Hundred Dollar Hamburger at Mesa Grill.
I recently finished a sojourn in Sedona, AZ, a tourist town at least the equal of Saratoga Springs measured by the ratio of visitors dining out to residents. I was impressed by two places, Rascals and Mesa Grill, that served an iconoclastic menu in the face of the assumption that tourists want something safe and familiar.
Pictured above is the “Hundred Dollar Hamburger” from Mesa Grill. The restaurant is situated in the airport that serves private pilots. The hamburger doesn’t actually cost $100; that’s a reference to the cost in gas for a pilot who is looking to accumulate hours toward her license and flies in to have a bite. But to my point, it doesn’t look like a hamburger, does it? The menu describes it as “Prime Angus burger on sourdough toast, green chili, caramelized onion, bacon, roasted tomato, cotija & Oaxaca cheese, pico de gallo, chipotle creme.” It was delectable.
Old Fashioned at Rascals.
I ate at Rascals, which dubs itself a “New American Diner”, the night after my big lunch at Mesa Grill. I wasn’t up for a full meal and was satisfied with the Firecracker Shrimp, served General Tso-style on a bed of Asian slaw. But what was distinctive about this meal was the cocktail selection; they stock esoteric high-proof spirits and mix them into interesting drinks like the Four Roses Small Batch Old Fashioned: 104 proof Kentucky straight bourbon, orange bitters, muddled orange rind, Bordeaux cherry (like a maraschino but dark purple and cured in house).
Why can’t we have nice things like this in the Cap District? Of course we do, but not enough. (Check out the interesting things Brady Duhame is doing at Max London’s and the drinks at Hamlet & Ghost.) Too often a menu will consist of a salmon dish, a short rib dish, a bricked chicken dish, a squash risotto vegetarian dish. Restaurants are serving up greatest hits they know diners will recognize and appreciate, vs taking chances with new ideas. And don’t get me started on the folks who open yet another Italian red sauce place.
Certainly we need far more ethnic eateries. I was talking with a woman in my exercise class about how much we love Greek food and neither of us could name a Greek restaurant within 40 miles. But what’s wrong with a fresh take on comfort food classics, like the $100 hamburger above? Give it a try and, if they don’t like it, you can take it off the menu.
Greek restaurant: Garlic Lovers in Defreestville! (Went there yesterday and yelped!) We have great restaurants in Columbia County! Aviary in Kinderhook (Ruth Reichl-endorsed as best), Rivertown in Hudson, Casa Susanna in Leeds (Greene County). Back Bar in Hudson is Zak Palacio’s Malaysian/Thai small bites in a Texas patio situation. Let’s take a tour!
Yer on! Would you say that the places you mention, being somewhat downriver of the 518, attract a larger # of visitors from the city? A lesson for Cap District restauranteurs if so. Don’t underestimate your clientele and dumb down your menu when you don’t have to!
“Why can’t we have food like this in the 518?”, are you channeling Mr Fussy?
Maybe get some FLB action in BMF? And yes, the lack of chili cheeseburgers in the northeast is scandalous.
Nowhere near as fussy as the departed blogger. But I shouldn’t have to travel across the country to have a creative meal.
Greek? Athos on Western Ave was always our go to…but it is a far cry from the incredible Greek food I ate in Chicago…they are also under new ownership and we have not been there since that happened…had some interesting food at Copper Crow in the Warehouse district in Albany…I am finding that places known for interesting cocktails seem to also have a more eclectic menu.
Agree on interesting cocktails pairing with interesting menus. And thanks for the tip on Copper Crow. I definitely want to check it out!
I’m certainly bored with Saratoga. The menus seem to play it safe for the summer crowd and stay that way year ’round. I wish we had middle eastern food.
Have you been to Coat Room? Dominic Colose, who served tagines at his occasional place Amuse, had a number of middle eastern items on the menu when they first opened. Now it’s scaled back to old standards, I assume for economic reasons.