Cover photo by Leif Zurmuhlen

Please choose a category: Goods & Services Arts & Entertainment People & Places Media Note to readers: The Best Of selections were compiled by Metroland staff members; Readers’ Poll results can be found at the end of each section. In addition, the best answers to our free-form Readers’ Poll questions appear under the heading "You Said It."

Best Restaurant
River Street Café
429 River St., Troy

One of our perennial favorites, because the sauces are out of this world, the service is uniquely exceptional, the view of the Hudson is relaxing, and because it all comes together here, so you can count on enjoying the definition of fine dining.

Best New Restaurant
Arlington House
3532 Route 43, West Sand Lake

This former hotel is now known for its seafood, among other things, thanks to chef Rick Weber’s summers cooking in Nantucket. American fusion fare is offered, such as marinated grilled salmon with wasabi vinaigrette or pan-seared rainbow trout with a pancetta white wine butter sauce.

Best Restaurant Worth a Drive
The Owl at Twilight
Pottersville-Olmsteadville Road, Olmsteadville

Fine dining with a fusion feel, in a small, elegant house in the midst of the Adirondacks. Food, service—it’s all a treat, and, if you like your food spicy, the chef is more than happy to oblige.

Best Category-Defying Restaurant
New World Home Cooking Co.
1411 Route 212, Saugerties

Chef Ric Orlando keeps it unusual, delicious and a little edgy here. An example: hempseed-seared wild Alaskan king salmon basted with basil-ginger-lemon vinaigrette. Or try a sauce like New World jerk, chimmichurri or Meanhouse BBQ Slather on free-range chicken, pork chops, shrimp or Black Angus beef.

Best-Kept Secret
Basement Bistro
776 Route 45, Earlton

It’s been a labor of love for over a decade. Chef Damon Baehrel serves you a tasting menu of his choosing, based on the fresh ingredients of the day, and you dine in the simple elegance of the basement of his hand-built house. Unlike any other dining experience.

Best New Restaurant Policy
No Cell Phones

It’s already proclaimed in the River Street Café and at Antipasto’s, and still the message doesn’t get through. So restaurants are starting to get a little tougher on the self-involved jerks who, when attached to their bleating machines, amusingly resemble nursing infants.

Best Greek Restaurant
A Taste of Greece
193 Lark St., Albany

All of the traditional Greek mainstays are here: spanakopita, dolmades, mousaka, gyros, souvlakia, Greek salad and baklava (of course!). All this and more, served in a cool bistro setting. The prices are more than reasonable, the food is fantastic and the portions are generous. We are big fans of the (huge) small house salad, and the Greek fries rule.

Best International
Quintessence
11 New Scotland Ave., Albany

A multi-ethnic regular menu is enhanced by day-of-the-week specials (Monday: Italian; Tuesday: seafood; Wednesday: German; Thursday: international; Friday: Asian) and lots of great salads and grilled items. Something for everyone in this fancified diner, and American fare, too.

Honorable Mention: Esperanto (6 ½ Caroline St., Saratoga Springs).

Best Continental
John Andrew’s Restaurant
Route 23, So. Egremont, Mass.

Not only is the menu a sumptuous array of rethought classics, interpreted with fresh ingredients and imaginative accompaniments, but the building and grounds suggest a Japanese garden. Service is elegant and faultless, a rarity these days.

Best French
Ferrandi’s
322 Route 67, Amsterdam

An unlikely cuisine for Amsterdam, sure, but chef Eric Masson has won over the neighborhood and is attracting Francophile foodies from all over. Look for his regular specials on holidays both French and American, and frequent wine tastings.

Best Bistro
Bistro Zinc
56 Church St., Lenox, Mass.

The bistro is a French concept, understood by some as an unpretentious neighborhood restaurant serving high-quality food to locals at reasonable prices. Bistro Zinc might not pass some people’s unpretentiousness test; it certainly sports an upscale look and attracts an upscale clientele. But the menu is simple and delicious, and priced reasonably considering its location in the heart of Manhattan-in-the-Berkshires. And if you dine at the zinc bar in back, you may notice the place does attract some locals who, obviously, aren’t in town simply to see the BSO or price second homes.

Best German
Bavarian Chalet
Route 20, Guilderland

Again the chalet nabs this title, because they know about wiener schnitzel and sauerbraten and they have the best potato pancakes in the area. And it’s an accommodating place with lots of appropriate old-world charm.

