enough about the egg and cheese sandwiches of the area, and for the most part they are wonderful.
I hearken back to my days in Philly and recall nothing but scrambled eggs cooked on a large griddle and folded into an Amoroso roll. There I used to enjoy having the roll slathered in mayonnaise and the eggs loaded up with bacon and cheese. Salt and pepper wasn’t even a question. Seriously, who cooks eggs without any seasoning by default?
Don’t answer. It’s too painful.
However, I did not grow up in the Capital Region or Philadelphia. My early childhood was spent in Brooklyn Heights before I moved to Miami at the ripe old age of seven. And the egg sandwich that was so foundational in my life did not come from a diner or a food truck. It came from our kitchen.
The Man and the Manhattan
In an industry build around characters, Gary Regan is a giant among giants. I don’t actually know where he lives, but I understand it’s in the Hudson Valley, 50 miles north of NYC. So bonus points for whoever spots him in the wild first.
I’m a subscriber to his free email newsletter. And truth be told, they are generally so filled with promotional blurbs that I rarely even glance at them anymore. But it always seems like too much work to actually cancel my “subscription” so instead I just generally click delete. Except for some reason, a recent email caught my eye.
The headline read, Balance is Everything in a Manhattan, and since this is one of my all time favorite cocktails, I scrolled down through the mire of gauzily disguised advertisement until I hit paydirt. It was there that I realized Mr. Regan is a man of impeccable tastes. Or at the very least, tastes surprisingly similar to my own. And it may even make me reconsider one of my deeply held grudges against a spirits manufacturer.
Ring in the Spring
Whoa there Mother Nature. Let’s slow this thing down. I’m not even talking about the early thaw or the summer temperatures in March. But I’m not ready for the cold weather to end. I’m not.
I still have one pouch of last summer’s pesto in my freezer stored away for the cold dark winter months, which I guess are now a thing of the past. Next winter, in addition to Open That Bottle Night, I’ll probably need to work in some Open That Pesto Nights too. It’s a killer the way some things I put away to save become too precious to use. Blast.
Well, at least it’s not wasted. But there is more.
The Last Word on Cupcakes
Almost a year ago, I started to wrap my head around cupcakes. I said that one day I would conduct a blind tasting of the region’s more popular bakeries, and I asked for your patience. Then I dragged my feet.
Perhaps many of you thought it was never going to happen. But dammit, Mindy of Home-Baked Happiness wouldn’t let it rest. It wasn’t so much nagging as it was forceful reminding. You know, it got the job done. Because after the Tour de Egg Sandwich I finally started to poke around in earnest looking for a venue. And that’s when the last critical piece fell into place.
Cassie Cramer, who you may know from Twitter, was able to get us space at the Albany Airport Hilton Garden Inn. The awesomeness of that cannot be measured. It was a central location and she was able to arrange the room perfectly for a blind tasting, where twenty like-minded strangers would meet, eat, evaluate, and hopefully leave as friends.
Yesterday the official results were posted on All Over Albany. Today, I provide a little bit more color commentary, and perhaps a little bit of constructive criticism for the cupcakeries.
Building the Best – Our Regional Specialties
It’s time for another working session in preparation for the FUSSYlittleBALLOT 3.0. It’s coming in April, and it will be here before you know it.
Thankfully, we are almost done with this part. Mrs. Fussy is bored stiff.
Let’s just take a moment to remember the goal of today’s post. Every year the Times Union polls the Capital Region about what’s best in the area. Only a small fraction of residents respond, but their responses help to define our region and continually cast it in a negative light. Smaller but better restaurants get left in the cold as people’s loyalties are split, and mediocrity reigns supreme.
However, if we could all agree to vote on a slate of businesses that may not be our own personal choice for The Best, but that we all recognize are certainly among the best, then a few great places might be able to break through.
Today, I’m going to ask you for your THREE top picks in a variety of categories. I’m serious. I really need three. Your first choice may not make the ballot, and I want to try and make sure as many people get as many of their top picks on the ballot as possible. It’s about compromise and unity for the sake of the greater good. In April I am going to ask you to endorse a slate of businesses and solicit the help of your friends and relations. You know what they say, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
But I know I can count on you. So, without further ado, onto the task at hand: Hot Dogs, Ice Cream & Diners
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