Bokie's Drive-in: Pinkalicious!

Traveling around the Malone, NY area we stumbled upon Bokie's Drive-In.  It's easy to stumble upon, because it's pink.   It's pink ALL OVER.  The building, the sign, the picnic tables, even the lines for the parking spots.  Pink in true 50's fashion.  Good luck missing it.

Sadly, there are not any roller skating servers, but that didn't detract from the charm.  The inside is gleaming white with black and chrome accents in traditional 50's diner style.   There are booths and small tables for inside dining, if eating at a bright pink picnic table outside isn't on your menu.   The booth tables are a scrap book of a specific year, with news clippings and pictures and ads pertinent to that year.

Bokie's offers lots of fried delights (shrimp, clams, mushrooms) as well as burgers, chicken sandwiches and the traditional "Michigan Dog":  hot dog smothered in a chili sauce, chopped onion and a squiggle of mustard.   Plattsburgh gets to boast that they originated the name "Michigan Dog", which seems odd, but true.  The first record of the name is in a 1927 publication of The Daily Republican, Plattsburgh's local newspaper.  At Bokie's you can have a regular beef hot dog or order a "glazier", which is a red hot dog perhaps more commonly known as a "red hot".  Coming from a person who is not a big hot-dog eater, the experience was delectable.   The chili sauce on the dog was flavorful and didn't overpower the taste of the glazier dog, which I decided to try.  Next time I will leave the mustard off, which is probably a mortal sin but, I like what I like, and I would have liked to taste more chili than mustard.

You definitely want to stop by Bokie's if you're up near the Canadian border or heading to/from Akwesasne Casino in Malone.   The owner himself does some of the serving, along with his lovely daughter.   It's a comfortable, casual atmosphere and judging by the line at the ice cream window that formed while we were eating: a local favorite.

Red Robin....ummmmm?

I was craving a burger.  A really good, juicy, messy burger.  Too lazy to make one myself, I opted for Red Robin which is supposed to have outstanding, gourmet burgers.  It says so on the t-shirts that all the staff wear.  I have eaten at RR before but not had any of their burgers.   I now wish I could still say that.

I ordered the Whiskey River Burger.  In the picture, it looked like everything I needed and more: plump burger, onion straws, their signature barbeque sauce, and a whole-grain bun.  Perfect?  Not so much.  

I will preface this with: I KNOW I should have sent it back to begin with.  However, I was at RR not only for a burger but for an important discussion.  I opted to not make the meeting about my meal thereby detracting from the discussion.  

With that out of the way, here's what I found:

The burger wasn't hot.   It wasn't cold, but it wasn't fresh off the grill either.  

The burger was thin.  It looked NOTHING like the picture in terms of thickness, and we all know how important thickness is.   It was, however, cooked to my specifications.  Yay.

The burger had no barbeque sauce on it.  THE WHISKEY RIVER BARBEQUE BURGER HAD NO SAUCE ON IT. 

I emailed Red Robin and received an apologetic response and the offer of a free appetizer for my trouble.  I suppose that is good customer relations, but I feel a refund AND a free app would have been more fitting since I specified in my email that I feel I wasted my money there.

On the bright side, Chris's BLTA looked and tasted really good.   Get that.  Not a burger.

Because you can't live on chocolate bunnies alone....

In researching to find one piece of information, I found several pieces of information.  Specifically, area restaurants that are offering Easter Brunches and Buffets.  Since I've already compiled the info, I thought I'd save you the trouble.  Enjoy!


The Desmond in Albany has seatings from 10:30am until 2pm. The menu offered by Executive Chef Michael St. John is available at http://www.desmondhotelsalbany.com. Prices are $42.95 per adult, $19.95 for kids 4-12, kids under 3 are free. Reservations are required. 869-8100.

Michael's Banquet House in Cohoes has seatings available 11am-3pm by calling 785-8524. The Easter Bunny will be there along with live music. $32.25 per adult, $16.50 for kids 4-12, kids 3 and under are free. Their menu is available at http://www.michaelsbanquethouse.com.

Fortunes Restaurant at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway is offering an Easter Brunch Buffet from 10am-2pm. $18.95 per adult, children 3-12 are $10.95. Call 581-5790 for reservations. The menu is available at http://www.saratogacasino.com.

McGreivey's in Waterford is offering 2 seatings on Easter Sunday: 9:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. $25 per adult, $12.50 for kids 4-12, kids 3 and younger are free. A la carte dinner starts at 3pm with last seating at 5pm. Dinner menu only. Reservations are required. 238-2020.

Milano's in Latham will host their annual Easter Buffet from 10:30am - 3pm. $31.95 per adult, $15.95 for children 4-12. Call 783-3334 for reservations. Their menu is available at http://www.milano-restaurant.com/.

