Here is something to record...I took an actual lunch break and left my windowless office. To my delight, I noticed that it was still summer outside. My nose followed the smell of grilled hot dogs and I found myself at Woody's next to the Post Office on Main Street.
I asked the teenager working the stand if he ate hot dogs all day. He said, "just one a day" and not that I was judging or anything, but he was quick to add "I only work twice a week."
I ordered a Michigan and a grape soda. It was darn good and the only thing that would have made my meal better is if I could order Summer to slow down! I can't believe that this was my 1st lunch break at Woody's. Maybe I should consider eating two hot dogs a week before they close up for fall...
People are talking and they're talking about the Farmhouse Restaurant and Crowing Cock Saloon.
The Farmhouse is located behind Saranac Sourdough where Caribbean Cowboy used to be. Don't worry fellow Cowboy lovers, you can still eat Rob and Vicky's food down the street at the Cowboy. I'm not talking about that right now, however I find that the food at the Farmhouse has me drooling for other reasons. They source as much food as possible from local farmers and businesses and the menu lists all that info.
We both ordered different flavored home-made sodas, maple and rhubarb. They were both tasty, but I'd have to say that the maple was better because it was a unique flavor and not too sweet. I should mention that the menu didn't tell us about the tree where the sap came from to make the maple syrup that flavored our soda, but we didn't want to be obnoxious and ask. I couldn't help thinking about the hilarious Portlandia skit about this.
Next we had crab stuffed deviled eggs. We don't know what chicken the eggs came from and we can only suspect that the crab did not come locally. It didn't matter to me, I love deviled eggs of all kinds, traditional with the yolk, mayo and a little bit of mustard or hummus filled, I'm not picky. Yes, I am that person at a potluck that takes two halves. I can't help it, I love them! These were lovely to look at and tasted that way too.
Next time I want to try the Clover Mead Fromage Fort, garlic and wine infused cheese with crostini. I know there is enough on the tapas menu that I could have made a meal out of it, but we ended up ordering individual entrees instead. For dinner, Drew ordered the non-local Caribbean Seafood Salad. Greens, sea scallops, shrimp, salmon, fresh fruit mojo, cruda, rice and a champagne dressing.
Maybe the greens were local from Fledging Crow? He thought it was good and managed to clean his plate. I had the Classic Farmhouse Meatloaf Sandwich made with Atlas Beef and Harmony Pork.
I thought the portion size was generous, it hung over the bread.
Just in case I didn't have enough to eat, the sandwich came with fries.
I really liked my dinner and I would definitely like to go back and try out some other items on the menu. Locally grown or not, the food is good and the prices are friendly for locals too.
Imagine that you have a sweet tooth and you find yourself at work alone with half-day old cupcakes from Cake Placid.
It is not even 10 am and the cupcakes keep staring at you, whispering, "which one do you want to eat first?" You decide you can't eat them all and call a coworker from a different department to show her what you are faced with. You select the mint chocolate cupcake and set it aside for later and she picks the mystery cupcake.
One bite in and she finds herself re-thinking her entire wedding menu. You take a bite and decide it is a French Toast cupcake. Together, you are glad this is the one you started with since technically it can be considered breakfast and doesn't count as dessert. This means you can have another.
Before you know it, you are slicing up another cupcake to taste some chocolate, but only one bite. You remind each other that is a long day and you need to pace yourself. After all, you can't call in sick while already being at work with a belly ache since there is the evidence of leftover wrappers.
The Sunoco station in Lake Placid otherwise known as "Robo Mart" now offers the craft beer exchange. For the last month or so, I had noticed the sign whenever I had stopped to get gas.
For years, Robo was always my go to place after work if I wanted to pick up a special beer, like my favorite Samuel Smith. Now you can go there and put together your own craft beer 6-pack or have a growler filled up with fresh, draft beer.
So, when Drew called me at work on Christmas Eve asking to bring home some beer, I knew I'd stop by Robo and treat him to a growler. I should mention that you get a free growler with one beer fill.
There were twelve different beers on tap and I had a hard time deciding what to bring home, but ended up getting Magic Hat's Winter Howl for him. Being able to have someone fill a growler at a gas station almost makes the task of getting gas something to look forward to. Fill 'er up at Sunoco now has a new meaning.
There are some things in my travels that I often ponder, some longer than others. This odd sculpture sits just above the sidewalk on Saranac Avenue.
