Albany's Old Toll Gate

On a recent drive along Route 85 through Slingerlands I decided to chase away the winter blues by lunching at one of my favorite summertime destinations.  No trip to Thacher Park and the Indian Ladder Trail is complete without stopping at Toll Gate Restaurant & Ice Cream, which is open year round. My first trip there was when I was 16 with my high school sweetie as we ventured to the local mountainside known as the Helderberg Escarpment. I’m sure we sipped a milkshake with two straws. A very Norman Rockwell date.

While I actually passed on homemade ice cream on this trip (it was lunch alone for starters, so getting crazy with sundaes is a bit over the top), I would typically make a game time decision on the flavor and get it as a to-go cone. When it comes to my meal though, it’s the same thing every time – the Grilled Cheese Burger. This bit of deliciousness is a grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with a hamburger patty. I know what you are thinking, “what’s the difference between a cheeseburger and a grilled cheese burger?” Because you can taste both, the grilled cheese and the burger.

One of the greatest restaurant destinations in the Capital Region. If you haven’t been there, it’s because you clearly don’t know what the Helderbergs are, or how to get on Route 85.