Albany Dining Out

The Side Door Cafe is not just a bar...

2012-02-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend and I both live in Guilderland, so we both spend a lot of time on Western Avenue. That being said, I pass by the Side Door Cafe on 1656 Western Avenue at least twice every day. I had often gone in for drinks on the weekend to listen to Mark the Shark host karaoke.

The Side Door Cafe is a bar first and a cafe second. The bar can seat around twenty people and on the wall there are at least five big screen tv's. It has a very comfortable atmosphere. A nice mix of middle-class people of all ages sit at the bar. Past the bar, there is a separate dining area with about ten tables. The dining area does not have a dedicated waitress -- one of the bartenders doubles as the waitress in the dining area.

My girlfriend and I decided to head over to the Side Door Cafe to try the food. The food is definitely above average, though not spectacular.

The first time we went, I wanted to eat something relatively healthy, so I had the buffalo chicken salad. I got a fairly large portion consisting of two large handfuls of romaine lettuce and a sliced fried chicken cutlet dipped in buffalo sauce. It was quite tasty. My girlfriend had the grilled chicken sandwich with pasta salad and she also enjoyed her dish.

The second time we went to the Side Door, my girlfriend had a rough day, so she wanted to get a beer and something to eat. We ended up sharing the chicken quesadilla. The chicken quesadilla was wonderful! First of all, it was huge, probably ten inches in diameter. It was wonderful, gooey deliciousness. I am not much of a cheese eater, but I definitely enjoyed this quesadilla. The quesadilla was stuffed with chicken and an assortment of cheeses. It came with a small cup of salsa and sour cream, standard fare. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this chicken quesadilla a '9.'

I would definitely go back to the Side Door Cafe. It is conveniently located and has a comfortable atmosphere. Next time, I would like to try the pizza.

Sushi X, the new hot spot in the Capital Region for sushi

2012-01-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I decided to try a place the Dining Out meetup.com group has not gone to yet -- Sushi X, on 710 New Loudon Road in Latham. Sushi X is located right next to the 76 Diner in Latham.

The inside of Sushi X is unlike any restaurant I know of in the Capital Region. As it is billed, Sushi X is more like a lounge than a restaurant. The inside is brightly lit, with fluorescent lights and chandeliers everywhere. Asian-themed wallpaper is on the walls and lanterns are hanging from the ceiling. There is a huge sushi chef kitchen with four sushi chefs busily preparing meals. The place has a very sophisticated air to it.

As I sat down, a waitress dressed all in black handed me two slips of paper and a pencil. She asked me to write down my order.

As I looked the menu over, I saw a notice on my table. It said that if I order something and I am unable to finish it, I have to pay for it a la carte. I thought that was a little ridiculous. On this first round, I made sure to order only what I could eat. I checked off miso soup, seaweed Salad, a piece of Salmon Sashimi, a Salmon Skin hand roll and a shrimp tempura special roll.

The food that I ate was pretty good, though not spectacular. The miso soup was excellent. It was flavorful and not too salty. The seaweed salad was good, though the portion was not huge. Now, for the sushi. Unlike Sake Cafe, the sushi rolls had a lot of rice. Clearly, Sushi X is looking to fill its customers up quickly. The salmon skin hand roll and shrimp tempura rolls were both acceptable. The funniest part of the first round of food was the salmon sashimi. On my plate was a piece of salmon smaller than my thumb. Sushi X is kind of stingy on the fish.

As I finished my plate, I was surprised to see the waitress coming around to give me another sheet of paper. Sushi X is pretty good about coming around to clear plates and see if you want more food. They do not mind giving you your money's worth. This is good, because I was determined to leave Sushi X full. The rice was beginning to bloat me however. On my second round, I once again had the seaweed salad. This time I tried a crazy girl roll (crunchy spicy salmon and avocado inside topped with pepper tuna and honey wasabi sauce). This was very good. I loved the spicy tuna stuffed inside and the fish on the top was a bonus. I also had salmon, tuna, yellowtail, shrimp and white tuna pieces, which were also good.

Shortly after I polished that off, the waitress came by and asked if I wanted more food. The place was packed by this time. The crowd mostly consisted of young adults in their 20's and 30's. It was generally a hip crowd. I was determined to continue to eat, though I was feeling quite full. I decided to stick to the hot foods on this go-around. I had the crab wonton and the beef rib. The beef rib was delicious! It was 3/4 pound of beef with the bone on barbecued in teriyaki sauce. I ate every scrap of it. I also had a house salad which I was a little disappointed with. It was drowned in ginger dressing, and consisted of nothing more than lettuce and dressing.

On the weekend, Sushi X charges $21.95 plus tax. They add a 18% gratuity, so the whole thing costs almost $28.00. I suppose if you count everything I ate, I did fairly well. After all, two special rolls, soup, salad and seaweed salad would come out to about $22.00 a la carte, and I ate much more than that. If you are hungry for Japanese food, Sushi X is the place to go.

Martel's for a quick, no-nonsense meal

2012-01-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

I went to Martel's tonight with the meetup.com Dining Out Group. Martel's is located at the Capital Hills Golf Course on 65 O'Neil Road in Albany. Though the golf course is closed for the winter, Martel's is open on a Winter Schedule, which means it is closed on Mondays but open every other day of the week.  Martel's offers a decent meal at a very reasonable price.

The front doors at Martel's lead into a nice, cozy bar area. Several beers are available on tap.  There are bar stools to sit on and two big screen TV's for your viewing pleasure.  The dining area is located further inside. The restaurant feels a little bit like a diner, with simple wood tables and chairs.  The tables are lined with paper tablecloths, which makes the restaurant feel a little downmarket. Crayons are put on the tables so kids (and kids at heart) can draw on the paper. The dining area boasts large windows which offer an excellent view of the golf course. The centerpiece of the dining area is a large fireplace.  Overall, Martel's feels cozy and inviting inside.

Martel's offers a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, pizza and entrees. The menu is much more extensive than a menu at a typical snack shop, but not as extensive as one at a diner. Our table of 10 ordered our entrees, and they came out within 20 minutes, which I thought was excellent timing.

I ordered the chef salad ($7.50) with honey mustard dressing. The chef salad was quite average. The portion was about the same as what you would get at TGI Friday's. My only complaint is that Martel's did not put enough grilled chicken on the salad.   There was perhaps 1/4 pound of grilled chicken on the salad, cut into strips. Other than that, the salad was quite good. Most importantly, the iceburg lettuce was fresh and crisp.

Though I found my entree to be just average, others at the table seemed to have very good-looking entrees. The gentleman sitting across from me had a very large roast beef sandwich with at least a half pound of rare roast beef on it. The woman across from me ordered an eggplant parmigiana which also looked extremely tasty. I was surprised to see such tasty Italian food coming from this non-Italian restaurant. Her husband ordered a hot roast beef sandwich which was overflowing with meat and came with real mashed potatoes and vegetables. That is what I should have ordered!

Martel's is not gourmet, but the atmosphere is cozy, and the prices are very reasonable. My meal plus tax and tip came out to be just $10. This is as cheap as getting fast food. Martel's offers a lot of value for your dollar. Next time, I will get the hot roast beef sandwich.

Go to Reel Seafood for excellent seafood

2012-01-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend and I were in the mood for seafood. There are only a few restaurants in the area where we can get seafood -- Red Lobster, Real Seafood etc. We decided to go to Reel Seafood. Reel Seafood is located on 195 Wolf Road, close to Professor Java's and the Wolf Road Diner. It is very convenient for us to get to.

When we walked in the restaurant, we were greeted by a gracious hostess. We got to the restaurant really early, so we got a table right away. Reel Seafood is a nicely decorated restaurant with a very comfortable feel. The nautical theme is carried throughout the restauant. There is a nice fish tank in the middle of the place.

Our waitress was very accomodating. Real Seafood mainly serves seafood and steaks, and a host of specials. My girlfriend ordered the salmon cakes ($18.95) and I ordered the Baked Stufed Haddock ($20.50). Dinner at the Reel Seafood Company comes with bread, and we were both very glad it did. The bread is homemade, crusty and delicious, and it comes with fresh, whipped butter. We easily finished the four pieces the restaurant gave us. We could have easily eaten more bread; however, we felt an obligation to keep our New Year's Resolutions.

In 20 minutes, our dishes came out, and they were very impressive. I had a 2/3 pound piece of haddock with a generous portion of crabmeat spread on top. My meal came with cole slaw, and a vegetable. I got the red potatoes, and they were out of this world! I wish I could make potatoes like that. The haddock was very moist and tender and the stuffing was very tasty and not too greasy. My girlfriend got for her meal three huge salmon cakes that weighed at least 1/4 pound each. I was not expecting her to get such a big portion. She told me she enjoyed the salmon cakes.

As we left the restaurant, we both agreed this is somewhere we would like to go to again. Of course, we could only go on special occasions. With tax and tip, we each owed $28.00, which is a lot of money. This is a reasonable price for seafood, but we cannot afford to go there all the time.

Mocha Lisa's Cafe is average

2012-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

I had an hour to kill before I had to go to an appointment in Clifton Park, so I stopped by Mocha Lisa's to pass the time. Mocha Lisa's is located conveniently in Clifton Park Center, off of Route 146 in Clifton Park.
My first impressions of the restaurant were very good. Mocha Lisa's is an elegantly appointed, airy, modern cafe with a lot of tables and some very comfortable chairs. There is even a large screen TV. This is a very relaxing place to spend some time sipping coffee and having a conversation. The dining area is ample, so you do not feel claustrophobic like you would at the nearby Starbucks.

