Delma's Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Delma's Diner is located on Central Avenue near Fuller Road. It shares a parking lot with the Kurver ice cream shop. The location may sound familiar as the previous site of Pancho's Mexican Restaurant.

When you walk into Delma's, the decor is confusing to say the least. So much of the Mexican theme remains, including the layout, the hacienda style stucco above the booths, the colorful seatbacks of the booths, and matching colorful carpet. The new restaurant is supposed to be Italian themed, but the only signs of that are the window treatments that clash with the rest of the decor.

We were seated promptly, and immediately greeted by our waitress. She was very friendly, conversational without it being too much, and she really knew the menu. We were impressed.

The actual menu at Delma's took us on another journey of confusion. There was diner fare, Mexican fare, and Italian fare all made by an Italian chef. There's no real clear focus, which begs the question of what do they specialize in? It also lends itself to a very large , and overwhelming menu.

We decided on breakfast. I ordered the homemade Challah Bread French Toast with a side of Bacon ($7). Brian ordered the Belgian Waffle with Strawberries and Whipped Cream plus a side of Bacon ($9). We were asked how we liked our bacon cooked. I ordered mine less than crispy, and Brian ordered his crispy. I was also intrigued by their homemade Corned Beef Hash and ordered a side of that as well ($4). Curiously enough, Delma's also keeps the canned Corned Beef Hash on stock as well. I'm not sure why. I know if I had a choice between canned and homemade, I'd choose homemade every time.

Onto the food! Our dishes arrived very quickly. The homemade Challah was delicious. However, the French Toast component of the dish had some missteps. This was another case of the bread being barely dipped into the egg batter, rather than soaked through. The center was untouched by the batter. Honestly, the main reason I did end up enjoying the dish so much was because the inherent custard moistness of the homemade Challah helped make up for the lack of batter distribution.

Brian enjoyed his Belgian Waffle, and the fresh strawberries had a nice balance of sweetness ad tartness. I didn't enjoy my bacon so much. It arrived crispier than I ordered it. For the first time, in a longer time than I can remember, I did not finish a plate of bacon. Brian enjoyed his. Both plates came out crispy, so it was exactly as he'd ordered.

The Corned Beef Hash was intriguing. It had a "melt in your mouth" crispiness and wonderful flavor. The oddity came when we noticed how greasy the hash was. It almost seemed as if it had been deep fried, and that's what puzzled us the most. The hash was also prepared with peppers and onions, but they were subtle enough to provide a delicate sweetness and not overpower the dish.

Overall, our visit was better than anticipated. We weren't sure what to expect, and there were some bumps, but solid homemade dishes combined with exceptional service made for a very pleasant breakfast experience.

Homemade Challah Bread French Toast w/ Bacon	Belgian Waffle w/ Strawberries & Whipped Cream
Homemade Corned Beef Hash	Bacon

 

Albany Restaurant Week 2013

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Category: Events

Written by Brian

The 9th bi-annual Downtown Albany Restaurant Week is scheduled for Saturday, April 20, 2013 to Friday, April 26, 2013. Welcoming you to Downtown this spring are fourteen restaurants, each offering three-course meals for the price of just $20.13

List of participating restaurants with menus can be found here: http://www.downtownalbany.org/events/downtown-albany-restaurant-week

Skyline Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Kent

Skyline Diner was recently written up in the Times Union, and I've been meaning to try it too.  The TU reviewer wrote about a great expierence with eggs there.  This small diner in Rensselaer, NY has recently been renovated and looks directly at the Albany Skyline, just minutes away from downtown.

Skyline serves full Breakfast from 7 am to 11 am daily and then nearly everything from the breakfast menu is available until closing, at 3 pm.   There is a seperate lunch menu with standard fare.   The server pleasantly explained that items like Waffles, Steak and Eggs, and Breakfast Specials/Combos are not available after 11, when I asked.

I ordered the eggs benedict, a coffee, and a water.   The tables only had sugar on them, not splenda, equal, or sweet n low, which was unusual but were all available upon request.    The food was very good to great.  The side potatoes were just average, but overall, the food was fast to arrive, good portion size, and fresh tasting, I would say 4 forks, and possibly the best Hollandaise Sauce I have ever tasted. 

The service was a little dodgy at times, as I didn't have my coffee filled promptly or when needed, and then when the check was presented, I noticed I was charged higher on my bill then the menu showed for my order. 

When I paid the bill, the hostess/cashier asked how everything was.  I said great food, good service, but mentioned that I thought I may've been charged different (higher) for my meal then the menu showed. She shrugged, replied "oh yea", and rang me out at the higher price. 

For this, I score them overall 3 forks, but I will be trying them again.    

Eggs Benedict

North Country BBQ

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

North Country BBQ recently opened about 6 months in Schenectady.  I had heard some good things so we decided to give it a try for dinner.

Fare here is your traditional BBQ food.  We wanted to try a variety of things, so we both ordered combination platters (comes with two meats, two sides, and a biscuit - $14 (3 meats for $16)).  I went with pulled pork and ribs with sides of mac and cheese and sweet potato tots.  The pulled pork was amazing.  Tender and juicy, with a good flavor.  The ribs were also good, nice and tender, but I wish it had a 'bark' on it.  The flavors were great, but a crunch would have made it even better.  The mac and cheese was a traditional home-made baked mac and cheese.  Great flavors, and still creamy.  Sweet potato tots were nice and crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.  They still had the sweet potato flavor you would expect.  They were served with a raspberry sauce that I didn't think was needed.  I have a hard time thinking of anything negative on my plate, it was all done quite well.

My dining partner ordered the pulled pork and brisket with sweet potato tots and bacon ranch potato salad.  Her brisket looked like it was thrown in a microwave to heat it up, so it came out dry and chewy.  She still liked the flavor, but I didn't even finish the piece I was given to try.  The potato salad was done well.  All the advertised flavors were there and no one of them overpowered the others.  The biscuits were fresh out of the oven, still warm, flaky, and fluffy.

There were three different house-made BBQ sauces on the table.  I kept going between each one, trying to figure out which I liked better.  It was a draw, they were all really good.   When we first walked in, we were greeted, but it was unclear whether we should order first, or seat ourselves.  We decided to order since there was absolutely no guidance.  The lady that took our order was nice, but was unable to give any recommendations ("Everything's good").  Even when I pressed "Would you recommend the brisket or the ribs?", she wasn't able to give an answer, making me think she wasn't overly familiar with the menu.

Great food, with an overcooked brisket and some minor service issues earns North Country BBQ a 4 fork rating.  Give it a try, it's good BBQ.

Pulled Pork and Ribs	Pulled Pork and Brisket