Country Corner Cafe
By Jill Nagy
The Country Corner Cafe, a Saratoga Springs institution for more that 32 years, was recently voted New York’s best place for comfort food by the followers of LoveFood.com., a U.K.-based website devoted to all things food.
The cafe is located at 25 Church Street, just off Broadway, and is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch. Specialties include four versions of eggs Benedict: southern, sunrise, traditional, and Cali, according to Julee O’Callaghan, who has owned the restaurant since buying it in January 2023 from founding owner Roseanne Hotaling.
O’Callaghan has not changed much in her year as owner. She still offers oatmeal pancakes, prepared according to a recipe from the Hotaling family, and biscuits with sausage and gravy. A selection of homemade jams and jellies is rotated each week. For lunch, the Saratoga chopped salad, served with pita bread, is very popular, O’Callaghan said, as is the homemade tomato soup.
Of the 23 employees, one has been there since Country Corner opened and, O’Callaghan said, “the majority of the team has been here a very long time.”
The cafe occupies two storefronts, two doors apart. One seats 50 people; the other, 23. They also prepare food for take-out, ordered online or in-person. No delivery, however.
Poughkeepsie radio station 94.3 Lite, in announcing the award, wrote, “[T]here are days you want to skip all the pomp and circumstance for a down-home meal that connects your soul through your taste buds and belly.” Their announcement goes on to quote LoveFood: “Upstate New York isn’t short on super-cute, mom-and-pop style restaurants, and the Country Corner Cafe is one of the most popular.”
The LoveFood website is based in the U.K. but has writers around the world, including, the United States. It is published by digital publisher LoveIncorporated.
The cafe is open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. seven days a week. The telephone number is 518-583-7889.