Four Corners

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

We were looking for a good breakfast place somewhere in Delmar, so we could hit up the Cheese Traveler on the way back home, a quick search brought up Four Corners Luncheonette.  Known for it's creative menu and quality food, we figured it would be a good spot for a nice breakfast.

It is a smaller place, with a homely feel.  We only had to wait a few minutes until a table was cleared off for us, but I can see waiting for quite some time at it's busy points.

I ordered a dish off their specials menu called Oreo Cakes ($8), it was two buttermilk pancakes with crumbled Winter Oreos inside and cinnamon butter sauteed apples and craisins on top.   It was served with real maple syrup.  They used a ton of oreos in the pancakes, which really gave them a strong and amazing flavor.  The apples and craisons on top were also very good, tasted almost like a chunky apple sauce.  Unfortunately, I thought the apples overpowered the oreo pancakes, so I ended up taking the apples off and eating them separately.  The real maple syrup is always a nice touch.

Josie ordered the Ovos Vasco Da Gama ($10), three eggs scrambled with chorizo, tomatoes, peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese.  Served with homefries and toast.  She absolutely loved this dish  The flavors in the eggs worked together great.  She would order this again in a heartbeat.  Her only complaint about the dish is that the homefries were not seasoned and bland.

We love our homemade hash, so we also ordered a side of their Red Flannel Hash ($5), grilled diced western russet potatoes, onions, peppers, and corned beef.  Also very good, if you have never had hash not out of a can, you really should try it.  This dish was great, but if I were making it, I would add a bit less peppers, as there was more peppers than any other ingredient, and it took over the dish a little bit.

Four Corners Luncheonette is a very relaxed environment, so not the place to go if you are in a rush, but they do feature a creative menu as well as the classics for a reasonable price.

Red Flannel Hash
Oreo Pancakes	Ovos Vasco Da Gama

Barnsider

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Barnsider is located right off Wolf Road in Colonie, it is your typical steakhouse, and runs on the expensive side.

I ordered the Lobster Casserole with sirloin.  The lobster casserrole is just a ton of lobster, with crackers and butter.  It is really simple, but really good, although the lobster was a bit overcooked.  The sirloin was very small and while ordered medium rare, had parts that were well done, and parts cooked perfectly.  The sirloin had great flavor, and while cooked more than I would like, was still quite tender.  The dish costs $32, which is a lot to pay for this dish.

Josie ordered the Beef Wellington.  She descibed it as cooked perfectly, tender, and having a great flavor.  Her only complaint with her dish was that the rice pilaf was overcooked.  Her dish cost $27 which is also a bit pricey for what you get.

Service was slightly on the slow side, but another waiter stepped in to help out when ours got busy, and it was a bit busy, so the small delay in the kitchen was understandable.  They also have a salad bar included with an entree.  It is a smaller salad bar, offering about 10 salad ingredients as well as cheese and warm bread you cut yourself.  Not amaing, but a nice option to have.

Lobster Casserole and Sirloin	Beef Wellington

7th Annual Chocolate Expo

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Category: Events

Written by Brian

Sunday, December 2, 2012
11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
$3.00 per person/children ages 12 and under are free

Indulge your sweet tooth with an afternoon at the New York State Museum’s 7th annual Chocolate Expo and Holiday Gift Market. Stroll through the galleries featuring a selection of locally crafted chocolates, confections, specialty foods, jewelry, body products and more. You can find a unique gift for anyone on your holiday shopping list.

Vendors include several wineries and farmer market regulars like buddapesto, dreamPuff Marshmellows and Dutch Deserts

Mikes Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Mike's Diner is my local go-to diner.  I go there once a week.  They have your typical diner food but add some unique items like Almond Joy French Toast and Pumpkin Pancakes.  They have plenty of seating and plenty of parking.  I've only had to wait for a table once or twice and it was never a long wait.

This trip, Josie had a pumpkin waffle with peaches and whipped cream.  Yeah, it is a bit strange, and I can safely say it isn't specifically on their menu, although they do offer the same dish with a plain waffle called Peaches and Cream.  The waffle was cooked well, nice and soft, and believe it or not, the flavors actually did go well together pretty well, although the pumpkin flavor in the waffle was minimal.  They used canned peaches, but what do you expect in November?

I got a breakfast burrito.  This used to be on their specials menu, but you can always get it.  They take eggs, meat (sausage for me), and cheese and I have them put the hash browns that come with it inside, it is all cooked together.  You can also add any vegatables you want.  Flavors in this dish are great, and the hash browns inside give it a nice texture.

Josie thinks that their coffee is one of the best in the area, I'm not much of a coffee person, so I'll yield to her on that.  They also offer real maple syrup for an extra cost.

Service has always been amazing, except the one time we go to review it.  The waitress seemed distracted, it took her way too long to come over to take our order, and we sat there for over 5 minutes after she took the last of our plates before she brought over the check.  That being said, this has never been an issue in the dozens of times we have been there in the past.

I would have given them a 3 1/2, but we don't do 1/2s at this site, so I rounded up based on previous experiences.