BITE-SIZED
Discover Saratoga's annual Restaurant Week, celebrating its 16th anniversary, runs through Sunday, Nov. 7.
There are eight restaurants offering $15 lunches, 10 with three-course dinners for $25 and more than two dozen serving three-course dinner for $35. All are from menus specific to Restaurant Week.
Make reservations via individual restaurants.
Cornell's in Little Italy waits on permits to reopen
The restaurant Cornell's in Little Italy in Schenectady is ready to reopen, having been revived by its next-door neighbor, Maria Perreca Papa, whose family founded the neighboring Perreca’s Bakery in 1913.
Papa said she rehired much of the Cornell's staff, brought aboard Scott Carlton, recently of Tala American Bistro in Latham, as chef, and is simply awaiting a liquor license from the State Liquor Authority.
Cornell’s closed at the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, with the owners saying they were unable to adapt to the takeout-only model then dictated by the state.
In addition to Tala, Carlton was head chef at Sperry's in Saratoga Springs and from 2014 to 2016 was chef-owner of the Schenectady Italian restaurant E.K.’S Cibo. His menu for Cornell's will include many of its familiar dishes, recipes for which were purchased along with the building and are included in a binder given to Papa, she said.
The reopening and revival of the Cornell's in Little Italy brand brings together names that have helped define Italian food in the Electric City for nearly 190 years combined. The 13,600-squarefoot Cornell’s building, at 39 N. Jay St., is across a parking lot from Perreca's Bakery, owned by Papa and her brother Anthony Perreca Papa, and the adjoining restaurant More Perreca's, owned by Maria Perreca Papa and a silent partner. She and the silent partner bought the Cornell's building over the summer for $450,000. The Perreca’s address is 31-33 N. Jay.
Cafe Boulud at Blantyre closed for long renovation
Cafe Boulud at Blantye, which
instantly became one of the region's best restaurants when it opened last year at the posh Lenox, Mass., resort, ended service after Sunday, Oct. 31, while the hotel is closed for extensive renovation.
A representative said the duration of the closure is unknown at this time but is expected to be at least several several months.
Originally announced last year as a summer pop-up for celebrity chef Daniel Boulud's brand, Cafe Boulud took up residence in July 2020 at the country-house hotel in a former Gilded Age mansion
in Lenox. It ended up staying open through the start of a winter break in February, reopening at Blantyre at the end of April for what was said as an openended run, suggesting the renovation closure was unforeseen.
The original Cafe Boulud, at the Surrey Hotel on East 76th Street in Manhattan since 1998, closed during the pandemic, and it was announced this past spring that it would not reopen.
Info sought for T-day list
In next week's Food section (Thursday, Nov. 11), we will publish a list of places to dine out on
Thanksgiving Day (11/25) and of restaurants, caterers, retails markets, etc., offering Thanksgiving meals to go. Info is now being accepted at sbarnes@timesunion.com; listings will appear on the blog as they come in and will be compiled into a large list for the Food section.
Details, preferably in the form of a link to an online page or a PDF attachment, must be submitted in an email from an authorized representative of the business and must include hours/special seating times; menu info (i.e., regular menu, limited Thanksgiving menu, both); pricing (adults and children, if applicable); size and price for takeout packages; and a phone number and/or online link for reservations/ordering.
The deadline for submissions for the print listing is noon on Monday, Nov. 8. Listings that come in after will be published online only.
Compiled by Steve Barnes. Items to be considered for publication should be submitted to sbarnes@timesunion.com. 518-454-5489. Twitter: @Tablehopping. Facebook: Stevebarnesfoodcritic.