K. Cole Artist?
The bust always seems to grab my attention when I drive by the Paradox Lodge in Lake Placid, but I usually forget about it as soon as I turn into Hannaford's parking lot and start grocery shopping. However, the other day I finally stopped to take a picture and put a little more thought into it. After looking at it up close, it reminded me of a ceramic head I made in high school art class and wished that I hadn't left it in my parents basement for years. An act that ultimately led to its demise in some landfill. So shameful and now every time I drive by, I feel guilty about not treasuring my own art work and finding a nice place for it in our garden.
Last week we had friends come to visit. Since they used to live here and are familiar with all the restaurant choices, we decided to try a place that none of us had been to before and dined at the Breakfast Club in Lake Placid.
All I knew about this place was that they served more than just breakfast despite the name and they had a large selection of Bloody Mary's to choose from. We went for lunch after going for a hike so we were hungry.
Amy and I ordered a couple of drinks, while the boys decided to rehydrate with water.
Amy described her Raspberry Blush Mimosa as "a tangy, bubbly fruit drink." I had the BC Bloody Mary and was impressed with the pickle, olive and celery stick it was served with. I liked it, but thought it had too much worcestershire and spiciness in it for my tastes. Amy liked the Bloody Mary a lot and said, "I love salt and I love pickle juice, why wouldn't I like this drink?" I found this surprising because she usually doesn't like spicy, but this had a kick to it that she thought was delicious.
Drew ordered the Maple Balsamic Chicken salad and Chris had the Crab Cake sandwich.
Either they were too busy cleaning their plates or they just don't think they could get a word in with Amy and I, because when I asked them how they liked their meals, they simply said, "It's good."
I ordered the Turkey, Apple and Brie French Toast Sandwich. I thought the sandwich had a nice, mellow taste and probably should have paired it with a mimosa rather than a spicy Bloody Mary.
Amy had the Smoked Salmon Bene and thought that it was "easy to eat and the flavors blended well."
We were all members of the Clean Plate Club at the Breakfast Club and we all said we would come back, so I think that's the best way to sum it up.
I know I'd like to go back some time this fall for one of their Wednesday 80's movie nights. Tasty drinks and an old flick like Goonies or Weird Science, yes please! Now, if I can just get Amy to fly back to join me. I'm pretty sure my sister, a total 80's fan, would like this place too!
Last week my nephew was in town and we thought there was no better activity to do with a four year old boy that loves trains than to take the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. It was a peaceful journey to Saranac Lake, but once boarded to ride back to Lake Placid, I looked outside and informed my nephew that there were some peculiar looking people at the train station.
The sight of these two strangers dressed in trench coats on a hot summer day frightened him a little. As others boarded the train, we were greeted by a suspicious looking man with a red bandana covering his mouth.
The "bandit" came over to us and handed my nephew a "real three dollar bill" just in case he was accused of being a thief. With all the build up to this "Tri-Lakes Bandit Train Robbery," a certain four year old sitting across from me was getting nervous. We were told by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad's website that "once the bandit boards our train, there is plenty of fun and laughter to go around." My nephew was not laughing. It was right around the time that the train stopped in Ray Brook to pick up the "payroll" that the bandit tried to steal, we had to keep telling my nephew that it was only for fun, like a game, that it was all pretend.
I should mention here that I was probably around the same age when my mother had prepped me on real vs. pretend before seeing the movie Bambi. In the scene when Bambi's mother gets shot, I announced to the crying audience, "IT'S ONLY A MOVIE!"
This kind of steely reaction must run in the family because every time we said robber or bandit, my nephew would say, "They're just people. It's only for pretend. They're just people." As for the "real three dollar bill" he was given, we let him believe it was real, because gullibility also seems to run in the family.
Back in the day when I was an apartment dweller in Lake Placid, I had to cart my laundry to the laundromat. This was not an activity I loved. Most of the laundromats in Lake Placid back then were places that rarely made me feel like I was walking away with clean clothes. I never hung out at the laundromat waiting for the clothes to come out because just sitting there made the last of my clean clothes that I was wearing feel dirty. Of course, this meant returning 28 minutes later to discover that the machine did not work properly and then had to wait around even longer than anticipated. So, I perfected the art of timing my visits to my parents just when the laundry basket had reached its full capacity.
When Drew and I bought our first home, his parents gifted us with our very own washer and dryer. It was one of the best gifts I had ever received and I was thankful that my laundromat days were over. Or so I thought...
