I’ve been a little under the weather for the past week; last Friday, I underwent septoplasty surgery to correct a “grossly deviated” septum. My right nostril was almost 100% blocked, which means I haven’t been able to breathe properly since I don’t know when. Truthfully, I don’t know when – I have no clue when my septum took a sharp right turn. My guess is that it stems from facial trauma I suffered during a car accident in 2001, when my car was totaled and my airbags deployed. But why didn’t I notice a problem then? Again, I can only venture a guess here, but my thinking is that I didn’t notice any problems with breathing through my nose until a few years ago, when I moved in with my husband and was introduced to his hairy demon from hell cat. I am, apparently, allergic to long-haired cats, and the allergies made my poor respiration that much more noticeable and frustrating.

Anyway, since the procedure, I’ve been suffering from mild pain, swelling, congestion, and general malaise. It took five days and an entire bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol for me to feel even remotely human again. It was awful. I’m not even allowed to blow my nose! But probably the worst part of this ordeal was the fact that I had lost my senses of smell and taste due to the considerable swelling of my nasal tissue (No joke. For a while there my nose was looking like Shrek’s). I’d been restricted to a “soft foods” diet, which really didn’t bother me too much because I couldn’t smell or taste anything anyway. In fact, the removal of my two favorite senses made me completely disinterested in food (!!) – so much so that I really wasn’t eating much. I actually lost 5 pounds in the past week because food just seemed like such a waste of time and effort. I was hungry, but hunger pains weren’t enough to entice me to merely ingest calories. Food without taste is just stupid.

Yesterday I felt pretty good – no pain, and I even ventured out of the house for a bit to do some desperately-needed clothes shopping. And today was even better: I had a late afternoon appointment to remove the splints that were inserted into my nose. After an uncomfortable few minutes (imagine someone rooting around inside your nostrils with a giant pair of metal tweezers and a penlight and extracting two Star Wars action figures holding fully extended light sabers, followed by strong suction to whisk away compacted mucus), I experienced something I haven’t experienced in more than four years: full breaths passing through clear nasal passages. It was a minor miracle. My doctor cautioned that my bliss would be temporarily short-lived, however; the congestion would return after about 10-12 hours, followed by another week of slight congestion, after which I should be back to normal. Well, better than normal: actually able to breathe fully through both nostrils. But I still can’t blow my nose for another week or so.

The best part of today: my senses of smell and taste made a reappearance. Not 100% restored, but enough for me to feel like eating and drinking some stuff, just to take my senses for a spin during my window of opportunity. Luckily for me, today was the Downtown Schenectady Merchant Mashup, a neat little event where downtown Schenectady restaurants set up inside downtown retailers for the evening and offer free samples of their menu items. There were eleven restaurant/retail pairings throughout downtown, and I wanted to visit as many as I could in the hour I had to enjoy it. The weather was gorgeous, and the event was really fun, even if I was by myself.  My little trip is documented after the jump.

Welcome to Jay Street!

• Taj Mahal Restaurant @ Zaria & Bella’s: Chicken Tandoori (Chicken marinated in a variety of Indian spices) and Masala Vada (Vegetarian crispy snack made of lentils/spinach and spices). The tandoori was perfect: bright pink/red, cooked until it was juicy and falling off the bone, and with enough spice to make my tongue tingle. The flavor of the masala vada was good, but it suffered temperature and crispness problems from sitting out in a hotel pan for too long. Taj Mahal is a great Indian restaurant, and a favorite among downtown workers looking for a cheap, delicious lunch. I must apologize to the proprietors of Zaria & Bella’s – I never made it inside.
• Tara Kitchen @ New York Folklore Society: Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Dip; Grilled Ground Chicken Kebab with Pomegranate Seeds.  Probably my favorite stop of the evening. I am a huge fan of Tara Kitchen, and I’m thrilled that their little Moroccan restaurant is doing so well since its opening a few months back. Moroccan food is a vivid mosaic of savory, sweet, and spicy flavors, keeping your mouth guessing as to what’s coming up next. The chicken kebab were flavorful (if a tad dry), but Tara Kitchen really hit one out of the park with the eggplant dip. Creamy, spicy, salty. I didn’t detect any pomegranate seeds, but I didn’t really realize that until later.  If you’re interested in checking out this new Schenectady treasure, I’d do it sooner rather than later: they got a great review in the recent issue of Metroland, and people will be crowding the few tables there for the foreseeable future.
• Cafe NOLA @ The Open Door Bookstore: Crawfish Jambalaya – crawfish tail meat and andouille sausage blended with fresh herbs, spices and rice. Pretty good, with a nice kick. I haven’t had crawfish since my high school trip to N’awlins back in ’86.
• Cornell’s Restaurant @ Patricia’s Room: Utica greens (sauteed spinach with garlic and onions, cherry peppers, cappicola), and vegetarian ratatouille (summer squash and zucchini simmered with tomato sauce). I had never had Utica greens before today, and now I’m sorry I’ve wasted so much time. They were fantastic! Nicely spicy, but not overpowering the earthy spinach flavor. I am a convert. The ratatouille was good; not great, just good.
• Bastardo’s Bistro @ From Here to Antiquity: Entrée with layers of chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan and roasted peppers. Bastardo’s is a recent addition to Schenectady’s Little Italy section (such as it is), opening about six months ago. Their menu looks like pretty standard red-sauce Italian fare, moderately priced. The sample they served me was really tasty, and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be heading there for lunch one of these days.
• Manhattan Exchange @ Downtown Designs – Turkey Club Wrap. Neat little shop, so-so sandwich.
• Apostrophe Café @ Anthology Studio: Homemade brownies, coffee samples. Not a whole lot of effort shown here by Apostrophe, but Anthology Studio is a beautiful space and their flowers are spectacular.

