Category Archives: Troy
“Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table.”
William Powell
Usually on Tuesdays I write about a local restaurant that I’ve eaten at but this past Sunday I went to Grannie’s Bake-Off in Troy at the Hilton Garden Inn. Since that incorporates a few local professional bakeries, I assumed that could count at a local restaurant, plus I don’t want to forget what all of the delicious treats tasted like!
This past weekend I was honored to be able to host my very first contest for tickets to Grannie’s Bake-Off which made it even more exciting to attend. 
I love baked goods, all kinds of baked goods so I figured this was the best event to make sure I checked out myself. The event was sponsored by the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights. Founded in 2002 in Long Island after a Grandmother lost custody of her granddaughter after her daughter’s death, she joined together with Grandmothers from all over the country and ultimately founded a national movement.
The event called professional and amateur bakers together for the public to vote on their product for $10 per person with the money going back to the committee. Professional bakers are those who bake at a commercial facility and an amateur is one who bakes in their own home. The public was voting on the best among the professionals and the three judges voted among the amateurs. The judges were William Dowd (Dowd’s Guides), Christian Noe (Nighthawk’s Kitchen, Troy) and Ric Orlando (New World Home Cooking/Catering, Woodstock & New World Bistro, Albany).
When I walked in, my first stop was Bake For You. If you read my blog then you know from my PAST BLOG ENTRY my love for Bake for You cookies. I figured since I already knew I loved the cookies, I’d start there and get that out of the way to give the others a fair fight. They offered a cookie I’d never tried before, the Girl’s Best Friend cookie with chocolate chips, potato chips and pretzels- what more would a girl want? The mix of salty and sweet was delicious, the potato chip flavor wasn’t too strong which I was afraid of- delicious.
Next, counterclockwise, was Cakes by Alissa. As her pamphlet says: Every cake is baked fresh to order with local and/or organic ingredients whenever possible as well as the finest quality chocolate.” She had quite a few different mini cupcake flavors to choose from but I decided on the Strawberry Shortcake because strawberry is one of my favorite flavors. I liked the cupcake. The frosting was fluffy, it was filled with some sort of strawberry mixture and the texture was moist, I just wish there was a little more strawberry flavor as a whole. One of the other options was a Mojito cupcake with key lime flavor filling and I think I may have enjoyed that a little better.
One of my favorite desserts was from Cheesecake Machismo. They had a PB & J cheesecake that was the perfect blend of flavors and textures, it made me wish I could’ve grabbed another one! The black raspberry on top was what made the flavor, I couldn’t imagine it with another flavor of jelly. 
I can’t wait to go and try what other magic they can create with cheesecake!
The next stop was Laurie’s Gluten Free Goodness, LLC. I decided to give the sample of a lemon bar a try and if I didn’t know ahead of time, I would have had no idea that it was gluten free. The best part of being able to try their product was that I got to check out all the gluten free products they offer in their menu. There’s some of the usual stuff like gluten free bread, crackers, muffins and pies but if you want to make a gluten free pie at home you could buy your pie crust here to get the hard part out of the way or use the all-purpose gluten free flour or gluten free pancake mix to make some of your favorite carbs with the worry of making it gluten free taken out of the equation.
The strangest kind of cupcake was from StomachCakes, isn’t that name great? I decided on trying the Chocolate Chipotle Cupcake topped with a piece of bacon. How could I pass that up? The frosting was made with chocolate and goat cheese with a chocolate chipotle ganache filled cake. I like goat cheese but I learned on Sunday that I do not like it when it’s on a cupcake. For my personal taste, I would’ve added a lot more chocolate and a little less goat cheese and the frosting was also a little too packed together, I prefer it fluffy, but the cake it self was tasty. The chipotle wasn’t too spicy but definitely enhanced the flavor of the chocolate cake. The bacon was probably the most delicious piece of bacon I’ve ever eaten but how could bacon covered in molasses not be to die for?
The last cupcake was Cupcakes by Alicia at Anthony’s Chocolate Dipped Fruit. 
She created mini chocolate cupcakes that were probably my favorite of the cupcakes I tasted on Sunday. The consistency was beautiful of both the cake and the frosting, I just wish it was a little bigger so I could’ve tasted more of the flavor of them both. By the time I started tasting the flavor, it was gone so I’m probably going to have to go and order a bigger cake, for research purposes of course.
The last baked good was from Creo. Apparently there was a French cheesecake I should’ve tried and after I left the table I realized that the chocolate cake had chocolate syrup poured over the top but no, I picked the strawberry cake, Zephyr cake it was called. I assume the others were better because I wasn’t really impressed. The cake was good but there was no flavors jumping out at me in the cake itself. As I said while eating it, “if I’m gonna waste the calories, I want strong flavors instead of just a piece of cake.” In between the two layers was a kind of yellow pudding with strawberries in it and I would not have been upset with a bowl full of, it was so delicious. Next time at Creo, I’m going to have to get a piece of cheesecake and see what I missed!
