A chat with the mustachioed Michael Stone, Siro’s gracious host for three decades.
Q&A with Michael Stone, Siro’s gracious host for 3 decades
The face at the door at Siro’s, the track-season restaurant in Saratoga Springs since 1945, has been Michael Stone for three decades. Who is he? Answers have been minimally
edited for space and clarity.
Q: From 2018 to last year, media outlets, including this one and including me, each year have said one summer or another was your 30th year at Siro’s. Let’s set the record straight: When did you start at
Siro’s?
A: I first came to Siro’s in 1990 as a dining-room captain, and I have been the maitre d’ since 1994. I was also the general manager for a number of those years.
Q: Gotcha. So 34th summer, 30th as maitre d’. What did you do for the rest of the year when you weren’t catering to the horsey set and other swells?
A: I was also the maitre d’ at Cafe L’europe in Palm Beach for 32 years.
More horsey-set swells! Did you have the same customers?
A: Not as many as many you might think, but I did have some.
Q: Siro’s has a hotshot chef in Elliott Vogel, now in his second summer. What is Michael Stone’s verdict?
A: I don’t know how much time I have to answer that. Elliott and I meet every day to discuss the menu. At the beginning of last summer, I would often venture my opinion. As I started watching what he was doing and hearing reactions to his food, I started talking less and listening more. When he told me he was going to do a bison Wellington, I though, “Well, that’s risky.” Later that night he made one for me, and while I was eating it I thought, “This has to be one of the top three dinners I’ve ever had in my life.” Elliott is very hardworking and very, very talented.
Q: What are your two favorite dishes besides the bison Wellington?
A: Anything Elliott does with seafood — halibut, bass. He has incredible instincts for seafood. And the beef we’ve been getting, the veal chops, are outstanding.
Q: What do you recommend to drink with each?
A: For the halibut, sauvignon blanc. I think the neutrality of the wine makes it perfect for Elliott’s seafood. For the veal chop, I’m a California-wine guy, so a really bold California cabernet sauvignon.
Q: Siro’s endured significant tumult over the past decade-plus, between ownership and management changes and some other, more recent difficulties that I won’t rehash here. That’s what Google is for. At any point did you think about not coming back — did you say to yourself, “I put in my 25 years. I don’t need this headache”?
A: OK. (Pause.) I’m going to give you my opinion on this, because I think it’s relevant. I don’t think anyone is well-served by recapitulating what happened under previous owners. For the record, I had excellent relationships with all of them. Let’s just say you can’t just turn the page on someone like Tom Dillon.
Q: He bought Siro’s in 1984, and was the chefowner for 25 years.
A: Yes. He’s the founder of the contemporary Siro’s, and his contributions cannot be overstated. When that era ended in 2010, a lot of changes happened and kept happening. But I don’t think you can assign blame to any particular ownership group or management arrangement. A lot of things happened and mistakes were made, but this place got really lucky with the new owners.
The father-son team
of Peter and Jake Spitalny, who bought Siro’s in 2019.
A: Yes. They were determined to redeem the brand, and they have, starting with enormous capital improvements. I couldn’t be happier with the new ownership.
Q: As Siro’s is currently zoned, it’s allowed to be open only 90 days a year. Although there have been occasional fall and New Year’s Eve events, for the most part it’s open only during the racing season. There was talk of trying to get a zoning variance to allow Siro’s to be open 10 months a year. Would that work, or would the aura of Siro’s be diluted if people could dine there almost year-round?
A: I don’t think the aura would be diluted, but the matter of proximity would be turned upside down. During track season, people almost can’t help but come to Siro’s or at least walk past it. When the track is closed, that relationship is inverted — there’s no foot traffic. That doesn’t mean people wouldn’t come, but it would mean Siro’s would have to be a destination, not somewhere you went because you’re already at the track.
Q: Saratoga Race Course is the preferred site if the 2025 Belmont Stakes needs to be relocated because of renovation of its home track. Are you in favor of a three- or four-day Belmont Festival in early June in two years, and would Siro’s be open during it?
A: Yes. I can’t speak for whether it would be open, because that’s not my decision, but I would definitely advocate for us to be open during a Belmont festival.
Q: How is Siro’s different from five years ago? From 30 years ago?
A: I avoid historical comparisons.
Final question: Who is Michael Stone, really? Who’s the man behind the mustache, and how often does he dye it? Does he like bird-watching? Or MMA fighting? Does he go to Bali to sunbathe every year, or to Banff to ski? Does he even like horse racing?
A: Wow. I was unprepared for that question. OK. Michael Stone is a guy who just got ridiculously lucky to do what I do. Horse-racing people are the greatest people in the world.
Q: It turns out that wasn’t the final question. This one is the last. Now that you’re retired from your job in Palm Beach, you’ve been traveling. Where’s your favorite place that isn’t Saratoga?
Saratoga. There is no place like Saratoga.