Racoon Saloon - Chicken Laura

by request... We knew the Racoon Saloon had great burgers and fries, but dinner is even better. On the price scale I would say it's comparable to going to Outback for a filet. It's the local bar with a flair - most people are dressed up. Some ladies came in with fur coats on -I choked on my beer. It was pretty funny. I was wearing my work clothes so I wasn't out of place. It's not a fancy place other wise. Chicken Laura is chicken breast dipped in egg batter and sauteed in white wine lemon sauce and then the three slices (one breast sliced into 3 sections) are layered with freshly cut tomato (it was pretty beefy so it held up well) and fresh mozzarella with basil on top. It was very good. Fresh mozzarella melts funny though - makes it very chewy, but the flavor is good. It was very good - totally homemade. Not that I would try it at home. It came with mashed potatoes on the side and aspargus. The aspargus was really Mark's, but he wanted my veggies which was basically zuchinni and squash with onions. Mark got the prime rib and it came with the bone and must have been at least a pound. It was huge.
Had my leftovers last night and will eat Mark's tonight - he has a roast beef dinner at the fire hall and the wives don't go - guess they know better and don't want to get stuck doing the dishes?

Salt vs. Dinner

So we found out Thursday morning that it takes a lot of salt to melt the ice on our hill. Note to us... DO NOT SHOVEL WET SNOW THAT will just refreeze overnight. Big mistake. Just how much salt did we use? Mark mentioned that is was 100 pounds of salt. I know because I went and bought the 2nd 50 pound bag. Thank goodness for True Value being open at the crack of dawn and also for the really nice guy who loaded it in my truck. My car is all wheel drive and make it to the top of the hill so I was sent on my errand. Mark's is just a normal car.
So where does dinner fit in this mess? Well it was a bad day for both of us so we decided to go out to dinner and it was too late to cook. Dinner was less than the salt and it was a good dinner. Not just a burger and fries or a pizza. We are talking Chicken Laura and Prime Rib with potatoes and veggies. Racoon Saloon for the soul.
TGIF!

Snow, Sleet, Rain, Snit, Ice

All of the above have been here today - it's plain nasty out. The good part is that everything is closed so the roads are lightly traveled. Of course I had to work - we don't ever get a snow day. It was very quiet so it's not all that bad. I didn't find it very slippery, but the trip across the bridge was a nail biter. I did remember to breath. Here is a picture from the summer of our walk across the bridge. This is one of the places that I might see a sunrise now when I drive to work.

So the question of the night - will Mr. Snowplow driver ice us in or will it all melt overnight. I'm guessing an ice-in!

Albany River Rats Hockey!

Always a new experiene to check out another AHL team. Seeing how we have to pay for hockey tickets now days we are a bit more picky about where we are going. The River Rats are no exception. The night started good with free parking - maybe it's too cold for people to collect your money? Mark then found a scalper and being it was almost game time he just wanted to unload them and was easily talked down to $10 a ticket. All the tickets are the same price there and we had good seats at mid-rink.
You know it's going to be a good game when the gloves and helmets come flying off right after tip off. Fight night! It was hilarious. 5 minute penalties for both teams 3 seconds into the game. Old grudge being settled was our guess. They let them go at it at least two minutes. Entertaining. Later on in the game two other guys started to go at it and one guy ripped the other's jersey off - you would have thought he sucker punched his mama or something. He got all upset and stopped fighting. I guess you have to have your shirt attached to your protective gear to play and his got ripped. He was whinning to the refs.
Albany seemed a bit boondocky or behind the times with the entertainmet. They had cheerleaders who drew laughs - not the best of the bunch. The highlight for the night was a "Tan Girl Contest" - you know to see who is the tanniest and prettiest girl. Not joking! They had them strut up and down the stairs with a spotlight on them. Three girls per period and they would stop hockey to do it. I think it was during commerical breaks, but it was odd. I was dying laughing as their pants were falling down and underwear was showing. Short skirts and tight shorts were all the rage too. Dare I mention it was 7 degree's out and they had on tank tops? They were not pretty, but the group behind us had a friend in the contest and they were encouraging her to do something other than strut - you know like slide down the bannister. They really said that! This is the same girl who asked how many quarters were there and were they all 18 minutes. First of all they are periods and second of all they are 20 minutes each. Clearly they were there for the Tan Girl contest - not a bright bunch at all. Who the hell tans anymore? duh. This is something we would have never seen in Grand Rapids. Did I mention it was "boys night out" for the theme. Maybe that helps makes sense of all this?
The River Rats won - that means that Rochester lost - Mark's favorite team. It was good hockey and that is all that mattered.

Cheesecake Factory: A+

Our trip to Albany was a success. The wait at 4:40 pm for a table was only 40 minutes. They sucker you in by saying 15 to 30 and by the time you get to 30 minutes you are so close you stick it out. I would wait even longer truth be known. They did have a few new items on a special menu. Hopefully they add my new favorite to the real menu! I was brave and went for the Chicken Belliagio. They use the same chicken from the Chicken Costoletta, which is pounded very thin and has a crispy coating. Underneath the chicken they put basil pasta (think pesto, but not garlicky), a few dallops of parmesan cream sauce and finally a little argula and proscutto was on top. It was excellent. Quite a chick dish. Yummy! Mark went for the usual Chicken Costoletta - excellent as always. We planned on leftovers and got side salads to start. Loved the beets on top - they were shredded and added good flavor. No dessert - always way too full and by then it sounds like it would push me over the edge. Maybe next time. No idea how I would choose one anyway - way too many choices! Chocolate this, fudgy that, peanut butter fluffy, or strawberries on top. I can't decide!

Cheesecake Factory Here We Come!

We have never lived anywhere with a Cheesecake Factory within an hour so going there is still a special treat for us. Even here it's over an hour. I'll take any excuse to go near one. Generally it's a trip to a real mall - the mall in Newburgh and the mall in Poughkeepsie don't count as malls in my opinion. Just big shopping centers indoors. I mean what mall has a Target in it?
Mark has some birthday "coupons" to use so tonight we are going to Cheesecake for dinner and then off to a hockey game in Albany. The Rochester Amerks (his favorite AHL team other than the Griffins) is playing there. It's about an hour plus a few to get there so close enough for a date night once in a while. Last time we were there we hit PF Changs - another favorite - and while it was busy we got in in under 30 minutes. I heard the hostess tell someone that they sometimes have 5 hour waits - maybe this was in Connecticut... wrong city. Anyway my point is who the heck would wait 5 hours to eat dinner? Ever hear of reservations? They do take them. I think it says a lot for a city when a wait for good food is that long - your restaurants suck and there is room to open a few more good ones! I mean PF's is good Chinese and not over the top $ wise, but 5 hours. Get a life or get take out.
So the big debate ... what do I order? Something new or the same thing we always get. I'm feeling brave so I think I'll be checking out the menu a bit more closely.