Ribbon Cafe big winner at Chowderfest
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. >> Local business Ribbon Cafe won big in this year’s Saratoga Chowderfest competition, taking home three titles for its Southwest shrimp corn chowder topped with tequila bacon and a crab popper.
This unique chowder won Best Newcomer, Best Non-Downtown, and the coveted People’s Choice award.
While dozens of chefs were competing on Broadway, Caroline Street and throughout downtown Saratoga Springs that Saturday, Ribbon Cafe chose to participate six miles south at its 11 Prospect St. location in Ballston Spa, where it opened last November.
Owner and chef Kevin Myers prepared about 30 gallons of the chowder for the event, and attendees who made it to the outskirts of Saratoga County for the festival to try his chowder overwhelmingly voted for Ribbon Cafe.
Though this was Ribbon Cafe’s first time competing, Myers is no stranger to the Chowderfest game. Prior to this entrepreneurial endeavor, he was the longtime chef at downtown restaurant Gaffney’s, which has won several Chowderfest awards over the years. Myers also holds a 2016 New England Chowdafest trophy, which is proudly displayed at the restaurant alongside the three new local awards.
While it’s the same general recipe, “I’ve tweaked it over the years,” Myers said.
Winning the 2019 Chowderfest has brought great exposure for this small, new restaurant. The day after Saratoga Chowderfest, Ribbon Cafe was packed with people who wanted to get a taste of the award-winning chowder.
“Sunday morning you couldn’t get in this door,” Myers said. “People wanted gallons of chowder,” So, in addition to serving bowls of it at the restaurant every day, Ribbon Cafe is offering pints and quarts to go.
While chowder is certainly a big focus at Ribbon Cafe, there’s a larger meaning for it all. The
business was founded in honor of the owner’s wife Jennifer Myers, who died of breast cancer in September of 2017.
On the one-year anniversary since her death, Kevin signed the lease for the Ballston Spa space, and opened about a month later.
Kevin’s goal in opening Ribbon Cafe is to make a difference. The eatery hosts regular fundraising events for the Radiation Oncology Center in Saratoga Springs, where Jennifer received her treatment. The next is a Valentine’s Dinner, from which 10 percent of all proceeds will be donated to the center.
Ultimately, Kevin would like Ribbon Cafe to start providing takeout meals for homebound cancer patients in the area.
“Our goal is to help us help others,” said Christine Pyle, Kevin’s sister. “We’re small, but we’re really working hard at trying to help people.”
With Jennifer’s memory always at the forefront, Kevin is happy to be running a hometown cafe that lends a helping hand.
Ribbon Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
In addition to the famous chowder, which is always on the menu, customers enjoy Kevin’s breakfast fries, cheeseburger eggrolls, and the popular Dogwood Club.
More information about Ribbon Cafe is available online at www.ribboncafeny.com.
The restaurant can be contacted by calling (518) 288-3040.