currently snacking on...

...Hill Street Cafe cheddar gravy fries. Just as good as we remember from
Tour de Disco Fries, in all its cheesy, fatty glory. Turkey gravy's a must.

Ravenous Creperie

A taste of France in Saratoga? We are obsessed with TC Paris and its delicate and magical confections so why not complete the French experience and balance the sugar out with some crepes and frites from Ravenous Creperie. Crepes come in savory and sweet options, so we got one of each.  

Chicken Bechamel: This savory version is stuffed with sauteed chicken and broccoli with a creamy bechamel sauce. The crepe batter was nice and thin but the filling lacked seasoning and was disappointingly bland.

Crepe Rhubarbe: Sweet crepes are Ravenous' forte. The filling is the right balance of sweet and tart with fresh strawberries, apples, and rhubarb and just the right amount of sugar. A dollop of whipped cream rounded out the dish and was the perfect topping for an added decadence. 

Pomme Frites: We missed the boat on poutine but weren't disappointed by an order of fries. These handcut frites were stellar and delightfully golden and crispy. An order comes with your pick of dipping dipping sauces from pesto mayo to sriracha ketchup. Most of the sauces we wanted to try had ran out but the horseradish mayo we ended up with was a good creamy accompaniment. With these sturdy fries, we had high hopes for the poutine. 

Poutine: Finally on a return visit, we got to try the poutine. I could tell the owner had a French Canadian accent and was hoping that from one Canadian ex-pat to another that flavors from my childhood would come through. Sadly, this did not live up to our expectations. The gravy had good flavor but was thin and lacking. As for the cheese curds, they did not squeak and weren't the flavor we were looking for.  For what it's worth, the fries were still good. Our search for good States-side poutine continues. Squeak squeak. 

Poutine La Banquise

Squeaky cheese curds. Thick, salty gravy. Fresh, crispy fries. It's so magical when all these elements come together in harmony. During a recent trip up north, we found the mecca of all poutines at La Banquise in Montreal. We've always stuck to basic poutine at La Belle Province, a run-of-the-mill chain by my folks' place, but J and I decided to venture out on our own this time. After repeatedly seeing La Banquise featured on Cooking Channel's Unique Eats, it was time to stop salivating and experience this much hyped-about poutinerie. 

We were starving from a not-so-great wedding buffet and really needed a late night snack to cure some hangry grumps. Lucky for us La Banquise is open 24hrs a day. Now that's dedication to poutine. You know the food will be good when you have to wait in a long line. We opted for the takeout line for a shorter wait. La Banquise takes its poutine very seriously. Here you'll find 30 different kinds of poutine. You read that right. The Canadian delicacy ranges from a classic version to a Montreal favorite with smoked meat and even takes on Mexican flavors with guacamole and tomatoes. For us gluttons, "La Trois Viandes" was calling our names. 

Meet a mess of deliciousness in all its meaty glory. It's not pretty but man did it hit the spot. The ground beef had some crispy bits mixed in with bacon and the hot dogs were brilliantly cut to match the size of the french fries so every forkful had a bit of everything. This poutine had everything we wanted and more. The cheese curds squeaked so much it almost brought us to tears. We're always so disappointed whenever we come across a 518 poutine swimming in a thin gravy or melted curds. We've never gotten the whole trifecta with the exception of The Montreal Poutine Truck and Creo. The Canadians really have mastered the art of assembly. The gravy was just hot enough to coat the fries but not turn them into complete mush or melt the cheese. Even the fries tasted amazing, retaining some crisp despite the mound of toppings and gravy. How did we know it was the best poutine we ever had? The next day, we had it cold for breakfast and the flavors still held up. Looks like we'll be taking more road trips up north this summer. 

Council Rock Brewery

Everyone has a weakness.  A certain place that, no matter what, they can't think a bad thing about.  I'm afraid the Council Rock Brewery in Cooperstown is falling fast into that status to me.  No matter how long it's been, no matter what mood I'm in or even my opinions about how the food and beer could be improved, I have never left there unhappy.  I think it says something that we have made the 1.5 hour trip multiple times primarily to stop there.

There's a refreshing honesty to the food and beer there.  In an age where the push is to culinary innovation and gastrology, it seems like simple done well doesn't get the attention it deserves.  Though the menu is pretty simple it is also executed very well with large portion sizes and surprisingly flavorful sides. You'll find standards like BBQ Pulled Pork simmered in their Brown Ale and Pastrami on marbled rye. But you'll also find some unique twists like Grilled Spicy Andouille Sausage with Gorgonzola Ranch Coleslaw. 