Mocha Lisa's has a very extensive menu for a coffee restaurant. They boast at least twenty different teas, espresso drinks, iced drinks, frappes and smoothies. You can get a chai, a chai latte, a chai frappe and a chai smoothie. The options are endless. The prices are rather steep at Mocha Lisa's. A 20 oz latte is $4.45, which is slightly higher than what Starbucks charges. Amazing how much a cup of coffee goes for these days.

I ordered a medium hot chocolate ($2.90) and a turkey and bacon panini ($7.49). Mocha Lisa's sells the Times Union, so I bought a Times Union as well. At least I would not be bored while I passed the time.

My hot chocolate came out quite quickly. I must say I was very disappointed by it. It did not taste any better than Swiss Miss. It was mostly milk and a little bit of chocolate flavoring. It did not have the richness of Starbucks, Professor Java's, or Uncommon Grounds hot chocolate. I could have easily made this at home for a lot less money.

I was also disappointed by my turkey and bacon panini. The sandwich came out looking elegant, with a doilie underneath it. The sandwich is supposed to come with turkey, bacon, swiss and tomato on ciabtta bread, but this sandwich only came with turkey and swiss on ciabatta. Mocha Lisa's definitely skimped on the turkey. The sandwich overall was quite average. The sandwich also came with a small bag of chips, which were tasty. However, this was hardly a bargain at $7.49.

Mocha Lisa's has a wonderful, inviting atmosphere; however, the food that I ate there was average. If I ever had an hour to kill in Clifton Park again, I would eat somewhere else. After I ate, I might sit at Mocha Lisa's and order one of the less expensive beverages.

Jack LaLanne Power Juicer a bargain

2012-01-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

I have had my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer for a couple of months now, and I can definitely say that it was a good purchase. The only downside is that the juicer makes a lot of waste.

Mostly, I make carrot juice. Carrots have a lot of fiber and beta-carotene, which is said to ward off several cancers and heart disease. Also, I like the taste of carrot juice. Carrots by themselves taste OK, but carrot juice tastes great. I especially like carrot juice with a little bit of ginger put in for flavor.

The only thing that I don't like about my juicer is the waste. The picture below shows that it takes at least six carrots to make one ten ounce glass of carrot juice. Over half of the carrot is left over as waste. More expensive juicers do a better job out of extracting juice. However, for $90, the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer was about the limit of what I was willing to pay.

Even though the machine wastes a lot of the vegetable or fruit, the juicer is very cost effective. A pound of carrots cost roughly $1.00 at Hannaford. For one dollar, you can make a 10 oz glass of juice. The same amount of carrot juice costs at least $3 at Fresh Cafe, if not more, and the home-made carrot juice tastes exactly the same. Bolthouse Farms also sells carrot juice, but I do not find their juice to taste too good.

The Jack LaLanne Power Juice is sufficient for your novice juicer. If you like juice as much as I do, it is a huge cost savings over buying fresh squeezed juice at the organic food store or Fresh Cafe. The only thing I dislike about the juicer is how much waste it creates. I end up throwing out the pulp the machine discards.

(Boston, MA) Victoria Seafood a Hit

2012-01-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

I was in Boston with friends for First Night and we did quite a bit of dining out. One of the best (and cheapest) places we went to was the Victoria Seafood Restaurant on 1029 Commonwealth Avenue. This restaurant is located right near the Babcock St. station on the green line of the Boston T.

The outside of the Victoria Seafood Restaurant is very unassuming. In fact, when my girlfriend and I arrived at the restaurant, we seriously considered calling our friends and telling them we would be dining someplace else. The restaurant is not a seafood restaurant -- it is a Chinese restaurant with a few seafood entrees. Despite our disappointment in seeing the restaurant, we decided to give it a try.

Once we entered the restaurant, things started to shape up. We saw many Asian diners happily munching away at huge, tasty-looking entrees. I was in the mood for seafood, so I decided to order the shrimp with cashews. In a typical restaurant, this dish comes with five shrimps laid on top of a heap of vegetables. Not so at the Victoria Seafood Restaurant.

As you can see, my shrimp with cashew nuts ($8.95) came with quite a few large shrimp. The restaurant definitely did not skimp on the cashews either. Most importantly, the dish was delicious. My friend got the hot pot and she bragged that the pot was full of seafood. My other friend ordered the sesame chicken ($8.25). I had never seen such a large order of sesame chicken in my life! There were at least 30 pieces of chicken and 20 pieces of broccoli in the dish. He had tons of left overs, but unfortunately, he left them behind in the hotel refrigerator.

If you are looking for good food at a reasonable price, you can't beat the Victoria Seafood Restaurant. It is not gourmet food, but it is tasty and the portions are incredible. The restaurant is also conveniently located next to a T stop. I highly recommend this place. Unfortunately, it is not closer to home.

Sake Cafe for Great Sushi and Japanese Food

2011-12-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

We went to the Sake Cafe on 1365 New Scotland Road with the meetup.com dining out group. The Sake Cafe is located in the suburban Price Chopper Plaza right off of Route 85. It is important to note that this is the second Sake Cafe on New Scotland Road. The other Sake Cafe is located at 273 New Scotland Avenue.

The Sake Cafe on 1365 New Scotland Road is a very elegantly appointed restaurant, with wood tables, an ample bar, and ample seating. The wait staff is immaculately dressed in black. The atmosphere is on par with the fine Chinese and Japanese restaurants in the area -- Hana and Koto.

We got there a half an hour early, and my girlfriend was starving, so we decided to order some sushi rolls. The sushi at Sake Cafe is awesome! We got a California roll and a Tuna roll. Interestingly, the sushi chef at Sake Cafe uses very little rice in his sushi. He just barely covers the seaweed with rice. He, however, does not skimp on the fish. The tuna roll had a very good portion of tuna, probably triple the amount of tuna Hannaford puts in their tuna rolls. The tuna rolls are a steal, at just $4.00 for six pieces.

Having had sushi as my appetizer, I wanted to get something different for my main course. I decided to go with the Singapore noodles with shrimp. This is a dish I had never tried before. The dish was very elegantly presented -- a heap of thin noodles on a big plate with a carrot in the shape of a flower. The noodles were incredbly spicy, but delicious. The dish came with six very large fresh, shrimp that I throughly enjoyed. The Singapore noodles are only $9, which makes it one of the cheaper items on the menu.

Other items around the table looked similarly appetizing. My girlfriend ordered the chicken teriyaki for $13.00, which was also good. I thought the portion could have been a little larger. Still, the chicken was very fresh, and the sauce was sweet, and not overly salty. My friend ordered the mango shrimp, which she said was excellent. It was a very colorful array of twelve or so shrimp with green peppers and other vegetables, mixed in an orange sauce. They do put a lot of sauce in this dish; so if you are watching your weight, ask the waitress for less sauce.

The only thing that was an issue with our meal was the wait. Of course, we were a very large crowd of 12. However, there was only one or two wait staff waiting on the entire restaurant of 20 tables. It took us an hour and a half to finally get our food. We did not get any personal attention from our waitress. She did not get my friends order right, and she sent back her email. However, everyone else's orders came out correct, and our bills were calculated correctly.

Sake Cafe gets an "A" from me. The atmosphere is wonderful, the sushi is excellent, and the hot food is also good. I was really impressed.

Tierra Coffee Roasters - Good, but not Great

2011-12-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

I went to Tierra Coffee Roasters on 1038 Madison Avenue in Albany tonight with my girlfriend. We were waiting for a movie at the Madison Theater, and figured we would get a drink to warm us up.

Tierra Coffee Roasters opened in January 2011, in place of the now defunct, Muddy Cup. Tierra has done a lot with the inside of the place. Gone is the old, beat-up furniture; in are new tables and chairs. According to alloveralbany.com, art by Samson Contompasis lines the walls. The store looks neat inside. It does not look fabulous, but it is vastly improved.

I can symphatize with those who prefer the grunginess of the Muddy Cup. The Muddy Cup had a certain bohemian vibe to it. However, the bathrooms of the Muddy Cup were filthy. The bathrooms in Tierra are neat and clean. I will take the cleanliness of Tierra Coffee Roasters over the grunginess of the Muddy Cup any day.

Tierra Coffee Roasters is not just a coffee shop. Tierra also sells a wide variety of locally-grown nuts and fair-trade coffee in the store. The parent company of Tierra Coffee Roasters is Tierra Farm out in Columbia County. According to its website, Tierra Farm nuts and coffee are certified organic. This is definitely a selling point.

Tierra has a wide selection of coffee drinks, hot chocolate and smoothies. I ordered the hot chocolate for $2.75. I was not too impressed with my order. The hot chocolate was fairly average. Starbucks hot chocolate is richer and more flavorful. I prefer Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate too, though it is loaded with sugar and calories. At Tierra, the hot and cold drinks are one size only, 16 ounces. This was a little bit frustrating because I only wanted a small drink.

My girlfriend graciously offered me a piece of her brownie, and it was pretty good. It was a tiny brownie, but it cost $2.25, which is a little pricey. It was fresh-baked, and had huge nuts in it. This brownie is way better than the baked goods offered at Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. I have a feeling all the baked goods at Tierra are tasty as well.

Yes, I was not too impressed by my hot chocolate at Tierra, but this place has a lot of potential. The place is tidy inside, if a little sterile, and the baked goods and organic nuts are very good. For those who live in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, this place is a find. I am sure this place is hopping with students when school is in session. When I am in the area, I will check this place out.

