Farmer Boy

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Farmer Boy is located on Central Ave, just past 155 headed west.  It has your traditional diner feel to it

Our dining experience got off to a bad start.  When we first walked in, it took a couple of minutes for anyone to greet us, and when the hostess brought us to our table, she seemed stressed, and unwelcoming.  Things took a turn for the better after this.

I ordered a sausage and cheese omelet, it came with hash browns.  The omelet was cooked perfectly, still moist, but not runny.  It had plenty of sausage and cheese that was evenly distributed, a perfect omelet.  Hash browns were cooked fine, slightly crunchy and soft, but lacked any type of seasoning.

Josie ordered the cinnamon raisin french toast.  It was supposed to be on challah bread, but clearly wasn't.  It was cooked fine, and had a good flavor.  Often with french toast, the batter doesn't always soak all the way through the bread, leaving a small area in the center untouched, that wasn't the case at Farmer Boy, it was thoroughly battered.

Our waitress told us that their corned beef hash was made in house, so we had to try it.  It was clearly not from a can.  It had a great ratio of corned beef to potatoes, and they added onions for extra flavor.  It was cooked perfectly.

Service (not counting the hostess) was great, and while it isn't within the scope of what we review, I do want to mention that Farmer Boy is active in the community.

Corned Beef Hash
Sausage and Cheese Omelet	Cinnamon French Toast

Simply Grille

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Simply Grille is a Persian restaurant located on Central Ave near Route 155.  It is in place of an old Starbucks.

Their menu is quite simple, you chose a kebob (chicken, beef, ground beef, or lamb) and it comes with basmati rice (a ton of it), and grilled tomatoes.  Prices range from $6.99 for the chicken to $8.99 for the lamb.

I asked the chef for his recommendation, he said his favorite was the lamb, but most customers like chicken or ground beef.  So I went with the chicken.  It comes with a ton of rice but just one or two small pieces of tomato.  The rice was good, there was a seasoning on the table that gave it an even better flavor, and I found that putting butter on it made it creamier and better.  But it is still rice, and kind of boring when you have that much of it.  The chicken was cooked well, still nice and juicy and was seasoned with a citrus flavor.

Josie had his (the chef) favorite, the lamb.  The chicken I had ordered was cooked well, but the lamb was cooked perfectly.  Incredibly moist and seasoned, but still maintaining the lamb flavor.  It was truly amazing.  Again, this dish had tons of rice and a few tomatoes, but the lamb was the clear star of the dish.

The chef greeted us when we walked in and explained the menu, he was quite nice and very friendly.  The server they had was also very nice, explaining anything we had questions about.  She was also wearing a headset, so I believe they have a drive thru, although it wasn't overly apparent to us while we where there.

It was good food, for a good price.  I'd go back, but not the type of place I'd tell a friend they absolutely had to go to.

Chicken Kebob	Lamb Kebob

Ramonas Cafe

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Ramonas Cafe is nestled in on Lark Street on the Madison Ave side.  It is a small place with an interior that really epitimizes the Lark Street culture.

They had a unique selection of pancakdes, and a nice selection of specials, so we decided to select one of each.  I went with the butterscotch pancakes ($5.50).  Everyone has seen/had chocolate chip pancakes before, so I'm sure you get the basic idea, pancake batter with butterscotch chips placed on top and then cooked.  It was really good.  Butterscotch chips aren't as sweet as chocolate chips, so while it did add a sweetness, it wasn't overpowering.  The pancakces were cooked perfectly, light and fluffy, and not overdone.  I ordered a side of bacon ($1.75) with it, and they asked how I wanted it, nice touch.

Josie ordered one of their specials, Biscuits and Gravy with two eggs, sausage, and home fries ($7.25).  The gravy made the dish, but the biscuits were high quality too.  Potatos were well seasoned, but the eggs were bland and slightly over cooked.

Service was great, we were greeted and seated immediately, and the server was very friendly.  At one point they opened the door to attract attention, but saw we were getting cold and closed it immediately.  This is the type of place I wouldn't have gone to before I started looking for unique places to write reviews of - it is a little sad to think I could have missed out on quality little places like this.

Butterscotch chip pancakes w/ bacon	Biscuits and Gravy

Slider Slam - Review

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Category: News

Written by Brian

Last night was the 2nd annual Slider Slam as part of 'Wine and Dine for the Arts' an event created to give money to local art establishments (primarily theaters).  I went to the first Slider Slam last year courtesy of a table hopping give away, and I was hooked.  The event featured about 10 different local restaurants serving up a slider of their choosing.  There were also wineries, breweries, a rum company and a whiskey company giving out complimentary drinks.  The sliders were excellent again this year, with my two favorites being Valentes and Biergarten.  (my date's favorites were Valentes and 677 Prime).

And the Bacardi dragon-fruit mojito was great :)

The event is so popular, I feel it has outgrown the room it is in, it is very tight, and incredibly hard to navigate, but there is plenty of time to hit every table, so it is just a mild inconvenience, not a limiting factor.  This year the room was also quite smokey at times, an issue I'm sure they will address for future years.

At $35 / per person, it is a little pricey, but it is good food, lots of drinks, and most importantly, the money goes to a good cause.

(Sorry for the poor quality photos, the smoke really messed with my camera)

Edit: per Times Union, the people's choice winner was Valentes (offical judge winner was Slidin' Dirty)