Schenectady’s Wings Don’t Suck
Last Saturday, eight people gathered together at the Apostrophe Cafe inside Proctor’s theater before embarking on the Tour de Wing: Schenectady Edition.
We had a plan of attack. The group would divide into two. One group would start in Scotia at Mohawk Taproom, and the other group would start in Schenectady proper. At each stop we would ask for an order of medium wings, crispy. A lot of thought went into the order. But I’ll spare you the analysis of that for right now.
The wings were evaluated based on their skin, meat, and sauce. Those factors were considered in coming up with an overall wing score. Then we looked at criteria like the side vegetables and the dip. And of course, there was an overall score that took into consideration the totality of the experience.
In the end, I received six completed score sheets. I think everyone survived the tour, so I don’t know what happened to the final two. But it didn’t particularly matter, because there was one clear winner of this outing.
Here’s the story of my foursome, which included Burnt My Fingers, Zena Goddess of Fire, and Steve N. And I’ve sprinkled in some insights from the other group which included Tom C. and Barbara L.
Nominations for Tour de Soft Serve 3.0
The last tour results haven’t even been posted yet, and we’re already talking about the next one. But dammit, spring is around the corner. I think it’s come earlier this year. Heck, the Snowman is already open and slinging Boston Shakes.
The first Tour de Soft Serve was on April 9. I liked the notion of using this tour as a way of getting a jump on the summer ice cream season. So if we want to maintain a similar timeline, we’ve got about a month to put the whole thing in place. That means between now and then, we’ve got to hold nominations, settle on a date, and decide upon the five businesses we’ll visit over the course of the day in search of the very best soft serve.
The very first Tour de Soft Serve elevated On The Farm in Latham above popular favorites like Kurver Kreme in Albany and Clifton Park’s Country Drive In. We took a few years off to cover homemade hard ice cream, gelato, and frozen yogurt. But then in 2015 it was back to soft serve as we headed up north to Saratoga Springs. There it was The Dairy Haus that walked away with the top nod.
The people of Schenectady have been very patient. What about their soft serve parlors? Well, soon the Electric City will get its chance. But first it’s time to open the floor up to nominations. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
A First Taste of New York Malts & Hops
Farm-to-table still has a long way to go. Yesterday I was at the Schenectady Greenmarket getting fixins for the last chili of the winter (regrettably, it’s also the first chili of the winter). So I got the beef and the kidney beans from Bella Terra Farm.
Their beans come in their original form, still in the dried pods. So there’s an extra step of shelling those dried beans before they can be soaked and cooked.
That’s farm to table. Who does that these days? Only crazy people.
Although Michael Lapi looked like he was doing that at the New York State Craft Brewers Festival for the Chefs’ Consortium. He made a beef and onion soup. The bone broth cooked for 18 hours, and the onions, garlic, and vodka all came from Barber’s Farm. Chef Michael predicted that attendees of the festival would benefit from this soothing soup, and he was totally right.
I’ve written about the farm distillery thing. I’ve covered the farm cider movement. So now, naturally, it’s time to talk about farm breweries.
My Cheat Day
Man, I’ve been good this week about the new diet.
I’ve been watching portion sizes, eating low on the food chain, and avoiding snacks. I even survived a night at McDonald’s with the kids. It turns out that the oatmeal isn’t half bad. The trick is that you have to ask for it without brown sugar, hold the raisins, and no cream. But you do that, and you’re golden.
Last night I gave a ninety minute talk at Gates in Schenectady, home of the Jewish Food Festival. The JFF is coming up, just so you know. Mark your calendar for April 3.
The title of the talk was “Wandering in the Desert: How to find good food in the Capital Region and beyond”. I didn’t tell you about it in advance because you read this blog every day. What’s the point in listening to me say the things you already have heard from me countless times.
If you want to hang out, come and join the Tour de Buffalo Wings: Schenectady Edition tomorrow. There’s still time. If you plan to come, make sure to let me know, and don’t forget to bring a pen.
I just can’t believe I’m going to do it.
January 2010: On Restaurants 2.0
Happy New Year! In January of 2010, the FLB wasn’t quite a year old. But that doesn’t change the fact that in each new year, there’s new perspective. Perhaps some of that has to do with my annual end of year trip to rural Pennsylvania, and coming back to New York refreshed and recharged.
For those who may be confused, let me explain why I’m living in the past. Today is Thursday. That means we’re doing Throwback Thursday, FLB-style. In January I hatched this questionable idea that each week in 2016, I’d look back to a month of posts from the past. The goal is to see where the blog has been, how it got here, and what we missed. In doing so, I’m hoping to reveal what has changed, which ideas are still relevant today, and find a bit of inspiration for posts that still need to be written.
There’s even a color coded key to help make sense of it all, and so that the wine posts are easy to skip over.
In January of 2010 I articulated some big thoughts on restaurants. Part of that was generated from a discussion of an idea from one of my posts on the big-daddy food blog of the Capital Region, Table Hopping. Today, I think we have at least a couple of restaurants that fit my definition of nice, good, and reasonable by way of Peck’s Arcade and Ala Shanghai. But in 2010 the landscape was much more barren.