Places I didn’t hit:

• The Alto Grille @ Bliss Gifts and Home Decor: Strawberry Banana Fruit Smoothies
• Pinhead Susan’s @ The Katbird Shop: Irish Stew
• Katie O’Byrne’s @ Lennon’s Irish Shop: Guinness Irish Stew (really? two places serving Irish stew?)
• Moon & River Café @ Orenda Yoga & Healing Arts: Basmati Rice Pilaf, special iced tea blend

The event was pretty great; it was so nice to see downtown Schenectady filled with people on a beautiful Friday evening. There was delicious food, live music, booming business, and a festive atmosphere – everything the event planners were hoping for. Congratulations to the folks at Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation for a job well done. I took a bunch of photos; they’re in the gallery below.

If you missed tonight’s festivities, you’ll have another shot in August: the DSIC is planning another Merchant Mashup for the third Friday in August. You can get updates about it, and other downtown events, by checking out their website, www.downtownschenectady.org.

Me? I’m just happy to be on the upswing of recovery. I’ve got a ticket to tomorrow night’s Urban Roots local food/beer event at Brown’s Brewing in Troy, and I am excited to have use of my senses again in time to enjoy it.

But, in an apparent snub to fat-loving Americans, this specialty pie will only available in the UK. WTF, Pizza Hut? We poor Americans have to make do with the KFC Double Down to get our fast food fat fix? How dare you. According to Pizza Hut UK, there are no plans to release the hot dog stuffed crust pizza in the U.S. My guess is, though, that if it makes enough money there, it will be arriving on this side of the pond some unfortunate day soon.

I did some quick calculations, and discovered that a standard 12-inch pizza would contain a circular hot dog boasting an approximate circumference of 37.699 inches (using a ∏ value of 3.14159). A 38 inch long hot dog! Talk about a sausage fest.

If I had the opportunity, I would definitely try it. And I’m certain I’d like it. But, I can’t get it, and that’s probably for the best. No one wants needs that much salt and grease. But it probably tastes so good. I’m so conflicted.

Pizza Hut's Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza. Photo from Pizza Hut UK

I’m a lucky gal. I occasionally get the opportunity to enjoy lunch at the Casola Dining Room at Schenectady County Community College during Practice Week, when the students practice cooking and serving the menu to the week before the restaurant officially opens to paying customers.  Full disclosure: my friend Jay Larkin is an instructor at SCCC, and he invited me and two friends to lunch, as guests of the college. Our meals were provided to us at no charge.

My friends MEB and David – the same crowd I bring with me every time – and I have never eaten at the Casola during Spring Semester  (well, not together anyway), when the menus focus on International Cuisine. This week we were treated to food from Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. The complete Spring Semester schedule is available here, and the menus are available here. I’m extremely interested in the Latium (Rome) menu, so if anyone would like to join me for dinner the week of April 9, hit me up. I’ll bring the wine.

