Albany Restaurant Week kicked off this April with 17 restaurants participating, offering 3 courses for $20.17, a deal too irresistible to pass up.
Spring Brings Restaurant Week To Albany
Upstate Goes East: A Weekend In Boston
Well before I arrived in Back Bay I had already deemed Boston Burger Company a priority destination during my 48 hour visit over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. After seeing mouth-watering pictures of the restaurant’s #FreakFrappes I knew there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to try one for myself.
Brews & Jews: A Visit To Shmaltz Brewing
Two things in life I know to be true: I like beer and I like finding fun new places. Shmaltz Brewing Company is a brewery with a schtick- finding success serving “Jewish celebration craft beer.” With brews with names like He’brew and Funky Jewbelation, I couldn’t resist the playful spirit and had to stop in. Continue reading “Brews & Jews: A Visit To Shmaltz Brewing”
Ciders & Sliders & Troy, OH MY
On First Street in Troy sits a bustling little restaurant, with every seat occupied all the way down to the seats at the bar. It’s a frigid Saturday afternoon in March and I’ve just walked into Slidin’ Dirty, hungry and ready to chow down on some delicious little burgers. Continue reading “Ciders & Sliders & Troy, OH MY”
Try Something New With Korean BBQ
Bop bop bop, bop to the top… OR maybe bop your way on over to some Korean food!
The Love Of Food: Ama Cocina
Mexican food is never not an option for me. Just last week I had mexican for dinner 3 out of 7 nights of the week and honestly I am not upset by it one bit! After wanting to try Ama Cocina for months, I finally got the chance to stop in. Continue reading “The Love Of Food: Ama Cocina”
Brunch Round Up: Winter '17
Brunch is always, always, always a good idea. Continue reading “Brunch Round Up: Winter '17”
Schenectady Restaurant Week '17
Despite Schenectady’s not so great reputation, I know from experience that not only is Schenectady full of great restaurants, it’s full of great coffee, entertainment, and businesses as well. Following successful events like the Chili Chowdown and the 2nd Annual Schenectady Soup Stroll, Schenectady Restaurant Week offered a special 3 course menu with many participating restaurants for just $25. While I wish I could’ve tried out all the restaurant week menus, there are only so many nights in a week, and I found myself only able to get to one: Mexican Radio.
Homemade Adventures: Bringing The Garbage Plate To Albany
If you’ve ever been to Rochester, or even within 100 miles of the central New York city, you’ve without a doubt heard of the famous Garbage Plate. Although initially hesitant to trying the mish-mash of greasy cheeseburgers, spicy meat sauce, macaroni salad, and french fries, today I find myself craving a plate quite often.
The problem is, I don’t live in Rochester any more and getting a plate is not as simple as a drive down the street to the closest diner. Since buying a plate was not an option when my most recent cravings kicked in I decided to attempt at bringing the garbage plate to life in my very own kitchen.
The first step in bringing the garbage plate to Albany was to find the perfect meat sauce recipe. Lucky for me, Nick Tahou’s, the restaurant who put the garbage plate on the map, had a website floating around on the internet (check out the recipe here) which turned out to be pretty close, although not nearly as perfect as the real thing.
While the meat sauce was simmering I started making the home fries from scratch. I took a couple potatoes and cut them into small pieces, seasoned them up with a bit of salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning for added spice. I heated up the oil and cooked the potatoes until brown. While traditional garbage plates often have two cheese burger patties, one was enough for the my own plate. Although I made the sauce, burgers, and home fries from scratch, I ended up cheating just a little bit on the macaroni salad, buying a pre-made container from my local Whole Foods. 
Overall, my homemade fries were way too salty and the meat sauce came out a little bit too thick, but my first attempt at making a garbage plate was a success. Have you ever made a garbage plate yourself? Was it a success? Let me know in the comments!
As always, stay up to date on my food adventures on Instagram @erin.eats.upstate
Chowin' Down at ChowderFest '17
ChowderFest is an annual event held in Saratoga Springs, New York. This years event included over 80 participating restaurants and over 100,000 cups of chowder served. ChowderFest is exactly what you might imagine, a bunch of restaurants coming together to serve, you guessed it, chowder!
Heading up the Northway to Saratoga I was expecting a crowd of people, as I had seen so many on my Facebook timeline planning to attend or already there. What I did not expect was the long lines of people just waiting for a small sampling of chowder on a chilly 20 degree February day. I also did not expect the party that was ChowderFest. Of course Saratoga is known for it’s nightlife, but it was still surprising to see so many young people out partying on a Saturday afternoon.
Between the lines and the cold weather, it would take a dedicated soup taster with the capacity to try 80 soups to try it all. I only accomplished about 6 or 7 (including the Ben & Jerry’s dessert chowder) but in those few that I tried, there was not one bad thing to say about any of them. There were the traditional clam chowders, the seafood chowders, the corn chowders, and the chowders with chicken.
My personal favorite came from Hattie’s Restaurant which included a piece of hot fried chicken (YUM!!) but following close behind was a crab chowder from Cantina, and a classic clam chowder from Fish at 30 Lake.
Now that I know what ChowderFest truly entails, I’ll be better prepared for next years festivities. I’ll be ready for more chowder, and more fun!