Uncle Marty's Adirondack Grill

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Written by Kent

Category: Restaurant Reviews

Uncle Marty's Adirondack Grill is a short drive from Downtown Albany and is in Sand Lake, NY.   It is a scenic and easy ride with really no turns after you get off the Interstate.  Take Exit 8 of I-90 and then stay straight for about 10 minutes, and it is on Route 43 on the left side of the street and offers ample parking.

The restaurant has two main rooms and an enclosed patio.   We were promptly seated in one of the two main dining rooms, which has a bar with about 8 stools and 4 or 5 booths and one high top that seats two people.  the second room had a strip of booths and a section of tables and chairs and maybe even a fireplace.  It was busy and full, so I didn't look around too much.

If I was forced to quickly summarize Uncle Marty's, I would say... It hits the spot! It is great.  Time and again, I have had good service, great food, and a warm and comforting atmosphere.  I've had breakfast and lunch there over the years, but haven't yet had the oppurtunity to taste many of the dinner items. However, I've heard from others that the ribs are great! I also have had the mac n cheese -which is yummy.  On a side note, Uncle Marty also participates (and wins awards) in many of the local food events, like the chili cookoff or the mac n cheese bowl, for example.  Breakfast is served until 2 p.m.

I ordered the Rocky Mountain Rainbow trout ($10.99) to try something different and I was glad I did.   The fish was cooked perfectly and was very tasty.   The breakfast meal comes with 2 eggs any style, toast, and coffee, and the waitress asked if I wanted the hash browns or home fries as the side.  I had the (shredded) hash browns and they were very good.   I always order my eggs over-hard and they were cooked correct, seasoned properly, and tasted great.  I also have had the 'Breakfast in a Bread Bowl', among other things, which is also different from the norm and also is very good to try if your looking for a hearty breakfast meal.

My dining companion ordered the Pit Roast Beef from the Lunch Menu (~$9), which is from the 'Signature Hotties' section of the menu, which I found a bit funny.  We both found her sandwich good, but both felt the meat was served more well done then Medium rare as the menu description states.  It was actually cooked well done.  Overall the meal was good and the fries and au jus were both very tasty and not over-salty. The online menu, beer list, events, and other information is available on the website: http://justsayuncle.com/

Speaking of Beer, Uncle Martys has a vast draught selection.  I counted 24 beers on tap, and most were craft or micro brews.  We ordered a beer and the waitiress told us about Uncle Martys Growler Club.   I bring a growler in the trunk wherever I go, so this was a perfect match for me.  She explained, It doesn't matter how long it takes you, it is buy 9 growler fills and you get the 10th fill free.  They give you a card to keep track.   I believe the growler fill prices range from $9 to $15 which is very reasonable, especially considering the type of beer they offer.  If beer or growler fills aren't your gig, don't worry, they have a frequent flyer card (on the back of the business card) for meal rewards.  I think you get a stamp each time you dine and it looks like the 10th or 12th visit is free or discounted.  When a place has good consistent food and good service and reasonable prices, I don't need to be rewarded to continue to return, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Overall, I highly recomend Marty's.   Seems like a great place for a summer drink outside too.   See you there.

Pit Roast Beef	Rocky Mountain Rainbow Trout

Barcelona Restaurant

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Barcelona Restaurant sits on Western Avenue, near SUNY Albany. It looks like a house from the outside, and parking is in the rear. The decor is a darkened tone of maroon and wood, and the seating is broken up into bar seating to the right, with the main dining area straight ahead and down a step.

Originally, Brian and I visited Barcelona during Restaurant Week. With a menu that differed from the one they posted online, and shrunken portion sizes, we were less than impressed and never returned. When friends invited me out for a small birthday gathering, I was hesitant, but decided to give the reataurant another try. I was pretty glad I did.

The restaurant was hesitant to allow ordering from the tapas menu to occur outside of the bar area. I disagree with that practice, and, as a table of five people, we were able to covince them to allow us to bypass that rule.

To me, the tapas menu is what makes the restaurant. We ordered the Chorizo Con Cebolla ($8), the Fried Calamari ($8), the Mejillones (Mussels) Salteados ($8), and Eggplant Rollitini ($8). The chorizo had a delightful heat that made the dish superb. When it came to the mussels, yes they were cooked perfectly, but it was the brandy cream sauce that put it over the top. Perfection. The calamari, and eggplant were done well also but the mussels and chorizo were the definite winners.

