Coffee Shop Chronicles: The Broadway Grind Opens for Biz
PLUS: Music and Mingling, a local jockey excels, 11 hot parties to RSVP to, and Saratoga says goodbye to an icon.
Yesterday, the lower-level shop saw a steady stream of customers from around 9-11am, some of whom grabbed a drink (The Broadway Grind serves Kru Coffee and Saratoga Tea & Honey tea) and left, like the Mountainman employees on their way to open their own store, and one man who ordered a hot chocolate. “What size?” barista Abby asked. “Big-ass,” he replied. “Whipped cream?” she countered. “Is there any other way?” Others made a morning of their stop, such as former Saratoga Living intern Gabby Vuillame and a pair of women who apologized to me for being loud at the half-and-half station (apparently I looked like I was hard at work when really I was literally there to observe people like them).
Hot menu items include the breakfast burrito and avocado toast, which comes in varieties including Pico de Gallo, Chive & Goat Cheese, Everything Bagel and Bacon & Eggs. “We’ve been going through avocado toast like crazy,” Kelly says. That and iced lattes, which have been flying out the door given this week’s gorgeous weather. Down the road, Kelly says she’ll expand her drink menu, and will also begin offering baked goods from Indulgence Bakery, whose owner, Alex, is currently working out of a kitchen on Phila Street. Kelly herself is taking a step away from baking to focus on her new venture. “My baking passion kind of turned into a cooking passion,” she says. “And I love coffee.”
Speaking of coffee, back at the half-and-half station, the two women felt they needed to explain why they were being loud, even though I had barely noticed them laughing. “We just need our coffee,” one said. “This is the best part of our day.”
—Natalie
Vibe Check: Music & Mingling
If Tuesday evening’s fundraiser for the Saratoga Senior Center is any indication, the Spa City is about to have an absolutely insane summer season.
Someone from outside Saratoga might expect a Tuesday night event to be more mellow than, say, one taking place on a Friday or Saturday. But apparently Saratoga (at least in the summertime) is part of a parallel universe where the day of the week matters about as much as the spirit in the party’s welcome cocktail. In other words, it doesn’t. Especially when the weather plays ball like it did this week.
This past Tuesday—which, clocking in at a balmy 70-something degrees, happened to be the year’s best weather day thus far—hundreds of guests filtered into 550 Waterfront for the Saratoga Senior Center’s annual Music & Mingling gala, picking up an indiscriminate bubbly concoction on the way. (Like I said, what was in the drink didn’t really matter.) “I was supposed to have a meeting tomorrow,” one particularly exuberant attendee exclaimed, “but I bowed out because I’m ‘not feeling well.’” On the contrary, she and most of the rest of the attendees—which included Susan and Bill Dake, Gary and Aimee Dake, Georgie Nugent and John Witt—seemed to be feeling quite well indeed. “I’m his parole officer,” playful partygoer Joe said about his cowboy hat–clad companion, Norm. “Those are our real names,” Norm assured us, “because no one would ever make up the name Norm.”
Over at the silent auction table, which seemed to stretch on for miles and included goodies such as a private performance by Rich Ortiz, a chef’s dinner for four with wine pairings at the Brook Tavern and a round of golf at the Sagamore, real estate agent Tammy Loya sported a cute (and fitting) house-shaped purse. Under the tent to the side of the restaurant, ophthalmologist Chris Zieker and brother-in-law Keith Manuel sat back in Whispering Angel’s “The Beach” lounge to smoke cigars. “Make sure we look cool,” Keith said when I took his picture. Outside, on the terrace overlooking the lake, Charles Schwab independent branch leader Maureen Parker was looking fabulous in a gorgeous red dress paired tastefully with crutches and a knee brace (she injured herself skiing in Colorado); and Carmine DeCrescente, who was wearing a shirt designed by Aimee Dake, was singlehandedly saving the party from a spider that dangled precariously from the covered awning. “I ain’t scared,” he said after knocking it down and promptly losing its whereabouts. He then added, in true VP-of-a-beverage-distribution-company fashion, “Drink responsibly.”
—Natalie
11 Parties Coming to Saratoga this May and June
Loving our Vibe Check coverage? While this summer’s social calendar doesn’t discriminate between days of the week, a good portion of Saratoga’s upcoming events are happening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. That means, our Saratoga Living After Hours coverage of them will be published on Tuesdays, a day whose posts are reserved for paid SLAH subscribers. So, if you don’t want to miss a beat of the Spa City’s summer social scene song, upgrade your subscription now, before it’s too late.
Wondering what’s on the horizon as far as SLAH event coverage? Here’s a sneak peek at events we’re hoping to attend.
May 14
The Wesley Foundation Gala
May 16
Social IRL
May 17
The Fruit & Flower Mission Spring Luncheon
May 19
Saratoga Living’s Cocktails & Clairvoyance
May 26
Piper’s Denim Jacket Party
May 26
LifeWorks Community Action’s May Day
June 2
Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s Porch Party
June 7
Shelters of Saratoga’s One Fine Day
June 9
Saratoga Living’s Beach Please Kickoff to Summer
June 23
Yaddo Summer Benefit
June 24
American Cancer Society’s Red, White & Blue Party
Quote of the Week:
“Half of it is mothers talking to tulips and the other half is a carnival.”
—one semi-confused attendee of last weekend’s Albany Tulip Fest
In Memoriam
This week, Saratoga lost an icon: Longtime Spa City artist Hud Armstrong, whose illustrations can be seen everywhere from City Hall to Tin & Lint, and even in a book he published just last year. I first corresponded with Hud this past December in advance of a story about the Chowderfest logo, which he has designed for the last 20-plus years, but didn’t actually meet him in person until last Thursday afternoon, when I recognized him sitting at the T&L bar and introduced myself. And apparently, I wasn’t alone in running into Hud. Several people commented on the Saratogian’s Facebook post about his passing that they had just seen him out and about in Saratoga. “Hud was an artist, cartoonist, writer, bartender, Vietnam veteran, local historian, keeper of memories, and a damn good guy,” Saratogian Chris Carola wrote on Facebook. “I loved hearing his stories from back in the day, he remembered everything.”
Lake Life
The first voyage of Saratoga Lake’s floating tiki bar sets sail today! This year, Upstate New York–based Tiki Tours expanded its offerings from Lake George to Saratoga Lake, and will offer tours seven days a week throughout the summer.
Jockey Dylan Davis—a Saratoga High grad who got his start at Saratoga Race Course in 2012—won his 1,000th career victory yesterday at Belmont. The win came aboard the filly Heels Together to break her maiden. “It feels really special,” he says. “I love doing this and I love the game.” His agent, Mike Migliore, kept track of the wins for the humble jockey. “I wasn’t really keeping track of the number I was at,” Dylan says. “Mike kept telling me I was getting closer and closer and I just kept doing what I’m doing.”
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we posted a puzzling cryptoquip puzzle, featuring a secret message about Saratoga Springs.
And on Tuesday, we recapped Derby weekend in Saratoga, sending scouts to events at Kane’s Fine Wine & Spirits, Prime at Saratoga National, The Lodge at Saratoga Casino Hotel, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and a private backyard viewing on East Ave.
If you liked our insider locals’ look at Saratoga, share it with a friend and nudge them to subscribe!