After taking our drink order, our server Lara brought over a basket of warm pita wedges and two mini-tagines of dip (those tiny tagines were adorable – I wish I’d taken a photo): one was a classic hummus, and the other was baba ghanoush . The hummus was the standard recipe (chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil), and tasty, if a little too thick for my liking.

Note to self: I have GOT to remember to post my hummus recipe here. I never buy hummus anymore – mine is the best there is.

The baba ghanoush was off-the-charts good, but slightly different than baba ghanoush I’ve had before – it was made with yogurt (Greek?) in addition to the traditional ingredients (same as hummus, just substituting roasted mashed eggplant for the chickpeas). It was all I could do to stop myself from eating it all myself and licking the bowl clean. It was tangy, refreshing, and pleasantly mouth-cooling. The pitas were good – not great, just good.

For appetizers, MEB and I got the Spanikopita (phyllo pastry stuffed with spinach, onions, ricotta, Romano and feta cheeses, scented with dill and mint; served with red pepper coulis and dill sauce). Really good; nice balance of flavors. Crispy, not-greasy phyllo. The red pepper coulis was terrific, the dill sauce was bland and not so great.

David got the avgolémono soup (traditional Greek soup made with chicken stock, lemon, egg, and rice; garnished with julienne of chicken breast and chives). I tasted a bit of it, and thought it was good, and the lemon was a nice and not overpowering flavor. David called it “cream of lemon soup with rice”, which was not wrong. I’d love to try this soup again, a whole bowl all to myself. I was hesitant to order it, because of the mention of egg in the description. I am not a fan of egg in soup (read: egg drop soup), and was afraid that’s what it would be. It was not.

For our entrees, David and I got the kota kapama (breast of chicken braised in tomato and cinnamon sauce, accompanied by Moroccan couscous and moussaka). The chicken breast was *slightly* overcooked and a tad dry, but the sauce made up for it in spades. Perfectly spiced, warm and tangy all at the same time.  The couscous was tasty – lightly spiced, and speckled with peppers, onions, and currants. The moussaka was good, too – vegetarian, with lasagna-type layers of zucchini, eggplant, and cheese. Some traditional moussakas contain minced meat, usually lamb. I intensely dislike lamb, so I was pleasantly surprised with a vegetarian version.  I think there might have been too many flavors on the plate to consider it well-balanced, but it was a nice way to show off the culinary talents of the students in the kitchen and give them an opportunity to try several recipes.

MEB ordered the tagine of monkfish (monkfish steak rubbed with a Mediterranean herb rub, served on a bed of fresh garden vegetables and braised in a saffron-infused broth). I don’t normally like fish, but this was a creamy, flaky whitefish with a delicate flavor. The vegetables were nicely spiced (go saffron!) and tangy (go capers!). I think I saw some couscous in the bowl too, but MEB will have to confirm that one herself.

On a side note, I was recently asked what I thought might be missing from my home kitchen. There’s really only one piece of equipment that I really, really want but don’t currently own, and that’s a tagine:

On my recent trip to Washington DC, I noticed a vendor at Eastern Market selling some beautiful tagines. I must save some suitcase space the next time I travel there. Sarah, you must remind me. I would probably never use it as a cooking vessel, but some of them are just beautiful pieces of art.

We all ordered baklava for dessert, and it was incredible. Frankly, I would have been happy if I’d had only the baklava for lunch. It’s easily my favorite dessert of all time. Flaky phyllo pastry layered with a spiced walnut mixture, and and drizzled with a honey-lemon syrup. MEB and I were remarking how this version had more nuts than other versions we’d had – definitely a good thing.  The two little triangular pieces of baklava each had a clove stuck in the middle. David and I took ours out; MEB ate hers accidentally (hey, you got a free lunch because of me – I’m allowed a little bit of fun at your expense). And, dammit, I forgot to take a picture of the baklava. But, I did get shots of the other dessert offerings (in the slideshow below).

As always, the atmosphere at the Casola is terrific – clean, elegant, and inviting, with works from local artists hanging on the walls. The front-of-house students are well trained and polite, and offered friendly and attentive service. My only criticism – and it’s minor – is that the servers should know how to pronounce each item on the menu and explain what it is. I still don’t know how to pronounce avgolémono. Maybe my Greek friend could help me out here.

