The newest addition to downtown Albany is a cute little bakery called Fifth Tier Baking Studio. You may have heard of this place a few years ago, but then assumed it fell through when nothing ever materialized. Actually, the owner has had a pretty rough go of it since announcing the new venture in 2014 –… Continue reading Fifth Tier Baking Studio
This weekend was the soft opening of the new Plumb Oyster Bar in Troy. I’ve been eagerly watching its development in the news, but menu details have been sparse. Mainly I have been wondering if there would be full entrees in addition to the oysters, and what the pricing would be like. So this weekend’s opening was… Continue reading Plumb Oyster Bar
The fall season brings with it lots of wonderful seasonal specialties, especially in the Capital Region. Even though the weather has turned decidedly winter-like in the past few days, I wanted to highlight a few food items that make me excited about fall when I start seeing the leaves turn. Cider Donuts I have long… Continue reading Fall Favorites
Those of you who’ve chatted with me in the past about my hopes for the blog may know that I have been longing to be invited to judge a food event. I can think of few better ways to spend an afternoon. And I finally got such an opportunity this weekend through my involvement in… Continue reading Trial by Combat at The Enchanted City
Another regional food that I have been working to appreciate is the Capital District’s unique form of fish fry. A long piece of fish (usually haddock) is breaded and fried, and then served on a simple roll (usually just something like a hot dog bun). The sandwich doesn’t have any other frills, although you can… Continue reading Fish Fry vs. Fish Fry
Hong Kong Bakery & Bistro on Wolf Road in Colonie has become one of my favorite places in the Capital District to order from a dim sum menu. Yes, I still wish we had one of the traditional cart-style dim sum establishments around here, but of course I realize that there’s not enough demand to sustain… Continue reading Hong Kong Bakery & Bistro
I was fortunate enough this week to be invited to a local vendor sampling for bloggers at Whole Foods as part of their Colonie store’s two year anniversary. The opening of Whole Foods (and Trader Joe’s and multiple ShopRites before that) has been part of a gradual evolution of the grocery store scene in the… Continue reading On Capital Region Grocery Stores
If you find yourself craving dumplings and you have a group of 5-10 people to go with you, Northeast Dumplings House is the place to be. Unfortunately, if you’re on your own, you’ll be unhappy to find out that the restaurant only serves its dumplings in orders of 15. This setup makes it incredibly hard to… Continue reading Northeast Dumplings House
My previous post on bagels from Rensselaer County and Northern Columbia County (Bagels: East of the River) has generated a lot of discussion among friends and acquaintances about what makes a good bagel and where the “go-to” places are in the Capital Region. So it was only a matter of time before I felt the… Continue reading Bagels: West of the River
The reluctant appearance of warmer weather in the Capital District means that lunch options for downtown Albany workers expand dramatically. Food trucks line West Capitol Park, and the weekly farmers market on Empire Plaza adds another batch of trucks and food vendors to choose from. I was feeling summery and inspired this week to do… Continue reading On Food Trucks and Mediocrity
Crumbs Around the Capital 