Just as any homeowner knows, when it rains it pours. We came back from a weekend away and the basement was flooded. The worst it has ever been. It fried our hot water tank and our beloved washing machine. Over the course of the week I had taken hot showers in four different households within a five mile radius. Several dollars later, the hot water tank is fixed and the washer is not.
This week, our laundry collection surpassed the friendly, "Hey do you mind if we come over and do a load of laundry?" With a total of six loads, we drove to Lake Placid and went to the new, Gold Medal Laundromat in the Cold Brook Plaza.
What an improvement now that it is under new management. I know this happened awhile ago, but wow! The washing machines are all new and they work. The driers blew me away. For a large load, the clothes were all dry in less than half an hour.
We didn't lose any change in the machines and when I had a problem putting one of the bills in for quarters, the owner came right over even without me asking for help. The laundromat was clean and had a nice sitting area with a large flat screen television to pass the time. I actually didn't mind spending an hour there doing laundry and sat reading until I heard the machines beep to tell me they were done doing their job.
It is nice to know that there is a good laundromat in Lake Placid and I will probably gather up some sweaters for their dry cleaning service. I think Gold Medal Laundromat definitely deserves the gold!
A quick update on my never ending toe issues...I finished the marathon on Sunday with no damage to my recent toenail removal and managed to cross the finish line with zero blisters. My tootsies actually ended up being the least of my issues and while struggling with the heat (my enemy), I thought about how my friend, Elizabeth thought that thinking about a pedicure in the last few miles might make the miles go by easier. Honestly, I needed a whole lot more than the thought of a pedicure appointment in the last few miles, but we both did it. We finished another marathon and our feet definitely deserved the royal treatment at Speedy Spa.
The owner, Claire greeted us on the porch and was happy to see us, we were happy that there was only one step to climb. Speedy Spa has such a fun vibe to it and is a great place to go with girlfriends for spa treatments.
Elizabeth came away from the marathon with a couple bruised toenails, so Laura gave her feet some needed tlc.
Elizabeth decided to cover up her already purplish toe nails with a rosy pink. I asked her what the paint color was called and she said, "Baguette Me Not." I responded confused with, "like as in a french baguette?"
Um yeah, you can tell I'm not too girly because baguette diamond was not even a thought of mine.
I went with something a little less feminine and had my nails painted, "Hot and Spicy."
I guess I was partial to the name since I really haven't been able to cool down since the race and well... y'all know I'm a little spicy.
We left Speedy Spa feeling great and it made me think I should start rewarding myself more often, marathon or not. Thanks Speedy Spa!
The recent excitement in Lake Placid has been the opening of Hannaford in the old Grand Union location. This has created some buzz because now Price Chopper has some competition and it's even on the same side of town.
Recently I went grocery shopping at Aldi and bragged to everyone about how I bought the bulk of our groceries for a week and it only cost 40-some dollars compared to the usual $90 at Price Chopper. However, Aldi doesn't have everything I need and I always end up going to a few different stores to complete my list.
I was interested to see how the prices compared between Hannaford and Price Chopper and so I began my investigation.
Hannaford VS. Price Chopper
I selected three random items to compare.
1. Toilet Paper - Charmin, 6 pack, Ultra Strong Mega Roll
Hannaford wins! On sale, $5.99. Regular price, $7.49
Price Chopper - Regular Price, $7.99
2. Frozen Pizza - Freschetta, Naturally Rising, Four Cheese Medley
Hannaford Wins! Regular Price, $5.69
Price Chopper - Regular Price, $7.79
3. Beer - Budweiser, 6 pack
Tie!
Hannaford and Price Chopper - Regular Price, $5.99
After this investigation, it was clear that Hannaford was the winner based on prices. Of course when you want real savings, you need to shop around for the best deal and that might mean going to both. The savings off gas from Sunoco with your Price Chopper Advantage Card is
worth gold right now, but a couple dollars off on gas could also be saved on a frozen pizza from Hannaford.
I am not a paid employee of Hannaford and their complimentary gifts of Sparkling Soda and Belgian Chocolate didn't determine the winner, but it certainly made my day.
I'm a little lady and during the winter months I need extra help keeping warm. I usually stop using the razor some time in November. My friends like to monitor the growth on my "manly" legs and laugh. Maybe it's an urban myth or in this case some kind of North Country myth, but I like to believe I'm warmer because of it.