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Lunch at the Casola Dining Room is served Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at Noon and 12:30 p.m; Dinner is served Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with seatings at 7pm and 7:30 pm.  Lunch price is $16.00, and Dinner price is $22.00 (all prices include tax and surcharge).  You may bring in your own wine at a $3 corkage fee per bottle. Reservations are mandatory, and can be made by calling  518-381-1391.  Reservations are taken for ALL meals daily at 10 a.m. exactly two weeks in advance of the desired date.  Dinner always fills up faster than lunch, but don’t take any chances – if you see a menu you like, set your alarm for 10am two weeks ahead of time.  Sometimes they may even have an opening for lunch if you call that same week – it’s worth a try.  I’ve done it before, particularly if it’s a type of cuisine that people aren’t familiar with.

Update 2/16: Steve Barnes (Tablehopping on the TU) reports that The Pentagon Restaurant in Schenectady is now closed.

Fire up OpenTable – Schenectady’s Restaurant Week is coming!  From February 20-26, diners can enjoy 3-course dinners at participating Schenectady County restaurants for the low low price of $20.12. It’s strongly suggested that you make reservations – the most popular (read: expensive) restaurants fill up quickly, and are often sold out.  But, you’re in luck, because Schenectady’s Restaurant Week is featuring 28 (!) restaurants, and you’re bound to find great deals at the vast majority of them.

Here’s the list of the participating restaurants. You can take a look at all of the special restaurant Week menus by clicking over to www.SaySchenectady.org.

• Alto Grille at The Parker Inn
• Ambition Cafe
• Angelo’s Tavolo
• Aperitivo Bistro
• Bangkok Bistro
• Bombers Burrito Bar (Not sure how you get your money’s worth with this one. Wings, burrito, and a beer? Eh. Not worth it.)
• Brandon’s Steak & Seafood
• Café NOLA
• Cella Bistro
• Clinton’s Ditch
• Cornell’s
• John Riccitello’s Restaurant (best Schenectady restaurant you never knew was there)
• Manhattan Exchange
• Moon & River Café (the vegetarian option)
• More Perreca’s
• Pasqualina’s
• Pentagon Restaurant Restaurant is now closed. See note at top of post.
• Petta’s
• The Stockade Inn
• Stoney’s Irish Grill (this one makes me laugh, because this used to be a townie bar that my ex-husband’s parents frequented)
• Taj Mahal
• Tara Kitchen
• Tops American Grill
• Turf Tavern
• Union Inn
• Van Dyck Restaurant & Lounge
• Villa Tuscan Grille
• The Water’s Edge Lighthouse

Lots of choices, and there’s really something for everyone. I have to be honest, though: some of these menus are really stretching it to be included, and it seems that you could get a better deal during anytime other than Restaurant Week. I’m looking at you, Bombers.

Here are my picks for Schenectady Restaurant Week, based on their special menus:

• Best Bang for Your Buck: Looks like Brandon’s is offering the best overall menu. Lobster tail!
• Close second: Cella Bistro. Homemade gnocchi!
• Best Ethnic Choice: Tara Kitchen. The special menu is very limited, but the food is great (had lunch there last week). Harissa Marinated Olives!
• Best Dessert: Café NOLA. Beignets!
• Biggest Dessert: More Perreca’s Famous ½ lb. All Buttercream Cupcake.
• Best Bonus on Menu: Ambition Cafe. Free wine tasting for guests over 21!
• Most Delicious-Sounding Menu Item: Tops American Grill. Bruschetta El Greco: Homemade focaccia bread, grilled and topped with a mixture of virgin olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and crumbled Feta cheese. You had me at sun-dried tomatoes…
• Best Choice if You Like Beef: Turf Tavern. A Prime Rib (plus appetizer & dessert) for $20? Great deal, if you like Prime Rib.
• Best Menu Item That Reminds Me of the Brady Bunch: Manhattan Exchange. Pork Chops and Applesauce.

Bon Appétit à Schenectady!

I’m excited about this, and I know customers of the Troy Farmers Market and Schenectady Greenmarket will be as well – Tara Kitchen (purveyors of Moroccan cuisine at both markets) will be launching their own restaurant in Schenectady, scheduled to open on Tuesday, January 31.

The restaurant – Tara Kitchen, natch – will be located at 431 Liberty Street in Schenectady, just a stone’s throw from City Hall and the Post Office. Their website is listed as “coming soon”, so I don’t have any details on the menu. All I’m saying is that their incredible chicken harira better be on there (I’m sure it will – it’s gained kind of a cult following at the markets and the recipe made it into Metroland’s 2011 Holiday Entertaining issue).

