In Good Taste
A new wine shop opens in the Saratoga Marketplace, Prime's new groove, Bocage's spring menu and more Spa City foodie happenings.
Yesterday afternoon, I set out for downtown thinking I was going to interview the east NY regional manager of Saratoga’s new Keuka Spring Vineyards outpost, write a good chunk of this very story, and then sample the bubbly Bocage will be serving at Wednesday’s Overdress to Impress event. How naive I was.
As I should have expected, my “interview” turned into an hour-and-change wine tasting, leaving no time for writing before I had to be at Bocage, where I sampled five spritzes and a cocktail from the Champagne bar’s new spring menu (not the bubbly that will be served at our party). So, full disclosure, I’m coming to you live from my couch after drinking all that (plus a Common Roots beer at dinner). So it goes.
While we’ve written roundups of Saratoga food and drink news in the past, they’ve always fallen on Thursdays, when stories are paywalled. (Check out the latest here.) Today, you free subscribers lucked out. Read all about what’s going on in Saratoga’s foodie scene, and please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to make sure you have access to future ones (Tree House Brewing news, anyone?). Those who already pay to subscribe: Thank you for your continued support of our little Substack that could, and my wine-drinking habits.
Keuka Spring Vineyards
After more than 40 years in business, Keuka Spring Vineyards has finally branched out beyond its HQ on the shore of its namesake lake. Now under new ownership, the Finger Lakes winery has opened an outpost on the upper floor of the Saratoga Marketplace that offers bottle sales and (as I found out yesterday) tastings of its award-winning wines, from a dry riesling to the sweeter, fruity Traminette. The shop is headed up by East New York Regional Manager Autumn Manning (pictured above), who’s happy to walk you through one of three curated wine tastings: a dry flight, a sweet flight, or a flight of Keuka Spring Vineyards’ classics, each of which cost $15. The store officially opened—no joke–on April 1, and it’ll celebrate its grand opening with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce on April 25.
Bocage Champagne Bar
While I’m honestly still not sure what brand of bubbly Bocage will be serving at Overdress to Impress (you’ll have to come try it for yourself!), I am now intimately familiar with the bar’s brand-new spring/summer menu, highlighted by a quintet of sparkly spritzes featuring St. Kilda Brut Cuvee. My personal fave is the Ranch Water, which owner Zac Denham described as “kind of like a skinny marg,” with the Lavender Haze—made with Empress 1908 Gin and topped with tiny flower petals—a close second. Check out the full menu, which includes the Hurricane Alice, a “riff on the classic cocktail” that Louisiana’s own Zac created in honor of his late mother, here.
Adirondack Winery
In other wine news, Warren County’s Adirondack Winery will be hosting a 16th anniversary dinner—the first such event since before the pandemic—at its Queensbury Tasting Room, which opened in 2022. Two seatings of the five-course dinner will be held (one on April 19 and one on April 20), and each will feature food and pairings by the Wandering Food Dude. Come early for music on the patio and lawn games, and stay late for an after-party. Get tickets here.
Savory Pantry
At the end of this month, Saratoga foodies will lose a gem. This week, specialty food store Savory Pantry announced that it will be closing its Broadway storefront to consolidate operations in Hot Springs, AR and expand its online presence. The move comes after 10 years in business, and is bittersweet for owner Keeley DeSalvo. “Your dedicated support has been the cornerstone of The Savory Pantry’s success, and we’re deeply humbled by the love and patronage you’ve shown us,” she wrote on Instagram. “Each moment spent serving this community has been a cherished memory, and we’re committed to upholding our legacy of excellence through our online platform. Our connection with Saratoga Springs runs deep, and we’re devoted to nurturing it in every possible way.” Stop by the shop now through April 15 to get storewide savings of up to 50 percent off.