Best Scandinavian
Helsinki Café
284 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass.

Yes, you’ll find borscht here, and they turn salmon into toothsome gravlax here. The menu is a little crazy, too, with vegetarian fare masquerading as meat (as in the Red Square Reuben). Great selection of exotic tea and an eclectic mix of music piped into the house and played, live, in the adjoining nightclub.

Best Eastern European
Little Czechoslovakia
437 Geyser Road, Ballston Spa

Competition for this category crops up now and then, but this out-of-the-way bistro maintains a lock on the award because the food is outstanding and the experience of dining here suggests a visit to the friendly home of a neighbor.

Best Middle Eastern
Bagel Bite
544 Delaware Ave., Albany

To some a bagel shop, to others a breakfast joint where you can get the usual eggs-and-pancakes fare, Bagel Bite also has an impressive—and tasty—array of Middle Eastern dishes, from standards like tabouleh and stuffed grape leaves to creative dinner entrees to the spicy Middle Eastern breakfast.

Best Mediterranean
BFS
1736 Western Ave., Albany
Newton Plaza, Latham

Another frequent favorite, this deli-cum-restaurant (at the Western Ave. location) does an impressive lunch and dinner business, and, along with the deli at Newton Plaza, offers something you’ll surely enjoy (and didn’t even think of tasting) when you stop in for takeout.

Best Italian (Gourmet)
Café Capriccio
49 Grand St., Albany

An old friend, an old favorite. In the best restaurants, a personality shines through: Here, it spreads from the kitchen to the floor staff, as entertaining a crew as you’ll ever meet, serving imaginative food dressed in hearty Mediterranean spices.

Best Italian (Neighborhood)
Testo’s Resaturant & Pizza Parlor
124th Street and Fourth Avenue,
North Troy

A North Troy institution since 1976. Manned by the whole Testo family, this is a place where a feeling of community permeates the air like the aroma of their homemade sauce. Testo’s consistently offers the finest-quality Italian food and pizza, and offers it at a very reasonable price. Try their homemade pasta fagioli, lasagna, meatballs, eggplant and, of course, their sauce, which the Testos have been bottling, selling and marketing since 1990. And the wait staff is one of the friendliest and most efficient you’ll find anywhere.

Best Chinese (Tie)
Emperor Palace
Lark Street and Madison Avenue, Albany

Plum Blossom
685 Hoosick Rd., Troy

A tie, because we like the menu (especially the fresh seafood) and Chinatown-like ambience at Emperor Palace, but the gorgeous architecture and great food at Plum Blossom draws us often to Troy. You can’t go wrong with either.

Best Chinese Buffet
China Buffet
740 Hoosick Road, Troy

You think those Chinese buffets that pop up in strip malls across the Capital Region are all the same, don’t you? Well, think again. China Buffet in Troy (in the Wal-Mart Plaza) is the freshest, tastiest, cleanest Chinese buffet we’ve ever seen. We especially love the big pint glasses of herbal-flower tea they serve us with our meals, and the delicious steamed mussels. We’ll never look at Chinese buffets the same again. Mmmmm.

Best Dim Sum
Tai-Pan
1519 Halfmoon Parkway (Route 9), Halfmoon

A lengthy, relaxing meal of little taste treats: It’s Chinese tapas, an old tradition of sampling delicacies. Here, you’ll find tapas in an aesthetically pleasing building that reinforces the sense of ease as you journey through the offerings.

Best Japanese
Bizen
17 Railroad St., Great Barrington, Mass.

Where else but Bizen can you get such an extensive sushi bar, such mouthwatering robata selections (that’s
charcoal-grilled Japanese tapas, for those of you who’ve never had it) as grilled duck wrapped around asparagus spears, private tatami rooms and a nonsmoking sake lounge? Japan, that’s where. But until we have time to make the trip across the world, we’ll be content with the scrumptious offerings at Bizen.

Best Vietnamese
Van’s Vietnamese
137 Madison Ave., Albany

Back to Vietnamese fare at this busy location, where Van serves up handsome-looking plates (the spring rolls over vermicelli will certainly more than delight you) in an antique building that adds its own charm. Just don’t be in too much of a hurry here.

Best Thai
Bangkok Thai
8 Wolf Road, Colonie

A repeat winner, this suburban slice of Siam keeps us coming back for the spring rolls, the satay, the red curry, the exquisite fried rice and the flaming ice cream. Wolf Road was never so exotic.