I’m not very familiar with Moroccan cuisine, other than an occasional tagine and some couscous, so I’m looking forward to a new experience. And, it doesn’t hurt that it’s only a few blocks from my office.

Another thing to look forward to: owner Aneesa Waheed has promised a podcast interview with me in the near future, after opening week.

(for fans of their store on State Street, they have closed it in order to focus their efforts on the new restaurant and the farmers markets.)

The Brick House building is located in the Village Square shopping center on Clifton Country Road. Its building formerly housed the failed Arizona Pizza restaurant, and prior to that short-lived endeavor, it was the home of entertainment stores Strawberries and FYE.

The current incarnation is owned by the same family that previously owned the locally legendary Mama’s on Route 146, from 1982 to 2005. After a brief try at retirement, Mama’s family decided they wanted to get back into business.  Mama is now 70 years old, and keeps a close eye on things at The Brick House. How do I know? Keep reading.

The parking lot was quite full – we ended up having to park in the Trustco Bank lot – but we only had to endure a short wait, which we spent enjoying cocktails at the small bar in front of the open-ish kitchen.  Nothing special to report here – standard draft offerings, with lots of Miller Lite neon hanging around.

We were seated in a comfortable booth, and noticed that seating in the restaurant was a bit odd  - there seemed to be a lot of unused/underused/misused space.  I’m fairly certain they could fit two to three more tables in the place if they tried. Each of the booths has its own small TV set, equipped with DirecTV.  But, the one in our booth seemed to be broken. Our server later confirmed that it was the only one in the place not working. Of course.

The service on our first visit (a Saturday night, two weeks before Christmas) was pretty slow. It felt like an eternity before our server arrived to take our dinner order (luckily we still were nursing our cocktails from our wait at the bar).  She seemed extremely frazzled, and wasn’t paying attention as she took our order – her mind was clearly elsewhere. I’ve never worked in a restaurant so perhaps I am unqualified to make this assumption, but there seemed to be way too many servers on the floor that night – a situation which drove me nuts, because the service was SO SLOW.

Here’s the thing that really stuck in my craw that night: busboys carting garbage, buckets of dirty dishes, and huge containers of ice back and forth through the dining room – there’s got to be a different way to get that stuff in and out of the kitchen without traipsing through the dining room – it was very off-putting. If the kitchen doesn’t have a back door, someone needs build one. Watching bags of stinky garbage parade by my table makes me ill. (I didn’t notice this the second time we ate there, but probably only because we were seated on the opposite site of the dining room.)

We ordered boneless wings to start, Bob ordered a personal cheese pizza, and I ordered a Chicago Cheese Steak calzone.  Our entrees arrived at the same time as our appetizer – extremely poor timing on the kitchen’s part. But, Bob and I are accustomed to eating pizza and wings together, and it really didn’t bother us as much as it might have if we’d been at a more expensive restaurant.

So, here’s where things got interesting: when I cut into my calzone, it was COLD.  The dough looked like it had been in the oven long enough, but the ricotta and mozzarella were just cold. I began to doubt myself for a minute – are calzones supposed to be cold? I’m not Italian, not even a drop, so I’m not always sure when it comes to Italian food. When Bob, also not Italian, told me that it was indeed supposed to be hot, I summoned the waitress.

First thing she said was, “Are you sure?”  (I hate sending stuff back – it’s always such a pain in the ass. But this chick made the experience just ridiculous.)  After I needlessly confirmed my temperature assessment, she took the calzone away with a promise to make me a new one.

After a few minutes, a man in a black chef’s coat came to the table to confirm that I had received a cold calzone. He seemed pretty miffed, but luckily not at me. He apologized profusely, and assured us it would not be on the bill.  A few minutes after THAT, Mama herself (Stephanie Van Auken) came over to the table.

“I see the big boss stopped by – did you guys have a problem?” she asked. We explained what happened, and then she sat down next to me in the booth. Yes, she really did sit down. I had to skooch over.  She told us how the new place came to be: after they sold Mama’s in 2005,  she wanted to stay retired (her exact words were “I wanted to move to Florida and make some nice billionaire a millionaire”) but her family was itching to get back in the business. She also explained that they’d only been open for two weeks at that point, and they were having some issues training more than 30 new employees. We chatted about some other stuff, after which she stood up, gave us both hugs (!) and wished us a Merry Christmas. We absolutely fell in love with her – she’s just the nicest lady.

Looks lovely, but is it cooked inside?

