The Fate of the Best of 2002

From the Food Vault Dept.: Metroland magazine published a “Best of” issue at the end of every year – or the beginning of the subsequent one – for which I contributed my notion of what restaurants literally and figuratively served me well during the preceding twelvemonth. Here we go back two decades, to what I considered the Best of 2002. And then I’m going to rejoin you at the end of the piece to learn what’s become of these eateries.

                                                                                          

IT’S EASY TO SEE MY PREJUDICES AT WORK when looking over the best of the past twelve months’ worth of restaurant visits. I like them plain; I like them fancy. Less obvious is that I like them to be original, to offer something nobody else provides. Or, if it’s the same old fare, to offer it in an appealing manner.

O'Leary's Pub & Grill
Photo by B. A. Nilsson

Consider first the fancy joints. What are they offering that’s so unique? In the case of the absolute best – Chez Sophie Bistro and the Cambridge Hotel – it’s a combination of food, service and ambiance that makes dining a transcendent experience. And that’s usually the result of the personalities involved.

In the case of Chez Sophie Bistro (2853 Route 9, Malta Ridge), it’s the confluence of the skills of chef Tonya Mahar and owners Paul Parker and Cheryl Clark. As I noted in the earlier review, Mahar has captured the spirit of Sophie Parker’s food and eased it into a direction that I think would please Sophie, who was not an easy-to-please person. The food is inspired by classic French cooking, the setting – a classic silver diner – adds a note of delightful incongruity to the picture. And the newsletter, e-mailed weekly, is always joyous, as anything to do with food should be.

Chef John LaPosta brings a hearty personality to the Cambridge Hotel (4 West Main St., Cambridge), where he offers the complete hospitality of tastefully restored rooms in this 1885-vintage building and a menu that features familiar ingredients in zestfully original variations – like the green tea soba noodle primavera we sampled during our review visit. Preparation and presentation are top-notch, but he’s a host who understands that the business is not about serving food, but serving people. And don’t forget to try the pie à la mode.

Sargo’s, at the Saratoga National Golf Club (485 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs) was built to be fancy. It succeeds by excess. If, as I wrote earlier, the foie gras looks too intimidating (or expensive), there are chicken wings. But they’re outstanding chicken wings. Chef Larry Schepici offers entrées that include a dry aged sirloin, the veal chop Michelangelo (with porcini mushrooms, eggplant, garlic and gnocchi) and chicken Lemonardo (with lemon zest, spinach and chanterelles), all served in a nicely appointed dining room with excellent service.

John LaPosta at the Cambridge Hotel
Photo by B. A. Nilsson

Having made a considerable reputation at the Olde Dater Tavern, chef Scott Ringwood found his own new venue at Lake Ridge (35 Burlington Ave., Round Lake), where he pursues an atmosphere of friendly elegance and where the terrific service rounds out a meal where terrific food is the norm. And it’s price accessible, with most entrées priced under $20. Try the pork rack chop, in which the meat is dredged in buttermilk and coated with crushed pecans and served with a not-too-sweet cherry sauce; seafood and pasta are also nicely done.

You’ll need to travel a bit for the next two. The Prospect Restaurant at Scribner Hollow Lodge (Route 23A, Hunter) is only an hour south of Albany, in sight of a popular ski trail. So settle into one of the rooms and enjoy the food and wine. Owner Guy Chirico knows how to bring together the necessary talent to make it all work. Austrian-born chef Eduard Lanzinger is one of those kitchen masters who can be both true to his heritage and also take any other culture’s cuisine and make it his own, like the stuffed tenderloin of beef, in which the marinated meat is wrapped around sliced ham and spinach.

In another direction, out west in the reviving resort town of Sharon Springs, is the American Hotel, a classic old building with a wide veranda for those who’ve just taken in the healing waters (mine tend to be grape-derived). Owners Doug Plummer and Garth Roberts quit the New York City rat race to open the Rockville Café and Bakery before buying the hotel six years ago. They’ve overseen an amazing restoration job. Plummer’s description of the food is best: “We’re offering something simpler, more in the line of comfort food. To the locals, it’s still fancy; to people from New York, it seems refreshingly simple.”