For entrees we ordered Seafood the Paella, and the Snapper Veracruz. The paella was very well done. The chorizo added a depth of flavor and the clams had a sweetness that kept me going back for more. The snapper dish was done well, and cooked perfectly, but it was the paella that won out.

All in all, the meal was delightful. I found the tapas to be tastier than the entrees. Though, there's one aspect to the restaurant that would have me hesitant to return in the future, and that's their seeming unwillingness to accomodate the customer. We were told "no" to tapas before we were told "yes." Of the restaurant experiences I've had, that serve tapas, they've not been separated by seating, and I don't think I understand what the logic is behind that. I give the restaurant 4 forks for the flavorful tapas dishes. With a few small changes, I could see Barcelona being on the road to a higher review from this foodie.

Seafood Paella	Chorizo

New World Bistro Bar

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Rice Noodle Soup w/ Chicken	Marrow Bones

New World Bistro Bar [NWBB] is located on Delaware avenue in Delmar. I'd been trying to visit NWBB for several months, and was finally able to bring a group of four friends with me. Most of NWBB's menu tends to be more eclectic than not. This is what intrigued me.

The decor is warm, and you're promptly greeted by a friendly hostess. The rest of the space, however, seems cramped. There's really no space between tables, which makes getting back and forth between tables somewhat trying. I also wasn't a fan of the fact that the table selected for our party was the one right by the door. The double doors of NWBB helped somewhat in the beginning. However, as foot traffic increased, and the night went on, cold air began seeping in more and more.

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Mr. Fuji Sushi

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Written by Brian

Category: Restaurant Reviews

Mr Fuji is located in Stuyvesant Plaza in Guilderland NY.  It has about 8 tables, on the ground floor and another 4 or 5 on a loft.  There are also 6 seats at the sushi bar

We ordered four rolls for us to split.  We had a Volcano Roll - Spicy crunch salmon roll up with spicy crab meat ($12), Karen Roll - Crab meat, avocado, mango inside, roll up with seared spicy tuna ($11), Brooklyn Roll - Yellow tail, white tuna, scallion, crunch, roll up with smoked salmon, eel and avocado ($14), and a Spicy Yellowtail with Crunch Roll ($6.50).

The rolls were all good, but not amazing.  The smoked salmon in the Brooklyn roll was overwhelming, and the pieces of the spicy yellowtail with crunch roll were cut way to big, it was awkward and difficult to eat.  My favorite roll of the four was the Karen Roll, the mango gave it a slight sweetness that worked great with the spicy mayo on it.  All the rolls (with the exception of the yellowtail) were significantly more expensive then you would find in similar sushi places in the area.

Service was great, we were greeted and seated immediately, and the server was attentive throughout the meal.  The slightly above average sushi and the extremely high prices got Mr. Fuji Sushi a 3 fork rating.

Volcano, Karen, and Spicy Yellowtail Rolls	Brooklyn Roll

The Brown Bag

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Written by Brian

Category: Restaurant Reviews

I have heard a ton of positive feedback about The Brown Bag in Troy, so it was time to take a look at it myself.  The Brown Bag is well known for it's unusual hours (5PM - 6AM) and it's limited, but creative menu that works well for late night/early morning patrons.

I ordered the hotdog grilled cheese ($3.75).  It was amazing.  They used a high quality hot dog (sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, there is a difference) and it was cooked perfectly (crunchy but not overcooked).  Normally, grilled cheese with a meat in it is overloaded with cheese, but it was a perfect balance.  For the price, it might be the best food I have had in a restaurant in the area.

Josie ordered a cheeseburger with bacon, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and a fried egg ($4.75 for the burger, her customization made it $8.25).  The burger was fresh (not frozen) and cooked nicely (maybe slightly more than she would have ordered, but still good).  It had a lot of different flavors, but she mentioned that the mayo didn't seem evenly spread out.

We also ordered a side of the American Fries (french fries with a spicy kick - $2.25).  They were from potatoes that they cut themselves.  The seasoning was good, and there were a ton of fries.

We were there early in the night, and the owner, Terry was prepping for the night as well as training a newer cook.  It was neat watching him.  The new cook put an egg on the grill and broke the yoke with his finger.  Terry made him stop everything and change gloves (then later threw that egg out and start a new one since the grill wasn't greased properly, and the egg was sticking).  The only reason I share this story is because I was impressed that even with a newer cook making the meal under his guidance, it still came out as good as it did.

 Edited: I had an incorrect price on the burger, and removed a guess I had as to the owner (it was confirmed Terry is the owner)

Hot Dog Grilled Cheese	Bacon Cheeseburger (with an egg)