An Irresistible, Delectable Event

If you've been to Crossgates Mall recently, you've probably noticed the newest restaurant that's been getting a lot of attention: Texas de Brazil. This Brazilian Steakhouse serves up a 50-60 item salad bar and carvings of meat including beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and Brazilian sausage. Is your mouth watering yet? If so, you'll be interested in an event coming up on Tuesday, October 21, at the restaurant from 6:30 - 8:00 pm.

The evening starts with passed hors d'oeuvres from the restaurant and will lead into a 4-course pairing of port with imported cheeses, fruit, and delectable chocolates. Not only will you be sampling some delicious fare, but experts on port and chocolate will be on hand to educate you on the various pairings.

Space is limited, so be sure to buy your tickets early here. $30 per person, must be 21 or over to attend.

This week at Taste: even more irresistible items

Last week we told you about Taste's new Prix Fixe menu, which was simply mouthwatering. So, this week, we bring you their new weekly menu featuring locally grown ingredients and delicious pairings:

3 Course PRIX FIXE MENU 

September 23^rd – September 27^th

$25 per person,

Does not include beverages, tax or gratuity

Tuesday – Saturday

Wine fights Available for $15 per person

Menu Alterations Politely Declined

First Course

Parsnip & Apple Soup

Apple Chips GF

Fall Beet Salad 

Gold Beets, Marinated Mushrooms, Grapes, Roasted Fennel,

Brie, Fennel Vinaigrette   GF

Pork Belly Steam Buns

Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Scallions, Thai BBQ Sauce

Warm Olive Plate

Olive Medley, Herbs, Roasted Pepper,

Garlicky White Bean Dip,

Rice Crackers GF

Second Course

Sea Scallops

Truffle, Corn Puree, Snap Peas, Bitter Greens GF

Pesto Roasted Heather Ridge Farm Chicken 

Orecciette, Broccoli Rabe and Red Pepper Flakes

Grilled Lamb Racks

Roasted Fennel Bulb, Fingerling Potatoes,

Olives, Date Butter GF

Sweet Corn Risotto

Parmigianino, Snow Pea Salad GF

Third Course

Fruity

Berry Pate

Chocolate

Chocolate Salted Caramel Hazelnut Tart

Gluten Free

Frozen Flight ~ Chef's Choice, an assortment of gelato & sorbet - GF

A five course menu is also available with even more irresistible items. See both menus on Taste's website by clicking here. 

Cider & Sides: what to do when life gives you apples

We all know what to do when life gives us lemons, but what happens when life gives you apples? Nine Pin Cider definitely knows what to do with them: celebrate! Loving their first harvest season, Nine Pin Cider Works is happy to announce their fall line-up for their hit event Cider & Sides!

From now until the end of October, guests can enjoy a food pairing with their delicious cider at 929 Broadway. On select evenings that their tasting room is open, Nine Pin teams up with a local mobile vendor outside of the loading dock area starting at 4 p.m. These local food vendors provide the perfect paring for our cider.

Here is the listing through the end of October. Subject to change.

• September 18 – Cider & Sides – The Hungry Traveler
• September 19 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• September 20 – Cider & Sides – Capital Q Barbeque
• September 25 – Cider & Sliders – Slidin’ Dirty
• September 26 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• September 27 – Cider & Sides – The Hungry Traveler
• October 2 – Cider & Sliders – Slidin’ Dirty
• October 3 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• October 4 – Cider & Sides – Capital Q Barbeque
• October 9 – Cider & Sliders – Slidin’ Dirty
• October 10 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• October 11 – Cider & Sides – Capital Barbeque
• October 16 – Cider & Sides – The Hungry Traveler
• October 17 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• October 18 – Cider & Sides – Capital Q Barbeque
• October 23 – Cider & Sliders – Slidin’ Dirty
• October 24 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia
• October 25 – Cider & Sides – Capital Q Barbeque
• October 30 – Cider & Sliders – Slidin’ Dirty
• October 31 – Cider & Sides – Sweet Mama Mia

In addition to their delicious cider, Nine Pin now has merchandise available! Show off your favorite fall fashions: hats, t-shirts, hoodies, and tank-tops with the Nine Pin logo! 

Enjoy your favorite hard cider and local food truck palate at the following times:

• Wednesday – 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Thursday – 4.p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday – 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday – 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Spirit of Albany: New World Bistro Bar

In 2009 new life came to Delaware Avenue when restaurant New World Bistro Bar opened, helmed by accomplished Hudson Valley chef, Ric Orlando.

The menu introduced restaurant patrons to global fusion cuisine, in a buttoned-down, unfussy manner, and in a bigger sense created a new diction in the way enterprising foodies in the Capital Region ate. The restaurant is also consistently lauded for its impassioned commitment to local and sustainable food sourcing.

For the Spirit of Albany campaign, mix master and bar-keep, Sarah- Jane Mc Laughlin, wields an ambitious cocktail named after the punch-line of a joke, the “That’s All Benny.”

The jalapeno, coupled with the lime and fortified by vodka and apple liqueur, made for a beverage that requires an adventurous palate to imbibe. My appetizer – the Asian Guacamole - displayed an assertive fruitiness in the yuzu-ginger dressing, coupled with the cooling and refreshing cucumber and the buttery heft of the avocado.

