CNN mentions Saratoga and Lake George as a must see! Great small businesses mentioned too!

Now I love NYC and the surrounding areas just as much as the next person but there are some really incredible places to visit in this beautiful state of ours.

The other great thing about visiting these adorable small towns is that you can uncover some really cool and unique small businesses.  CNN chose both Saratoga and Lake George as 2 out of the 5 places to see outside of the Hamptons (Umm duh! Us locals have known this for years :) ).  What I loved about the article was that they specifically mention local food businesses for each location. Some of the local shout-outs included Putnam Market, Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, The Saratoga City Tavern and The Pink Roof located in Lake George.

Do you think they did our area justice or should they have chosen some other places to mention?  Check out the article here.  http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/31/travel/nyc-getaways-not-hamptons/

White Pizza from Cate’s Italian Garden in Bolton Landing

Bolton Landing is a wonderful place to be in the summer.  After a day out on the boat or a nice hike, we usually like to head over to The Boathouse or The Algonquin for a drink and or an app.

We decided to stay overnight this time and thought that we would walk around the quaint little town and find a place to grab dinner. I’ve heard that Cate’s was good so we decided to try that. The other indication that it must be good was the fact that it was 8:30 at night and still packed.  We were seated outside which was great since it was the perfect summer night.  Our not so friendly waitress came over to take our drink order and we decided to get the jalapeño poppers while we looked over the menu (they charge extra for your standard bread and butter).  I’m a fan of anything fried and these were definitely good but they were your standard poppers.  I of course burnt the roof of my mouth on them like I always do because I’m impatient and even said that I should wait but I didn’t. Oh well, they were good and the cold beer helped to cool things down a bit.

We decided on the white pizza since that’s what was recommended to me.  It came with ricotta and mozzarella and we had them add broccoli to cancel out the cheese :).   To read the rest of the review, please visit http://www.saratoga.com/bitten/ Thank you!

Best brew with a view- The Boathouse

I dream about being at The Boathouse all year long.  It’s one of the best places to be in the summer and the view of Lake George is breathtaking.  While sitting at the bar, you can enjoy your libation while watching boaters, swimmers and occasionally the Mini Ha Ha will pass on by.

The large wooden bar and Adirondack theme throughout will make you feel instantly relaxed.  They offer a decent selection of beers on draft too. If you don’t see what you want at the outside bar, head on in to the bar inside where they offer a larger selection.  I had my heart set on the Waialua Wheat from Kona and sure enough, they had it!  Luckily our bartender outside didn’t mind running in and getting it for me either.  The staff is great and they will make sure you are taken care of.

The Boathouse was originally built in 1876 as part of the Abenin estate and was once owned by The New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs.  Today they offer exquisite views, private events and casual dining.  Feel free to pull up on your boat after a day out on the lake or take a trip over there if you are in the Lake George area.  You will not be disappointed!  They are located at 3210 Lake Shore Dr in Lake George, NY.  Have you been to The Boathouse yet?  Tell me what you think!

Banana Split from Martha's Dandee Creme

Who screams for ice cream!?!? This girl does if it’s from Martha’s Dandee Crème!! After a little break from filming, “Bite Me” is back and I couldn’t be happier to have the famous Martha’s ice cream shop be my first stop. When I pulled in at 11:00 on a rainy Tuesday morning, there was a line of people getting ice cream including the local post office delivery person, people working in the area and a bunch of kids. My first thought was that this place must have some kick ass ice cream. My second thought was how soon can I have some? I sat down with Dennis Lafontaine who has owned Martha’s not once, but twice! The Lafontaine family purchased Martha’s back in the 80’s from the original owners Martha and Carl. They ran the business for 17 years serving not only ice cream, but running a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner as well. When Six Flags started buying up properties in the area (Martha’s is located across the street from The Great Escape which is owned by Six Flags), the Lafontaine family decided to sell and get out of the lucrative ice cream business- temporarily.

After signing a 5 year “no compete” clause, Dennis and his family decided to buy all of the property back and bring this landmark back to being a family run business. All I know is that the enormous banana split they made for me was fantabulous!!!! First of all, the bowl they serve it in could be a small swimming pool it is so big. After filling it with a ton of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, they load it up with all of the goodies including rich hot fudge, marshmallow sauce and tons of whipped cream! After sampling the 3 ice cream flavors and toppings, I can see why this place has been around for over 50 years. It was some of the creamiest most flavorful soft serve I have ever had! The toppings were decadent but not over the top and I could easily have finished the whole thing if I weren’t so embarrassed. ☺ Martha’s is also know for their ice cream cakes where you can pick any combo from their 35 flavors and have them turn it into a show stopper for your next party. You could also just get one for your self to celebrate the deliciousness of their ice cream too! If you’re in the Lake George area, you definitely have to make time from some ice cream at Martha’s!

Engagement Dessert

Wow, I couldn't have been any happier when this came out. I ordered the Gianduja chocolate canollis and my new fiance had what I called the triple threat of the creme brule world. I loved the way the dish separated out the three wonderful variates of pistachio, espresso and vanilla bean creme brule. To top it all off, we had fresh berries with wonderful cream to lighten things up a bit :) I think that the flavor of the chocolate and hazelnut in a cannoli could be one of the best combination's yet! The Sagamore on Lake George really knows how to sweeten up an already sweet day.