Drink Cider For Better Coffee
If you ever want to get under my skin, insist that the Dunkin’ Donuts makes the best coffee. Surely, there are lots of arguments one can make in support of that fallacious claim. There’s the point about volume and just how much coffee is sold by the chain. There’s a related point on popularity. If the coffee didn’t taste good, people simply wouldn’t drink it. And so on, and so on.
The good news is that the coffee culture in the Capital Region has improved dramatically in the ten years I’ve lived here. We went from having no place at all to go for a reliably good cappuccino, to having enough places that one doesn’t need to cross a river to get one.
Even still, there are people who will absolutely insist the best coffee comes from Dunkin’ Donuts. And that means we have more work to do. Delicious, delicious work.
Some of that work involves going out and supporting these small independent cafes, perhaps paying more or waiting longer for a truly excellent cup of coffee. But there is also something you can do this week, that is not only free, but involves drinking complementary Nine Pin Cider. How does that second part work? I’m glad you asked.
Excelsior Nachos
If you will it, it is no dream.
~Theodor Herzl
There’s an open secret about even the better places in the Capital Region. You have to know what to get, and sometimes even how to order it. Which can be infuriating.
It would be much better if business owners took a long hard look at their offerings, separated the wheat from the chaff, and only sold the stuff that was truly excellent. My hunch is that the average consumer in the Capital Region isn’t all that discriminating, and the vast majority prefer having a wide selection to actually receiving truly amazing products.
But this self-perpetuating cycle is no joke. Because businesses reinforce the mediocrity by halfheartedly offering buffalo wings, but buying jarred sauces and dumping them onto carelessly prepared fried chicken. Or taking a can of curry paste, mixing it with a can of coconut milk, and tossing it with mussels. It’s lazy. And these are just two of countless sins.
Regardless of the place, what I’ve learned from years of trial and error is that almost every kitchen is capable of producing something really delicious. It’s just a matter of finding out exactly what it is, and how to order it.
Which bring us to The Excelsior Pub.
Saturday in Saratoga
One of these days I’m going to have a quiet weekend when I can stay in bed until noon and catch up on my sleep. But that’s not in the cards for tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be epic.
But first a quick follow up to yesterday’s post on Bethlehem’s Restaurant Week. Last night I went to Romo’s as part of Third Thursday Tavern Time, which is a monthly event where a bunch of people from Yelp order a bunch of tavern staples and split the bill.
We got two orders of fried mozzarella, chicken wings, a meat stuffed Chicago style deep dish pie, the famous Gracie’s Sicilian pie, an artisan style pepperoni pie, and two orders of fried dough knots with cannoli cream. Plus we had a few pitches of Flower Power, I wasn’t counting how many, but they kept on coming. There were also some soft drinks involved. Splitting the bill eight ways, after tax and a generous tip the total came to $23 a person.
Even though that’s only $2 less than the Restaurant Week offer, our total included both drinks and gratuity. I’ll add my thought on Romo’s to Yelp soon, but it’s definitely a solid place, and I plan to return.
So let’s talk about Saturday.
Two Rivers
Today’s post is more of a thought starter than a fully developed idea, but hopefully you can go with me on this one.
Albany. We’re on the map because this region is at the intersection of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. I have the Hudson on my mind this week, because next Wednesday, Yelp is having a party aboard the Dutch Apple. If you are interested, there are still a couple spots available. But I digress.
Once upon a time, when the river was the highway, that was a big deal. And when it came time to build the railroad, they were largely constructed along the river. The idea was that at the crossroads, people could come from all around to trade their wares, and build their fortunes.
So what does this have to do with food? I’m glad you asked.
Hot Slice
Let’s not talk about the diet. Because if I was on a diet, I wouldn’t be popping into the newly expanded Spinners location in Crestwood Plaza for a slice while running errands. Every now and again I find myself down there, because I love getting prescriptions filled at an independent pharmacy.
I’ve been a fan of Crestwood Pharmacy since I moved to Albany almost ten years ago. Let that number sink in a bit. Ten years. In fact it was around this time, ten years ago, when I made my first ever trip to Albany in an attempt to search for a rental apartment.