Ichiban - an old favorite

2011-12-25T18:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight I celebrated "Jewish Christmas" with my friends by going to Ichiban, a Chinese-Japanese restaurant with two locations in Albany: one on 338 Central Avenue and one on 1652 Western Avenue.  My friends and I met up at the one on Western Avenue, near Guilderland.

Ichiban is one of my favorite restaurants. I went there a lot when I first moved to this area seven years ago. I frequented the Central Avenue restaurant then, since I lived in the Pine Hills area of Albany and did not have a car. It was one of the few quality restaurants I could get to on foot. I do not eat at Ichiban a lot any more. I do a lot of my eating out with the "Dining Out" meetup.com group, and we go to different restaurants all the time.

Christmas Day was an ideal time for me to visit one of my old favorite restaurants.  Ichiban is one of the few restaurants open on Christmas Day. Once I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the place was packed. The front desk told us the wait was five minutes; however, we waited at least fifteen minutes to get a table. The waiting area at Ichiban is not big; however, they do have a TV for those who want to catch up on local news.

Once we got our table, it took awhile for us to get menus and finally, to get drinks.  Our waitress definitely had her work cut out for her tonight; there were a lot of tables that demanded her attention and she dealt with it the best she could.  Unfortunately, there was a bit of a language barrier between us. She had difficulty understanding us, and we had difficulty understanding her. This is typical of my experiences with the wait staff at Ichiban. To her credit, she put in the orders correctly and gave all of us separate checks as we requested.

When I go to Ichiban, I typically get one of the bento boxes. I find them to be a good value. They come with soup, salad, and the entree and typically cost under $15. Usually, I get the Executive Box, which comes with chicken or salmon teriyaki, a california roll, vegetable and shrimp tempura and crab rangoon for $12.99. This time I did not want the tempura, so I ordered a different bento box.  This one included salmon sashimi, a salmon skin roll, eel, and scallops for $13.99.

First I got up to get my salad. The Ichiban salad bar is not particularly impressive, but I suppose Chinese-Japanese restaurants are not known for their salads. The salad bowls are quite tiny. I filled my bowl with whatever was left of the lettuce, kim chee, Korean bean sprout salad, and ginger dressing. It was very tasty and satisfying. The miso soup was good. Miso soup is a pretty consistent product though -- I have never had a bad miso soup.

The entree was excellent. The portion of salmon sashimi was quite generous. There was maybe an eighth of a pound of very fresh salmon on my plate. The salmon skin rolls were crunchy and delicious. They had a sweet sauce poured over them which was very good. The little scallops were also tasty, especially with the sweet red sauce that was provided on the side.  I do not like eel, so I gave that to my friend, and she seemed to like it.

I wish I had ordered some Chinese dish so I could evaluate that too. My friends ordered Sesame Beef, House Chow Fun and Dragon and Phoenix and those all looked good. The portions were large and the dishes looked colorful and tasty.

Ichiban has a lot of competition in the area. Less than a mile down the road from the Guilderland location is Hana, which is a much bigger restaurant serving mostly Japanese food.  The Albany/Colonie area also boasts Emperor's on Wolf Road, Koto in Latham and others.   Ichiban rates well with its competition, offering a solid product at a reasonable price. The service could be a little better, but I still consider enjoy going to Ichiban, even with so many other good Chinese/Japanese restaurants in the area.

Hannaford Sushi - Great for a meal in a pinch

2011-12-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

In my blog, I generally like to cover only restaurants. However, in some cases, I will cover supermarkets when I feel it is necessary. One supermarket that goes above and beyond with their prepared meals is Hannaford.

One of the best prepared meals to get at Hannaford is their sushi. Hannaford offers many different types of sushi -- california rolls, spicy salmon rolls, spicy tuna rolls etc. The ones that I get most often are the spicy tuna rolls. These are offered with either brown rice or white rice. They come in either eight piece ($6.99) or sixteen piece trays ($7.99). I usually get the white rice, 16 piece trays.

Hannaford sushi is just as good as the sushi you get from a restaurant. During the working day at the Wolf Road Hannaford (I am not sure about other Hannafords), the sushi chef makes fresh rolls for you upon request, assuming the roll you desire is not already in the refrigerator. I tasted one of these fresh rolls recently and it was absolutely delicious. The cucumbers, raw tuna, sesame seeds, and rice really come together to form one delicious combination of colors and flavors. It is just as good as anything you get from Ichiban, and it is a bit cheaper. In comparison, fourteen pieces of sushi at Ichiban or Hana cost $10 at least.

Hannaford sushi is a relatively cheap, healthy meal to get if you are on the go and do not feel like cooking. It is way better for you than the other options on Wolf Road, like Arby's or Five Guys. If you are in the Wolf Road Hannaford during lunchtime, you can even sit down and eat the sushi while in the store. Hannaford sushi is one of my favorite meals. If you try it, maybe it will become one of your favorites too. Bon apetit!

Paolo Lombardi's not so great

2011-12-17T19:40:00.001-08:00

My girlfriend and I went on a meetup.com event to Paolo Lombardi's in Wyantskill. map

The restaurant is very impressive from the outside. The interior of the restaurant is very impressive as well, though a little cramped. The main dining room has very large windows and feels very Italian. The walls were decorared with garland for the holidays.

Things started off great. The bread was right out of the oven and absolutely delicious. It came with butter and olive oil. The bread was out of this world! Our salads were also above average. Oddly, Paolo Lombardi's only has two salad dressings -- house and blue cheese. I got the house, which was very good. So far, Paolo Lombardi's made a good impression on me.

I got a simple dish, chicken parm ($15.00), and I was not too impressed with it. The portion was big which was good. I was not a big fan of the sauce. Perhaps I am not the best judge, because I am not a huge fan of Italian food to begin with, but I did not like the taste of the sauce. The thing that hit me was the pasta. It was cold and dried out. There was a little meat sauce poured on it, but that did not mask its coldness and dryness. I did not see anyone at the table finish their pasta. Everyone else at the table liked their meals. Everyone's portions did look very impressive. However, I did not have the best experience.

We were a large crowd, so oftentimes, we face slow service. However, Paolo Lombardi's was overly slow. The dinner was 2.5 hours from start to finish. It took us an hour just to get our salads. Paolo Lombardi's was not especially eager to do separate checks for the table. They ended up doing separate totals, and that suited us just fine. One of the waitresses was particularly unpleasant. She told us that she is retiring this week and is glad to be hanging up her apron. She said she just doesn't care any more. Overall, the service was slow and not very friendly.

Paolo Lombardi's gets a thumbs down from me, but, remember that there were many other people eating there and they seemed to like their meals. My meal; however, was average at best. The bread was excellent though, and the atmosphere was very nice.

Footsy Magoos, a great new bar in Downtown Troy

2011-12-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who lives in Troy and one of his new favorite places is Footsy Magoos on 17 1st Street. I expected this place to be a dive bar; however, I was pleasantly surprised.

Footsy Magoos is in a beautiful old building in historic downtown Troy close to Monument Square. The building is very nicely decorated, with some beautiful chandelier's hanging from the ceiling. The bar is all wood and is beautiful. There is a game room as well. Especially funny is the men's bathroom, which has naked lady playing cards posted on the walls.

To my delight, Footsy's has a selection of hot beverages, which is great in the cold weather. I am not much of a drinker, so I just got a plain hot chocolate. It was nothing fancy, just water and Swiss Miss in a cup with whipped cream on top, but it was nice to get a non-alcoholic drink at a bar. Footsy's makes hot beverages with alcohol ini them as well. I am told Footsies does not have many beers on tap; however, they do have lots of bottled beer.

Footsy's is a very nice place to spend a Friday or Saturday night. There is plenty of parking in Downtown Troy so you do not have to walk too far to get to your car. The bars are not as close together as in Albany or Saratoga so bar hopping is difficult. However, Troy is developing a bit of a nightlife. My friend is convinced Troy is going to become the next Brooklyn. It appears like some of the pieces are falling into place.

Little Anthony's

2011-12-15T20:26:00.000-08:00

To finish out my Public Speaking course at Hudson Valley, my professor ordered pizza from Little Anthony's on 1095 Central Avenue in Albany.

Little Anthony's makes a delicious pizza. I tried a piece of the 24-cut sicillian. It was absolutely delicious. It was doughy and cheesy and just really good. It was not too greasy either. I tried to restrain myself, as I had eaten poorly for lunch; however, I had to have a second slice. I was uncomfortably full later on, but it was worth it. ;-)

Paesan's used to be my favorite pizza place in the area, but now my favorite pizza place in the area is Little Anthony's.

Junior's

2010-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

Tonight I ate at Junior's on Madison Avenue. Though this mostly is a college hangout, there is some decent bar food to be had there.

I had a buffalo chicken salad which was one of the better ones I have had. Served up in a huge bowl, this salad had cheese, some tomatoes and a large portion of mild buffalo chicken. The portion was way bigger than something Friday's or 99 Restaurant would serve. For mild, the chicken was a little spicier than I would like.

The only thing I have not liked about this restaurant is that the service is not very good. Perhaps they are understaffed because the waitresses do not seem to get much time with their customers. Perhaps they do not want to get in the way of their customers watching sports on one of the many TV's in the restaurant.

If you stick to the recommended dishes, like buffalo chicken, Junior's is a good place to go. It has a fun atmosphere and reasonable prices.

Scarborough's

2010-01-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

I visited Scarborough's in Rotterdam this Friday. The atmosphere was warm, and the food was good, though the portions were a little small. Overall, I was very pleased with this restaurant.

