Saratoga Springs

Destination of the week: Saratoga, NY; a town where natural springs flow freely and the influence of horse racing abounds. The horse statues that line the streets are accompanied by countless boutiques, arcades, galleries, and restaurants. The town, centrally located to Montreal and NYC has a swanky-smarmy feel. Swanky from the ancient mafioso homes surrounding the town, smarmy from the influx of college kids from the local Skidmore College.

I happened to be in town with others on "business" so I made it a point to do some early morning, and sometimes late night venturing. Being a foodie and given that meals were on the company's dime, I decided to sample as much of the local fare as possible. A veritable Tour de Food; here's a tasting.

Breakfast

Compton's. There are certain expectations that come with a name like Compton. If it's Straight Outta Compton is must be good. Not the case here. The only disappointing meal of the entire trip came out of necessity rather than choice; work started early and Compton's is the only place open at 4:00 am (when the bars close!). Less like a greasy spoon and more like Alice's restaurant, even down to the waitress.

Uncommon Grounds Coffee. Cool coffee shop and great bagel selection. Nothing special beyond that; just good people.

Dinner

Forno Bistro. Standard Italian: Quaint, cozy, and dimly-lit with wine flowing everywhere. The Prosciutto and Fontina chicken was deliciouso.

Maestros. Could be the best food that I've ever eaten. Nothing on the menu was even remotely affordable, but thanks to their Prix Fixe menu, I was able to eat like a king on a beggar's budget. They brought chocolate, made in-house, to sample after your meal. The waitress said it usually makes the bill more palatable.

The Local. Perhaps my favorite place of the week had it not been for the $20 beer (it's a long story). A pub featuring traditional Irish fare where the locals have there own beer mugs reserved. "I'd like a pint of Smithwicks in mug #93 please," says our accomplice Muskrat Mark. The $20 beer you ask? Creme Brulee Stout by Southern Tier. Worth every penny and now available whenever I want it.

Cantina. Awesomely upscale Mexican. It never hurts to serve Margaritas by the gallon either.

Most of the restaurants feature sidewalk dining which we took full advantage of citing the mid 60s temperatures and lack of flesh eating insects. A final special thanks goes out to the fine folks at Desperate Annie's. Despite trying to make the 4:00am last call on our final night, our livers weren't having it, but DA's did their best to help. Foosball, Wild Turkey, and wafts of vomit blowing in from Caroline Street brought me right back to my college days. Man I'm too old for this.