So how did it break down day by day? I’m glad you asked.
Dining Out On A Stupid Diet
So. Grumpy.
Human beings are fantastic at adapting to their surroundings. I mean, just look at all those people who manage to live on Manhattan and actually enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great city. But even when I considered myself a city person the population density would have driven me bonkers.
In my heart of hearts I know that this transition period will pass. I also know that I don’t have to be cutting back nearly as much as I did on day one of this new stupid diet. But I do want to kick start the process and get my body moving in the right direction.
That’s all fine and good. But I’ve got plans. Big plans. Take today, for example. I’ve got both a lunch and a dinner out. Lunch should be fine because it’s at a relatively healthful place downtown. Dinner is going to be harder, because I promised the kids McDonalds.
Kicking And Screaming Burn Calories
Have you ever seen a small child throw a fit? I mean a truly epic fit. Pounding on the floor with their fists, kicking their legs, screaming until they’re red in the face, and then screaming some more. That looks like a workout.
I think I’ve solved my problem.
The truth is that it’s been so long since I cared about my personal health that I no longer feel guilty indulging in a chicken skin snack before dinner, or grabbing a spoonful or three of ice cream out of the freezer whenever it strikes my fancy. And besides an increasingly rare set of pushups before hopping into the shower, the thought of exercising hasn’t really crossed my mind for the past couple of years.
Now I have to come up with a plan. Because yesterday I went to the doctor, and while I’m in surprisingly good health considering my irresponsible diet and shocking disinterest in exercise, my cholesterol numbers need to come down.
Fortunately, from a diet and exercise perspective, the only way to go is up.
The Party Before The Verdict
Vanity protects me from Gluttony. We’ve talked about this before. So I can’t quite say that I’ve let myself go. I still fit into the blue jeans I bought two years ago. Which are the same size Levi’s I’ve been buying since college. Over the years I’ve changed my choice of styles, and I’ve most definitely changed my preferred washes. But I’ve been able to keep my weight and my waist relatively constant for two decades.
Still, I’m not eating like I should. There’s still too much butter, too much popcorn, too much ice cream, too much chicken skin, too much challah, too many beers, and too many fried foods.
On the flip side, there’s not nearly enough exercise, not close to enough sleep, too few dark leafy greens, too little water, and almost a complete lack of stretching.
Amazingly, my body isn’t a complete disaster. Perhaps if it were, I would take care of it better. But it seems to be doing just fine. Seems to be is the key phrase there. And in just a few hours, I’ll know for relative certain. Because I could no longer run from my long-delayed physical examination.
I figured, regardless of the outcome, I’d want to make sure to eat a few delicious things. Although the first thing I ate after having my blood work done was more about science and facing the unfaceable.
The Local Versus The Large
In an attempt to visit all the magnificent taverns throughout the Capital Region, I created an Unofficial Yelp Event where we go to a different one each month. And the process has been fascinating.
While taverns may have great wings, beer, and mozzarella sticks, at some it can be challenging to find great beer. And that’s a pity for a few reasons. One, this kind of food was built on beer. Would anyone have created the buffalo-style chicken wing had it not been for a beer-fueled need? Two, the availability of great beer in the Capital Region is fantastic.
But taverns represent the food of the people, so it would make sense that they would pour the beer of the people too. Around here that looks like Budweiser, Miller, Coors, and their respective lightweight counterparts. The top of the tap varies. At some places it might be Yuengling. Sam Adams is quite common, and you can sometimes get lucky and get a seasonal variation.
At our recent visit to Smith’s Tavern in Voorheesville, there was a tougher choice, and the people at the table were divided.
It came down to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Davidson Bros. IPA. One is a much larger brand with national distribution, and the other is the small local brewer. So, when given a decision between these two, knowing what you know about my preferences and predilections, which one do you think I would choose?
December 2009: Hate Makes A Comeback
This is harder than it looks. But I’m a stubborn bastard. So even though this is the eighth week in a row that I’m struggling to compile the FLB TBT project, I’m doing it anyway. I knew this was a bad idea from the get go.
If today is your first exposure to this weekly feature, let me fill you in. The idea here is to see where the blog has been, how it got here, and what we missed. In doing so, I’m hoping to reveal what has changed, which ideas are still relevant today, and find a bit of inspiration for posts that still need to be written.
I think this exercise is useful for me, and I hope it’s mildly entertaining to read. The idea behind the color coding in the body of the post, is to help you focus on the archived stories in bold face. Those are the ones that matter. Of course, if you’re into wine or curious about which local issues I was focusing on at the time, those should be equally easy to spot.
In December 2009, coming off a month of being thankful, I came to realize that the tone of this fussy blog was getting a bit too positive. The only thing to do was to go on a few rants about things that I hated. These, however, were still productive posts offering alternatives for overused words like “fresh” and “perfect”. I railed against things that people held up as the gold standard for good restaurants and I went so far as to instruct people how to drink. And then there was one last passing shot at the Times Union before closing out the year.
So how did it break down day by day? I’m glad you asked. But before we jump into the daily summaries, you may want to refresh yourself with the color coded key.
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