The restaurant is in a strip mall on Altamont Avenue, convenient for Wal-Mart shoppers. Though the mall is sedate, Scarborough's does it's best to dress things up inside, with a large bar and ample wood furnishings. It feels like TGI Friday's would feel if it was not a chain.

The menu is all comfort food. Burritos, sicilian chicken and roast beef sandwiches are all on the same menu. The prices are reasonable, with many entrees priced below $10.

I ordered the turkey platter, which was delicious. Turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing were stacked one on top of the other. The turkey was juicy, the stuffing was rich and the cranberry sauce was sweet. There was only a quarter pound of thin sliced turkey on my plate, which was not enough to satisfy me. However, you do get what you pay for. For $8.95, the portion was adequate.

I like what Scarborough's is about -- old-fashioned atmosphere, and down-home cooking at a reasonable price. I will definitely visit this establishment again.

Xin Fu

2009-11-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

I recently tried Xin Fu, a new Chinese-Japanese restaurant on Route 7 in Latham. Though the food was excellent, I found the portions to be a little small.

The inside of the restaurant is elegant, comparable to Koto or Hana. The menu is slightly lacking. There are vastly more Japanese options than Chinese options. The service was fast and efficient.

I had wonton soup and chicken with broccoli. The wonton soup was one of the best I have ever had. I loved the softness of the wonton dumplings, and the strong flavor of the soup. The chicken with broccoli was delicious. The sauce was a little greasy but very flavorful. The dish offered an equal portion of both chicken and broccoli, but needed more of it. Though this was a dinner portion, there was less than a pound of chicken breast. Diners looking for a hearty meal may be disappointed.

Overall, this was a very good restaurant. The food was tasty, though the portions were a little bit small. I would put the taste of the food on par with the fine Chinese restaurants of the area, such as Emperor's and Ichiban.

Bob and Ron's Fish Fry

2009-10-03T17:34:00.001-07:00

I went to Bob and Ron's Fish Fry with a couple of co-workers and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I ordered the fish fry which I thought was very good. For $4.00 it was a substantial sandwich with a large portion of fresh fish. The delicately fried fish and tartar sauce combined together beautifully. I sampled the onion rings but found them bland. A co-worker explained it may have to do with the ban on transfats in Albany County. The rest of the food at the restaurant looked excellent though.

I loved the ambiance of the place. It almost feels like Jumping Jack's in Scotia, though it is not outside of course. It was nice being able to look at the fish being breaded and fried while I was ordering. I can understand by Bob and Ron's is an institution in Albany. They offer their customers good food and excellent service at a reasonable price.

Blue Ribbon Diner

2009-09-09T18:30:00.001-07:00

I tried the Blue Ribbon Restaurant on Labor Day, and was quite impressed. I ordered one of the Monday specials, Fish and Chips. The special comes with soup and salad.

The fish and chips was a delicious combination of freshly fried haddock and crispy fries. The portion of haddock was about a half a pound, which I found a little stingy. However, the quality was excellent. The chunks of fresh haddock were very flaky and melted in my mouth. The fries were not made from scratch, but they were thick cut and tasty.

What stands out about this restaurant was the excellent service. The waitress made every effort to accomodate our group. She brought out samples of the daily soups to help us decide, and advised us about the menu. The cashier was also very pleasant, asking about our dining experience and urging us to come back.

Overall, this was an excellent experience. The courteous staff made us feel at home. Though the Blue Ribbon isn't a fish restaurant, they make an excellent fish and chips.

Juicy Burger

2009-09-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

I tried the Juicy Burger in Ballston Spa with my girlfriend. The food was decent, but a little pricey compared with Five Guys or Fuddruckers.

The menu is structured a little differently than either of those chains. The basic burger is $5.00 and does not even come with lettuce. It is simply a hamburger on a bun, nothing less, nothing more. There are condiments on the side if you wish. If you want lettuce or tomato, you will have to upgrade to the Build a Burger, which is $7.50. The Build a Burger allows you to load perhaps 15 toppings on your burger, from bacon to sauteed onions. Fries and a drink can be ordered a la carte; there are no meal options.

I ordered the Build a Burger with sweet potato fries, and it was excellent. It was either one third or one quarter a pound of beef, on a large roll. I found it to be a little greasy, but very tasty. The sweet potato fries were good, not excellent. They were covered in salt, which I found a little unnecessary. I was excited that they had sweet potato fries; Fuddruckers did not have those until recently and Five Guys does not have them at all.

My meal came out to a little more than $12. Fudds will give you the burger meal deal for under $10; Five Guys is also under $10. $12 seems a little unreasonable for a meal without waiter service. For $12, I would prefer to have a nice meal at Chili's or Quintessence.

Golden Phoenix

2009-08-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

The Golden Phoenix in Niskayuna is the best chinese buffer in the area. Like all Chinese buffets, it is very sparse inside. However, there is a great variety of fresh food. If the food was healthier, and less expensive, I could eat there every week.

Not only is the food excellent, there is a large variety of it. Along with the favorites, such as sesame chicken and lo mein, there was also salt and pepper shrimp and pineapple chicken. There was also a nice selection of sushi, from the conventional California rolls to a sushi shrimp tempura roll. The sushi alone would have made a good meal. Add to it Chinese food and a Mongolian bar and I could have eaten well beyond satiety.

One problem I have with this place is that the Mongolian bar asks you to put on your own sauce, rather than putting the sauce on for you. I am not a chef, and I do not know the ingredients in many of the sauces, so I made my dish way too spicy for my tastes. Next time I will ask for the chef's advice before creating my dish.

I give the Golden Phoenix two thumbs up. The variety and quality of their food was superior to any Chinese buffet I have been to in the Capital Region

J Bob Barbecue

2009-08-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

J Bob Barbeque is in a very humble building on Route 50 in Ballston Spa. You will recognize it by the bright red color of the building and the huge smoker outside. The parking lot may not be very full, but don't let that dissuade you. Despite the humble exterior, this restaurant serves up some excellent barbecue.

We had the sampler, which included pulled pork, ribs, wings, cole slaw, beans and corn bread. Everything was excellent. Since this is Tennessee style barbecue, it is dry rub and does not have sauce like us Yankees like are used to. However, J Bob does supply the table with three bottles of different barbecue sauces. The sweet one was my favorite. All of the meats were very lean and moist. I particularly liked the wings, which had a strong smoky taste. I was less fond of the pulled pork, which did not have much taste to it.

The cost of our meal was $26, which was a bit pricey for the pound or so of meat that we got. However, I did appeciate the variety of food. If we were looking for value, we could have both ordered pulled pork sandwiches at $7.50 each. Overall, we had a very good experience at J Bob.

The Ripe Tomato

2009-07-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

I went to the Ripe Tomato in Malta tonight and I left satisfied as always. The portions are large and the food is fresh and excellent.

I ordered the chicken piccata, which came with bread and soup or salad. The bread is top-notch. It is either fresh-baked on the premises or brought in every day. The olive oil for dipping is a nice touch. I had onion soup, which was also excellent. The chicken piccata came with four medium-sized chicken cutlets which were moist and delicious. I appreciated all of the mushrooms and capers in the delicately-seasoned sauce. The side of pasta is al dente, and the tomato sauce is flavorful.

The atmopshere is cozy with exposed beams, low ceilings and paper tablecloths. The dish was $17.95, which is a bit pricy. However, with chains cutting back on portions, it is nice to get a nice portion. The Ripe Tomato is the way restaurant dining used to be.

Shane's Rib Shack

2009-07-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

I was quite excited to try Shane's Rib Shack in Clifton Park because I love good BBQ food. This place is conveniently located and reasonably priced. The food is good and the atmosphere is fun, however, the restaurant did not live up to its billing.

I ordered the chicken dinner, which came with two sides and texas toast. The chicken looked like it came out of a e-z bake oven, with the painted-on grill marks. It did have a nice, smoky taste to it though. I had onion straws and french fries as sides, and was not too impressed with either. Neither was particularly crunchy, and both tasted as though they might have been sitting for awhile.

Jose Malone's

2009-06-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

I went to Jose Malone's on River Street in Troy this Troy Night Out with my girlfriend. The restaurant offers large portions and a comfortable atmosphere. I can definitely see myself coming back to this place.

Jose Malone's is ideally located right next to Ryan's Wake, Revolution Hall, and some other bars on River Street. There are two municipal lots close by which seemed to have plenty of parking. The restaurant is described as 'Irish-Mexican,' but it is more like a Mexican restaurant that happens to make corned beef. Mexican adornments like a sombrero line the walls of the restaurant. Almost all of the customers were eating Mexican dishes. Perhaps this is a restaurant with an identity crisis.

I gave the Irish food a shot because I so frequently dine at Moe's and other Tex-Mex places. I ordered the corned beef and cabbage, which I give two thumbs up. The dish came with five pieces of very lean and flavorful high-quality corned beef. The sides were mashed potatoes, carrots marinated in tequila, and cabbage. I was a little disappointed with the cabbage, which I found very greasy. However, cabbage is not a dish I typically enjoy. The mashed potatoes had real potatoes in them with the skins on, but they were a little dry.

I was surprised that, not only does Jose Malone's charge for chips and salsa, they also charge for refills. I found this a little stingy for a restaurant of this caliber. However, the salsa was freshly made and excellent. But, when a restaurant is looking to get established, it is the little things that count. This is one thing Jose Malone's should reconsider.

Justin's

2009-06-24T18:10:00.001-07:00

I went to Justin's on Lark Street and I feel that they definitely have great food for a bar.