Best Korean
Ginza
551 Troy-Schenectady Rd. (Route 7), Latham

Although it proclaims sushi (which it does very well), you’ll find menu pages devoted to the Korean items that are turned out with élan. Try the fire beef (bulgogi), in which the marinated meat is served with scallions and sesame seeds; be sure to try the kimchi as well.

Best Indonesian Fusion
Yono’s
Armory Center, 64 Colvin Ave., Albany

We created this category especially for Yono’s, because through all of the improbable developments, his restaurant is a consistent winner. It’s located on the second floor of an auto showroom. It combines Indonesian food with fine continental dining. It shouldn’t work. It triumphs.

Best Indian/Pakistani
Sitar
1929 Central Avenue, Colonie

Remember when this was the only one in town? Now we’re lousy with Indian restaurants, and most of them are very good. Sitar still has the edge, though, in consistently good food paired with excellent service, making this also a worthy fine-dining stop.

Best Mexican
El Mariachi
62 Central Ave., Albany
289 Hamilton St., Albany

We lean toward the Hamilton Street location as the more accomplished of the two; it also has Spanish items like paella. Forget about tacos—we’re talking about real family-recipe Mexican fare like cochinita pibil (pork roast flavored with orange juice).

Best Southwest Fusion
Sunset Café
42 Front St., Ballston Spa

Chef-owner James Koines grew up eating Greek food, learned French cooking, then worked in a brew pub. Now he’s rolled it all into a casual café where you’ll find barbecued ribs, grilled eggplant Napoleon and an excellent southwest cassoulet.

Best Old American
Olde Bryan Inn
123 Maple Ave., Saratoga Springs

Nothing too fancy-schmancy here: just the kind of good, hearty American fare your parents (and maybe even you) grew up with. Mouthwatering old-school American cuisine—we’re talking prime rib and sirloin, garlicky shrimp scampi, and hearty, old-
fashioned turkey dinners—are served up in an equally old-school location. The house that Mr. Bryan built (that would be Revolutionary War hero Alexander Bryan, who opened the first inn and tavern on this site about 1787) makes for a unique, history-inspired setting in which to enjoy your meal.

Best New American
Justin’s
301 Lark St., Albany

Here’s where the whole nouveau American thing started in this area, and you’ll still find jerk chicken and ropa vieja here. Lots more, though, with good seafood preparations and a well-planned wine list with lots of pairing ideas for you.

Best Southern/Soul
Roxanne’s
451 Fulton St., Troy

Yes, fried chicken, and, yes, even chitterlings when it’s seasonally appropriate. But lots more, too: sandwiches, burgers, a big breakfast you can get for lunch or dinner, and the pleasant personality of Roxanne herself, helping to keep the place family-oriented and friendly.

Best Caribbean
Clayton’s
244 Washington Ave., Albany

A perennial winner of this category. Clayton’s does the best Caribbean and Spanish cuisine, hands down. When we get to craving Ital island spice vegetables, real jerk chicken, Jamaican rice and peas, or fried plantains, we always head to Clayton’s. And we’re never disappointed.

Best Cajun
Hattie’s
45 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs

We’ve bounced this place around the categories in Best Ofs past, because the menu covers several bases. But they do Cajun better than anyone, and you can do a whole lot worse than to precede your meal with a julep and enjoy it on the patio outside.

Best Steakhouse
The Bears’ Steakhouse
Route 7, Duanesburg

Enjoy Papa Bear’s hospitality (and cooking) and Mama Bear’s desserts as you dine in their out-of-the-way living room. A repeat winner because we don’t mind echoing the encomia of the national press, who lately have started to take notice.

Best Vegetarian
Shades of Green
187 Lark St., Albany

You’re likely to dine under the scrutiny of those waiting for tables, but if the place were any larger, it might not have the same charm. Creative cooking and a knowledgeable staff help to make this a stalwart among vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, when the latter are courageous enough to go without that daily pound of flesh.

Honorable Mention: Antipasto’s (Route 146, Clifton Park).

Best Brew Pub
Davidson Brothers Restaurant & Brewery
184 Glen St., Glens Falls

They’ve really made the brew-pub thing work here, with a tasty variety of victuals. Their traditional English brewing system produces the finest ales you’ll taste in this part of the world, from the wispy American Bright to a Scotch Ale that’s wonderfully bitter.

