Vibe Check: The Panza's Bar
After Hours bellies up to the bar at Panza's to check on the scene during the restaurant's popular live music nights.
Fans of Panza’s rave about the delicious traditional Italian fare. But on live music nights, it is also quite the social scene. When we rolled up to the bar on a recent Tuesday night to hear The Nick Horace Duo, there wasn’t a single open seat. As luck would have it, our wait wasn’t long, and we were soon sipping on samples of Sierra Nevada’s Powder Day IPA and ordering boozy, wintery concoctions such as The Spa City Winter sour, topped with an egg white froth.
Soon, the bar flies were grabbing at Sierra Nevada merch (the chapstick was especially popular, given the cold winter air) and gossiping about the local restaurant scene. The owners of Bocage, the Champagne bar opening on Phila Street this spring, held court on one end of the bar. Their best story? Being dropped off at their rental in the French countryside with no access to a vehicle, and thus walking miles to their friend’s wedding. Maybe you had to be there, but it was a Griswalds-worthy tale. “After we made it through that, we knew we were meant to be together,” they laughed.
After they sashayed off to dinner at Hamlet and Ghost, another couple floated in. Kevin, an old-school Saratogian with years of experience in restaurants, talked to absolutely everyone (including a harried Tony Panza, who peeked out from the kitchen exactly once). Kevin excitedly shared a memory of getting to go to a party to pick up one restaurant’s award, after the owner couldn’t make it. He was talking about our Bestie Fest! (For this year’s “Bestie” winners, check out the next two issues of Capital Region Living, Saratoga Living’s sister magazine.)
As I dug into a mound of pasta, the subject turned to Las Vegas, where I lived for many years. Kevin regaled us of tales of working in restaurants there in the ‘90s, where he had an office with a closet to hold all of his tuxedos. Ah, the good ol’ days of Sin City; the dress code has gone downhill over the past 10-15 years. We ended the night whispering about the long-simmering rumors that the scandal-plagued casino mogul Steve Wynn (who hails from Utica) has been hiding out in Upstate New York since resigning from his company in 2018.
After finishing a post-dinner glass of wine, we got up to leave, our seats immediately gobbled up. As we stepped back outside into the frigid January night, I was glowing. It had been too long since bellying up to the bar and talking to strangers was this much fun.
—Abby
This week in Saratoga Living After Hours: Our word puzzle debut and scenes from the coldest indoor attraction around.
Game Time: Word Puzzles (Monday) Introducing Game Time, an every-Monday newsletter that’ll put your mind to the test via Saratoga-themed word puzzles, picture puzzles, trivia and more.
Vibe Check: Cold (Tuesday) The Lake George Ice Castles are definitely magical...if you can stand the (lack of) heat. There’s something slightly masochistic about Upstate New Yorkers in the wintertime. Not only do we subject ourselves to freezing-cold temperatures on a daily basis just by living here in the first place, but some of us also actively seek out experiences that will bring us that much closer to frostbite.
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