The calzone arrived shortly thereafter, cooked perfectly. The filling was hot cheese, with a pocket of seasoned shaved beef. It was, as calzones often are, enough food for dinner and a subsequent lunch. Bob’s wood-fired pizza was quite tasty, with a chewy- and crispy-in-the-right-places crust, and a rich not-sweet sauce. The wings were unlike any I’d ever had before – they are not pre-formed breaded nuggets, but instead whole sliced breast pieces, deep-fried without breading and generously sauced (we tried BBQ sauce the first time, and Hickory Smoked the second time. Both good).

On our second trip, Bob ordered the pizza again (no surprise there, really) and I got the make-your-own pasta bowl with whole wheat penne, garlic butter sauce, and sauteed vegetables. Quite tasty – they use a good quality whole wheat pasta which was not gummy in the least, fresh vegetables (red and green bell peppers, onions, broccoli, sundried tomatoes) and a light hand with the garlic and butter. Their bread basket contained a small loaf of Italian bread, which was hot and fresh (but I’m guessing not homemade).

The rest of the menu is pretty typical – salads, burgers, pasta, sandwiches, chicken parm.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  It’s not haute cuisine, but it’s a great place to grab a beer, eat a pizza, and catch a game. They also offer trivia on Thursday nights.

Our cold-calzone saga just goes to show you what good service can do. If it weren’t for attentive owners and just plain niceness, we probably would never have gone back. But, we did go back and had a great experience the second time. And we’ll definitely go back again.

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Brick House Pizza & Grille

5 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park

You’ll recall that this week’s original planned opening was delayed due to power and gas issues – specifically, they had neither. All’s well now, though, and the burritos will soon be available to all comers.

New piece of information I learned today about this particular Chipotle: the restaurant will occupy two floors, with elevator access to the second level.  It’s located in the new Mansion Square Shopping Center, 441 Balltown Road, in Schenectady (across the street from Mohawk Commons).  Phone (518) 370-8607, and fax orders accepted at (518) 372-2016.

*****

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My culinary odyssey is presented here in more-or-less chronological order.

DC3 - A while back, I had inquired about finding a Chicago-style hot dog in the 518. I did get a couple referrals, but I never followed up. So when Sarah asked if it would be okay if we got hot dogs for lunch on Friday, I jumped at the chance. DC-3 is a one-off little joint, with a large menu and a small seating area. Of course, I ordered the Chicago 7: all beef dog, poppy seed bun, tomato, pickle spear, “nuclear green relish” (they aren’t kidding – that stuff is day-glo green), onions, sport peppers, yellow mustard, and celery salt.  It was terrific. Those sport peppers pack quite a kick (you can see one tucked in there near the bottom left), and the pickle spear is a weird but welcome topping. I loved it. I got a side of fried pickles, which were pretty great – nice and tangy.

This was very, very messy.

On Sunday, while Sarah was out at a baby shower, I made a return visit to DC-3, and tried a Tucson Sonoran dog (bacon-wrapped dog, buttered bun, pinto beans, onions, diced tomatoes, white spicy mayo, jalapeno relish, mustard). It was not as tasty, and about 10x messier than the Chicago 7.  And it was sufficient fuel for the Oprah LifeClass marathon I sat (and cried) through that afternoon.

There’s more. A lot more. After the jump.

The Sweet Lobby – where I had my first macaron (properly spoken with a gravelly French accent). A religious experience, almost. I only recently became aware of the existence of these little delights, but was put off by the mania that has begun to surround them (much like that of my nemesis the cupcake). I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by the experience. I could not have been more wrong. The selection at the shop was vast – they had probably 12-15 varieties from which to choose. After much deliberation and guidance from Sarah and the shopworker, I selected two: Hazelnut Praline Salted Caramel, and Pumpkin Black Sesame.

Heavenly, heavenly bites...

I thought the cookie would be crisp and chalky, like a traditional meringue (probably my most hated sensation). Instead, it was chewy and delicate. The filling was intense and ethereal, its flavor fading quickly and leaving me wanting more. I had remarked to Sarah that upon entering the phone-booth size shop (seriously – the place could really only hold about 5 people, tops) I wanted to buy approximately 8 dozen macarons. They were so beautiful, and looked so incredible.  But, she reminded me of their price. Sometimes I get carried away when I see sweets. Anyway, I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. I hear that one of my favorite local merchants, Dreampuff Marshmallows, makes macarons. She is also a vendor at the Schenectady Greenmarket (and the Troy Riverfront Farmers Market), so I’m hoping I can score some right here at home.

