Love that Salad Creations!

At least once a week I end up in Clifton Park around Exit 9.  It is a busy area with tons of food options, most of which are chain restaurants.  From my options, I always seem to choose Salad Creations.  It is convenient, reasonably priced, and just plain tasty.  Of course, I also love salad.

Salad Creations is located in the Clifton Park Plaza strip mall, right next to Marshall's.  The place has a very inviting feel.  It is spacious and has a lot of large windows in front.  Inside, the walls are painted in pastel colors and pictures of (what else?) salad are hanging from the walls. 

When you enter Salad Creations, you are immediately greeted by your salad creator who is smartly dressed in a chef's cap.  He takes your order and asks you whether you would like a junior size or a full size salad.  I always go for the full size -- it is just a little more money and a lot more food.  He makes your salad right in front of you, and adds salad dressing to taste.  If you don't like any of the salads on the menu, you can always make your own. 

The salads over at Salad Creations are pretty good.  This is a full size chinese chopstick salad.  It is a pretty big meal for around $8.00.  The lettuce is always fresh and crispy, and I love the wontons and the Asian peanut dressing.  It is making me hungry just looking at it!  My only complaint is that there could be larger strips of chicken in the salad. 

In my opinion, Salad Creations is a hit!  Everyone is looking to eat healthier these days.  True, not all salads are healthy, and certaintly the one I featured probably has more calories than a Lean Cuisine.  However, I feel much more comfortable eating this than I would a Subway sandwich or a Big Mac.  The quality is better and it has lots of veggies!  They need to open one of these along Western Avenue in Albany.  I am sure it would do quite well. 

Crispy Basil: A new pizza place in a very crowded market

My girlfriend and I tried the new Crispy Basil restaurant, inhabiting the old Friendly's on Western Avenue.  It is the second Crispy Basil in the area.  As I drive along that stretch of Western Avenue every day, I have peeked at the Crispy Basil parking lot and have noticed that they do not attract much business.  I was somewhat concerned about whether or not our food would be good, but I wanted to try something new.

Crispy Basil has tons of coupons in this month's Coupon Clipper magazine.  One of the coupons is two salads for $11.99.  My girlfriend and I were in the mood for something relatively healthy after working out at the gym, so we figured we would take advantage of this great deal.

The restaurant is fairly well appointed on the inside, especially for a pizza place.  It is a casual fare restaurant than a fine dining experience.  There is no waiter/waitress service.  There is seating for around 20 people.

Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing we encountered is the display case of pizza.  The pizza in the display case did not look too appetizing.  It did not look inedible, but it looked like it had been sitting there all day.  That confirmed my idea that business is slow at this establishment.

We ordered our salads from the owner and picked up two drinks from the refrigerator.  We handed him our coupon but he allowed us to keep it, which we both thought was very nice of him.

Both of us got very nice sized salads, as you can tell from the picture below.  Mine was a chicken salad with the chicken tossed in mild buffalo sauce.  The lettuce was high quality romaine, which I appreciated.  The chicken was fresh off the grill and in plentiful supply.  I liked my salad a lot.

Overall, we had a very positive experience at Crispy Basil.  Now that we still have our coupon, we will go back again for salads.  I will not be buying my Super Bowl pizza from them though.  I will get it from Price Chopper, which surprisingly enough has excellent pizza for a supermarket.

Montreal Poutine is worth the calories!

I first came across Montreal Poutine at the Saratoga Race Track this summer.  I wandered by several times, allured by the smell of the fresh-cut french fries.  I did not give way to temptation this summer though.  I figured my trips to the track were expensive enough without me having to buy french fries.

Tonight, I dropped my girlfriend off at Crossgates and I noticed a Montreal Poutine in the food court area.

Business appeared to be booming.  I had to try it.  I did not have the poutine, however.  I had a smoked meat sandwich, which cost around $6.00.  That is a pretty good deal for the mall.

I have not had smoked meat in awhile, so I do not have anything to compare it to.  It was a very good sandwich though.  Very fatty, but very good.  The meat was so soft, tender and flavorful.  It tasted exactly like corned beef, but a little moister.

It is not something I can eat every day, but once in a while, I would like to stop over at Montreal Poutine for something different.  Maybe next time, I will even try the french fries.  They have sweet potato fries too, which is a healthier alternative.  I give Montreal Poutine a thumbs up!

Found a new favorite seafood place

My girlfriend and I were looking for a good non-chain seafood restaurant in the Capital Region.  They can be a little hard to find.  Reel Seafood is good, but they are kind of expensive.  We decided to check out Salty's Pub and Bistro in Clifton Park.  A friend was having a meetup there, and she knows her food, so we figured we would take a chance.

Salty's is located off of Exit 8A on 215 Guideboard Road in Clifton Park.  It is a nondescript shop in a nondescript strip mall.  Inside, Salty's has a very friendly atmosphere.  About half the space is allocated to the bar, and half is allocated to the bistro.  Even on a Monday night, it was a little noisy, which we did not mind too much.  However, those who enjoy a quiet dining experience, beware!  Wood trim abounds in the interior, giving the restaurant a warm, cozy feel.  Pop music plays in the background.

