An Ode to the Long-lost Compton's Mac 'n Cheese
PLUS: Palazzo Riggi hits the market, made-to-order sandwiches hit Healthy Living and one last track season shebang.
For the last 30 years, Sarah Clarkin hasn’t been able to get the Compton’s mac ‘n cheese out of her head. “I worked in downtown Saratoga Springs in the ’90s and a bunch of us—usually on Fridays—would head to Compton’s and snag a booth,” the Saranac Lake resident says. “Getting mac ‘n cheese was one of the highlights of our workweek. It was something I craved.” Sarah craved it so much, that years after moving away from Saratoga, she took matters into her own hands.
“I wrote what I thought was an amazing letter to Compton’s begging for the recipe,” she says. “I provided my email address, I provided an enclosed stamped envelope—I did everything.” When she didn’t hear back, she regaled her friend Karen Bjornland, a Saratoga Living contributor, with her tale of woe in an email that eventually found its way to my inbox.
"I sent a letter that described my love affair with their mac ’n cheese,” she wrote. “I talked about LA Group folks heading there for Friday lunch mac ’n cheese with an almost religious fervor. Nada.”
Not one to stand idly by when mac ‘n cheese is on the line, I took matters into my own hands. When I called the diner to see if the dish was on the current menu (Sarah mentioned that in the past it was a seasonal offering), I was told it was only ever on the menu as a special, and that it hadn’t even been offered in the last year. I hung up the phone and drove directly to downtown in a last-ditch effort to track down the recipe. “We used to do it just on Fridays,” longtime employee Lisa told me. “And never in the summer.” Worse yet: The recipe belonged to former owner John Compton, who passed away in 2020 without passing it on. “UGH!” Sarah wrote when I shared the news. “A loss for all of humanity.”
If you have any information regarding the long-lost mac ‘n cheese recipe, please reach out to editorial@saratogaliving.com. I’ll leave you with one last desperate plea from the Northcountry: "I’m sure you know the winters up here are incredibly long,” Sarah says. “That mac ‘n cheese would help me get through them.”
—Natalie
Meme of the Week
On the Market
In a press release sent out Thursday, Julie & Co and Berkshire Hathaway announced the Palazzo Riggi, the North Broadway mansion owned by socialite Michele Riggi, is on the market. Listed for $17.9 million, the 20,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, six half bathrooms, an elevator, indoor and outdoor radiant heating, a home theater, a fitness room and a bowling alley.
FYI
We’re a few months late to the party, but on a recent trip to Healthy Living we discovered the market is now serving up sandwiches to order from 10am-3pm daily. Pair it with a DIY salad from the salad bar (which has artichoke hearts!) or a fresh, hot cup of soup to level up your lunch break.
Feel the Bern
No, not that Bern. Tickets to meet former New York Yankee Bernie Williams at Saratoga Race Course tomorrow are still available! Part of NYRA’s Stars at the Spa series, the event features a luncheon with athlete for VIP ticket-holders from noon-2pm, as well as a general admission meet-and-greet from 2-3pm.
This week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we challenged readers to match the last 10 Travers winners with the year in which they won the Midsummer Derby.
An on Tuesday, we explored the perils of sharing phone contacts, which prompted one Saratogian to send in this story:
We love getting feedback like this! If you want to weigh in on any or all SLAH topics, shoot us an email at editorial@saratogaliving.com.