Soap scum and love for the Wine Bar!

image: Joe Keegan

Check out Joe Keegan’s blog over at the TU for some tips on cleaning glass shower doors and his impressions of the Wine Bar & Bistro on Lark.  I had a blast taking care of his party and was tickled to be included in his post.  I’ve been reading his blog, which deals with the painstaking, but not annoyingly so, restoration of the home he shares with his family, for a couple of years and I’m always happy when he posts a new entry.

PS.  I’m not the soap scum of which he speaks.

Gala is my 2nd favorite word for “party.”

A close second, I might add.  Just for the record, my most favorite is “fete,” but enough of language.  Here are the pictures which tell a thousand words!  Seeing as how everyone at the fete event looked like a million bucks, let me add a few additional words of the text variety:

• This was a really fun crowd with many familiar faces.  Not one person declined to pose for a picture and I didn’t hear a single complaint while I worked the crowd.
• The staff at the Hilton Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel were all professional and pleasant.
• It was fun shooting pictures of some of the same people from Thursday’s event.  It didn’t feel indulgent or redundant – the faces you see in both photo sets are the faces of the folks who make the restaurant industry happen.
• The Times Union merged my two galleries with another set of photos taken during Friday’s Grand Tasting event – you’ll know mine by the credit in the caption.
• Personal shout out to a former student and his lovely fiancee* ~ It made my night to see you!  And I told you that you weren’t a Republican – thanks for listening.

*two French words in one post – Mon dieu! That’s 3…

12 Days of Christmas – Dining DelSo

On the 8th day it was time to check out the bar(tenders) at a favorite neighborhood joint – New World Bistro Bar.  This place has been such a huge asset to the DelSo area.  Seriously, it probably single-handedly started the resurgence of Delaware Avenue when it opened a few years back.  I think the appeal of NWBB is its ability to be everything to everyone.  Need a quick bite pre or post movie?  Check! Looking for a place for a meal to impress a date or group of friends?  Yep, they do that.  How about a spot for a well mixed drink and a nosh at the bar?  Yeah, they’ve got that covered, too.  The space is funky, the servers familiar veterans and the food creative and consistently well-timed to the season.  And speaking of Christmas – this place is in fact open and ready to give you the gift of a stellar meal. Here’s their new winter menu. – a present to each and every one of us.

Albany’s Last Run

There were fireworks!

Saturday night was the 16th annual Last Run in Albany.  This is absolutely one of my favorite races of the year – festive, fun and filled with friends.  This year, my friend Lisa got herself together and registered before the race reached its 1500 runner capacity and we had a blast!  The course for this run is fantastic – up State Street, across Willett and into and around the park.  It is such a treat to run through the holiday lights display and if the spirit of the season doesn’t touch you, well, it’s time for you to slow down a bit then.  The mayor was there to get things started and I was really pleased by the moment of silence he requested for the Newtown, Connecticut victims.  Well done.

As far as the race went I took 14 seconds off my time from last year, which is fine considering it is impossible to really run until nearly 3/4 of mile into the race.  That being said, I have to admit, I don’t run well with others.  I like to run my own pace, whatever that is, but Lisa and I found each other easily after the run and got up to some of our usual antics.  Trust me, enough said.  Can’t wait until next year!

Fab bourbon sour made by Jonathan at the Wine Bar & Bistro on Lark. Yum, yum!

We were SEEN!!

Mezze

I finally got to Mezze, an awesome restaurant just south of Williamstown, MA., after years of hearing about it.  I’d heard praise for this place for so long, I can’t even remember who* originally recommended it.  Believe me, though, I would send that forgotten initial fan of the place a  “thank you” note if I could only remember who it was…

Anyway – we made a reservation via Open Table.  We weren’t offered great times, but went with the early option of 5:30 knowing that we needed to be at The Clark by 8 pm.  We actually arrived a bit early, a fact that I think worked in our favor as we were given a table great enough to prompt Aloysius to ask if I “knew someone” there.  We settled in to our comfortable corner spot and perused the menu, ultimately going with a cheese plate and a green salad to start, followed by brisket for him and beef for me, all accompanied by a delicious bottle of Spanish red.

A note about the service – it was so good!  Competent, pleasant, timely, basically everything I want when I’m going out for a meal, especially when I’m in a new place.