The change in temperature recently made me think it might be time to shed my werewolf style. Driving by "Town & Country," I saw it. Wax Room.
There it was, the quickest most efficient way of getting myself smooth again. Don't worry, I didn't go to the front office and ask about their new wax room because that's part of their ski and stay package. The only hot wax there is going to be dripped on skis, not body parts. There are spas in town for the kind of waxing that I need done.
I will spare you the details of how my legs got back to looking like they actually belong on a lady. As for my upper lip, that's another story. Kidding, totally kidding!
I started yesterday morning off by saying to my husband, "My prom date is spending the night and I don't know when we'll be home." Obviously he'd met him several times before and knew he had nothing to worry about because I've known Phil since our potty training days. Drew's only concern when it comes to my relationship with Phil would be that I might as an adult pee my pants from laughing so hard. I had been excited for months about his visit.
He met me at my place of work and had made plans to meet up with a friend from our hometown for dinner. Her trip took a little bit longer than planned and so we were left in Lake Placid with nothing to do on a Monday evening. We walked along Main Street in the spitting snow as stores were closing and feeling a bit defeated, we ended up at Bowlwinkles.
It was league night and we were told that we couldn't bowl, but it made no difference to us because there was an arcade! Phil was psyched to see his favorite game, Time Crisis II and got us a handful of coins to play our hearts away.
As he was shooting up bad guys I hung out at Ms. Pacman, but the joystick was broken and couldn't play too much of that before I started getting blisters. We noticed that several of the games were broken, but we weren't too sad because my all time favorite arcade game was there, Skee Ball! Oh, and after the first game of that we discovered we could get tickets and try to win something. I had my eye on the gummy worms.
We knew we had to get serious and started up some major rounds of skee ball.
Drew ended up joining us and we needed as much help as we could get if we were ever going to have a chance of winning those gummy worms. He and Phil warmed up and bonded over some Air Hockey.
This strategy seemed to work because Drew had one skee ball roll and got it into the 10,000 hole and shot out a long line of tickets. After running out of tokens and counting up our tickets we ended up with a measly 149, way short of the 325 needed for those worms. Phil picked out some "Groovy Playing Cards" and I scored a cat eraser and some play doh to give to our friend once she finally got there.
It's funny how I walked away from last night's fun thinking about the "drug-free" after prom party we attended and how I played similar games to collect enough tickets for a flashlight. The flashlight is long gone, but my prom date remains in my life after all these years.
Drew's birthday gave me the perfect reason to check out the Sugar Shack on Main Street.
They make lots of sugary treats, but they are best known for their cupcakes and have an assortment of flavors and sizes to choose from. Since it was my sweetie's birthday (pun intended), I wasn't going to skimp on size and get a couple miniature cupcakes, although that would have been a nice afternoon pick me up. I restrained myself from the snack and bought two big cupcakes, one Peppermint Patty and one Peanut Butter Chocolate.
They survived the trip across the street and barely made it through the rest of my work day because they smelled so good and coworkers would come by for a look and I would have to close the bag before they drooled all over my husband's cupcake. The cupcakes did take a dent in the frosting on the car ride home and I had wished I had asked if they had a box, but I guess it doesn't really matter because the cupcakes still looked impressive hours later to the birthday boy.
Those that know me, know that I LOVE chocolate and mint and was super excited that for St. Patrick's Day (I mean, Drew's birthday), they had made a cupcake combining those flavors. I was nice though and split them in half so we could try both cupcakes, after all it was his birthday. I was surprised to find out that we both agreed hands down that the Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake was out of this world and blew the Peppermint Patty away!
I couldn't believe that my favorite flavor duo got beat. I think I'll have to go get some miniature cupcakes this week and see how they do against other flavors in round two.
Have you ever had something so bizarre happen to you and realize no one will believe you unless you have a picture of it? This actually happens to me on a regular basis, nonsense stories that no one believes. Thus, the reason why I cart a camera around in my purse.
A few years back, my friend and I were celebrating her birthday in Lake Placid. We had one of those nights that made our cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. We ended up winning a beer trophy in the toboggan race and then ran down Main Street showing off our grand prize and came across a couple walking down the sidewalk with a goose on a leash. The goose was wearing a bow tie and a dress! We needed a picture of this precious moment and convinced some strangers to take our picture, gave them my email address and begged for them to send it to me. We never got the picture and have been sad about it ever since.
Reminiscing in all of this, I called my friend.