I ordered the fried catfish sandwich with fries and coleslaw, all of which was delicious. When even the cole slaw tastes home made, you know you are in for a treat. The catfish was lightly fried and battered and absolutely wonderful. A generous fresh filet was heaped on a roll with an interesting avocado mayonnaise spread. The fries were hand-cut and had a little of the skin still on. Even the cole slaw was wonderful. It was not drowning in mayonnaise, and the chunks of cabbage and carrot blended beautifully.

Justin's is not only a great place to hang out, but also a wonderful dining experience. For just under $10, I feel that Justin's is far above it's competitors such as Chili's or Friday's.

Hot Dog Heaven

2009-06-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

I went to lunch today at Hot Dog Heaven, and I am glad I did. It may not be heaven, but they offer a good meal, and a comfortable atmosphere at a fair price.

I like two things about the atmosphere at Hot Dog Heaven. First, the only person who I have ever seen tending the grill is the owner, who makes everyone feel at home. Second, if you sit by the grill, you get a great view of Lark Street. It is indeed a picture window.

I ordered the eggs, hash browns and toast, all of which were above average. As promised on the menu, the food does take a little longer than fast food, but that is because it is made to order. The eggs scrambled eggs was a bigger portion than I would get at many diners. The has browns were made from scratch with delicious chunks of potato and some bits of onion. Even the toast was nice and thick and generously buttered.

Unfortunately, Hot Dog Heaven is not open nights or on weekends, otherwise, I would probably be there much more often.

Buffalo Wagon

2009-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Heather and I went to the Buffalo Wagon this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised. The recent reviews in Metroland and the times union were not too good. Though we ordered relatively simple fare, we were both satisfied with the meal.

Perhaps the greatest deficit of Buffalo Wagon compared to Emperor's, Ichiban or Hana is its location. It is right off of Wolf Road on Metro Park Road. Those who are not familiar with Wolf Road could easily pass it. In fact, we passed it the
first time around.

Heather noticed that almost all of the clientele in Buffalo Wagon were of asian descent. Perhaps this is because the menu contains real chinese food, like sauteed pork intestine, as well as the americanized dishes, such as sesame chicken. Buffalo Wagon dabbles a little bit in many asian cuisines -- Chinese, Japanese and Thai. We were so overwhelmed by the menu, the waitress came over to our table three times before we decided what to order.

We ended up ordering two classic americanized chinese food staples -- sesame chicken and roast pork chow fun. The sesame chicken had a mild sauce which it took my tongue awhile to get used to. The portion was adequate, and the chicken
was high quality and not overly breaded. This is one dish the mall chinese restaurants often get horribly wrong, but the Buffalo Wagon seems to do just fine with. The chow fun was not very greasy and had a smokey flavor which i love.

The Buffalo Wagon is definitely worth another trip. The pricing is similar with other chinese restaurants in the area, though they offer more expensive fare as well. The lunch menu specials include bento boxes which are always fun.

Phoenicians

2009-05-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Heather and I dined at Phoenicians on Central Avenue in Colonie on Friday night, and we were glad we did. The food was excellent and the service was friendly. We are both fans of this relatively new Lebanese restaurant.

This is not a large restaurant, but it is newly built and very clean. The walls have painted on them a mural of scenes from Lebanon. From our seat, we would see the vertical rotisseries in the back cooking what would become our dinner. The staff is very friendly; the owner was visiting every table shaking hands with the customers. I had never seen anything like it, and I enjoyed it.

We both ordered the schwarma, which proved to be a good choice. This was just the right portion of food -- enough to be full but not enough to be bloated afterwards. The chicken schwarma was served with rice, salad, hummus and tzatziki sauce. The presentation was beautiful, the duller colors of the chicken and rice contrasting with the bright tomatoes and hummus. The shavings of chicken were nicely spiced and just delicious. The rice was moist and flavorable, the salad fresh and covered in olive oil. I usually do not like tzatziki sauce, but I was dipping my pita bread in it for the entire meal.

This small restaurant has proven that in any economy, if you offer fresh food and good hospitality, you will get customers.

Pinhead Susan's

2009-05-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Pinhead Susan's was one busy restaurant on Saturday night, in contrast to the rest of Schenectady, which was a little slow. Pinhead's produces great food at a reasonable price.

The atmosphere is that of an Irish pub. The entrance has a couple of stories about how the restaurant got it's name. There is no waiting room inside, but I suppose most people would just sit at the bar before their table is ready. The interior of the restaurant is surrounded in wood, which gives it a very rustic feeling.

The Irish fries (sweet potato fries), are a must-order at this restautant. They were just the right size and consistency. Some places tend to cut them too thin, so you do not get enough sweet potato, or too thick, in which case they come out mushy. These were just perfect, not crisp but not mushy. I would have been happy with just these fries as my entree.

The turkey club was not better than a sandwich I could have gotten at Denny's. I was disappointed by the small size of the sandwich. Each quarter of the sandwich has perhaps a slice or two of turkey breast on it, with a half a handful of lettuce and a strip or two of bacon. The sandwich was tasty, but nothing special. Certainly the Cheesecake Factory sandwich would trump this one.

Prices are very reasonable at Pinhead's. My friend ordered a Guiness Burger, and she was surprised that there is a restaurant out there where you can get a burger and fries for $8.00. The waitress insisted that good food does not have to come with high prices.

In my next visit to Pinhead's I would definitely order something different. I would try a corned beef sandwich, or perhaps the Chicken a la Susan, which looked delicious.

Uncommon Grounds - Part II

2009-04-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

Review coming soon.

Capital Q Smokehouse

2009-04-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Capital Q Smokehouse was rated one of the best barbecue restaurants in the Capital District. Though they did have good food, I was not wowed by this restaurant.

The restaurant is located in the student ghetto of Albany. If you are not in your 20's, you may feel slightly out of place in this restaurant. When I was in the restaurant, the crowd was exclusively college-age individuals. Dollar bills on the wall by the cash register had greek letters written on them of the various frats and sororities of the local colleges.

We ordered the pulled pork in this two-pound portion, assuming we would get a better deal ordering by the pound than each having a sandwich. We may have gotten a large jug of meat, but we didn't enjoy it too much. The meat was of high-quality and was not fatty, unlike Pig Pit. However, the North Carolina vinegary taste of the meat was not to my liking. I had left-overs the next day, and I almost did not finish them. This is slightly unusual behavior for me.

With our 2 pounds of pork, we ordered a couple of sides. The winner among the sides was the sweet potato fries, which were excellent. They were freshly-made, and worth the wait.

There are different barbecue flavors at Capital Q, so next time we might try one of those. However, I am not running back to this establishment.

Garden Buffet at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway

2009-04-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, I decided to combine my love of Saratoga with my love of buffet eating. The Garden Buffet is the cheaper buffet in the Racino, however, at $16.00, it is no bargain. Even though I ate a bunch, I did not feel like I got my money's worth. However, one has to expect that everything will be marked up in Saratoga.

The buffet has food from many lands: American, Asian, Italian, and Japanese. I was impressed to see a sushi chef busily cutting rolls, and several cooks carving roast beef and turkey. The sushi rolls were very good, especially considering this was not a Japanese buffet. The prime rib was also good, juicy and flavorful but a bit on the rare side. They had large, juicy pork ribs and oven-roasted chicken legs and thighs.

The buffet did not have a lot of variety. There were perhaps 50 different items, far less than a typical Atlantic City buffet. The salad bar was bare-bones, with lettuce, tomato, onion and beets. There was no bread, egg salad, or tuna salad. There was not a single seafood item, except for breaded cod and shrimp, which were clearly frozen.

The service was not the greatest. Our waitress had to tend to the gamblers, as well as the buffet, which I found strange. We were eating at around 7pm, and there were many other people eating at the buffet. It took perhaps half an hour for my friend to get a refill on his drink.

The dessert was a disappointment. The baked goods were cut into tiny bites, dare I want to gorge myself as any normal American would at a buffet. They had lemon squares and strawberry shortcake, which were both good. The food was obviously bought wholesale and not cooked on-premises. There was no soft-serve ice cream, which I consider to be the topper to any good buffet.

If I was at the Racino, and was hungry, I would probably leave and stop by PJ's in the summer, or the Ripe Tomato in the off-season.

The Bayou Cafe

2009-04-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Bayou Cafe in Glenville is one of my favorite restaurants. There is a great ambiance in there, combined with great food and an extensive menu.

The Bayou achieves the difficult balancing act of being a bar and also a family restaurant. It is one of the few restaurants located in Glenville, a suburb of Schenectady, and therefore serves a lot of families. It has a very comfortable feel inside. Chips and fresh salsa are put on every table before customers start eating their meal. The salsa is mild but full of tomato.

The menu has American, Cajun and Mexican options. I do not know of any other restaurant in the area which has Cajun offerings.

I ordered the Barbecue Brisket which was a special. I have been on a barbecue kick lately, so I figured I would give it a try. Of course, it was not as good as something from the Pig Pit, but it was tasty in its own right. It was covered in a sweet, syrupy barbecue sauce. The brisket was very tender, and the portion was acceptable, but not huge. The brisket came with seasoned potatoes and macaroni salad. The potatoes were a strange pairing with the brisket, but they were fresh and tasty. I would much rather had fries or even a baked potato. I had cole slaw rather than the macaroni salad, and it also was fresh.

For a hometown place in the suburbs, the Bayou has a lot to offer. Great atmosphere, food, menu are just three of the reasons why the Bayou is always packed.

