{"id":3866,"date":"2009-07-15T10:55:37","date_gmt":"2009-07-15T14:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogatraveler\/2009\/07\/ballston-lake-and-good-times-restaurant-a-nice-way-to-spend-an-afternoon.html"},"modified":"2016-11-03T11:55:52","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T11:55:52","slug":"ballston-lake-and-good-times-restaurant-a-nice-way-to-spend-an-afternoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogatraveler\/2009\/07\/ballston-lake-and-good-times-restaurant-a-nice-way-to-spend-an-afternoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballston Lake and Good Times Restaurant-a nice way to spend an afternoon"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first day after their long drive from St. Louis I
\ndecided to take my niece Laura and her husband Bob to the fishing pier at
\nBallston Lake.\u00a0 Ballston Lake is
\nsouth of Saratoga down highway 50 to Outlet Rd.\u00a0 Once you take a left onto to Outlet Rd you will pass the
\nhiking, biking trail and shortly after that on the left is the parking lot for
\nthe fishing pier.\u00a0 Be careful
\ncrossing the street, there is more traffic than you would think.<\/p>\n

Once you cross the street and walk down the
\nwooden walkway surrounded by cattails and lily pads you will see the best view
\nof the lake.\u00a0 On the pier there is
\na rail all the way around except for on the right side where you can put in a
\ncanoe or kayak or even an inflatable boat.<\/p>\n

\"view<\/p>\n

The lake is not only full
\nof fish but also huge snapping turtles, geese and the occasional heron<\/div>\n
\n

When we were there, there was a family with two small girls
\nlater joined by a grandma and two small boys. The girls would squeal and the boys would holler when they
\nwould catch a little bass or sunfish.
\nIt was cute to watch.<\/p>\n

As we were walking down the wooden walkway to leave the
\nfishing pier we stopped at one of the cattail lined pools.\u00a0 There we saw two turtles sunning
\nthemselves on a log.<\/p>\n

\"2<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

We walked down the street (again watching for traffic) to a
\nsmall bridge.\u00a0 There we stood and
\nwatched more turtles and fish jumping in the water.\u00a0 There were small boats with fishermen
\nand kayaks on the lake.\u00a0 It was
\nsuch a pretty sight, since the weather was clear and warm that day.<\/p>\n

After our walk we decided it was time for lunch.\u00a0 We chose to take them to The Good Times
\nLakeview Restaurant.\u00a0 My husband
\nMark and I have been there before and really liked it and thought it would be
\nthe kind of place that Laura and Bob would like too.\u00a0 Good Times is a non pretentious restaurant, warm and inviting, with a large fireplace
\nand cozy seating.\u00a0 But the best
\nthing about the interior is the view.
\nIf you go ask for a seat by the window– there you will have a great
\nview of the lake, but not only that the windows are lined with a huge bird
\nfeeder.\u00a0 While you are waiting for
\nyour food you can watch goldfinches, red winged black birds and the more
\ncomical squirrels and chipmunks<\/p>\n

\"chimpmunk<\/p>\n

\"goldfinch<\/p>\n

The menu at Good Times in huge.\u00a0 We ordered Saratoga Chips to start with (we always do
\nwhenever we see them on the menu), and the waitress commented on how they are a
\nhouse specialty.\u00a0 The chips were
\nserved hot and crisp with a cheese sauce.
\nI have to say they were some of the best chips I’ve ever had.<\/p>\n

I ordered something I thought was an unusual combination a
\nturkey sandwich with blue cheese.
\nIt also had caramelized red onions and spinach on it.\u00a0 And the turkey–real roasted turkey, one
\nof my weaknesses!\u00a0 The sandwich was
\nhuge and delicious!\u00a0 Mark ordered
\nthe bruschetta, which we had before as an appetizer.\u00a0 It’s tomatoes and herbs with mozzarella\u00a0cheese all on fresh
\nItalian bread.\u00a0 Very good–I think
\nit’s the balsamic vinegar that makes the difference.\u00a0 Bob ordered a burger and fries–he raved about the fries
\nbeing so good I had to order a half order just to try them–and he was right!<\/p>\n

Laura got the chicken quesadilla that came with a salad,
\nboth a substantial portion.
\nShe ordered her salad with the house dressing and liked it so much she
\nbought a bottle to take home!\u00a0 We
\nthought about dessert but lunch was way too filling.<\/p>\n

After lunch it was back home, warm from the sun, feeling
\ngood from our walk and our bellies full of good food from Good Times!<\/p>\n

If you visit Good Time Lakeview Restaurant remember:<\/p>\n

The portions are large<\/p>\n

They offer mystery dinner theater, details at the restaurant<\/p>\n

There are no free refills on soda but there is on tea<\/p>\n

If you like the salad dressing, buy a bottle. The bottle itself is unique and reusable.<\/p>\n

If you visit the fishing pier at Ballston Lake remember:<\/p>\n

Its free!! But you must have a license to fish<\/p>\n

Please don’t litter. There is a garbage can for bait containers, soda cans etc. Please use it.<\/p>\n

But most importantly: Enjoy it! Its a beautiful place to spend an afternoon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first day after their long drive from St. Louis I decided to take my niece Laura and her husband Bob to the fishing pier at Ballston Lake.\u00a0 Ballston Lake is south of Saratoga down highway 50 to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\r\nBallston Lake and Good Times Restaurant-a nice way to spend an afternoon - The Saratoga Traveler Blog: Discover Saratoga Day Trips, Hidden Gems & Weekend Discoveries<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogatraveler\/2009\/07\/ballston-lake-and-good-times-restaurant-a-nice-way-to-spend-an-afternoon\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ballston Lake and Good Times Restaurant-a nice way to spend an afternoon - 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