The Hilton Garden Inn in Clifton Park offers a brunch buffet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; $28 adults, $16 kids ages 5 to 10. A-la-carte dinner in Angelo's Prime Bar & Grill is also offered from 2 to 8 p.m. Call 631-6500 for reservations. http://www.onereputation.com/events.htm

Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia will have a brunch buffet in the ballroom 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Adults $34, kids 5-10 are $18. They will also serve dinner in their restaurant, Angelo's Tavolo, 12:30 p.m.- 7 p.m. Reservations required, please call 374-7262. http://www.onereputation.com/events.htm

Happy Easter!

Urbana Legend

Chris and I travelled to D.C. in January (no, not for work!  Isn't that exciting???).  Chris thought he read that the week we were there was Restaurant Week, but it turned out to be during the previous week (which was our original travel plan).  The concierge at the Washington Hilton advised us that Urbana was not only a very good restaurant, but also had extended their Restaurant Week and that we should check it out. 

A new restaurant for us AND a great deal?  Chris was all over that. 

P Street is easy walking distance from the hotel and the large, bright sign facing oncoming pedestrians made them simple to find.  Their Restaurant Week offerings were not advertised outside their doors, but the very friendly maitre d' confirmed that our information was correct and exuberantly explained how their RW menu worked which was, he was proud to share, that they offer their FULL menu during RW, not just select items.  We were able to pick any Starter and Entree from their regular menu and then from a choice of 3 desserts all for $35.12 each.  A few items (I believe it was 2 Starters and 2 Entrees) incurred an "upcharge" of $4 to cover costs but other than that, it was go-time.

As a small eater, I was excited to see a "Small Bites" selection, as part of  "Starters".  All items are under $10 and luscious-sounding, so size really does not matter.  They offer bites like "beer" nuts: candied peanuts with sour cream and onion spice; arancini: fried wild mushroom risotto with raclette fondue; dates with bleu cheese and serrano ham; calamari with spicy tomato sauce; beef tongue grilled with charred cauliflower and lemon maynnaise.  I chose the arancini and Chris got the foie brat: housemade foie gras sausage with soubise onion, cider, and herbs.  They were served in twos: 2 brats in a white, miniature casserole-type dish and 2 round arancini in a deep white bowl, floating happily on the raclette fondue.   Each was the perfect amount for one or two people and each was delicious in its own way.  The apple cider was a noticeable, delicious flavor with the sausage.  The fondue was worthy of cleaning the bowl with a finger, or the tongue if that were socially acceptable.  We decided to use spoons and fresh, crusty bread instead.  After all, it is a classy place.

For Entrees, I chose the cacciuco which is a stew of bass, calamari, mussels, shimp and clams with roasted pepper rouille and tomato shellfish broth.   I don't think I can say anything else about it to make it more delicious.   I will tell you this though, I was so taken with the aroma, I held it across the table for Chris to smell.  Fragrant, rich, delicious.  Chris chose the venison, which came highly recommended by both the maitre d' and our server.   The venison is coated in espresso beans and is surrounded by a moat of Japanese sweet potato puree and braised greens.  I haven't had venison since I was a child and my grandfather tried to convince me that this odd-smelling meat was actually steak.  There is no way you could ever confuse the two and I found it so unappealing I haven't had it since.   I tried this venison because, well, Chris insisted and we always share.  Plus, it looked so rare and tender it actually looked GOOD to me.  And it was.  I'm not sure I could eat the whole entree, but the piece I had literally melted in my mouth.  It really was very well prepared and the puree made it even better.   There was another item on the plate that neither Chris nor I could identify, and we couldn't remember what the menu said.  They were over an inch long and resembled worms, but were firm to the touch and crunchy when bitten.   The taste was familiar, like Chinese food.   We finally asked our friend the maitre d' who explained that not only was that one of the top three questions he is asked every night, but they are called "crosnes" (pronounced: crones) and are part of the mint family.  They are pickled which is likely what made me think of Chinese spices (sweet and sour).  In looking them up to write this, I see that they are also called "Chinese artichoke" where it grows wild in Northern China.  Clearly, I have a knack for this.

To end this cavalcade of deliciousness, we chose the pots du creme and the caramel apple.  The former is a thick mousse of dark chocolate creme with hazelnut anglaise and almond biscotti.   Yummmmmm.   Caramel Apple is just that with spiced sugar cookie, peanut crumble and dulce de leche.  It was light and tasty but it was no pots du creme. 

I should have mentioned the bread at the beginning, since that is when we ate it.  Perhaps I was subconsciously leaving best for last.   Eat the bread.  Ask for more.  We requested to take home our partial loaf because it was so good and our server not only bagged up our loaf but gave us an additional full loaf to take in a reusable Urbana tote bag.  Bonus! 


www.urbanadc.com