Forno Bistro
Beer is now on the table at Forno Bistro—and it’s not just any beer. This week, the Italian restaurant announced Thoroughbreds, a new beer crafted by Forno in collaboration with Schenectady’s Wolf Hollow Brewing Company that will be released at a launch party on May 1. The evening’s agenda: beer samples, small bites and celebrity jockey bartenders, with 25 percent of dinner sales going toward supporting Saratoga’s backstretch workers.
Prime Restaurant
Formerly known as Prime at Saratoga National, Prime Restaurant has rebranded from a steakhouse to a contemporary American hotspot. The new menu prioritizes farm-fresh, local and sustainable products in dishes including a deconstructed tempura roll, duck dumplings, carpaccio, veal chop and house-made pasta entrées.
Beer Wine Pizza
Following in The Bunker’s footsteps, Beer Wine Pizza has become the latest Saratoga restaurant to offer lunch. Now open at noon every day but Monday, the Weibel Ave restaurant serves pizza, burgers, salads, tacos, entrées, mug milkshakes and more.
Franklin Square Market
When Jullie and Mark Delos took the reins at Franklin Square Market, there was much hinting at their having Big Plans. Enter the recent announcement that they are hoping to open a 120-seat restaurant in the market by May 1. If anyone can do it, they can—both have an esteemed pedigree in the local food scene with heavy Mazzone influence (they both worked there, Mark for the last three decades). The power duo’s plan is to utilize the already-stellar seafood counter (that now, thanks to them, receives fresh deliveries seven days a week) and meat counter to create a stellar sit-down experience.
Stewart’s Shops
Horchata (think spiced cinnamon and vanilla most often served via a sinfully-creamy liquor) has long been a popular ice cream flavor, and now our slice of the frozen dessert scene is getting in on the game. While Stewart’s hasn’t announced the name of its newest seasonal ice cream flavor just yet, it has revealed that the treat will include Mexican chocolate swirl and churro pieces for a little bit of crunch.
Saratoga Arms Hotel
Saratoga Arms Hotel has partnered with some of our favorite local hotspots to launch a brand new Pop-Up Dinner Series—and even if you missed this past week’s Whitman Brewing Beer Dinner, there are two left to get in on. Cooperstown Distillery’s four-course Spirits Dinner will be April 18, and May 9 brings the Bocage Champagne Bar Wine Dinner, which promises vino lovers a curated evening of exquisite bubbly and still wine pairings.
Wilson’s Bread
The Catskills’ loss is our gain—Wilson Keenan, the man behind the popular Wilson’s Bread in Andes, is reopening in Wilton under the name Bakery Suzanne, in honor of his mother. Known for locally sourcing organic grains to create his decadent baked goods, he often takes to Instagram to share deep, detailed musings about his efforts to deliver the very best pastries and loaves of bread. Wil’s new mill and bakery doesn’t have an official opening date, but according to a recent Instagram Story, it’s about two weeks out.
Diamond Club
The Diamond Club at Embassy Suites has launched a Sunday brunch menu that will give downtown’s usual day-drinking hotspots a run for their money. Offering bottomless mimosas or Bloody Mary’s for just $22, the simple menu boasts four exquisite-looking dishes, including a lobster omelette with sauce Mornay and tater tacos with bacon and scrambled eggs.
The Merc
The Merc’s spring cocktail menu launched back in March when it actually felt like spring, but just because we’re currently in third winter doesn’t mean you can’t stop by the Broadway watering hole for a Snap Decision (gin, snap pea, lime, mint), Jam Session (tequila, Aperol, lime, strawberry), or Birthday Suit (rye, dry vermouth, Amaro, apricot, orange bitters). Cheers.
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“My ligaments are waiting to tear.”
—Overheard on the East Side Rec pickleball courts (yes, the nets are up!)
