Friday -Sept 8 – Day One
SARATOGA SPRINGS- I have to ask a question… Do we really need August?
Come and have a glass of wine, and let’s discuss…
Bring it, Chef!
What we do need, regardless of your answer, is more events like this. A cornucopia of visual, audio, and of course, taste stimulation.
That’s what you get at the Saratoga Wine + Food Festival. A two-day holiday for adults (21+ please).
For Labor Day has come and gone; for many, school supply trauma, pre-new-school-year haircuts, and the like are finished. This weekend is for you – and certainly, while the wine offerings alone attract people from all over, it really is a local thing. You reconnect with many who got shuffled all summer to the other side of Siros or the SPAC lawn. And that was great to feel…
More importantly, you reconnect with yourself. Leisurely, with refreshments galore.
That reconnection allows you to perceive, and thus receive, new vignettes that make life worthwhile.
The first evening’s (Friday, Sept 8) festivities are centered around a superior grilling exposition called Fired UP! This is the official summary provided to us by SPAC’s awesome Kristy Godette:
At Fired UP!, the kick-off to the weekend’s events at SPAC, chefs from the Capital Region’s finest restaurants battled it out for the “Stella’s People’s Choice Award” and “Judges Choice Award Presented by Certified Angus Beef and Woodford Reserve,” won by Salt + Char, and Druthers Brewing Company, respectively. Guests enjoyed great music by DJ Truemaster, a silent disco, gourmet food, BBQ, refreshing Stella Artois, wines and spirits. Local restaurants featured at Fired UP! included: 15 Church, Ama Cocina, Angelo’s 677 Prime, Campagna Restaurant, [Forged], Henry Street Taproom, Morrissey.
Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz made a special guest appearance at the event in support of his David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which helps to provide children in New England and the Dominican Republic with access to the critical pediatric services they need. The events raised $5,000 for the Fund.
And here’s some spice in the soup, if you will. One reporter’s notebook. Some great scenes and moments. Beginning with:
My Dinners with Papi
David Ortiz is the rarest of Boston Red Sox greats: For he is one of the few players, throughout their storied history, that members of Pinstripe Universe actually like. Whether it be his sportsmanship, dignity, grace and/or power at bat – we like Papi. We like his wine – Arias, BTW…
Due to the nature of these things – Big Papi had a full schedule meet and greets, appearances before the cellphone photographer army (“The Papi-razzi?” – see below) and the like – I was offered the opportunity to say hello and ask a question.
I write about sports, and I am a baseball fan. But I figured Big Papi would get a ton of those… I decided to pay homage to the fact that this is a food festival – and everyone likes to eat:
“Hi there. Welcome to Saratoga. As a Major League Player, you got to travel to all the great cities in the U.S. – and every one of them have great restaurants. Do you have any favorites that you always visit when you travel to that city?”
He smiled and gave me two:
The first was from NYC, Carbone’s – a a Michelin One-star classic in Little Italy (181 Thompson Street) Here’s their Website, which I note has no prices on their lunch or dinner menus online, which, if you look at their tasty wine and cocktail menu prices (which are printed), makes perfect sense — and then…
The Capital Grille – in Seattle.
Well, now this proved to be interesting, as there are Capital Grille’s all over; including three in the Boston metro. It is a successful, classic steakhouse… but the Planet Arthur Research Department did dig out these nuggets from the Seattle appetizer menu:
– DUNGENESS CRAB COCKTAIL
Chilled dungeness crab with housemade mustard sauce
– LOBSTER AND DUNGENESS CRAB CAKES
Prepared with lobster and dungeness crab meat
and, of course…
– GRAND PLATEAU
Dungeness Crab, North Atlantic Lobster, Prawn Cocktail, Oysters on the Half Shell
Aaaaaah! Dungeness crab… you don’t exactly snag these of the coast of Gloucester!
– Source: http://www.thecapitalgrille.com/menu-listing/dinner
{{Honestly, you can read about batting averages anywhere; but where are you going to get that kind of ‘insider baseball’?}}
{Of course, he just could have nice friends there… let’s say both, and call this a day}.
I told Papi that I would be happy to try both restaurants, and be happier still if I ran into him at either. Leave ’em laughing – Hall of Famers are humans too.
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Stella’s… From Brooklyn
This was a load of fun. The Fired UP! evening was co-presented by Stella Artois- and ladies + gents -they brought the fun bunch and their ‘A’ Game!
A special shout to my new friend Natesha, who drove up from Brooklyn to spread that special batch of Stella-luv… you thought I’d forget you – no chance!
I now see what Marlon Brando was shouting about! STELLLLLLLLA!
Oh BTW, this all occurred during the ‘pre-opening’ hour – which people can elect for a premium and get first crack at stuff, with less crowds.
It wasn’t going to stay that way for long – to wit:
So enough Stella-schmoozing already! Let’s get the party Fired UP! shall we say…
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PHOTO INTERLUDE
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A Vignette that Makes Life Worthwhile
People think that it is always a big ball of fun – going to these parties, and to a large extent – it is. I feel honored to be invited to all this stuff and one of the big ways I say thanks is by working my butt off. Just shadow me, or any of my teammates and colleagues for an hour at some event, and you’ll be crying for Stella yourself. Trust.
But there is a category of perk that comes out of these things, particularly at this event – and that is to have the opportunity to meet and greet a celebrity whom you have recently gotten to know and interview by phone. Such was the case with Chopped Judge Marc Murphy a few years ago, for instance. And it would happen tonight with Chef Melissa Doney, who was part of tonight’s expo
on behalf of Browns Brewing Co.
I had profiled Melissa as part of the advance coverage of this event (see that post HERE), and I guess she liked it, because she remembered that I told her of my love for Browns’ Oatmeal Stout, and low and behold – when I walked up and said: “Hi, I’m Arthur,” she served me up a couple of cold cans out of her cooler…
I have to admit, I felt a little like I was drinking contraband – since it was a Stella Artois evening. But they were going down so smooth at the end of the evening. I plead guilty.
Melissa had worked hard tonight, and was scheduled to do battle tomorrow… but tonight she let loose and danced, danced, danced!
I looked thru my viewfinder at my photo reel and knew it was time to relax with another cold one. Thank you Chef! But. I was mindful of the fact that this was just day one. A full Grand Tasting tomorrow…. One thing that was certain: I was going to need a team to do Saturday’s Tasting right. Fortunately, I had lined up Carrie, Matt and Mandy, and they would be just as Fired UP! as I was on A Classic Vintage evening.
Arthur Gonick
September 17, 2017
