Joe's Crab Shack Opening Day

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Category: News

Written by Brian

Sept. 10th marked the opening of the first Joe's Crab Shack in the capital region.  Kent, Josie, and Brian braved the cold, and wet to camp out from 8PM until the opening at 11AM.  The first 100 customers received a free bucket of crabs per month for a year.

Front of building	Sign lit up at night	A tent for some people in line	Building lit up at night	Kent in front of Building at night

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Sweet Basil

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

	Front of menu

Sweet Basil is a new Thai restaurant that opened in August of 2012 (last month)  It is located on Delaware Ave in Albany.  I have been to most of the Thai places in the area, so when a new one opened up, I was eager to try it to see how it stacked up.

Parking on Delaware can often be a pain, but on the Friday evening when we went, there was plenty of parking on the street nearby.  We were there during the typical busy time for restaurants, so I can reasonably assume parking won't be an issue for this location.  The restaurant itself is quite small, inside there are 6 tables, 4 - 4 person tables, and 2 - 2 person.  There is also limited seating outside for the warmer months (one table is partially pictured above).  We were immediately greeted by a friendly employee as soon as we walked in which is always a plus.

Now, lets get down to the food.  I ordered one of their specials, called Yellow Twin.  It consists of duck and shrimp in a pineapple curry sauce with tomato and basil.  It is complimented with grilled pumpkin and jasmine rice.  So much to say about this dish.  The shrimp in the dish was cooked well, but lacked flavor on it's own.  Duck was cooked perfectly, and the crispy skin was just amazing.  The curry sauce was very flavorful with a mild spice.  The grilled pumpkin was actually acorn squash, and it felt out of place.  It was bland, and didn't really work with the dish.  The shrimp and duck pieces were all too big, and as with most Thai food places, they don't give you a knife, so you have to try to cut it with a fork, which proved to be difficult and inconvenient.  I am also not a big fan of leaving the tail on shrimp in a prepared dish, even though it is quite common.  This dish was one of the most expensive items on the menu at $22.

Josie ordered the pineapple fried rice with duck.  This dish had everything in it.  I don't remember all the ingredients, but there it included: rice, egg, cashews, tomatoes, onions, pineapple, and shallots.  The duck in her dish was dry and overcooked, but the dish as a whole was flavorful, and the pineapple was cooked perfectly:  warm without getting mushy.  She felt the cashews in the dish were a little out of place, but it isn't abnormal to find them in a fried rice dish.  With the duck, the pineapple fried rice cost $15.

We both had Thai iced tea with our meals, and we agreed it was a bit too sweet.  Service was fast and friendly, and presentation was very nice, the rice being served in the pineapple shell is a nice touch.

Total for the meal and drinks for the two of us with tax came out to be just over $45.

Yellow Twin	Pineapple Fried Rice

Downtown Albany Restaurant Week

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Category: Events

Written by Kent

The bi-annual Restaurant Week is slated for Saturday, October 13, 2012 through Friday, October 19, 2012.

 Downtown Albany restaurants will offer a three-course meal valued at a minimum of $35.00 for the price $20.12.

Website: http://www.downtownalbany.org/events/downtown-albany-restaurant-week

 Participating restaurants include:

Wolf's 1-11 Arena Sports Grill, Victory Cafe, V & R Italian Ristorante, Taste, La Serre, The Merry Monk, Kelsey's Pub, Katrinella's Bistro, Jack's Oyster House, Hudson Harbor Steak and Seafood, Franklin's Tower, Cafe Capriccio, The Bayou Cafe, The Albany Pump Station,

Reservations - Diners are encouraged to make advance reservations after 2:00 PM daily.

Parking - While many of our Downtown restaurants offer valet parking service, there are a multitude of parking option in downtown Albany.

Each time Albany Restaurant Week occurs there is a giveway contest.  This years details:

 Surveys - In addition to the 3-course dining promotion, Restaurant Week patrons can enter to win hundreds of dollars in Downtown dining gift certificates by filling out a brief survey about their dining experience at the restaurant. Make sure to ask your server for your survey. Winners will be chosen at random from all completed surveys. Survey Prizes include: (1) Downtown Albany winner (a Grand Prize winner to receive 4 gift certificates totaling $200), (2) I love Albany winners (Second Prize winner to receive 2 gift certificates totaling $100) and (2) Taste of Albany winners (Third Prize winners to receive (1) gift certificate totaling $50).

Johnny B's Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Kent

This is a small yet classic throwback diner with very dependable breakfast, just outside Albany City Limits, in Glenmont, NY.

After many visits, I feel that this diner has fast flavorfull food coupled with excellent service.  Hearty portions and a good menu selection with many weekend specials.   The Potato Pancakes are the best in the area...

There is outside seating available but only on the weekdays and they are closed Mondays.  Note, they close early afternoon each day they are open.  Be prepared to wait a bit if you go during prime Breakfast time on the weekends, but the wait is worth it and usually goes quick.

Average and reasonable prices, with Breakfast meals ranging from $5 to $10 dollars and with Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwiches coming in around $4 each.