The Meat House Opens In Albany

I wanted to let you all know, Albany has a new neighborhood butcher shop! The Meat House, a national gourmet butcher shop and grocer, is now open at Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany. Co-owners Eric Jackson and Kevin Wickert believe they can become active members of the Albany community, as they have been in Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs.  

 “Expanding The Meat House brand in New York has provided us with a unique opportunity to support so many local organizations and vendors,” said The Meat House Albany Vice President Eric Jackson. “We look forward to extending our outreach to the Albany community and treating them to a superior customer experience.”

The Albany location is the third to open in New York and also features exotic meats such as alligator tail, wild boar, ostrich, buffalo and venison. The Meat House’s exceptional quality of all-natural meats includes legendary marinated steak tips and a variety of steaks and roasts hand-cut to order.

 “We provide our customers with a diverse line of the highest quality premium meats and grocery items,” said The Meat House Albany President Kevin Wickert. “We pride ourselves on being active supporters in the communities in which we operate and can’t wait to meet our Albany neighbors.”

For more info, check out the The Meat House's website.

Enjoying The Summer While it Lasts

Relax people, I left my gloves at home for this one. Bruce Springsteen has a song about what he looks forward to every time summer rolls around. While I’d never disagree with The Boss, I just want to mention that backyard grilling and BBQ come pretty close to the top of my list of things to look forward to once the winter snow finally melts. What can I say, some foods just work better when the sun is shining and the weather is warm.

BBQ Chicken

Summer is flying by too fast this year. I can’t believe it’s the end of July and I haven’t gone to one of my favorite seasonal restaurants – PJ’s BAR-B-Q. Between the music, the car nights and other events they hold, PJ’s has a unique atmosphere, one I sorely miss during the winter. Thankfully they’re taking some steps to keep it open year round.  

Before I knew it I was in Saratoga, sitting down at PJ’s getting my hands dirty with the North Carolina Style Pulled Pork and a hefty rack of ribs. And since I don't mind sharing, I tried some of their BBQ chicken (pictured). I strayed from my usual - rib sandwich on garlic buttered Texas Toast. PJ’s offers an open pit BBQ style, cooking everything over real charcoal.  No offense to fans of Hank’s propane style on “King of the Hill,” but charcoal is more flavorful. PJ’s was awarded the best ribs in Albany for good reason and it’s one of my favorite restaurants around.

Nobody's Home

Ever throw on your Sunday best, hop into a car and drive to a restaurant only to find that it was on vacation? That's happened to me a few times - once a few weeks ago when I went to Muza in Troy and a few times at Papa's in Watervliet. Now, there's nothing wrong with a little R&R so I don't blame the restaurant - just myself for not looking up whether they were opened online. Still, every time I pull up and see that "Sorry, we're on vacation" sign I can't help but think of this:

Capital Region Craft Brewers Festival

This one's today folks. Sorry about the short notice.

The festival runs from 2:30 to 6:30 pm at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy and is hosted by the Tri-City Valley Cats and sponsored by Brown's Brewing Co. Tickets run from $10 to $47 depending on the amount of tasting tickets you want, if you would like an event glass, a VIP pass or other novelties.

The event website has plenty of information about ticket prices, participating brewers and directions.

What's so wrong with gloves?

I might be considered a softee but when it comes to the mess wing sauce makes I’ll put it on the line. Come to think of it I don’t need a 3^rd degree burn to prove my manliness either. I used to be too ashamed to wear gloves when I ate, that was until I saw all my dry cleaning bills pile up.

Hold your horses, just think about this for a second. You guys can still start projects and not finish them, refuse to ask for directions, spend 10 hours watching football on Sundays and ignore your wife when she tells you to mow the lawn. Just stay away from rubber duckies or polkadots on your gloves and your masculinity will be safe and sound.

Now, well let’s just say I am considering it…

What gives?

Why am I showing you a picture of my gloved hand? No I am not on trial for murder but if you ask nicely maybe I'll tell you...

Festa Italiana

The Italian American Community Center in Albany will be holding their 21^st annual Festa Italiana tomorrow from 5 to 10 pm. Festivities will continue on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 pm. You can expect plenty of food, wine, live music and fun for the whole family. I for one can’t wait to sign up for the pizza eating contest. If you’re interested in flexing the golden pipes there is also an “Italian American Idol” contest.  There are pony rides, face painting, puppet shows and rides for the kids. It sounds like a great way to spend the day.

The Italian American Community Center is located on 257 Washington Ave Ext in Albany. Admission is free. For more info call (518) 456-4222

UPDATE: The schedule is now back online. Click here for a full schedule for each of the 3 days.