Saratoga bites

A few months back I bought a Living Social deal for Javier's in Saratoga. My motivation was to enjoy a night out and sample some of Brian Bowden's food. Well, you know how that worked out. Nonetheless, Thursday night we hit the Northway and arrived promptly for our 6:45 reservation. While the downstairs bar was completely empty, the … Continue reading Saratoga bites

The Big Easy for little $

Planning for the recent girls' getaway began months ago.  The topic had been bandied about like a pair of traveling pants, each of the four of us adding her own particular curve to the project.  The criteria was simple: not too far, not too expensive, the simpler the transportation the better. When I came across … Continue reading The Big Easy for little $

The evolution of the girlfriend getaway

It started with a couple of stolen hours.  We'd pick a date that worked for all of us, crossing our fingers for no last-minute work emergencies, sick children or childcare cop outs.  Our rendezvous destination was generally somewhere in the middle - north for them, south for me. On the given day, as I put … Continue reading The evolution of the girlfriend getaway

Last Run and a good run

This past weekend may have been close to perfect.  One of my favorite girls arrived prior to the snow and we settled in to an afternoon of satisfying household tasks.  There was cooking, roasting and baking.  A tree was agreed upon and chopped down, by me. Later, it was beautifully decorated, not by me.  I … Continue reading Last Run and a good run

Beans & Greens, uncountable variation

If you've been around here for a while, you know that I love beans and greens.  I've been known to make it with a variety of different varieties of greens, including broccoli rabe and escarole  but generally I go with bacon as my salty, meaty addition.  Recently, though, I had a hankering for sausage, which … Continue reading Beans & Greens, uncountable variation

Where’s the (better) beef?

Can we take a brief turkey time-out and talk about beef instead?  Here's the deal - the boys and I have developed a routine when it comes to meals - Tuesday nights are generally simple, Thursdays seem to have evolved into cleaning out the fridge leftover smorgasbords, Fridays are take-out (or worse) and Saturdays we … Continue reading Where’s the (better) beef?

Fly me to the (Jake) Moon

For this year's birthday dinner, I wanted something lowkey. I simply wanted a good meal in a place I could enjoy with my boys. After consulting with The Wine Consultor and talking tables with Table Hopping's Steve Barnes, Clarksville's Jake Moon came out ahead as the crowd favorite. I made a reservation. On Saturday evening … Continue reading Fly me to the (Jake) Moon