Fab Spanish red ($40)

The cheese was beautifully presented and consisted of a trio of cheeses, all originating from Vermont.  There was a fantastic blue cheese that absolutely popped with the wine – amazing!  Also present was an aged cheddar and a lovely goat’s milk cheese.  I wish I knew (and remembered) more about cheese…thank goodness the Cheese Traveler is now in the neighborhood to teach me everything!  The arugula was exactly as I anticipated – fresh, peppery, delicious and completely unappealing to Aloysius.  Perfect – more for me.

Pretty cheese course ($15)

We both enjoyed our entrees immensely.  The portions, preparation and accompaniments were all right on.  My beef was beautifully cooked, as ordered and tender and flavorful.  Aloysius barely spared a bite of his brisket, but I forgave him because I was so happy to see him enjoy a meal as much as he did.  (He’s kind of picky).  Here’s the menu for more deets, but keep in mind that the brisket isn’t on the current menu (current from last week, that is), and I think the beef preparation has changed, while the cut of  beef remained the same.

Bistro Steak, root veg puree ($28)

God, it is so nice to taste value in a meal and knowing that Mezze is less than an hour away gives me a new reason to head to Williamstown.  For additional Williamstown dining tips, read here.

*was it you, Rebecca?

Living La Vida Local

A typical autumn Saturday…

Albany Youth Soccer – Team Metroland

A cold morning moderated by sunshine and running around a field.

He got a piece of it!

Then it was off to All Good Bakers…

image: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com

…for a couple of tasty baguettes to accompany the fantastic cheese I selected from my new neighbor, The Cheese Traveler.  I went with a raw cow’s milk washed rind (washed with beer!) cheese from Vermont called Inspiration.  Why not, right?

So many choices – make sure you have some time for tasting and talking!

Maybe next time I’ll pick up some high quality beef or pork…

Legs in photo not included.

And I am thrilled to know that there are some gourmet sundries available a 2 minute walk away!

Maldon sea salt! Balsamic vinegar! Produce to come soon.

Then it was down to Chatham for a house party hosted by one of the brewers from Chatham Brewing…

Did you know they are expanding operations? Lucky us!

I went with the Oktoberfest – delicious!

How fortunate we Capital District Region residents are to be able to expose our children to organized activities like AYSO, eat foods thoughtfully prepared and selected and swill quality beer made locally?  There’s nothing loco about local!  Go get some.

(An estimated) 8,000 people, 400 kegs and a dozen dachshunds – It must be Oktoberfest!

A fun couple who spent their honeymoon last year in Munich!

One of my sons asked me the other day who drinks more beer, the Irish or the Germans.  Being the product of a German mother and an Irish father makes me an authority in his eyes, I suppose.  My best answer was it depends what month of the year it is – and October belongs to the Germans.

Yesterday was the 4th annual North Albany Oktoberfest which is an awesome block party orchestrated by Matt Baumgartner and an array of participants and volunteers.  It was my first time attending (I worked Saturdays for years and was unavailable for carousing at noon) and I absolutely loved the scene!  There was a constant stream of bands, games that involved diverse skills such as goal scoring and boot drinking, entertainers, a variety of traditional German foods and dirndls and lederhosen.  Oh – and dachshund races!  Ya vol!

I generally identify as more Irish than German, but place me at an event like this and I get all “danke” and “bitte” as the long forgotten language of my childhood floats around in my brain on a puddle of beer.  My German efficiency reared its kopf during my volunteer shift as I placed wristbands on attendees, snapped photos for the Times Union SEEN gallery* and managed to sample some bier from Wolff’s, all while trying to stay reasonably warm and dry on a windy and damp October day.  With the promise of a hot bath in a clean tub to follow, I managed to rise to the challenge and I am so glad I was able to be a klein part of a super fun day.

A couple of random observations from my afternoon…

•      That wheat beer that Matt gave me was deliciously strong.  One was definitely the right number for me.

•      The Mac and cheese from Wolff’s was kick ass good.  Perfect to warm a body up on a rather dank day.

•      Matt’s new enterprise, Sciortino’s Pizzeria, looks awesome!  The diner is sparkling clean and filled with
  personal, family touches.  I’m sure the Browns are thrilled to see their former space treated with such care and
  attention.  And the tomato pie and chocolate cake looks crazy good!

•      The crowd was upbeat, fun and self controlled – a great combination of characteristics for any large event.
•      The Irish and Germans must be equally smart to have both chosen 31 day long months to celebrate their
  ethnicity.

* My photos are mixed in with another freelancer’s, Diana Hawkins.