Best Place to Sip Your Award-Winning Brew With a View of the Hudson River
Troy Pub & Uncle Sam Brewery
471-419 River St., Troy

Sit on the deck at the region’s first brew pub, and you’ll see why this wonderful facility is such a destination spot for Trojans and Capitalanders alike. With a full schedule of special events, live bands rocking the deck, and manager Chris Ryan’s smiling face behind the bar, the Troy Pub would make Uncle Sam Wilson proud.

Best Place to Sip Your Award-Winning Brew in Front of a Cozy Fire
Albany Pump Station
19 Quackenbush Square, Albany

The Albany Pump Station has, by far, the best ambience of any brew pub in the region. We love the big, stone fireplace, which gives this cavernous warehouse space a sense of intimacy. We adore sitting in the big, comfy, overstuffed chairs and couches in the lounge area, sipping a beer and chatting with friends. There’s no better way to savor the Albany Pump Station’s award-winning, crafted-on-premises brew.

Best Wine List
Friends Lake Inn
Friends Lake Road, Chestertown

This list is a labor of love—which puts it in line with the restaurant and the inn. The list is a thing of beauty, many pages long, an oenophile’s atlas of good sipping. It’s a dream book, a chance to fantasize over those vintages you’ll never afford and to enjoy the surprising goodness of the ones you can.

Best Outdoor Dining
Nicole’s Bistro at Quackenbush Square
Clinton Avenue and Broadway, Albany

During a recent visit, we sat in the gorgeous garden and were so entranced with the food and company that we were oblivious to the raucous block party going on nearby. You’ll be amazed that downtown Albany can be so tranquil, and with such an excellent menu at hand, you won’t go hungry.

Best Diner
Miss Albany Diner
893 Broadway, Albany

Besides the nearly automatic charm that comes from being a prewar dining car that’s now on the historic register, Miss Albany gives you the feeling you’re back at Mom and Dad’s house (or Grandma’s, or Uncle Jimmy’s, whomever), and they’re going to whip you up something special for Sunday brunch. That’s just what Cliff and Jane Brown have been doing for years now, and the food and the menu are as fun and creative and delicious as ever.

Best Dineraunt
Blue Ribbon
1801 State St., Schenectady

Old-fashioned, very traditional, with inexpensive daily specials of great diner comfort food: meatloaf, veal parmigiana, an array of sandwiches—but it’s all homemade, a last-gasp attempt to fight the cry-o-vac sealed, portion-controlled madness out there. And don’t forget the cheesecake!

Best Deli
Gershon’s Deli & Caterers
1600 Union St., Schenectady

A big sandwich, nicely layered with meat and vegetables—and how about a spread of some chopped liver? This place gets better year after year, holding its own against the fast-food incursions. Great salads selection, and don’t forget a can of Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray.

Best Place to Take the Kids

Forget the chains. Your neighborhood’s Italian restaurant—if it’s the real thing—understands how to handle children. Stereotyping? No. Archetyping? Yes, because it’s a family-oriented business intended to serve the family, which includes your squalling miscreants.

Best Breakfast
Martin’s
49 Railroad St., Great Barrington

An unpretentious joint tucked into a corner of busy railroad street, Martin’s is neither fancy nor commonplace, just good. You can get a basic diner breakfast here, or build your own omelet, or try the crabcake benedict or one of the best tower bagel sandwiches we’ve ever tasted; whatever it is, it’s done deliciously. And we’ve never figured out how they manage to have sweet, fresh cantaloupe on hand in almost any season.

Best Brunch
Stephanie’s on the Park
462 Madison Ave., Albany

Not your usual brunch fare, although the eggs Benedict are there, as are fruit-topped waffles and such. But if you’re in the mood for pasta or a salad, bon appetit. Dine in an old-fashioned room with acoustic music played nearby, and watch the Madison Avenue parade outside.

Best Lunch
L’Ecole Encore
337 Fuller Road, Guilderland

A terrific continental menu and strategic, next-to-Stuyvesant Plaza placement make this the spot of choice for the uptown crowd.

Best Power Lunch
Ogden’s
Lodge and Howard Streets, Albany

The downtown place to spot Joe Bruno in his gustatory throes.

Best Cheap Eats
Esperanto
6½ Caroline St., Saratoga Springs

Dash in for a doughboy (their own concoction, where a pizza and burrito meet) or sit at one of five tiny tables while enjoying a spicy curry or real Thai larb. Pizza, of course, and plenty of specials that cover a tasty variety of international bases.