E: Hello?
A: Hi! I hate to be a d-bag, but is your birthday tomorrow?
E: Why, yes it is.
A: What are you doing? Do you want to do something?
E: Sure. Remember that year we went tobogganing?
A: Yes, of course. And the goose. Too bad the chute is closed this year.
E: That sucks.
A: Yes, let's get together anyways. I'm sure we'll figure something out.
So, when I met up with her last night, I put together a little something for her in a frame.
I knew my Fine Arts degree would come in handy some day
We didn't get to go tobogganing and we didn't come across a goose with a dress and bowtie, but we did manage to have a good time and make it to the toboggan run.
da girlz
What happened next should not be documented on this blog. Happy Birthday you tall of drink of water!
The day started off just like all the others with the alarm going off at 6:30 am, the thermometer was in the single digits and it was snowing outside, so I opted out of my morning run and watched something on hulu instead. This pattern is bad for someone that is supposed to be in marathon training.
I decided I'd pack my running things and run after work around Mirror Lake a couple times. As it turned out, I spent too much time watching internet tv and did not pack a couple crucial layers to do this. I figured I'd compromise and run around the 1980 rink. Fail. The ipod didn't want to work and there was no way I was going to torture myself with that kind of boredom.
As I ran past the windows of the mezzanine, I looked down at the speed skating oval and knew that I could join my friend Ann for some laps. Faster than I had run in months, I darted out of the building and ran down to the Lake Placid Skate Shop to grab some speed skates.
Linda was so helpful, she had the skates ready for me before I could even tell her my size! She could tell I was a little nervous because I had only been on speed skates once before. Luckily, the first person I ran into was her daughter and so she skated a couple laps with my friend Ann and I, giving me pointers along the way.
Honestly, I should be ashamed of myself that I had not done this sooner in the season. The night was gorgeous and the ice was perfect for my beginner's glide. It is so sad to think how quickly Mother Nature might change that surface tomorrow.
Having been a figure skater, it took me awhile to adjust to the blades and find my center of balance. Once I got a little bit better and my feet weren't shaking, the distance runner in me kicked in and I started mentally calculating laps and counting miles. This was way more fun than running around an indoor ice rink.
I've been known to say that if I had been introduced to speed skating as a teenager after giving up figure skating and turning to track that "I could have been a contender." A legend in my own mind I suppose, but tonight I skated on the same rink as the real "Legends of the Oval."
My mother gave me a slow cooker last summer and just recently in this cold month of January have I started using it. I'm not a big fan of chunks of meat in stews and such so I have been searching for recipes that take little prep work. This past week, I checked out from the library the cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker, Recipes for Two and fell in love with the overnight oatmeal recipes. The author convinced me that once I had made the magical oatmeal, I would never want to go back to instant.
Green Goddess, the natural food store in Lake Placid was first on my list to start gathering the ingredients for the Cinnamon-Apple Oatmeal I wanted to make.
The recipe called for steel-cut oats and dried apple rings. This is the perfect place to get those items because they have a great selection of bulk foods and I find it to be way cheaper than getting them pre-packaged from any other grocery store.
After purchasing the oatmeal ingredients along with my beloved Tamari Almonds (not needed for the recipe), I was good to go.
That night, I turned the slow cooker on low and combined the oats, apple pie spice, salt, water and dried apples and went to bed. I was so excited about eating the delicious oatmeal, I could barely sleep. For real. I was like a kid on Christmas eve, tossing and turning all night long. I convinced myself that the house smelled like apple pie and that I was in for a big treat. I mean, can you imagine waking up and having a fabulous bowl of oatmeal waiting for you on a cold morning?
Finally the sun came up and I raced down the stairs, lifted the lid and saw a perfectly cooked, creamy porridge. I spooned it into my bowl, took one taste and BLECH! No taste. None what so ever. It was just a bland tasting rib-sticking bowl of oatmeal. The apple pie spices didn't come through at all and the apple rings lost all their flavor.
I don't think the oatmeal was overcooked, the consistency was fine, just no taste. I added way more brown sugar than the recipe called for at the end and it still didn't help it. Being disappointed is an understatement, not with Green Goddess, but with the morning glop.
Everyone keeps praising their slow cookers, but I have yet to be convinced of their powers. So, if anyone out there knows about any good recipes cooking on low for 8-9 hours for dinner or breakfast, please fill me in on your slow cooker successes.
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