March Madness Madness
All eyes were on Albany last weekend as the Women’s March Madness tournament rolled in to MVP arena for Sweet 16 games on Friday and Saturday and Elite 8 games on Sunday and Monday. The women’s tournament has been much in the news in recent years following videos on social media depicting the unequal treatment of male and female athletes in the 2021 tournament, and it wasn’t until 2022 that the women were even permitted to use the name “March Madness” to describe their NCAA tournament. Add in the emergence of basketball superstars—including Iowa senior Caitlin Clark, who last month became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s basketball—and this year’s matchup between Iowa and LSU at Albany became ESPN’s most-watched college basketball game ever. (Actor Jason Sudeikis was in the audience wearing a sweatshirt that said “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.”) Tickets to the last night’s Final Four games in Cleveland reportedly went for an average of more than $2,300, while the men’s average price was around $1,000.
While it was a big weekend for women’s sports, the Capital Region also got a couple of primetime shoutouts. When Caitlin sunk a 3-pointer from several feet behind the 3-point line during the Iowa/LSU game, play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco had a fitting call: “Clark—oh, my—from Schenectady! Also during that game, announcer Rebecca Lobo made a comment for which she’s since caught some heat: “Good luck finding something to do in Albany.”
We’re Gutted
Apparently, another superstar also made a stop in Albany this week. Punk-pop singer Olivia Rodrigo’s tour bus, wrapped in stars and her Guts World Tour logo, was spotted in the Hilton Homewood Suites parking lot near Crossgates Mall on Monday. Don’t get excited: Olivia was on her way to Boston from Toronto, and won’t be performing in Albany. Brutal.
Fooling Around
While I was delighted by the fool-fest that was magician Michael Mills’ Fool Me Once show at Caffé Lena, I’m far less enthused by April Fools Day and all of its involved trickery. This year, I saw and recognized several Instagram posts as April Fool’s Day jokes, including ones made by Saratoga Tea & Honey (which claimed they were launching a new “spaghe-tea”) and Whitman Brewing (which said they were building a pool in the parking lot), before falling victim to a Love is on Lake George post announcing a new submarine a la the Titan submersible that will “take you where no one else can.” In other words, to a premature demise. I sent the post to my boyfriend and said “Nope.” He was nice about it, simply replying: “What’s today’s date?”
This year, even true events were called into question in the spirit of the holiday, including Olivia Rodrigo’s aforementioned stop in Albany and meteorologist Steve Caporizzo’s forecast of yet another late-season snow storm. Gore Mountain, which cashed in big-time on the reality of the latter, posted that, because of the overwhelming response to its upcoming Eclipse viewing party, it’d be adding a second showing on Tuesday. Similarly, The University of Vermont’s physics department reported that the Eclipse path and date had been miscalculated—a joke that fooled at least one Saratogian who thought for a short while that she’d taken the wrong day off to travel to Vermont. And a member of the Saratoga Living staff fell for a report that a massive hatch of Eclipse Moths (not unlike the spongy moths that terrorized upstate New York in recent years) was imminent. She will remain nameless.
On Shaky Ground
The eclipse isn’t the only natural phenomenon that had Saratoga residents in a tizzy this week (I overheard someone call it the apoc-eclipse when referring to the traffic expected on the Northway this Monday). On Friday morning between 10-10:30, Capital Regionites felt the ground shake as a result of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake in New Jersey. No damage or injuries have been reported, and some people in Saratoga didn’t even notice. Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga’s perpetually bubbly Kim Weir did, though. When I saw her downtown yesterday, she smiled brightly: “Happy Earthquake Day!”
Last Chance!
There’s still time to purchase tickets to Saratoga Living’s two (!) events going on this week. On Tuesday, we’re teaming up with Walrath Recruiting to present a networking event and panel discussion centering on the topic of employee retention. If you’re a business owner, HR manager or just someone interested in optimizing workforce engagement, you won’t want to miss it! Then, on Wednesday comes Overdress to Impress, one of our biggest events of the year (yes, tickets are still available!). Grab your girlfriends (guys, we’re charging you extra—just kidding!) and your best dress or fit for red carpet interviews, tons of pictures, food by Panza’s and drinks by Bocage Champagne Bar, Curamia Tequila and GOLD-N-GO cocktails. Get your tickets before they’re gone!
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