Sampling standout dishes from region’s restaurants
Faves, from fried oysters to chicken and waffles
Susie’s Spotlight is an occasional feature that showcases some of our restaurant critic Susie Davidson Powell’s can’t-miss dishes. Her regular reviews will return next week.
The dish: Inspirations on a plate Where: Radici Kitchen (26 Ridge St., Glens Falls; 518-804-1007; radicikitchen.com)
Susie says: “How about craggy buttermilk fried oysters (inspired by a dish at Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50 in Manhattan) given a velvet-stiletto spike from sticky honey, Tabasco and caviar? Or smooth chicken liver paté — dubbed
“the red velvet” — where pickled onions and strawberries layer vinegary punch to pate slathered on crisp crostini. There’s homage to head chef Brian Bowden’s Calabrian grandmother in pork meatballs fattened on cheese and a fresh marinara to keep the dish light. Little ricotta gnocchi pillows are smothered in her Bolognese. I’m a fan of this format, a scattering of tastes across a wide range of plates.”
The dish: Better-than-shishito peppers
Where: Sonder (610 Warren St., Hudson; sonderhudson.com; no phone)
Susie says: “And now a bowl of sweet, blistered Jimmy Nardello peppers we pluck by the stem, devouring their long red bodies in three bites, eyes wide at the blast of black vinegar, chile oil and crushed peanuts clinging to sticky skin. Just know that after these, the blistered shishitos in your future will be ruined by comparison.”
The dish: Go for dessert
Where: New World Bistro Bar (300 Delaware Ave., Albany; 518-694-0520; newworldbistrobar.com)
Susie says: “At New World Bistro Bar in Albany, the salted honey pie slays as the platonic ideal of dessert. A salty, brown-butter crust filled with firm, caramelized custard is a thing of beauty even before squiggled dulce de leche and tart, tangy whipped buttermilk cream on top. A taste and we’re head over heels. I’ve had honey pie only once, at Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn, and this version exceeds the memory.”
The dish: Or, rather, the cocktails Where: Rosanna’s Italian Kitchen (23 Dove St., Albany; 518-462-9176, rosannasondove.com)
Susie says: “Despite the signs of the times (masked service, ventilation from new top-down windows, no loitering by the lav), it’s a joy to get out of the pandemic mindset for a night of cocktails in impeccably matched glass. Take the elegantly etched coupe of a gin and
strawberry Rosanna with housemade basil syrup, or the curve of a rocks glass that equally fits an Il Marito ( bourbon, Contratto bitters, amaro, maple syrup) in my outstretched hand while Renato Carosone’s vocals shimmy round the room. Lavendersage syrup lifts a vodka Coley Fresca in a light boozy riff on an agua fresca, and Princess Pat unites limoncello, elderflower and prosecco like a warm night on the Ionian coast.”
The dish: Veggie-centric plates
Where: Local 111 (111 Main St., Philmont; 518-672-7801; local111.com)
Susie says: “The thick bok choy would have been too subtle alone, but dolled up in smoky piquillo purée and sweet-pepper relish with icy slivered radishes, jalapeno shards and tiny purple borage flowers, suddenly it’s fashion: A cotton slip transformed into taffeta for the ball. Alongside, a simple gold beet salad with julienned cabbage and pear leans vaguely Southeast Asian in a brown sugar vinaigrette. Its sweetness, smashed peanuts and torn herbs are all suggestive of an upstate farm riff on Thai som tum.”
The dish: ‘Gram-worthy poultry
Where: The Nest (512 State St., Schenectady; 518-672-3018; thenest518.com)
Susie says: “But we have to talk turkey. Or rather, chicken and fluffy waffles that arrive Instagram-ready, bone-in and finger-licking good in shaggy, seasoned batter. You’d imagine this is where they’d stick to the recipe for what works. But no. Chef/co-owner Devin Ziemann’s new toy — a pressure fryer that batch-cooks chicken in 10 minutes — means they can fry almost to order, and a built-in filtration system delivers clean fryer oil multiple times an hour. Since the natural sugars in their usual buttermilk-soaked chicken would caramelize at this heat and burn, The Nest’s pressurefried chicken is juicy from locked-in heat and entirely dairy free.”