Overall, it was a great event. I love events where I can try food from a bunch of local eateries in one place. The only problem is that I don’t really want to look at sugary baked goods for awhile but maybe that’s a good thing!
Note: If you went and picked up a program, check out the sponsors and you may see your favorite blog listed 
“Golf is so popular simply because it is the best game in the world at which to be bad. “
A.A. Milne
I’ve mentioned on quite a few occasions that I frequent the various coupon websites like Groupon or LivingSocial and I love the different places I get to try out for a discount. 
One of my most recent purchases from LivingSocial was a coupon for four to Oasis Family Fun Park (97 North Greenbush Road, Troy- by HVCC). It was for a party of four to participate in a game of mini-golf with a pizza (or choice of 8 hot dogs), two pitchers of soda and four ice creams. Great deal, no?
I don’t mini golf very often but I really liked this course. It didn’t start easy and progressively get harder like most of them, it was sporadic. Also, they had really cool effects. One of the holes had three different layers and you don’t know which of the layers the ball was going to go to until you hit it in one of them. Another has you hit the ball into moving water and letting the water bring it to the hole. I’ve never seen mini golf with holes on the more intense side but it was a really great course. With the coupon we were only allowed to have chocolate, vanilla or twist ice cream but it was really good and a great treat for after a hot day of mini golf.
Mini golf not your thing? They also offer laser tag in a paintball looking area, defender dome which is a huge bouncy bounce, paddle boats that you paddle with your arms and are also given guns to squirt water at your fellow boaters & the clubhouse where you can get tons of flavors of ice cream, soda, food and more! I never heard of this place before Living Social but I’m really glad I got to try it out because it was a lot of fun! I love mini golf places that offer more activities than just one.
“All normal people love meat. If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say ‘Yo Goober! Where’s the meat?’. I’m trying to impress people here Lisa. You don’t win friends with salad.”
*Make sure you check out my previous blog entry on the Harlem Dinosaur BBQ as well!*
Dan Castellaneta
Every so often, the capital district gets a new restaurant that is the “talk of the town” and currently, that restaurant is Dinosaur BBQ (377 River St, Troy). I went to dinner with a group of 5 other girls and the estimated wait for us was an hour and a half. We waited that time at the bar which was everyone else’s idea as well, it was quite crowded. We could hear them announcing our names and even though they told us hour and a half to 2, many people left without taking their names off the list. They call your name three times, the third being “last call” until they move on to the next group. We waited at least an hour but we didn’t really notice since we were all talking and catching up. It was a Saturday at dinner time so we showed up knowing the wait was going to be a doozy.
When we did get to sit down, the service was very fast. 
It was as if they’re trained to deal with the “controlled chaos” as the waitress said and checked up on us from time to time and make sure we had everything knowing that she could get lost in the crowd. We started with a pitcher of sangria for the table. 5 of us split the pitcher evenly, one glass each, I wouldn’t split it anymore than that; each of us paid $6 for our glass.
The waitress then explained the menu and where to find everything to us. *NOTE- the menu has two prices next to most things, it says that each “come with two sides” but you do pay extra. For example, I ordered the burger and the prices listed were $7.00/9.95 if you want the two sides that your meal “comes with” then it’s the second, platter price, $9.95. Which is a great deal since sides are at least $3.00 each if you want to order extra.
As I mentioned, I ordered the Dino burger with a side of Mac & Cheese and Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes. The Dino burger comes with cheese (the menu says Vermont Cheddar but you can get whichever you choose, I got cheddar), caramelized onions pickles and their special BBQ sauce. Those are my two favorite sides in case you’re unsure of which to order. The burger was very moist, as a burger should be. This burger was also cooked with bits of onion throughout which allowed for the flavors to blend together and gave it a bit of extra texture. The burgers come with pickles on the side instead of cornbread so I ordered a side order of cornbread that comes with two pieces for .75. It isn’t the best cornbread I’ve ever had, a little hard on the outside, but two pieces for .75, if you like cornbread, you might as well for so cheap. The mac & cheese has some harder cheese on the top and then melted cheese throughout, just perfect. They have dessert options but you won’t be hungry after getting a platter. I cut my burger in half, ate half and turned my plate away, 
I knew that other half was going home with me and made for a great lunch the next day, tasted just as good. The wait may be bad around dinner, especially on weekends but this restaurant I can say is worth the hype, it’s worth the wait, it’s worth the trip. Enjoy!
