Advice from one Siro’s chef to other
Three years ago, longtime area chef David Britton was recruited to run the kitchen at Siro’s, the pricey track-season hangout in Saratoga Springs for horsey swells and those who like to be around them, mere days before thoroughbred racing started for 2019. New owners took over soon before the Saratoga Race Course opened. They reached out to Britton on the Friday before the season began, he committed the following day, wrote menus on Sunday, on Monday started training staff and on Wednesday fed 1,500 people for the annual Siro’s Cup benefit before regular service started on Thursday. Six weeks later, it was over.
In retrospect, “I really enjoyed it. I’d be so disappointed if I had passed on the opportunity,” said Britton, speaking on the phone from New York City, where he is working as a consultant to retrain the kitchen staff at The Algonquin hotel to prepare for a relaunch after being closed for two years.
A veteran of the Saratoga scene, Britton owned the well-regarded Springwater Bistro for eight years, located just down Union Avenue from Saratoga Race Course. He closed it in spring 2010, launched Downtown City Tavern in Glens Falls in 2013, sold his interest two years later, and since has been busy with his acclaimed Pies on Wheels food truck and catering company. He also runs Dakine Cuisine, a niche maker of vinegar glaze, aioli and similar specialty foods in Glens Falls.
Britton admitted to experiencing “significant issues” during summer 2019 at Siro’s, which he declined to specify, but said the challenges of running a legendary place for its brief season added to the thrill and sense of accomplishment.
He has some advice for Elliott Vogel, who last week was announced as the executive chef of Siro’s. After transforming the food at Jack’s Oyster House in Albany from fall 2020 until early this year, Vogel entered extended negotia
tions with Siro’s owners, the father-son team of Peter and Jake Spitalny.
“He’s already had so much more time to plan than I did, and that has to be good,” said Britton, who said he discussed the Siro’s opportunity with Vogel earlier this spring. He said Vogel also will have the benefit of the advice and experience of veteran general manager Kevin Decker and maitre d’ Michael Stone, the latter returning for his 30th year at Siro’s.
Among the changes already announced by Vogel and the Spitalnys are renovated interiors and a refreshed backyard area with an oyster and clam bar boasting a dedicated outside menu.
Speaking of Vogel’s style of cooking, “It’s much more modern than what Siro’s is used to,” Britton said. “I hope he’s able to bring some of that to the menu. Maybe it’s time to bring in a generation of (diners) who want something other than $75 lamb chops and 6-pound lobsters.”
Vogel is the latest chef after more than a decade of upheaval at Siro’s, including multiple management changes, following a stable 25 years when the chef Tom Dillon owned and ran the restaurant, open seasonally since 1945. A New York City steakhouse operated Siro’s under contract in 2015 and 2016, Dillon returned for two years, and Britton was in charge in 2019 after the Spitalnys took ownership. They leased it to another operator for their first two seasons. Two days after Siro’s opened last year, it closed for almost a week because its new head chef, who was revealed to be working under a false name, was arrested on warrants related to cases in five states. Britton got the panicked call then, too, but declined, he said.
During the pandemic summer of 2020, Siro’s tried to operate as a membership club for a few weeks, but Saratoga officials shuttered it in midaugust of that year when they discovered that Scott Solomon, who was leasing it from the Spitalnys, had falsified paperwork necessary for a restaurant permit. Solomon was arrested on four felonies in spring 2021 in connection with the fake documents for Siro’s.
How’s that for backstage drama?
“I hope (Vogel) does well,” said Britton. “It’s a great opportunity, especially if he can get a commitment for at least two years, get the systems in place and a stipend to cover all the planning to make next year easier.”
Siro’s first night of service will be July 13 for the private Siro’s Cup fundraiser. Regular service runs throughout track season, July 14 to Sept. 5, with outside food and drink from 4:30 p.m., inside bar from 4:30 pm. and dinner from 5 p.m. Like the Saratoga Race Course, Siro’s will be closed Monday and Tuesday. The address is 168 Lincoln Ave.
▶ This originally appeared in the Table Hopping newsletter last Thursday. To receive those weekly, visit timesunion.com/newsletters /table-hopping.