Best Pizza
Antipasto’s
1028 Route 146, Clifton Park

Ever have a roasted-garlic pizza crust? It’s part of the Large One, an eggplant-portobello-smoked mozzarella pie. Standard pizzas, of course, and terrific vegetarian choices, with soy cutlets masquerading as familiar meats.

DeFazio’s Pizzeria
266 Fourth St., Troy

Hey! Don’t throw that crust away! Don’t you know that’s DeFazio’s pizza? At DeFazio’s, the freshest chopped veggies and the most delish homemade sauce grace the chewiest, most flavorful pizza crust we’ve ever tasted. The pizzas are wood-fired, grease-free and topped with such savory goodies as artichoke hearts, Italian herbed chicken, fontinella cheeses, homemade sausage and spicy sliced eggplant. DeFazio’s is a perennial winner of this category, and once you taste the goat cheese pizza or the fra diavolo pizza or the sausage, peppers and onions pizza—or any of the other myriad flavors of pie served here—you’ll know why.

The Fountain
283 New Scotland Ave., Albany

Pizza, pizza all around—how to chose a favorite? Thick crust, thin crust, wood-fired, gourmet, they are all good in their own way. The Fountain, however, is an all-time favorite. The sauce is saucy and the toppings traditional. But the crust isn’t too thick or thin; it’s just right, and perfectly crispy.

Smith’s Tavern
Route 85A, Voorheesville

This happy little establishment out in the rural environs wins this category so often we’re at a loss for words. The pizza’s damn good. Go try it.

Best Pizza (Gourmet)
Milano
594 New Loudon Road, Latham

We’ve yet to taste a more delectable personal pan gourmet pizza than Milano’s. Absolutely perfect in texture and taste, this is pizza for the bourgeois. Try the con pollo with chicken, roasted peppers, pine nuts, fontina cheese and more delectables, then finish it off with a bowl of delicious gelato. You’ll feel like one of the monied high rollers who surround you in this Loudonville mainstay.

Best Sandwiches
Debbie’s Kitchen
456 Madison Ave., Albany

Smoked turkey with garlic mayo, sliced pears, sunflower seeds, roasted onions and more. That’s what the sandwiches are like, with or without meat. A fast-moving lunch spot open for dinner, too, with great daily soups and magnificent desserts, like Debbie’s brownies.

Best Burger (Handmade)
Oliver’s Café
181 Freeman’s Bridge Road, Glenville

Not far from the Schenectady County Airport, this popular breakfast-and-lunch establishment cooks up handmade burger specials for lunch each day, with hand-cut fries to complement them. Besides the air traffic, there are plenty of other extras.

Best Burger (Small and Greasy)
Jack’s Drive In
24 Main Ave., Wynantskill

No gourmet burgers here. Just oh-so-greasy, but oh-so-irresistible little burgers (known to locals as “sliders,” by the way) fried up with onions in a nondescript little shed along the roadside.

Best Burger Disguised as a Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Toll Gate
1569 New Scotland Road, Slingerlands

Toll Gate has a unique method of grilling a burger, and if you’re a fan of it, you’re a fan for life. That’s just how it is. First thing, the meat is sandwiched between two slices of bread rather than roll, so that the bread-to-burger ratio is nearly equal—creating an exquisite taste experience; and, secondly, it’s grilled. According to our official team of taste testers: Mmmmm.

Best Barbecue
Everglades BBQ and Seafood
827 Saratoga Road., Wilton

The competition is smokin’ these days, but Everglades still kicks ahead with their Florida-style barbecue, which produces an incredibly tender rack of baby back ribs, among many other things. Also try the tuna, shark, mahi-mahi and much, much more.

Best Bar Food
Beff’s
15 Watervliet Ave., Albany
367-371 Delaware Ave., Delmar

If you’ve got a hankering for the type of chow best chased with towering tankards of cold draft beer—mammoth mounds of nachos, great thick burgers to make even Chrissie Hynde salivate, and baskets of chicken fingers, French fries and other glistening, golden grub—Big Ed Fat Field’s has got what you need. The menu is packed with all the foodstuffs New Year’s resolutions are made of, as well as great traditional dinner platters, pizza and salads. The Watervliet Avenue location has an inviting English pub-like feel; the Delmar location an equally comfortable family-tavern vibe. Come on, you can always start working out tomorrow.