The Asian Guacamole

At New World Bistro Bar one has time to notice – and in this case, admire – instances in the gastro-pub where coherency shines through with authentic ease. The physical space is one such example. Unlike lesser restaurants, New World Bistro took a cue from the street on which it’s perched and allowed some of the eclectic edge of Delaware Avenue to inform its dining space. The warm colors, exposed brick and unpretentious space deservedly continues to enhance the value proposition of this establishment; global cuisine and local pride.

Editor's note: We asked some of Albany’s best mixologists to create original cocktail recipes that embody the spirit of Albany, and we compiled those recipes into our 2014 Spirit of Albany Recipe Guide. In this exciting blog series local foodie Brigid Washington, a Culinary Institute of America grad and local restaurant consultant, explores each restaurant – it’s menu, it’s atmosphere, and of course, it’s custom cocktail – and provides her perspective on how it all comes together to create part of Albany’s creative culinary scene! (The ACCVB does not, in any way, condone drinking and driving so please designate a driver as we did for this series.)

Taste announces new menu format

Farm to table continues wielding its influence on the local culinary scene as evidenced by an announcement by the proprietors of Taste in downtown Albany. Their standard menu has been defrocked in favor of a weekly rotation of culinary creations based on local market availability.

Each week on Monday, Taste will announce their menu for the upcoming week, which will be available Tuesday through Saturday. The three course dinner is $25 per person, and the five course dinner available only on Friday and Saturday is only $37 per person. Here's the menu for this week:

PRIX FIXE MENU

Menu for September 16th – 20th

Does not include beverages, tax or gratuity

Wine fights Available for $15 per person

Menu Alterations Politely Declined

First Course

Pumpkin Soup

Pancetta and Crème Fraiche GF

Warm Lobster Potato Salad

Potatoes, Pickle, Radish, Lemon Aioli GF

Short Ribs

Three Cheese Creamy Polenta GF

Roasted Sweet Potato

Citrus Cumin Glaze, Fresh Thyme, Garlic

Shallot, Orange Marmalade, Lime Juice, Farro GF

Second Course

Roasted Beef Tenderloin 6oz

Sautéed Kale, Mashed Potatoes GF

Roasted Trout Filet

Potato-Leek Nage, Truffle, Crispy Prosciutto GF

Duck Breast 

Pickled Cranberries, Mushroom, Marcona Almonds

Roasted Carrot-Orange Puree GF

Brussels Sprouts

Ricotta Gnocchi, Mushrooms, Dried Figs, Pine Nuts GF

Third Course

Fruity

Brown Butter Almond Cake, White Chocolate Crème Fraiche,

Pumpkin Gastrique and Candied Pistachios

Chocolate

Chocolate Chili Semifreddo, Mexican Chocolate Gelato

Gluten Free

Frozen Flight ~ Chef's Choice, an assortment of gelato & sorbet GF

Taste is open 11:30am to 10pm Tuesday-Friday, 5-10pm on Saturday. To make reservations call them at (518) 694-3322 or go online.

Apples and Wine Signal Autumn's Arrival

Capital Region Apple & Wine Festival

One thing I’ve learned in my few years in destination marketing is that people travel on their stomachs. Some of the most successful destinations take a regional food, incorporate it into a festival, and voilà! People flock! Autumn brings many people to the Albany area for this simple reason: we have foliage, food, and festivals.

One of such festivals takes place this weekend at the Altamont Fairgrounds. The Capital Region Apple & Wine Festival will be the perfect complement to a weekend that is supposed to be mostly sunny and about 70 degrees. Enjoy a craft and quilt show, car show, food vendors, cooking demonstrations and wine tastings all day while music drifts through the fairgrounds. Tickets are a reasonable $8 for adults and can be purchased at the gate or in advance at Price Chopper locations through September 12. Parking is free, and more information can be found on their website.

Another event you wine lovers will want to add to your calendar is Hudson-Chatham Winery’s BACO-NALIA event on October 18th. If you’ve ever tasted their Baco Noir wine, you understand that it’s some pretty incredible stuff; just read the reviews on their new website here. Well, it’s very exciting to announce that they’ll be releasing some additional Baco Noirs in their tasting room that day: their first Estate Baco Noir (BN) made with grapes from the winery; the '13 BN Reserve Casscles Vineyard; the '13 BN Middle Hope Vineyard; and the '12 Field Stone BN. They join the already released '13 BN Old Vines.

Then, at 1 pm, they'll be doing a first-ever vertical tasting of the Baco Noir Old Vines. This is the chance to taste multiple vintages of this wonderful wine. The cost is a worthwhile $35 per person ($30 for their Case Club Members) and includes wines and food.

To cap the day, at 6 pm, they’re celebrating with a private wine dinner featuring only the Bacos. It'll be a true wine-and-dine celebration of Hudson-Chatham Bacos past and present, paired with a 5-course meal. This event costs $75 per person ($65 for Case Club Members). Email Hudson-Chatham winery about reservations to these events here.

For information on other events and festivals in the area, be sure to check out our events calendar!