Saratoga locals take back the town

A winning bet for late summer in Saratoga after Labor Day: Mrs. London’s cucumber-forward gazpacho, with an available sidewalk table to enjoy it.

Labor Day is the last day of the yearly meet at the Saratoga Race Course, and it spurs an exodus of tourists who have been here for what seems like forever. Though I am sure there are bookish bookies and timid toffs, the majority of the folks who visit Saratoga in summertime seem to revel in living large, partying hard and spending a little (or a lot) more than they normally do with hopes of making it back at the track.

And there’s nothing wrong with that, in context. As the hostess at one of my favorite restaurants told me the other night, when a party on their patio ran overlong and I had to find another place to eat, “they’ve paid for it and can do what they want with it.” My group erred in thinking we could have conversation with our dinner and also dine in downtown Saratoga during the season—an exacta you are not likely to hit.

But now we’re back. 15 Church and Osteria Danny are two places I would not (or should not have) considered during the season, but now I’m looking forward to returning. I also plan to check out Upstairs at 43 Phila (former Ronnie & Ralphie’s) while Brady Duhame is cooking alongside Executive Chef Brian Bowden. And sipping an excellent glass of red wine really slowly while enjoying a coal-fired pizza at Taverna Novo.

In addition to a more relaxed dining experience, we locals can look forward to better attention from servers (though the good places maintain a high standard in the height of the craziness) and perhaps in the kitchen as well. (Dominic Colose of Wine Bar has some thoughts from a BOH perspective in his Chef’s Day blog.) And fall menus! A savvy chef will pare down his/her menu to dishes that are tasty but straightforward to prepare and hard to screw up for the tourist season. Soon we will see new items creep onto the menu, celebrating the fall harvest.

If you want to continue partying after Labor Day, you can do it through this weekend at the Saratoga Wine & Food Festival. But please leave town when it’s over.