Best Fish Fry
Bob And Ron’s
1007 Central Ave., Albany

People have been abusing the sauce generosity here, so they’re rationing it a little more closely. You’ll get more than enough, so don’t waste it. A no-nonsense selection: fried fish, clams, French fries, scallops, shrimp and such. Eat in the Spartan dining room, but this is really dine-in-your-car food. Going strong for 44 years.

Best Drive-In Restaurant
A&W Root Beer Drive-In
Route 9, Lake George

Whenever we’re in Lake George, we can’t help but stop by the A&W drive-in. Just like when we were kids, we treat ourselves to greasy burgers and fries, washed down with a large root beer float with vanilla ice cream. It’s a summer rite of passage.

Best Ice Cream (hard)
Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream
38 Housatonic St., Lenox, Mass.
5 Railroad St., Great Barrington, Mass.

These little storefronts offer a couple dozen flavors at any given time, with the usual confectionary accompaniments, all made in their Great Barrington factory and served in the two old-fashioned parlors. Along with the plain vanilla kind of flavors look for pumpkin, mint oreo, ginger—and the current craze, espresso cookie.

Best Ice Cream (Soft)
Martha’s Dandee Creme
1113 Route 9, Queensbury

Martha’s soft ice cream is the creamiest—hands down, no argument. Perhaps it’s because their soft serve is not custard but ice cream—something mentioned in their literature, but the science is lost on us—with flavors varying from orange creamsicle to raspberry to cherry to plain ol’ vanilla and chocolate. However they create the velvety goodness, we hope that they will always continue.

Best Late-Night Dining
Justin’s
301 Lark St., Albany

Also a winner in the New American category, Justin’s has a kitchen that keeps rockin’ after the others have all shut down for the night. A late-night-dining fave of Legislators, evening-shifters and people who simply worked too late and got too tired to cook, Justin’s has plenty of creative and tasty American/Cajun/Southwestern fare on the late menu that’s still available until 1 AM. Note to owner and chef: The spicy corn cake must never go away.

Best Coffee Bar (Ambience)
Uncommon Grounds
402 Broadway, Saratoga Springs

Note that we did not include the Albany location—the words “ambience” and “strip mall overlooking parking lot” don’t belong in the same sentence. The Saratoga store not only is spacious inside, with lots of tables and an arty ambience puntuated by newspapers, art on the walls and sacks of coffee beans on the floor; it also has outside tables that blend into the bustle of Broadway. Ambience, indeed.

Best Coffee Bar (Coffee)
The Daily Grind
258 Broadway, Troy
204 Lark St., Albany

Always a contentious issue, yet, when it comes to coffee taste, the Daily Grind edges in front of the pack. And with two locally owned stores, our hearts are lighter for choosing them over the chain-coffee supplier (who on earth might we be talking about?), but that’s not why they win. Their coffee is really, really good. They roast the beans on the premises, offer many different coffee selections, and offer a variety of coffee drinks. Friends bring friends to the Grind.

Best Bagels
Bagel Bite
544 Delaware Ave., Albany

Uncommon Grounds
1235 Western Ave., Albany
402 Broadway, Saratoga Springs

We split on this over the old crispy/chewy divide. At Uncommon Grounds, the bagels are uncommonly large and doughy; supporters tend to like the chewy texture and the high ratio of seed retention. Bagel Bite’s product is a more traditional-sized bagel with a firmer texture; backers say it toasts to a nicer crisp and simply has better flavor. One thing’s for sure: You don’t have to go to New York or Montreal to get a decent bagel.

Best Chocolate Martinis
Ryan Twiggs
The Ritz Carlton Hotel, New Orleans

OK, so New Orleans isn’t exactly driving distance—at least you won’t have to drive home drunk after knocking back a few of this guy’s specialty drink. Several of us had the good fortune to spend four days at a conference here, and this is our postcard to Ryan, who kept us entertained with his warm and witty banter—and with his chocolate martinis, which were sinfully delicious. We’re sure that similar concoctions can be mixed north of the Mason-Dixon line, and to prove it, we ask only that (A) Ryan pack his bags and apply for the next opening at Justin’s, or (B) some local bartender get the down there ASAP and figure out how the hell he does it.

Readers’ Poll Results:

	Send A Letter to Our Editor
	Back Home