Jack's Diner

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Jack's Diner is located on Central Avenue, at the fork (or corner) of Clinton Avenue. It's very easy to miss Jack's, as it's set between a car lot, and an auto body shop. The diner itself, to me, looks to be one of the quintessential streetcar diners. Brian disagrees, saying it's too spacious on the inside. What we did agree on, was that the space was very clean, well kept, and updated (fresh paint, etc).

We had to wait for seating. This wasn't any fault of the service. There were customers, who had long finished their meals, who chose to hold lengthy conversations with each other for roughly 20-30 minutes, and another table taken up by a gentlemen poring thoroughly through the Times Union.

A table finally became available (bear in mind the three tables above were still being occupied, and continued for another 30 minutes), and we were seated. We absolutely loved our server. She had a wonderful sense of humor, as we asked questions about the menu; the key question being whether their corned beef hash was homemade, and did it come with peppers & onions. They do have homemade hash, but it comes with onions. Brian opted out of the hash, but I placed a side order of it anyway, just because.

For breakfast, Brian ordered a Waffle with Strawberries. I ordered the Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Challah French Toast with Bacon (and the hash). There were hits, and there were misses. Brian's waffle was perfectly cooked, but the frozen strawberries (which were listed on the menu as fresh) didn't do good things. The strawberries actually gave the waffle a disintegrating taste. The waffle is much better on its own.

My french toast had good flavor, and I was impressed with the homemade-ness of the cinnamon raisin challah bread. Again though, the batter wasn't soaked through. I suppose this is just a normal thing, and I should get used to it, but there's such a missed opportunity to take french toast from 'okay' to 'amazing.' The bacon was okay (not amazing, but not bad). The corned beef hash, though, was a different story and I find myself conflicted. While it had good flavor, and a nice crust that gave it some texture, the corned beef was shredded so finely, that it didn't hold up in the hash and sort of tasted like baby food. There was no meatyness to the dish. It was all soft potato, and soft corned beef. The crust was not enough to give the texture any chew. So, it was kind of ruined for me.

While the overall meal we would give 3 forks to, the service really put things over the top. Our waitress was fast, friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. We loved her sense of humor, and would probably return just for her. We were very happy customers.

Cinnamon Raisin Challah French Toast w/ Bacon	Waffle w/ Strawberries & Whipped Cream

Corned Beef Hash

Four Corners (second review)

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Kent

Brian had already reviewed Four Corners Luncheonette on this web site, however I wanted to write a review too as I was highly recommended to give Four Corners a try from several co-workers and friends.  The Breakfast Menu was as hard to find online as the correct place to turn off Deleware Ave to get to this eatery.  This Restauarant is currently offering 4 different denominations of discount certificates thru Restaurant.com, so we decided to print one and give it a taste.

Upon entering, we were told by staff to sit whereever we would like.   The setting is comfortable and country-like and the dining area is a mix of booths, tables, and counter top seating.   Breakfast orders are taken until 11:30 a.m. on the weekends.  Lunch and Dinner menu's also available and are viewable online.

The Menu had a large amount of common breakfast choices and an extra page offered a large range of interesting offerings.  Things like Kale and Eggs Meals and a Brats and Onions Plate. When ordering, we were informed that the bread and baked goods are all home-baked and the bread choices the morning we dined was White, Wheat, Rye, Pumpernickel, or Cinnamon.

I ordered the Smoked Salmon Breakfast Sandwich and a side of Two Eggs over-hard.  My dining partner ordered the Eggs Benedict and asked if we could split an order of potato pankcakes on the side, as the Eggs Bendict didn't come with any harh brown or side items included.   I was pleased with the flavors, freshness, cooking, and presentation of both meals, however for the price, the portions were quite small for us, being hearty eaters.  If we didn't have the gift certificate which required a minimum purhcase and had not ordered the extras, I certainly would've left unsatisifed / still hungry (for the prices).  Overall worth a visit and we will be back soon to try the lunch or dinner menu.

Smoked Salmon Breakfast Sandwich on Homebaked Bread	Side order of Two Eggs	Eggs Benedict & Side of Potato Pancake

Canali's

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

We have been on a search for good pasta in the Capital Region lately, so naturally Canali's found it's way onto our list, as they are well known for their homemade pastas.  Canali's is in Schenectady.

We went with another couple, so after the break below, you can see pictures of what they ordered, but since I didn't try them, I won't be commenting on them.

I wanted to try one of their chicken dishes that came with a side of pasta, but they refused to sub fettuccini for whatever non-homemade pasta came with the dish because 'The chef won't do that'.  Maybe I've been watching too much Restaurant Stake Out where they say, "the customer is king", but I thought refusing to do a simple subsitution (I even offered to pay an upcharge) is completely unacceptable.  That was the first negative on the night, but luckily, it was also the only one.

So I cancelled my chicken dish and ordered Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken ($16.99) because, after all, we were on a search for good pasta, not store bought stuff I can get at Olive Garden.  The alfredo sauce was super thick and flavorful, the pasta was cooked to perfection, and the chicken had a nice crisp on it, it was an absolutely perfect dish.

Josie had a similar dish with he order of Fettuccini Carbonara ($14.99).  Her pasta was really just an alfredo with some extra stuff in it, not a true cabonara, but the pasta was cooked to perfection.

Besides the great flavors in our dishes, they were also huge.  I was really hungry, and I still had enough for dinner the next night, Josie, and the other two people with us got an additional two meals out of the one plate - all for a reasonable price.

Service was great, with our waitress cracking a joke or two and interacting well with our group.

So with the great service and tasty dishes Canali's gets a good review, but losses points for the fake cabonara and inflexibility to adjust to simple subsitutions. - 4 Forks.

Click 'read more' below to see pictures of their Cavatellit with a tomato basil cream sauce and their Linguini Loisa.

Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken	Fettuccini Carbonara

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Towne Tavern

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Category: Restaurant Reviews

Written by Brian

Towne Tavern is located in Averill Park.  It is a two story tavern with a natural feel to it.

We started off with the 4 x 4 appetizer ($7.50).  It is four of their ribs, with all four of their sauces so you can try them all.  The ribs are cooked perfectly, nicely smoked, with the pink in the ribs as proof.  The dry rub is flavorful and the star of the dish.  The sauces are all unique and the two of us argued a bit about or favorites :)

I ordered the Beef n Bleu Pasta ($17.25) - a bed of fettuccini topped with strips of tender Flat Iron steak grilled over the coals combined with fresh button mushrooms and simmered in a light bleu cheese cream sauce.  The pasta and the steak were cooked well (steak was a perfect medium as ordered), but the cream sauce lacked any real flavor.  It was a good sized plate that I would probably order again

Josie ordered the pulled pork dinner with corn and baked beans ($14.95).  She loved the sides and the cornbread, and the pork was super tender, but the sauce on it was very vinegary, and was difficult to eat without using some of the bbq sauce we got with our appetizer.  Once you put some less bitter sauce on it, it was quite good.

Service was a little slow on the Friday night we were there, but that is to be expected with crowds.  All staff members we encountered were friendly and professional.

4 X 4 (4 ribs to try all their sauces)	Black and Bleu Pasta

Pulled Pork Dinner