Chico's BBQ

2009-03-25T16:55:00.001-07:00

I went to Chico's BBQ, past the Route 20 and 146 intersection in Guilderland. I was a little disappointed, but perhaps boneless buffalo wings were not the thing to get at Chico's.

The ambiance suggests that Chico's is a serious barbecue place. There were motorcycles parked outside the smoker in front of the restaurant. Inside Chico's there is the same rustic, rugged feel. The crowd seemed to be a mix of working class men getting a beer and families looking for a good meal.

The chicken was no better than anything one would get from any restaurant. They were all white meat, but a little dry. Overall, this was a 8 out of 10 on the wing scale.

My wings were $8.90, which is slightly more than the Wings of Albany meal I enjoyed so much. Considering I got a coupon for a large ribbon fries that expires at the end of March, I may try Chico's again. I would get pulled pork, or something else that gets made in the smoker.

Reopening of Nathan's in Colonie Center

2009-03-24T14:19:00.001-07:00

Nathan's is reopening tomorrow, March 25, in Colonie Center. The space will be used by three chains: Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips, Kenny Rogers Roasters and Nathan's. How that little storefront will churn out all of that food is something I am eager to see.

Wings at Albany

2009-03-22T18:00:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite eateries in Albany is Wings over Albany, on Western Avenue right outside of Crossgates Mall.

Wings has a simple ambiance, very similar to Five Guys. The wall is adorned with articles praising the place. The tables and chairs are made of steel, and there is a paper towel holder roll on the table. The simple atmosphere and the paper towels indicates that the diner is in for some serious eating.

I ordered the paper airplane (7 wings), which is one of the cheaper offerings at Wings for $5.49. Though inexpensive, this is a very satisfying meal. These wings are more like a drumstick than a regular wing. They are extremely fresh, meaty and juicy. The chicken used is very high-quality. This is not your typical wing joint. Wings cares about serving you the freshest wings. They also have tons of sauces to choose from.

If you are looking for a satisfying and tasty meal, Wings is the place to go. This is not the place to go on a first date, but it is solid, quality food.

Bountiful Bread

2009-03-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

I had a salad at Bountiful Bread today, and I was reasonably satisfied with my meal. The food is a little costly, but if you want a salad made of fresh ingredients, Bountiful Bread has it.

Bountiful Bread has a casual relaxed atmosphere of a nicely appointed coffee shop. There is a large plasma screen in the restaurant, and there is free water. The food is self-service, and it is not always speedy. I have noticed certain cost-saving measures. The silverware is now plastic and there are no more fresh lemons in the free water.

I had the chopped cobb salad and it was delicious. The tomatoes were ripe, the grilled chicken was moist and juicy. I especially love the olives. These are not canned olives; these are the real deal. They are large and salty, and they add a lot of flavor to the salad. The fresh vegetables are bursting with flavor. The salads at Bountiful Bread are large, so please do not attempt to eat this unless you are on an empty stomach.

My only gripe is that Bountiful Bread does not have honey mustard dressing, which is my failsafe dressing. They could use a wider variety of dressings. I went with a balsamic vinagrette, which was OK.

Cajun Grill Cafe

2009-03-21T06:32:00.001-07:00

To spice up my routine, I ate at the Cajun Grill Cafe in Colonie Center. It is above average mall chinese food.

The ambiance of the storefront is above average. Unfortunately, there is a man outside of the storefront handing out free samples. He is not quite as pushy as the women who stands outside of Oyishi Japan. The storefront is clean and modern-looking, and slightly nicer than China Max or Oyishi Japan.

The meal that I ordered is the two meat, one side for $4.50 deal. It is not a bad deal. I got the fried rice, honey chicken and bourbon chicken. The portion is reasonable for lunch, and perhaps a bit small for a dinner. The bit of fried rice that I had was moist and tasty.

The meat portion is all meat; there is no broccoli or other vegetables to take away from the protein. The chicken is served in small cubes which are nicely marinated in sauce. The chicken was not fatty, but it was mostly dark meat. Though the chicken is not fried, it is probably fairly high in calories. The honey chicken has a nice sweet flavor. It is not gourmet, but fairly good for mall chinese food.

I would recommend Cajun Grill Cafe to those seeking out chinese food in Colonie Center. For under $5.00, this is a good alternative to Arby's or Mr. Subb.

Avante Pizza

2009-03-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

I went for a salad tonight at Avante Pizzeria on Sand Creek Road in Albany. I have tried the pizza at Avante, but never the salad. I had a large chicken salad. The salad was quite good, but there are better salads out there.

The ambiance at Avante is a little depressing. Though there are tables at Avante, the restaurants customers mostly pick up the food. The ambiance is more like a cafeteria than a restaurant.

What impressed me most about the salad was the large amount of grilled chicken in it. There was perhaps a pound of chicken in the salad. This salad came with more chicken than perhaps any restaurant in the area. Chopped into small bites, the chicken was moist and flavorful.

The rest of the salad was not quite as good. The lettuce came from the ends of the head. All the lettuce was iceberg. Other than lettuce, the salad has finely chopped carrots, tomatoes and onions. The onions were a bit bitter. I appreciated the large piece of italian bread that came with the salad.

For $8.99, this salad was way overpriced. The small salad is onlt $5.00, and it comes in a 7" tin rather than a 9" tin. The salad would be a nice compliment to the excellent pizza. However, if you want to go out to eat and have a salad, both Chili's and Bountiful Bread have a better salad and better ambiance.

Beff's

2009-03-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I dined at Beff's on Everett Road in Albany. Beff's is a well-known bar with a rustic atmosphere. Though Beff's has been around a very long time, I was a little disappointed by my meal. The food was adequate, and the portions were small.

Beff's does have a lot of items on its menu. It has burgers, pizza and sandwiches. There is something for everyone on this menu, whether you want a snack or a full meal. I opted for the latter. I assumed Beff's has good bar food, so I wanted to explore a more exotic menu item.

I tried the Tom Turkey, which I was assured was not processed, but real turkey. Beff's is true to its word. Though the turkey was real, it was a bit dry. I would have appreciated a bigger portion than the quarter-pound given to me. The lack of turkey was compensated by a large side of mashed potatoes covered in gravy and stuffing. Both were very good.

At my next trip to Beff's, I would probably probably try the pizza, the wings, or the sweet potato fries.

Oyishi Japan

2009-03-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

I occasionally like to get the california roll at Oyishi Japan at Colonie Center.

The sushi is made fresh to order. There are a couple of pre-made rolls, but they do not taste old. They are quite large and fresh, with an ample amount of avocado and crab. The rice is sticky and moist. The rolls are not the dried out rolls you may get at the seafood section at Hannaford or Price Chopper.

For $3.49, these rolls are an excellent, healthy snack while mallwalking. Hannaford or Price Chopper's sushi rolls will typically run you around $5.00, however, they are smaller and not as fresh-tasting. Oyishi Sushi offers a solid sushi roll at a very reasonable price.

Oyishi Japan has a varied menu: bubble tea, sushi, tempura and teriyaki chicken. However, they are perhaps most well known for their teriyaki. I did not think I would find bubble tea this far from NYC, but it is true, Colonie Center has bubble tea. Someday I will have to try it.

One of the workers outside the food court stand will constantly push samples of the teriyaki chicken. I find this frustrating because I cannot come within 40 yards of the storefront without having a sample being pushed on me. It is good food, but if I want the food, I will ask for it. I think this unfortunate situation lowers my ranking of the eatery.

Smokey Bones BBQ

2009-03-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

I went to Smokey Bones BBQ on Central Avenue in Albany on Friday, and I definitely enjoyed my experience. The food is a solid 9 out of 10, though it still fails to compare to the Pig Pit in Cohoes. However, if you want a solid barbecue meal in a restaurant, this is the place to go.

I ordered the two entrees (pulled pork and smoked brisket) and two sides (mashed potatoes and french fries). I was not a big fan of the pulled pork. It was a dry rub and there were a lot of spices in their that masked the flavor of the meat. However, it was a lot less fatty than the Pig Pit. The smoked brisket was excellent. It was covered in barbecue sauce which was sweet. The fries and potatoes were both homemade and both better than average. I only wishes they had given more of both. The portion was average rather than heaping.

The ambiance is also pretty good. The restaurant was able to easily accomodate our large party, though they do not accept reservations. There are tons of TVs everywhere, so it feels more like sitting in your living room than a restaurant. The waiter was very friendly and helped explain the different options on the menu.

For $13.95, I felt like the amount of food and the quality were reasonable. I enjoyed a nice sampling of some fresh barbecue food. If you are looking for a good meal out, you cannot go wrong with Smokey Bones.

Five Guys Hamburgers

2009-03-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

I went to Five Guys Hamburgers in Clifton Park because I has smelled the fries from a distance and had to try them. I sure was glad I did. This was one of those meals where everything tasted great and I left full but not stuffed.

Five Guys has a very interesting ambiance. The decor is very simple inside. There are bags of peanuts left out so people can take a handful of peanuts as an appetizer. This is a good idea, because who doesn't like a free appetizer, however, I like to feel like I am eating in a restaurant rather than a barn. Five Guys does create a bit of a warehouse-like atmosphere, which is fun, but not conducive to a date.

The thing I love about the burgers at Five Guys is that many of the fixins are free. I got my cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato, barbecue sauce and grilled onions, all free of charge. The grilled onions and the cheese are a great combination. The burgers are good, but nothing out of this world.