Busboys & Poets – we only had time to stop in for a quick beer and hummus plate, before we had to run to catch a play at the Capital Fringe Festival (Sarah’s friend Michael Merino wrote an odd – and amusing – play entitled “Squirrel, or the Origin of a Species”, which is essentially a series of conversations between Charles Darwin and an American Gray Squirrel. Yes, it was as weird as it sounds.) The menu was intrigiung – lots of vegetarian and vegan offerings, in domestic and ethnic varieties. I hope to get back here on a future trip – hint!

Fort Fringe - this is the theatre space where we saw the show. The venue itself was unremarkable – your standard black box with rickety stairs and dangerous, not-up-to-fire-code seating.  But the bar had PROSECCO ON TAP! What?!? No kidding. Yeah, it was pretty cool.

Kushi – After the play, we lingered around a bit until we finally decided to get some dinner. We ended up at a Japanese place in Mt. Vernon Square, which surprised me by actually being open that late (yes, I know, I’m from Upstate NY, where stuff closes at 9pm). It featured small (small!) plates, and we each ordered a couple things. The idea was to share, but the plates were so small that sharing was actually kinda difficult. I know that sounds very fat-American of me, but I am a cheapskate, and I really didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of value there. Anyway, I ordered a delicious soba noodle salad (fresh soba, with a splash of rice vinegar, soy, and some fresh greens), and an order of chicken breast skewers with shiso & plum sauce. The mixture of shiso and plum was transcendent – flowery, pungent, green, not at all sweet. It was unlike anything I’d ever had before.  More, please! Maybe give me two orders next time.

Chick-Fil-A – At one point, Sarah had mentioned that she loved the sandwiches at Chick-Fil-A, which took me aback. Sarah and I are both socially liberal, and I was surprised she would patronize a company which supports anti-gay organizations. She is, to her credit, conflicted by the fact that such a bad company makes such good chicken. I kept kidding her about it  (calling it Chicken and Hate) until she made me stop at one so I could understand why she would set aside her convictions long enough to eat their food. Grudgingly, I have to admit she is absolutely right. The original chicken sandwich was terrific, and simple – fried chicken breast on a buttered bun with pickles (we were in the South; butter goes on everything). I really did like it. Their waffle fries were not that good – undercooked and underseasoned – but, oh that chicken. It’s a good thing that chain isn’t here in the Northeast.  A nice touch: the bible verse on the receipt.

Argonaut – with Sarah and Joanne for Sunday brunch, something I just never do anymore, for some reason. I knew nothing about this place before Sarah suggested it, but I woke up that morning craving a Bloody Mary – apparently I was having some sort of premonition, because The Argonaut has an actual freakin’ BLOODY MARY BAR.  They bring you out a pint glass that has some ice and vodka in it, and you hie yourself over to the bar and help yourself to tomato juice, twenty different kinds of hot sauce, horseradish, celery salt, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, lemons, limes, and giant stalks of celery. I have never tended a bar, so I really had no idea of a Bloody Mary recipe, so I kind of just poured a bunch of stuff I like in the shaker. I made a huge mess. I did not return to the scene of the crime. Sarah enjoyed a bottomless Mimosa and tried valiantly to find the bottom, to no avail. Oh, also we ate some stuff that I don’t remember.

Hello Cupcake! – I know, I know. I hate cupcakes. I have no excuse. I bought two: Dulce de Leche and Maple Bacon Pecan. They were quite lovely. The Maple Bacon Pecan one did not actually have any bacon flavor in it, at least that I could detect. Perhaps Sarah’s experience was different. That’s all I’m going to say about cupcakes.

Founding Farmers – A very popular restaurant that my friend MEB suggested – she’s a frequent DC traveler, but hasn’t made it to FF yet, and thought it was something I might like. She was right. Founding Farmers has a goal of “promot[ing] sustainable agriculture and the ways of the American family farmer at every turn,” and “quality and natural ingredients.”  They don’t always buy local and organic, though – sure, if it makes sense, but they are mostly on the lookout for high quality ingredients from sustainable resources. And they buy carbon offsets in case the food sources are not all that local. A nice philosophy.

