A trio of places: Two new, one in new spot
A visit to Baba Duck, Mallo’s and Oh Corn! Arepas
It was August when I last put a spotlight on three small eateries in Troy and name-checked three more. Somehow, just five months on, we’re due for another roundup, proving there are always more chefs and restaurateurs waiting in the wings.
This trio resembles a series of chess moves for familiar local names striking out on their own. We have the former chef of the shuttered Kitchen Table (formerly New World Bistro) in Albany and one half of the popular former Albany vegan cafe Berben & Wolff ’s joining for a new venture of their own; yet another oneperson business operating out of vegan eatery Burrito Burrito, a de-facto business incubator; and a reopening for wildly popular Venezuelan restaurant, Oh Corn! Arepas and More, which closed its Halfmoon location during the pandemic and has filled the charming, two-floor waterfront restaurant that was the River Street Cafe for 32 years.
With that, we headed out and grabbed some bites. It’s a tasty landscape out there.
Baba Duck
Remember The Little Viking Co., which I called “possibly the smallest plant-based lunch spot” operating out of Burrito Burrito on Broadway in Troy? Well, The Little Viking Co. still exists, serving its unique vegan menu Thursday to Sunday. But now meet Baba Duck, a onewoman operation you might recognize from the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market or an earlier incarnation as pandemic pop-up, Chewish. Honoring her Chinese roots (Baba means “dad” in Chinese), owner MaeYee You is filling the Sunday-toTuesday daytime slot with her locavore approach to plantbased Chinese food, one of the hot trends for 2023. Her short list of vegan and gluten-free dumplings, bao (filled soft buns) and noodle bowls are scratch made, including the dough for her fluffy bao, with greens and chiles she grows, all topped with a homemade chile oil. That potent Chiu Chowstyle chile oil is a fiery condiment made with preserved chiles, and You’s liberal pour might be too much for some, so either go light or ask for it on the side. Try the Dan Dan dumplings, a riff on Dan Dan noodles in crimped parcel form with Impossible sausage, mushrooms, noodles, preserved mustard greens and fresh yu choy; the gua bao — a vegan version of the famous gua (pork belly) buns; or a noodle bowl with cukes, pickles and sesame seedencrusted tofu. There’s also a weekly stir-fry special. Check the menu board.
Address: 333 Broadway, Troy
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Troy farmers market
Info: babaduck.square.site
Mallo’s
In the former vegan delicatessen Berben & Wolf cafe, next door to Sunhee’s Farm & Kitchen, Max Wolff has joined forces with chef Ian Brower (The Kitchen Table, Lost & Found) with delicious results. Combining their culinary viewpoints in one madcap funky, art-filled cafe, the duo is putting out a smashing fermented cauliflower Reuben with Russian, melted onions and Gruyere on grilled rye; an optimal falafel with pickled turnips and whipped feta; and a rare roast beef made with Kilcoyne farm grass-fed beef, cabbage slaw and sweet paprika aioli. In other words, grab your friends, let dietary differences unite rather than divide and order out or dine in. From the checkerboard floors to the trailing pink faux flowers, this is maximum cute reinvented as a welcoming, streetsavvy cafe with paintings by local artists and fliers documenting endless funk/thrash/ pop shows at the local venues El Dorado and No Fun. And don’t miss out on a piping-hot,
sweet-salty mountain of houseshaved potato chips au gratin you could call Irish nachos with a French twist.
Address: 156 Fourth St., Troy
Hours: Noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, closed Sunday to Tuesday
Info: 518-279-2340 and eatmallos.com
Oh Corn! Arepas and More
Welcome back, Oh Corn! Those in the know have continued to pick up their corn-based hand-held goodies at the Troy farmers market, but the rest of us missed the Halfmoon location when it closed during the pandemic lockdown. Now ensconced in the former River Street Cafe, just past Brown’s Brewing, Oh Corn! Arepas has not only found a new home but given Troy something it was missing: Venezuelan cuisine. Of course, I’m going to point you to my 2016 review because most items remain the same and just as good as before. But inquiring minds want to know, so you won’t go wrong ordering the perennially popular arepa queen, made with shredded chicken breast blended with avocado and gluten-free mayo inside the soft folds of golden arepa corn bread. Also try cachapa pernil with fresh pork leg baked in orange juice and red wine, or the very crispiest double-fried plantains (tostones) served with pink sauce (mayo and ketchup), or two empanadas de carne for those wanting the ultimate in portable hand pies. The secret here is to dine in with an upstairs Hudson River view to rival Sea Smoke Waterfront Grill across the way. A liquor license is in the works, and this spring the team, helmed by Venezuelan owners Jose Theokisto and Belkis Castro, with Chilean manager Tomas Favaron, plan to open up the river-view patio. Art work throughout is by cook and artist Aracelis Castro.
Address: 429 River St., Troy
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday
Info: 518-326-0199 and ohcornarepas.com