The fries are the star of the show. I ordered a large to share with my girlfriend, and I would say a large does feed about 2 people. The fries are fried in peanut oil which really does bring out the taste of the potato. They are not shoestring fries like McDonalds, yet they are not as thick as steak fries. Not too greasy, crispy and slightly salted, the fries are perfect. If I was not health-conscious, and I liked off Exit 9 of the Northway, I would have these fries at least every week.

Lastly, I liked that Five Guys has unlimited fountain drinks, which includes four flavors of iced tea. Five Guys is rather costly. A cheeseburger, fries and a drink will run you around $10, which is more similar to Fuddruckers than McDonalds. However, you are paying for quality, free fixins, and unlimited fountain drinks including iced tea. For fast food with no price tag, Five Guys is as good as it gets.

Maurice's Sandwich Shop

2009-03-07T17:10:00.001-08:00

I dined at Maurice's sandwich shop on Wolf Road for lunch on Friday. Maurice's is known for their roast beef sandwiches, and it is easy to see why.

What makes this place different is the roast beef. This is roast beef your mother would make if she is a good cook. It is not the processed kind Arby's or Mr. Subb serves. The meat is so soft it practically melts in your mouth. There is the gentle hint of the dry rub seasoning that they use to coat the top of the meat with. The meat is rare but not raw. My favorite part of the sandwich is the bun, which is dipped in gravy.

The roast beef sandwich is a meal to be savored. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but good food is hard to find. It costs $5.25, and only comes with a half-sour pickle, which makes it a little bit pricier than Arby's, Bella Napoli or Mr. Subb. With a drink and chips, you are at $9.00. However, I have not yet found a better place in Albany to go for a roast beef sandwich.

The major drawback of Maurice's is their hours. They are only open until 4pm Monday through Friday and they have limited hours on Saturdays. With all the customers Maurice's gets during lunch, why stay open for dinner? It is kind of like the Saratoga track; if it was available all the time, it wouldn't be as good.

Moe's Burritos

2009-03-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

I went to Moe's on Wolf Road for one of their burritos. I love Moe's because it is a great value and I convince myself that the combination of rice, beans and vegetables is healthy. Well it is not quite healthy but I always leave full and that is what I love about this place.

Moe's is basically the Mexican food equivalent of Subway. You choose a burrito, taco or salad, you choose your veggies and your sandwich maker assembles your meal. It is fun to watch, and it assures me that what I am getting is fresh and made-to-order. There are no surprises when you open the wrapper.

The atmosphere in Moe's is always fun. It caters to the 18-35 crowd. The sandwiches are named after TV moments from Seinfeld and Friends. For example, there is the Art Vandalay, which is named after a character mentioned on Seinfeld. The staff will yell out, "Welcome to Moe's" when a new customer comes in. The soda, salsa and tortilla chips are unlimited. Moe's also offers fresh-brewed sweetened or unsweetened iced tea. Moe's does not charge customers extra for these niceties.

However, the thing that bug me about Moe's is that the food never quite tastes warm; it is always lukewarm. The burrito shell is put into a steamer, so it always clings to the rice and beans. The food would taste so much better if someone put the assembled burrito on the grill for a couple of seconds.

Bella Napoli

2009-03-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

I went to Bella Napoli tonight to see if their subs are as good as their pastries. I have to report that they are.

I had the hot roast beef sandwich on a sesame roll. The roll was piled high with fresh, warm meat. The meat was a little dry and could have used some au jus, but I probably should have ordered the French dip if I wanted gravy. The sesame roll was fresh and toasted and melted in my mouth.

The sandwich was only $3.99, which puts it in league with Arby's and Mr. Subb. However, I would much prefer this sandwich to the Neba. The Neba roast beef tastes slightly artificial to me, plus the sandwich is not piled as high as the Bella Napoli sandwich. Arby's tastes more artificial than Mr. Subb, however, you would probably get more meat on an Arby's sandwich than at Bella Napoli.

If you are looking for a sit-down meal that is afforable and tasty, Bella Napoli is a good place to go. The service is not fast, but sitting in the restaurant is a pleasant experience. The bakery does have it's regulars, which is a testament to how good the place is.

They also have excellent pastries. I attached a picture of one of them.

Grandma's

2009-02-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

I went to Grandma's on Central Avenue because my friends wanted to go. The store is festooned in St. Patrick's Day decorations, which was kind of fun, but also kind of tacky. We debated where the restaurant gets all these decorations, and what they do with them when the holidays are over.

First, I have to give props to the awesome waiter we had. He was cracking us up the whole time. He made the experience very memorable. Otherwise, I am not a fan of the Grandma's experience. The menu and the atmosphere caters to the senior population. Though I have never been to the Cracker Barrel, I am sure it provides a better experience for a homemade meal.

Grandma's is clearly one of those places where you have to know what to get, because some of the dishes are just not very good. For example, the half roasted chicken looked like a very small portion, whereas the meatloaf is a huge portion.

I had the turkey sandwich, and it was a little disappointing. They would not substitute my potato chips for fries. The turkey was a little dry, and I could have used some more of it. But it was real turkey, not processed turkey, so I give them credit for that. The sandwich was $6.95, which is reasonable for what you get.

Grandma's is known for their desserts. I sampled the peach praline pie, which was quite tasty. It was sweet, and gooey and had the right touch of pecan goodness. The serving was not large enough to warrant charging $4.00. One of my friends had the chocolate cream pie, and it was 80 percent whipped cream, which was ridiculous. He left most of it over.

Nothing but Noodles

2009-02-23T18:58:00.000-08:00

I went to Nothing But Noodles in Clifton Park. I had the Pad Thai and my girlfriend had a pasta dish. Usually one would think a place that has such a varied menu would not be able to make everything good.

The Pad Thai had the same excellent flavor that one would find in a Thai restaurant. I appreciated the chopped peanuts on top and the lime. However, I felt that they could have put a meat in the dish to make it more filling. There were pieces of egg, which was obviously not real egg. I felt the portion was a little small for the price though.

The Pad Thai and a beverage at Nothing But Noodles is around $10, which is not really a bargain.

Friday's Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad

2009-02-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

I went to Friday's in Clifton Park last night, and I was looking for something different than my usual Cobb salad. I settled on the Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad, which was listed in the Friday's favorites section. This was one of the best salads I ever had.

The combination of the pecans and dried cranberries make this salad taste really good. The pecan-crusted chicken was also good, though I wish it was served warm rather than cold. The chicken was all white meat, and it was not greasy or over-breaded. The salad is made with iceberg lettuce, which is not very healthy, but it is tasty. I went with the honey mustard dressing rather than the vinagrette, which I thought complimented the salad very nicely.

This is an excellent dish. The first time it came to the table, however, there was hardly any lettuce in the salad. The house side salad had more lettuce in it. I asked the waitress to take the salad back, and she quickly fixed the problem.

For those looking for a salad at Friday's, the pecan-crusted chicken salad is a salad to love.

The Standard

2009-02-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

The Standard is a new restaurant and cocktail bar located across from Ruby Tuesday's in Crossgates Mall. It is absolutely beautiful on the inside. The decor gives a modern-day spin on the 1920's.

I ordered the Polynesian salad, because it is healthy and has a cool name. The salad was absolutely enormous. It is built like a sandwich, with several layers of won ton in the middle. It took me a good half an hour to finish the whole thing. I would say the portion is equivalent to or larger than the salads at the Cheesecake Factory.

Though I love the Asian chicken salad at the Cheesecake Factory, I did not like this salad. The only real flaw I could find in it was that the grilled chicken strips were overcooked. Otherwise, all of the ingredients were of high-quality. I appreciated that the restaurant used all romaine lettuce, which is healthier than iceberg. The salad could have used more papaya chunks as a natural sweetener. Also, there were no tomatoes in the salad.

Perhaps I should have ordered something else. The Parmesan-encrusted chicken that my girlfriend ordered looked delicious. Even though I am no fan of Parmesan cheese, the dish looked delicious dish. The chicken breasts were tender, and the angel hair pasta was fresh.

The prices at the Standard are reasonable. My salad was $12.95, which is excellent considering the large portion I got. I will definitely give the Standard another try.

Laney's

2009-02-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

I had dinner at Laney's on Albany-Shaker Road and I must say I like that place a lot. Besides the fact that they have great food, they have huge portions. Huge portions always do it for me.

Laney's has a little bit of everything -- American food, Italian food and sandwiches. The atmosphere is casual but cozy. The restaurant feels like it has some history to it. The parking lot is always crowded, so come early.

I had a dinner entree, which came with pasta and the salad bar. The salad bar does not have as much variety as Ruby Tuesday's, but the ingredients are of higher quality. I do like how they have romaine lettuce, homemade bread and fresh butter. Most salad bars offer only iceberg lettuce and store bought bread.

My entree was breaded cod. I was impressed that the fillet was over a pound. I find that few restaurants give a large portion of something expensive like fish. The pasta was also excellent. The marinara sauce was fresh, and I ended up putting the excess sauce on the fish. Pasta is usually not one of my favorites, but I gobbled it down pretty quickly.

Overall, I really like this place. My dinner was $18.95, which is more than I usually like to spend, however, I felt it was worth it. I got a nice heart-healthy piece of fish. Plus, I dined in a place that was not a chain. I will definitely visit Laney's again.

Ruby Tuesday's

2009-02-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's in Crossgates on Friday, because I could not get into the Standard. I have to say that overall, it was a good experience.

I love Ruby's salad bar, because it has so much variety. I am a big fan of the Waldorf Salad, which is basically apples, walnuts, mayonnaise and sour cream. Some of the other extras this salad bar has are egg salad and sunflower seeds. They also have a variety of dressings with names on the spoons. I appreciate that I know what I am getting.