Because Salty's looks kind of plain from the outside, I assumed the menu would be quite limited.  On the contrary!  Salty's has a variety of dishes, and an extensive seafood menu.  My girlfriend and I were very excited.  I decided to order Salty's Famous Fisherman's Platter.  I had high hopes, and Salty's exceeded my expectations! Out came a generous portion of fried seafood wrapped in a bread shell of some kind, with coleslaw and a baked potato.  I tossed aside the shell (too many calories), and headed straight for the fish. First, I bit into the scallops.  My taste buds were so happy when I bit into the juicy, fresh seafood.  I instantly said to my girlfriend, "We have to go back to this place!"

For a nondescript place, Salty's sure took me by surprise.  This just confirms in my mind that it is not always the fancy places that have the best food.  I would go to Salty's over Reel Seafood or Red Lobster any day.

Jewish soul food at Ben and Bill's

There are very few places in the Capital Region where one can go for a good pastrami sandwich.  One of those places is Ben and Bill's Deli in Price Chopper.  I had never been to Ben and Bill's before.  Having spent the day in Saratoga Springs, I figured I would stop over in the Saratoga Springs Price Chopper on Route 50, which is one of only two Price Chopper's which has the Ben and Bill's Deli.  It was well worth the trip.

Ben and Bill's makes authentic New York style deli sandwiches.  I cannot think of too many places in the area that makes Jewish deli sandwiches.  Gershon's is one, and they are wonderful.  However, I was in Saratoga Springs today, so I figured I would soothe my longing for Jewish deli at Ben and Bill's. 

I stepped up to the counter, and ordered a half pastrami, half corned beef sandwich.  In my earlier years, I would order a whole pastrami sandwich, but now that I am older, I wanted to eat a little healthier.  I do not know how much healthier corned beef is than pastrami, but at least I was making an effort.  To my delight, the employee pulled one brand new fresh pastrami and one corned beef out of the oven, and put both meats in the deli slicer.  I drooled as I saw the greasy meats being placed onto my sandwich.  I was excited to eat this tasty meal.  It came in a little box with a pickle on the side and a bag of fresh cooked potato chips. 

I was not disappointed.  The meats were moist and delicious, but perhaps a bit too fatty.  The grease from the meats blended in with the rye bread and mustard to make a delicious concoction.  The sandwich was much more than I should have eaten;  however, I ended up finishing it.  I wanted to 'try' the potato chips, so I opened them up and they were so delicious, I ended up finishing the bag. 

The one thing that Ben and Bill's does not have going for it is its ambiance, or lack thereof.  Ben and Bill's is smack dab in the middle of Price Chopper, albeit a very nice Price Chopper.  There are pictures of Jewish celebrities and pictures of NYC in the dining area which create the impression that you are in a Jewish deli, but really it still feels like you are in a Price Chopper rather than an authentic Jewish deli.

The sandwich, pickle, potato chips and a seltzer cost about $10, which is not bad.  I forgot to show the cashier my Price Chopper card, otherwise, I would have gotten a little bit closer to that precious $.10 off on gas.  I truly enjoyed my meal at Price Chopper.  I would definitely go back in a couple of months (or weeks) and get another pastrami or corned beef sandwich.  Next time, if I indulge and eat the whole sandwich, I will not eat the chips. 

Caffe Vero is a quintessential coffee shop

Today, I went to Caffe Vero on 260 Lark Street in Albany with some friends.  It is located in between the flower shop and Bombers Burrito Bar.  I am very impressed by this coffee shop.  The only drawback is that there is not more room inside for people to sit down. 

My girlfriend and I got to Caffe Vero on Sunday at 10:30AM.  Caffe Vero has a tiny storefront, so we almost passed by it.  Inside, the atmosphere of Caffe Vero is very inviting.  Obviously, a lot of work has been put into the interior of the store.  The store boasts all-wood floors.  On the left-hand wall is pictures of coffee, and on the right hand wall is art work for sale.  There is a series of smalll round tables spread around the restaurant. 

As you enter the restaurant, the counter lies in front of you.  The menu at Caffe Vero is very simple.  Caffe Vero is not like Starbucks, where you can choose from maybe 40 different coffees and teas.  There are less than 20 drinks on the menu at Caffe Vero, and perhaps 10 choices of pastry.  There are no breakfast sandwiches, or deli sandwiches. 

Though Caffe Vero does not have a large menu, everything that they do have appears to be very good.  I had the apple struessel muffin and a iced Jasmine tea.  The apple streussel muffin was home made and contains many chunks of apple.  It was moist and delicious.  My only regret was the fact that it was not a little bit bigger.  The iced jasmine tea was also excellent.  It tasted sweet and crisp.  It was not overloaded with ice like the Dunkin Donuts iced drinks.  A 16 ounce cup of iced tea is $2.00, which makes it a little cheaper than Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.

Unfortunately, I did not have the coffee because coffee is too strong for my stomach.  However, the coffee did look delicious.  Caffe Vero does coffee the way I would imagine Starbucks did coffee in the early days.  The baristas are in control of the french press, so they brew the coffee according to their expertise. 

Caffe Vero is a wonderful coffee establishment with a warm atmosphere and great drinks and pastries.  My only wish is that the restaurant be a little larger and have larger tables so that larger parties of people could get together.  I imagine Caffe Vero will have a very large fan base in Albany. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.