Our favorite are the garlic pesto fries.  Small shoestring fries cooked crispy but not overdone, tossed in an amazing pesto and sprinkled liberally with slices of garlic and served with chipotle aioli.  As much as we enjoy the rest, these fries are the reason we can't take a daytrip to Cooperstown without stopping at Council Rock.

So much for the food, but the reason you go to a brewery is for the beer, right?  Once more Council Rock's product stands proudly alongside any in the area.  I've found that a lot of larger microbreweries seem to stick to an identity to the exclusion of producing a great drink:  Shipyard uses a lot of English hops, Ommegang aggressively spices their drinks, etc.  Council Rock's identity, if it has one, tastes like balance.  The malt and hops are strong enough to be distinctive without drowning each other out, resulting in a surprising complexity for such relatively simple, honest brews.  The Friends and Neighbors Pale Ale is my favorite of the bunch, but even the ones I don't like are all an interesting take on their style.

In spite of its small size and unassuming look, Council Rock is one of my favorite upstate spots for food and beer.  With old-timers' day and the induction ceremony coming up, if you're on your way down to Cooperstown I would absolutely recommend a stop.  After all, baseball is much better with good food and beer.

Creo Restaurant

Do our eyes deceive us? Banh mi AND poutine under one roof? The two dishes we live and die for were both on the lunch menu at Creo Restaurant. It's like they were meant just for us. I was always intimidated by Creo, thinking it was too stuffy to be part of our dining scene.  We frequent Mr. Fuji Sushi and The Meat House on a regular basis but for for some reason or another, we always bypassed Creo at Stuvesant Plaza. Setting our prejudices aside, we set off for to try a new experience. The menu had our names written all over it; how could we pass up on two of our favorite meals?

Our search for poutine in the Capital Region has led us to various interpretations, from The City Beer Hall to Capital City Gastropub, with little success in replicating the flavors and squeakiness of this French Canadian delicacy. They both deserve honorable mentions for use of quality ingredients but the magic is in a certain cheese curd and execution of the dish. It's hard to impress this Canadian-Vietnamese. Thus far, the only place that has been able to perfect the ratio of unmelted cheese curd to crispy fries and gravy has been The Montreal Poutine food truck. The cheese curd I look for has a particular flavor and texture that local cheddar curds here just don't have. Oddly enough, Montreal Poutine truck aside, the only other cheese curd with the exact flavor profile can be found frozen in Trader Joe's version of poutine but the fries and gravy that come with it are atrocious. It's difficult to describe what I'm looking for exactly in terms of flavor but it's almost a cross between mozzarella and cheddar and the texture and squeak of halloumi. So how does Creo's poutine fare? 

Olde English Pub Brunch

Brunch for us has been a streak of disappointments lately. It was only natural to be skeptical of a new experience. Bombers isn't known for any culinary feats unless you count bbq tofu fries. But brunch at its sister restaurant, The Olde English Pub, more than surprised us. J has been looking forward to trying The Albany Distilling Co.'s barrel-aged rum since our tour back in December. We saw a Facebook post for a drink special at OE and had to stop by. We're big fans of Crabbie's ginger beer so a Dark 'n Stormy was right up our alley. It did not disappoint. J picked up on some smoky notes but we both loved how smooth the rum was and it really is a perfect pairing with spicy ginger beer. 

We're late risers so lucky for us brunch hours are from 11am to 3pm. The menu is small but covers your basic sweet and savory classics and some unique twists like a sweet potato and black bean breakfast burrito and Banana Bread Ale whipped cream on french toast. But how could we pass on something like the Breakfast Burger. You all know how much we love The Hollow Burger, so naturally we had high expectations for OE's version made with chuck and short rib meat, avocado, and fried egg. Even though the burger came out more toward the medium side rather than rare, the meat still tasted delicious. The burger was well- seasoned and the creaminess from the avocado and richness from the runny egg yolk made everything come together. They even seasoned the egg! Even the shoe string fries were delicious; perfectly crispy and salted. If it weren't for the The Hollow Burger's habanero ketchup, we'd say this burger is a pretty good contender for our top 518 favorites. 

As for me, the specials board was calling my name. My go to brunch item is usually eggs benedict but housemade pastrami hash with hollandaise sauce with an over easy egg sounded just as good. It was a combination of my favorite benedict elements with another breakfast favorite. The potatoes had a nice crisp and the hollandaise was tangy and creamy, just the way it's suppose to be. I can't tell you how much I appreciate a well-seasoned dish. The pastrami was remeniscent of Montreal smoked meat and while a bit tough, had great flavor. Plus I finally got toast that wasn't stale nor heavily buttered! What a bonus that it was rye toast too, one of my favorites. 