For my entree, I ordered a blackened fish sandwich with chile sauce, which was fairly good. The fish was moist and the sandwich essentially fell apart in my hands. The fish tasted fresh and was not too greasy. It was a little spicy but I assumed chile sauce would be spicy.

My only dislike about Ruby's is that everything comes on these small rectangular plates. I suppose the restaurant is trying to be unique, however, it is just a way to make the customer think they are getting more food than they think. I got a small portion of fries.

Though Ruby's has bottomless fries, I really did not feel like looking like a glutton and asking for a second portion. I would have preferred one large portion of fries at the beginning. Red Robin also has this bottomless fries gimmick, and to them I would say, "Give me a large portion of fries at the beginning, and you do not need the bottomless option."

Carl R's

2009-01-31T18:42:00.000-08:00

I ate at Carl R's in Glens Falls, NY tonight on the way back from West Mountain. I give it very high marks.

To start, chips and salsa are brought to the table, free of charge. The salsa is full of large bites of tomato. It is definitely fresh made, unlike Chili's watery salsa.

I ordered a buffalo chicken salad which I felt was fairly good. My only regret was that the portion of buffalo chicken on the salad was rather small. The presentation of the salad was strong, with four celery sticks lining each corner of the plate. A large amount of grated cheese was put on the salad. The vegetables were fresh and did not taste like they came out of a bag. The salad was reasonably prices at around 9 dollars.

I shared a brownie sundae with a friend, which was also very tasty. The brownie was warm and covered in rich hot chocolate. The vanilla ice cream was very rich and creamy.

NY Grill

2009-01-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

I have eaten at the NY Grill in Colonie Center twice, and I give it very high reviews. The food is not cheap, but it is fresh and tasty. The menu has a great deal of variety, with both American and Greek entrees. There are a lot of fried foods, and also some good salads.

I had a fried chicken sandwich, which was $4.00. It was made fresh to order, so it came out piping hot. The chicken patty was all white meat, and very tasty. The inside was juicy and the outside was crispy. The sandwich was topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. The kaiser roll was large and fluffy. The value meal costs $2.00 more and comes with fountain drink and fresh, crispy shoestring fries. This meal was far superior to anything I have ever eaten at McDonalds or Wendy's.

One disappointment I have with the NY Grill is that breakfast is only served until 12am on the weekdays. Hopefully someday I will get an egg sandwich or a Western omelet from the NY Grill and report on it.

The salad from the NY Grill is about $6.00. A picture is attached

Sapienza Pizza

2009-01-23T19:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight I ate at Sapienza, a pizza place right next to the Times Union Center in downtown Albany. The place was crowded, so I knew I was in for a treat.

The pizza is one of the best I have tasted in this area, and similar to the pizza I would find in downstate NY, which has excellent pizza. The crust is thin and there is a lot of cheese on the pizza. Overall, the taste is a nice blend of mozzarella cheese and olive oil. The slices are huge.

The price is high for pizza, but not bad for downtown Albany. Two slices of pizza and a medium fountain drink is $6.00. At Mild Wally's in Pine Hills, Albany you can get two slices and a soda for $3.00. However, downtown Albany is pricey because the politics makes it a destination for people around the state.

Whenever I attend an event at the Times Union Center, I head to Sapienza if I want pizza rather than Jonathan's. They give larger slices and the price is about the same.

Red Robin

2009-01-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had a Crispy Chicken Salad at Red Robin. Though the portion size was good, the taste of the salad was not as good as Chili's, or either Wendy's for that matter. The salad is perhaps not the best item to order at Red Robin.

Taste: the crispy chicken in the salad was a little dry, and the pieces were very small. I could have had fresher chicken on my salad had I got the salad at Wendy's. The other ingredients in the salad were of comparable quality to Wendy's and not as good as restaurants like Friday's or Chili's. The lettuce also tasted like it came from a bag.

Portion: The portion size was good, though not as large as Chili's.

Cost: $9.99 is comparable with other restaurants of this kind.

Deli and Brew

2009-01-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

I had a large roast beef sandwich today at the Deli and Brew on Route 4 in Troy, right outside Hudson Valley Community College. This was one of the tastiest roast beef sandwiches I have ever had. The roast beef and cheese were freshly sliced and piled high onto the sandwich. This is more meat than even a double meat sandwich at Subway. Possibly a pound of roast beef and American cheese was placed onto the sandwich. The onions were not bitter and the pickles were excellent (not pickle chips, but long Claussen stackers). It was definitely not a Weight Watchers entree, but it was delicious. For $8.49, this sandwich provided me with two meals. This place is almost worth the 20 minute drive out to Troy.

Mr. Subb - The Neba

2009-01-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Mr. Subb has brought back the Neba, a hot roast beef sandwich. The Neba is good, but not great. It is better than Arby's, but not quite as good as Maurice's.

The Neba comes with a large portion of moist, flavorful roast beef. When you order the Neba, the server will ask you if you want "tiger sauce" which tastes like mayonnaise with horseradish. It is tasty, but takes away from the flavor of the roast beef a little bit. The Neba would be better if it came with a side of au jus. The sandwich comes on a hard roll.

For $3.99, the Neba is comprable to Arby's and Maurice's. Arby's and Mr. Subb both taste artificial to me. Maurices is fresly sliced, and the bun is dipped in au jus sauce.

Fuddruckers

2009-01-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

I had a hamburger combo at Fuddrucker's today. The restaurant was quite empty tonight. I am not sure if it is because of the slippery roads, but the prices do not help. A 1/3 pound hamburger combo is about $8.50.

The burger has excellent flavor. It seemed quite small for a 1/3 pound; it did not nearly cover the bun. The burger was moist and juicy. The fries were average. The seasoning was good, but they were definitely not fresh cut. For the cost, I was hoping for a large portion of fresh fries.

One of the benefits of Fuddruckers is the fresh and bountiful fixins bar. The pico de gallo and the banana peppers are definitely unusual for a burger joint. The lettuce and tomato looks extremely fresh.

The great thing about the combo meal is that it comes with a cookie. I love ending my meal with a cookie. The cookies are small, but they are fresh and warm.

Emperors

2009-01-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

I went to Emperors tonight with my girlfriend. I must say Emperors is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the area. It is as good as Ichiban. It is of similar or better quality than downstate Chinese restaurants.

For appetizers, we ordered won ton soup and a spring roll. The won ton soup was a large portion with large, meaty won tons. The spring roll was also large and crispy. It tasted as if it had just been pulled out of the fryer.

For dinner, we had orange chicken and roast pork chow fun. The orange chicken was a pleasant surprise. Chicken dishes in Chinese restaurants have one of two flaws: either the chicken is dark meat and fatty, or the chicken is heavily breaded. Emperor's orange chicken is large chunks of white meat that are not over fryed. There is the taste of breading, but one is not overwhelmed by it. The chow fun is perfect -- greasy noodles with rich, fatty pork. The pork was not shredded; real chunks of pork made it into the dish.

The meal was finished with a fortune cookie that was fresh and not stale. Emperors clearly has their act together. They score an A+ for me. Dinner at Emperor's is a little more expensive than Chili's, but sometimes Chinese food is just what the doctor ordered.

Mr. Subb

2008-12-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today I was looking for a cheap meal in Colonie Center, so I went over to Mr. Subb. Mr. Subb is not too bad, though it does not rank quite as high as Subway or Quiznos.

The tuna sandwich is smaller than Subway. Mr. Subb only uses half a wrap, whereas Subway uses a whole wrap. I wondered to myself, "How much can a wrap possibly cost?" The portion of tuna was similar to Subway. It was topped with cheese, pickles, lettuce and tomato. The wrap did seem to have a funny taste to it.

Mr. Subb does not have the see-thru counter like Subway, which is one of the things I like best about Subway. At Subway, I can see everything that is going into my sandwich. At Mr. Subb, the food prep is hidden behind a counter. I believe Mr. Subb does offer the same kinds of veggies on its sandwiches as Subway, and based on my experienced at Mr. Subb, the veggies are of good quality.

Mr. Subb has a frequent buyer's card, which does not seem as generous as Subway's. I need to eat 12 small subs at Mr. Subb to get one free sub. Subway uses the points system, where every dollar I spend earns me a point for each dollar spent. I can eat 7 6-inch subs at Subway and get a free 6 inch sub, assuming a sub costs $5.

Price: A small tuna at Mr. Subb is $3.49, which is comprable to Subway.

Panera Bread

2008-12-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today I had breakfast at Panera Bread. I must say I was a little disappointed with my bacon and eggs sandwich. It ranks below Dunkin Donuts.

Panera caters to the crowd that likes more exotic foods, whereas Dunkin is more like a high school cafeteria. Panera offers Vermont Cheddar on its sandwiches, Dunkin offers American. Panera uses real eggs over easy which are cooked every night, while Dunkin uses powdered eggs. Even though I prefer real eggs to powdered eggs, I did not like the Panera eggs. They may have been cooked overnight and then zapped when I ordered my sandwich.

Panera offers a greater variety of food of pastries and sandwiches than Dunkin Donuts. However, it's food is significantly more costly than Dunkin. The egg and cheese sandwich at Panera cost $3.79, however, at Dunkin, it would have been $2.49.

Panera does have a more upscale atmosphere than Dunkin. I appreciate that the coffee fixins comes complete with lemon wedges and honey, neither of which is offered at Dunkin. For those with laptops, Panera does have 802.11b wireless access. Perhaps because Panera is not as heavily trafficked as Panera, the floor is not dirty with the mud and snow from the outside.