Colder temperatures definitely call for comfort food, as if that wasn't enough of an excuse to indulge in a few extra calories. Here's a look back at some of our favorite fall bites:
Cider Sunday: Ninepin Ciderworks organized a PYO apple and cider festival at Samascott Orchards. It featured a delicious pig roast by Lovers Leap Farm complete with sweet potatoes and and corn right from the farm and an icy glass of fresh pressed cider and apple cider doughnut for dessert.
Things got pretty meta when we started drinking in the orchard. Nine Pin sources a majority of their apples from Samascott and it was pretty awesome drinking in the very place where the fruit comes from.
Twin Peaks Coffee & Donuts: We found ourselves at a doughnut shop while exploring the Catskills and its beautiful foliage. On a whim we stopped by this charming place in Tannersville for hot old-fashioned cake donuts. Each batch is fried to order by a donut robot and freshly glazed as it comes off the conveyor belt . Couldn't go wrong with the maple bacon but it was the Boston creme and samoa doughnuts that had us devouring half the order.
TC Paris Bakery: Our favorite French bakery is back after a brief hiatus. You can now find them inside the Pavilion Grand Hotel serving breakfast and lunch daily alongside their decadent confectionaries. For the ultimate comfort food duo, go for the buttery mac 'n cheese made with imported gruyere and aged cheddar and a to-die-for ham and cheese croque monsieur made with a rich and creamy bechamel. Oooey gooey cheese hits the spot. Be sure to leave room for a macaron or two.
Bees Knees Cafe: After Supper Club, I knew I wanted to return to Heather Ridge Farm during the daylight to not only enjoy the fall foliage but the weekend brunch. The menu changes every weekend and on this particular day we enjoyed a farm-fresh egg breakfast plate with and house-made corned beef hash and Irish bangers braised in cider with local potatoes and side of brown bread to mop it all up. Flavors were so fresh and knowing the meats were made from pasture-raised and grass-fed animals right from the farm made the experience even more special.
Cafe Capriccio: I can't believe it took me 8 years to finally make it here. This Capital Region institution has been serving regional Italian cuisine for more than a quarter century and and we only recently made it here for THE BEST plate of pasta. Handmade tagliatelle is tossed in a robust ragu made with tender, melt-in-your mouth wild Icelandic lamb, root vegetables, garlic, cabernet, and tomatoes. The fresh pasta was a wonderful canvas for the sauce. Each bite unfolded layer upon layer of flavor. You'll be seeing us carb loading into the winter months at Cafe Capriccio.
The days of summer are long gone but the memory of a delectable meal from Peck's Arcade lingers:
Sipping a sloe gin fizz on a perfect sunny day. So smooth as it went down the hatch.
Devouring creamy bites of this 23-Layer Potato [gruyere frico, salsa verde, merlot jam]. Thinly sliced potatoes are intricately layered and seared until a golden crust forms. The crispy wafer of nutty, salty cheese was the cherry on top.
Marveling at the rainbow of colors and flavors of this duck with chow chow, frise, and hazelnuts. It was an unexpected blend of familiar Asian notes with a Southern slaw, but its complexity was a welcomed flavor profile.
Carb-loading on homemade tagtiatelle with lamb bolognese, peas, and ricotta. There's nothing better than fresh pasta with a rich, comforting meat sauce. The only drawback was that the pasta could've used a bit more cooking time.
Indulging in not one but two desserts: a decadent chocolate brownie with homemade vanilla ice cream and a creamy and tangy chevre goat cheesecake that was not only a piece of art but as good as it looked. From the friendly service to plating of the dishes, Peck's Arcade attention to detail was impeccable. As much as we miss summer, we're looking forward to what the team will bring in the coming winter months. Their creativity is endless.
Ok...don't judge us too hard but we also indulged in a third dessert next door at The Grocery. The maple soft-serve topped with feuilletine flakes was irresistible. Hopefully its reincarnation as Little Pecks will bring back the ice cream machine.
