Memphis King BBQ

We don't venture out to Schenectady much but when we do, man is it good eats. Our recent adventure satisfied a long time craving for good, comforting BBQ. It's a charming hole-in-the-wall type of place but Memphis King BBQ delivers on promises of tender and properly smoked meat. 

The brisket is delightfully succulent and kissed with a ring of smoke. Ribs are smoked to perfection with this awesome bark yet falling off the bone. The pulled chicken was a tad dry but still flavorful. The sides are equally as amazing. The mac 'n cheese is one of the best around but it's the baked beans that we can't stop raving about. They're sweet and creamy but it's the chunks of smoky meat that really adds to the flavor of the beans. It's drool-worthy. 

Memphis King BBQ is really on point with letting the meat shine with just the right amount of smokiness, allowing you to customize even more to your liking with an an array of sauces. The house and hot ones were our favorites but it's worth trying them all. 

One menu item not to overlook is the fried chicken. Despite being a BBQ joint, this place rocks a mean piece of crispy buttermilk fried chicken. The flavor is all in the dark meat of the chicken thighs they use and to boot, it's deboned and only $3.99 a piece. Consider it another wonderful side dish to all the wonderful BBQ.

Carmen's Cafe

Since R and I met, poor service has kind of become our thing. The first time I ever saw her was at a friend's birthday party at Brown's in Troy, where I ordered a soda three or four times and somehow never got it.  Since then, almost every place we've gone has featured long wait times, being completely ignored by waitstaff, kitchen errors, and stale/unseasoned food.  It isn't consistent, but it is unusually regular.  I suspect this is the reason we like to search out the little known, uncharted places in the area.  For one we both have pretty adventurous tastes, but also with this curse hanging over us, if we have a good experience then we know it's a genuinely great place.

Unfortunately, Carmen's Cafe fell completely flat on all the above issues.  It started well enough, we sat and were seen immediately for food and drink orders (although, oddly, by different waitresses).  The decor and floor were also nice, though my chair was set at the corner of the fireplace, forcing me to sit at a slight angle to the table.  Just enough to be annoyed but not enough to say anything or move once we had sat. 

The wait for our food was a good half hour for eggs. EGGS!  It was probably worse for R because it was her first meal that day (I take early classes on weekends), but regardless it's kind of long for breakfast in a dining room that's only half full.  Service fell down a bit here, as we finally had to ask what was going on with our food at the half hour mark (nobody had let us know the kitchen was backed up or checked on us in that time, though our water glasses were kept full which I appreciate).  Fortunately, at that point it was in the window anyway.

Maine Luau Lobster Pound & BBQ Pit

If there's one thing we've learned from this Maine vacation, is to take chances. One thing about going to Bar Harbor the weekend before Memorial Day Weekend is that most places aren't open yet! Plus while it was 80 degrees in Albany, it was about 55 degrees and rainy all week in Maine. We were pretty disappointed to see so many places still boarded up, including the winery and lobster pound that was next to our cottage. Bummer. At least we got a good rate out of our stay and places weren't clogged with tourists! By the time dinner time rolled around, we were determined to get our fill of more lobsters. An ad in our handy dandy cottage visitors guide led us astray to a restaurant that wasn't open for the season yet. Clearly this was becoming trend on our Maine trip (i.e. Duckfat to Eventide experience), because on a whim we decided to visit a lobster pound that was Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives worthy. Talk about not judging a book by its cover...