Social distance while picking up takeout is part of takeout 2.0. The blackboard indicates which directions customers should go to claim their meals.
Saratoga Springs is a seasonal tourist town, which means 8 months of the year the local restaurants are barely hanging on. The mandated closings due to COVID-19 have been a devastating blow. Some have shuttered for good, others announced they’re closed for the duration, but a few have embarked on what we’ll call Takeout 2.0.
These places are used to packing leftovers for patrons to take home, but preparing multiple takeout meals a night is a different story. This week was scheduled to be Saratoga County Restaurant Week, and the sponsoring Chamber of Commerce quickly pivoted to Takeout Week. Last weekend we ordered from one of our favorite local restaurants, Taverna Novo. Owner Patricia Novo teaches wine in a local culinary arts program and has a huge cellar that she made available at roughly retail prices to take out with your food. (The state has made a temporary exception to a rule against selling alcohol to go unless you are a licensed store.) We got one bottle included with our Takeout Week meal, and also purchased a 32 oz half-growler of their excellent house pinot noir for $17 plus deposit.
Not pretty, but delicious: lamb ragout from Blue Hen.
The next night, and another night later in the week, we ordered from the Adelphi Hotel complex which includes Salt & Char, Blue Hen and Morrissey’s. They offered a 3-course meal for $15, not a special but something they’ll do nightly for the time being; Morrissey’s had half-price on their sushi rolls. The takeout containers were funky Kraft boxes with the pan juices sloshing around the bottom (they must have been last to order their supply at Restaurant Depot and had to buy what was on hand) but once plated the food looked and tasted great.
A week later, we took a stroll around town and many places seem to have fine-tuned their process. We were worried that we did not get the promised curbside delivery at the Adelphi (had to go into the lavish lobby and sit on a magnificent Victorian bench and wait) but tonight there were efficient systems to avoid contact at more than one establishment.
And, some businesses have stepped up to the plate and offered to be a clearing house for farmers, food producers or smaller restaurant kitchens that cannot afford to maintain a storefront. Vic Christopher, a perpetual innovator in Troy, is offering takeout from his fine dining Peck’s Arcade at Little Peck’s, previously a brunch and coworking space, and has invited other producers to add their goods to his menu. And Nine Miles East, our farm-to-table pizza place, will now deliver fresh vegetables from local farms with your pizza. You can even buy a roll of toilet paper (limit 1 roll, with food order) for 35 cents. Now that’s takeout 2.0.
P.S. Saratoga-report.com is a new site offering local updates on the virus and community and government response AND links to a number of restaurants now offering takeout. Check it out!
