Moonglow and the Horse & Tack Expo
DuckyGirl is fencing with a cold this weekend, so the only part of the Adirondack Balloon Festival we managed to take in was the Friday night Moon Glow up in Lake George. We ate at home before leaving, so by the time we found parking and enough quarters to feed the meter we were exactly on time for the scheduled start. Usually, that would be perfect. The past few years we’ve arrived early, only to stand around in damp September air for an extended period, wondering whether the event had been canceled. For some reason, this year, they started about 10 minutes early. So, we missed seeing the balloons fill up, but it was still beautiful and the fireworks afterward were a lot of fun.
DuckyGirl review: “Cool!”
I was really hoping that we could see the 5pm launch on Saturday, but nap time lasted until almost 4, and that’s not nearly enough time to make it to Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport with the amount of traffic that the festival generates. I know from experience that even 2 hours is cutting it close.
DuckyGirl wasn’t disappointed, though, because we had spent Saturday morning at the Saratoga Horse & Tack Expo, an awareness and fundraising event for the New York Horse Park. I was a fairly serious horse person in a former life, and for me the expo was a little light on the horse and tack. The presentations that I did go to were Guy McLean and a Roman riding demonstration. They were worthwhile and informative, but I would have enjoyed seeing more from the local equestrian scene. It would have been so great if there had been booths from some of the local lesson barns.
On the other hand, DuckyGirl had an absolute blast. The first thing she did was a really clever make your own stick horse activity (note to self: steal this for future birthday parties), and this was followed by unlimited bouncy-castle time. By the time she was handed a free balloon and sticker, it was painting the lily. All for a $5 admission price. They really undersold the kid’s entertainment potential.
DuckyGirl Review: “I got so many surprises!”
The Kettle & The Posie Peddler
Sometimes I leave a new restaurant feeling like it gave me a well-deserved smack in the face for not getting there sooner.
The Kettle (or, the “Kountry Kettle” if you’re a stickler for paperwork, I gather) is one of those places.
LuckyDaddy was called in to work at 2 am this morning, and still hasn’t managed to repay his sleep bank. I decided that if he wasn’t going to sleep, I should at least take him out for some serious carb loading. None of our usual spots seemed quite right, so I resorted to a Google search of “breakfast… Saratoga Springs“. To my amazement, this actually yielded a new (to me) candidate, The Kettle. I perused the breakfast menu, and noted that they offer the perfect après all-nighter food: Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy. Sold.
Twenty minutes later (9 spent driving, and 11 spent convincing DuckyGirl to put on shoes), we arrived. As soon as I stepped out of the car, there was instant happiness. The place smelled amazing. I couldn’t quite place the aroma, though. At first I thought it was bacon, but something about it wasn’t quite resolving correctly.
Turns out, I was smelling the smoker. The place does its own smoked sausages and Canadian bacon, as well as a bunch of other BBQ meats. I started to get really excited when I saw the smoked chicken wings, imagining BBQ platters all football season, but I pulled myself together and re-focused on the meal at hand.
It took a long time before I could determine whether I was in a pancake or a waffle mood, but that was okay because the kind waitress had brought over a carafe of coffee to sustain us through the decision-making process. After two cups, I went with French toast, eggs over-easy, and sausage. LuckyDaddy skipped the biscuits and gravy and instead got the special: eggs and toast with maple-glazed smoked pork chop.
DuckyGirl insisted she was only going to eat the little packets of jelly. Loudly. Good thing The Kettle has the type of friendly ambiance that makes you feel like you’re part of the family, even if it’s your first time there.
Our food arrived after five or six rounds of stacking and counting jelly containers. LuckyDaddy’s pork chop looked fantastic, but at first glance I was a little underwhelmed by my French toast. It was billed as extra-thick and cinnamon-topped, but it looked just like average French toast that somebody’s Mom might make. However, once I took a bite, I realized that it was exactly like somebody’s Mom might make, if that Mom made really good French toast. It was creamy, and there was a definite cinnamon presence, but very well-balanced. The eggs were solid, too. Nothing to rhapsodize about, but not the flavorless decoys that you get at so many diner-class establishments.
LuckyDaddy’s pork chop, on the other hand, was definitely worth singing about. It took a while before he handed over a bite, because DuckyGirl had decided that she wanted some toast under the jelly, some of Daddy’s “steak”, and while he was at it, an egg, too. As soon as I tasted it, though, I knew there was no question that he had ordered best. It had a really great smoky flavor, but not so overwhelming that you couldn’t taste the true nature of the pork, and nice sweetness that made it a perfect breakfast meat. I should have snapped a picture, but I was too busy dropping hints that I wanted another sample (and I’m new to this blog thing).
The prices were worth mentioning, too. Our bill came to about $20, and we had plenty of food, even with handing over portions to the little one. Not that I wouldn’t have been happy to polish off another three servings of the pork chop, but we were plenty full.
This place will definitely be joining the regular rotation.
DuckyGirl review: “I like the orange jelly there.”
On our way back we stopped at Schrade’s Posie Peddler and bought a big pot of mum’s for $17.99. They are so healthy and beautiful.
