Top Bites of 2014

Happy 2015! We're a bit late jumping on this bandwagon but looking over this past year's food shots made us drool all over again. We named Tara Kitchen's Lamb Tagine our favorite local food of 2014 on All Over Albany but couldn't resist reminiscing over these wonderful bites too: 

Sweet Sue's Breakfast Pasta: As if breakfast pizza wasn't amazing enough, we've found a new brunch favorite in this wonderful carb-filled bowl of fresh pappardelle with smoky bacon, earthy portabella mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes all topped with cheese and a perfectly poached egg. The moment that velvety egg yolk breaks and coats those beautiful strands of pasta is magical.  Once you twirl a forkful into your mouth, you'll want to shovel the rest. 

DeFazio's Linguini with Clam Sauce: 2014 was the year of tasty carbs. DeFazio's is well-known for its pizza, winning the 2014 All Over Albany Tournament of Pizza Championship. But it was the pasta that left a memorable impression. Made in-house and from scratch, this pasta doesn't get any fresher or better, except maybe with some tomato sauce and a few shakes of freshly-grated parmesan cheese. 

Cider Belly Doughnuts: The classic cinnamon sugar doughnut topped FUSSYlittleBLOG's 2014 Tour de Donuts but it's the glazed ones that we can't get enough of. With rotating flavors like butter rum, apple cider glazed, and German chocolate among a slew of other unique flavors, you'll quickly find yourself filling up an order for a dozen or two. It's not easy picking a favorite but the coffee-flavored ones are stellar. The Stacks Caffeinator Belly was an extra special pick-me-up treat; made with Stacks espresso and glazed with coffee, it was the ultimate jolt of flavor.

Casa Dominica Cuban Sandwich: J's been obsessed with cubanos ever since watching Chef The Movie. Casa Dominica makes a mean pernil, translating to a juicy and flavorful Cuban sandwich. Yes it's a Dominican restaurant but the roast pork is key to this dish. One bite of this sandwich is an explosion of flavors. It's pork on pork action with shredded pernil and slices of salty ham; the combination of meat with melted swiss cheese, zip of mustard, and briny pickles blows any other ham and cheese sandwich out of the water. As an added bonus, you'll even find bits of crispy pork rind throughout each bite adding extra texture and flavor. 

Council Rock Brewery Burger: More 607 than 518 but Council Rock Brewery in Cooperstown churns out good beer and good food. This hands down was the best burger of 2014: maple-glazed angus, topped with brie, pickled green tomatoes, on a pretzel bun. It's a lot of unorthodox ingredients but they all complement each other very well creating a satisfying salty and sweet flavor combo. Sadly it's not on the regular menu. 

More Top Bites:
+ Top Bites of 2013

Comfort Kitchen

C'mon. Give me some of your tots. These crispy, golden nuggets of deep fried potato bits can be found at Comfort Kitchen in Saratoga Springs. But these aren't just any ordinary tater tots; they're house-made and worth every delicious greasy bite. The interior is moist and fluffy while the outside has the perfect crunch. Talk about comfort eats. Ask for a side of "Awesome Sauce"--a creamy slightly spicy mystery dip--to complete the tater tot experience. Good luck sharing.

Comfort Kitchen prides itself in using local and seasonal produce, house made ingredients, and sources from local farms. This means quality meats like this slow-roasted pork with house-smoked ham and house-made pickles for a delectable Cuban sandwich. It wasn't exactly an authentic Cuban with Gruyere cheese, but it was a mighty tasty pork sandwich. The bread was pressed perfectly creating a crispy and compact vehicle for all the filling. 

Avocados aren't local but how can you turn down fried avocado?! My favorite local food truck staple are transformed by Comfort Kitchen into these veggie tacos. It's chockfull of textures and flavors--the creaminess of sweet roasted butternut squash, black bean salsa, and of course avocados are mixed with the crunch of the fried breadcrumbs, crisp peppery radish, fresh lettuce, and corn tortillas (albeit a bit stale). A squeeze of lime and the zesty chipotle mayo added that extra zip of flavor. If fried things and pork products are your vices, rest assured, Comfort Kitchen can make your dreams come true. We're eyeing the pork belly tacos and pulled pork mac 'n cheese next. 

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.