We started with an appetizer of Proscuitto, Fig & Mascarpone flatbread- so many delicious things going on there: fresh creamy cheese, fatty prosciutto, tangy balsamic vinegar, and sweet figs. We also got a bottle of Arbanta Tempranillo from Rioja, which was outstanding.  Sarah got a skirt steak with chimichurri (which looked good, but I did not taste it) and I ordered the Macaroni & Cheese with Gouda, Gruyere, ham, peas, & apples. The apples really put that over the top – so so good. I can’t remember if we ordered dessert. I don’t think we did, but we did finish the bottle of wine.

Mitsitam at the National Museum of the American Indian – We stopped there for lunch before I hopped the airport shuttle. The cafeteria is unlike other museum cafeterias, in that it serves interesting food – in this case, traditional offerings from several different American Indian geographical regions.  I went for the  cuisine of the Great Plains, and ordered a Chipotle Chicken Taco. I wanted it because it was made with fry bread, which looked so fresh and fluffy. I was also not really feeling particularly well that day, and there wasn’t anything else I really felt like eating. The fry bread seemed so soft and comforting. It turned out to be the best part of the dish – the chipotle chicken was so mild, there was not even a hint of heat. And it was topped with boring cheddar, lettuce and tomato. Eh. Not really worth $11.50. Sarah’s New England Lobster Bread Pudding (and her blueberry cobbler) looked delicious, but I didn’t even feel like trying it. Like I said, I was not well. The best part of this lunch was the fact that Sarah’s teeth were stained blue for the rest of the day.

Free Wine from Southwest Airlines – the end of a long trip. I boarded my flight home and was towards the end of the second boarding group, so seating choices were slim. I headed to the back of the plane (“the back of the plane gets there at the same time as the front” sez Sarah), and somehow managed to find an aisle seat. I was just settling in when I noticed a woman and her daughter, maybe 7 years old, trying to find a couple seats together. The mom told the daughter to sit in the seat next to me (the middle), while she would head back a few rows for another middle seat. I didn’t think the mom would want her kid to be sitting alone, so I offered up my aisle seat and took the lone middle seat in the back. The flight attendant saw me, and told me that since I was so nice, she was going to buy me a drink. A guy in the back yelled, “What’d she do? Can I do it, too?”  I still wasn’t feeling so hot, but who am I to turn down free Merlot? Thanks, SW.

Wow. Looking back on my weekend away, I am noticing that I ate a lot. A LOT a lot. No wonder I wasn’t feeling well that last day. Back to the gym I go.

*****

Other good things that happened on this trip: met someone who possesses the same superpower I do, got to see Joanne and new baby Lilah, and FINALLY got down to Richmond to see parents-to-be Marlene and Chris. It was a pretty fantastic weekend.

Just a heads up, in case you were planning on stopping by the new Schenectady (Niskayuna) Chipotle (which was slated to open tomorrow, November 29):

I stopped by there today, for their pre-opening celebration (to which I was specifically invited). The restaurant was not open, and the construction workers I spoke with said they’d be open “maybe next week”. The building did not have power, gas, or food. Those poor guys were surprised to see me, to say the least. At least they were nice.

I haven’t gotten a confirmation from Chipotle headquarters as of yet.  Updates coming.

What’s great about Chipotle, if you aren’t aware of it, is their focus on fresh, sustainable, responsible, high-quality food – a concept they call Food with Integrity (FWI). Some interesting facts (from their press release):

• Chipotle expects to use over 10 million pounds of produce from local family farms in 2011, up from 5 million pounds in 2010
• The local produce will be grown on farms within 350 miles of the restaurants where it will be served
• All the pork, beef and chicken they serve is naturally and humanely raised (an all vegetarian diet, no added hormones or antibiotics and responsible animal husbandry)
• In 2011, Chipotle will purchase over 100 million pounds of naturally raised meats and sell more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant company
• Its sour cream and cheeses are made from milk that is rBGH-free (recombinant bovine growth hormone); 35% of it is from pasture-raised cows
• 40 percent of the black and pinto beans used are organically grown with about 5 percent using water-saving conservation tilling methods

This is all pretty great, considering the sorry state of the rest of the fast-food industry.

For my part, I’m excited to have another lunch option close by my office. I love Chipotle’s rice (the cilantro really makes it for me), and I think it’s time I tried some other things on their menu besides a chicken burrito bowl with pinto beans, corn salsa and cheese. Seriously, that’s all I’ve ever ordered.

The Schenectady Chipotle will be open from 11am – 10pm daily, and will offer fax and on-line order pick up.