Man, that was not fun.
The Capital Region today is a much different place. Heck, today there’s a celebration to to welcome ride-sharing to the 518 at Wolff’s Biergarten on Broadway. Back in 2007 there was barely anyone even Yelping out here, Matt Baumgartner only had one Bombers, and Miss Albany Diner was the reason one would trek all the way out to the warehouse district.
What’s up with this walk down memory lane? Well, it has a little something to do with pizza.
Newman Owned
Paul Newman. Good guy. Dead guy. And I hear it’s bad to speak ill of the dead. Well, how is it to drag a good person’s legacy through the dirt to earn a buck?
But all profits go to charity. Yes. That may be true. But salaries aren’t profits. Neither are bonuses. And you want to know something cool? If your company looks like it’s having record profits, you can give executives bonuses, while still giving enough money to charity to say that you’re doing it.
I have no idea how the Newman’s Own brand operates. But I accidentally ran up against some of the company’s salad dressings recently. And I have to say, I was kind of appalled. Because if Paul Newman was making his own salad dressing, what do you think would be the first ingredient?
It’s not a trick question. Think of your answer, and then click through.
The Aromatic 12 Bottle Bar
Do you remember the 12 Bottle Bar? It started out as a blog, transitioned into a book, and has become a national sensation as it partnered with Crate & Barrel.
I’m glad to say I’ve been a fan of Lesley and David from the beginning. Mostly because I really appreciated the core concept. Home bars can definitely get away from you. They can become overwhelming. Especially for the cocktail enthusiast. There are so many base spirits, liqueurs, aperitifs, cordials, vermouths, and so on.
But you don’t need all of them. You don’t. Thankfully great bars exist where you can visit and have them make you anything you want. But the home bartender can be very content with a much smaller number of bottles. Especially if you spend some time to thoughtfully consider what you like and what you don’t.
The 12 Bottle Bar has a core list of bottles. They count bitters among them. I don’t. I can’t. It’s possible that I may have a bitters problem. But that’s a different post. Today, I wanted to share with you my current set of 12 bottles for two reasons. One, I just picked up something I’m quite excited about. And two, when putting them all together, I realized they reveal something not all that surprising.
Canned Sardines Get a Bad Rap
A couple of years ago when I first went on my “clean up your act to stay off meds” diet, one of the foods I identified as being particularly good for heart health was sardines. They made it into the positive foods column, alongside things like avocados, walnuts, whole grains, garlic, and a host of other foods that have been seen to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol.
Sure, that’s a gross oversimplification of the literature, but the bottom line was the diet worked.
One of my big regrets from that experiment was that I never found a way to incorporated canned sardines into my diet.
When I was living out west, we had a good supply of fresh sardines, and I enjoyed those simply prepared over a hot wood grill several times in nicer restaurants. But the idea of canned sardines was never appealing. Maybe it has something to do with not growing up in a household that ate the food. Maybe it was about the reputation this food has for being stinky.
Regardless, I was determined to give these little buggers a shot, and yesterday I finally did.
Warehouse Gateway
Last night I heard something interesting. Someone suggested the Palace theater was the gateway to Albany’s warehouse district. Of course, this happened at the tasting preview for the Good Market, which is scheduled to open up in the warehouse district later this summer. And the event was held at the Palace.
So that makes sense.
I’ve got to clarify with Ross Goodman, the guy who is spearheading this project, how the name of his venture should be written. Because I’ve seen it spelled out fully and separated in plain English. But it is also sometimes written as goodMRKT, especially in design treatments.
The website is goodmrkt518.com
The twitter is @GoodMarket518
The facebook is @goodmarket518
The logo is all lowercase with good and mrkt stacked on top of eachother
The masthead on the website has GoodMRKT all as one word
But I did learn some new things about the project that are more important. One thing that hasn’t been made entirely clear, is that phase one includes plenty of parking. In fact, the rendering of the parking lot was gorgeous, and really should be on the website. Otherwise, I was too busy eating treats from several local businesses that are interested in expanding into Albany’s increasingly popular warehouse district.
Although I did have some time last night to offer a few thoughts of my own. Here’s a clip.
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