The brunch fairies have finally smiled down upon us. The Olde English Pub is more than the little house with beer in it. We've got to get down here more often. 

Brewery Ommegang & Cafe

J and I decided to venture out to Cooperstown during our staycation. Our goal was to finally visit Brewery Ommegang after unsuccessfully trying to squeeze in a tour and tasting this past summer. The brewery was way too hectic and overcrowded on a July weekend and now that it's fall season, it's the perfect time to visit. Plus the scenic route along Route 20 is perfect for leaf peeping this time of year. 

We got to Ommegang just as a tasting was starting and opted to jump in. Ommegang beers are on the stronger, alcoholic side. Needless to say a 6-mini flight tasting on an empty stomach wasn't exactly the best idea but it's quality beer! Ommegang prides itself on Belgian-style beer and at $3 per tasting plus a souvenir shot glass, it's a steal. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and no, there was no Game of Thrones beer samples but you get the classic six: Witte, Rare Vos, Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Three Philosophers and a fall brew called Scythe & Sickle in honor of the harvest season akin to the pumpkin beers of the season without the spices. 

Montreal Poutine Truck

Not too long ago I had written about authentic French Canadian poutine here in Albany (link to post here). Come to find out, Shirley's Cafe in Jonesville shortly and unexpectedly closed as soon as I wrote that post. Noooo. It was already sad enough that Montreal Poutine had a short run in Crossgates Mall. While we frequented the Mall stop on a semi-regular basis, I can see why they closed. The poutine was never consistent; fries were soggy, not enough salt in the gravy, lacked flavor but the squeaky cheese curd flavor was always spot on. Disappointed that two of our closest Canadian poutine had closed, we almost came to terms that the only way we would ever get great poutine would be to visit my family in Montreal. Then, we saw the light at the end of the poutine tunnel in the form of a shiny yellow truck...

Duckfat

The last time we tried to stop by Duckfat in Portland, the "Closed for Renovations" sign put a kaibosh to our culinary plans but led us to the best lobster rolls of our lives at Eventide Oyster Co. We were on our way to Bar Harbor to spend some quality time by the ocean but duck fat fried fries were calling our names and we just had to make that 1-hr lunch detour. 

We became obsessed with Duckfat when we saw Owner Chef Rob Evans compete on Chopped Champions.  Off the high of last night's Fuel feast, we had high expectations for Duckfat. The joint is considered more of a laid back sandwich place with lots of unique twists, perfect for lunch. You can drool over the menu here. Vacation is the time to splurge and indulge right? Born and raised in Montreal, poutine to me is the epitome of comfort food. Gravy fries with shredded cheese is no poutine. I hold very high standards to every poutine we try, aka I better hear that cheese curd squeak! Duckfat's version of a poutine (hand-cut fries fried in duck fat and smothered with duck gravy) was just o.k. and the Pineland Farm cheese curd didn't squeak. 

I swear the French Canadians have poutine down to a science, even the McDonald's version is good. There's a distinctive taste to a Quebecois cheese curd that no ones seems to have perfected here, except for Shirley's Cafe in Jonesville. The owners are from Montreal and must import their cheese from Canada because it's the only place that makes poutine that tastes like the ones at home to me. We've tried poutines from The City Gastropub and Lil' Britain in Bennington and they don't come close to that at Shirley's. Plus nothing is more disappointing when the gravy completely melts the cheese curds; it's a fine balance of warm gravy to squeaky cold cheese curds to crispy fries.

Back to Duckfat, while the fries had a nice crisp the poutine just didn't wow us. To accompany our paninis, we ordered the craft sodas: a root beer for J and an all Maine tonic for me with raw apple cider vinegar, honey, and maple. Not your typically sweet sodas, but a nice refreshing drink to cut the rich flavors of our sandwiches. Reubens are J's go to sandwiches and he couldn't pass on the Corned Beef Tongue Reuben. You read that right! The corned beef tongue was cut very thinly and not tough at all. Paired with housemade sauerkraut, thousand island, and pressed on crispy rye bread, it was the perfect panini. Mine on the other hand, I was a bit disappointed with. I ordered the Roast Pork Belly panini: with pickled peppers, manchego, and saffron-tabasco mayo. As much as I love pork belly, I just wasn't wowed by my sandwich. The richness of the pork belly needed to be offset by more acidity and the mayo added more richness that wasn't necessary. 

Overall, Duckfat was a bit of a let down except for the reuben. I'm hoping we can squeeze in a redemption trip in the near future because we do love to try new and unique eats.