Now let’s consider the more casual venues. O’Leary’s Pub & Grill (153 Mohawk Ave., Scotia) is a family-run operation where you can get a beer and a burger – but it’s a family-friendly place where the emphasis is on dining and the fare includes salads and vegetarian entrées and even a tasty bison burger.

Jake's Round-Up
Photo by B. A. Nilsson

Family is also the watchword at Ferrari's Ristorante (1254 Congress St., Schenectady), a neighborhood mainstay since 1974 when Francisco Ferrari abandoned his job as a GE steamfitter and, with his wife and four sons, went into this business. Now it’s run by two of those sons, Joey and Anthony, while Mama Rose is still very much a presence in the place.

Jake’s Round-Up (23 Main St., South Glens Falls) is a corny mish-mash of a place in which it all works. Southwestern is the theme, reflected in the wild decor, as in the room with the moose head on the wall and the Guernsey-patterned chairs. Jake Lehman is an artist who co-owns the place with Elliott Heyman, who is chiefly responsible for the eclectic menu. Start with Elliott’s Electric Garlic-Roasted Eggplant and journey from there, pardner.

Finally, the place I can’t get enough of. The Hidden Café lives up to its name by being tucked in a corner of Delmar’s Delaware Plaza. Mediterranean fare is featured: deliciously, inexpensively. It’s an unprepossessing place, but wait’ll you try chef-owner Joseph Soliman’s felafel, kebabs, pasticcio – even the house omelette gets a treatment of garlic and mozzarella, seasoned with cumin and cilantro. It’s the kind of food that wakes up your palate and reminds you how much fun a good meal can be.

                                                                                              

We whisk ahead now, back to 2022, or what’s left of it. Chez Sophie moved to the Saratoga Hotel (now Hilton) in 2006, but closed its doors three years later after a power struggle with the hotel’s owners proved too onerous. Chef John LaPosta left the Cambridge Hotel to open Maestro’s at the Van Dam in Saratoga; he is now at Innovo Kitchen in Latham. The Cambridge Hotel, meanwhile, had a most spectacular crash-and-burn when it was featured on the first season of Gordon Ramsey’s “Hotel Hell” in 2012. Even before the episode aired, telling all the world how poorly the place was being managed, the hotel went bankrupt. It’s now an assisted-living facility.

The Prospect Restaurant
Photo By B. A. Nilsson

Larry Schepici and Sargo’s parted ways soon after my review. Larry went on Troy’s Tosca Grill and Illium Café before settling in at the helm of Jack’s Oyster House for a few years. He’s now offering specialty catering as “Dinner Thyme with Chef Larry.” Sargo’s went under, replaced by another generic Mazzone-style steakhouse. Scott Ringwood and Lake Ridge, however, are still together and still going strong.

Guy Chirico, Sr., who created the Scribner Hollow Lodge in Hunter, died in 2005. The facility is now called Scribner’s Catskill Lodge, and its website lists a generic upscale menu and no chef info for the Prospect restaurant, which is what happens when venues get too corporate. The fate of the American Hotel in Sharon Springs remains uncertain since it stopped serving dinners and went on the market at the end of 2021. It’s still operating as a B&B, but the owners are eager to sell.

O’Leary’s Pub & Grill in Scotia closed in 2013 but reopened the following year as Mohawk Taproom & Grill, still serving excellent beer and burgers. Ferrari's Ristorante in Schenectady survived the pandemic and continues to serve lunch and dinner. The fate of Jake’s Round-Up in Glens Falls has been dizzying. In 2010, it became Jake’s Roadhouse; a year later it was Ranchero Steakhouse. A year later it became Cirelli’s Osteria, hanging on for five years. Since 2019 it has been offering Mexican fare as Mi Rancho. And, although the Hidden Café is no more, chef Joseph Soliman opened Sage Bistro in Guilderland in 2011, where you still can enjoy his excellent Mediterranean fare.