Sunday in the Park with…Lobsters!
Article By: Vice Chargée de Presse Ilona Weisman
Photos By: Bailli William Harris
‘Twas the weekend after Labor Day and with summer nearly done, lobsters all over New York’s Capital Region believed they had escaped the sorry fate of their boiled brethren. But not so fast, lobsters. In a last blast of the season, the Albany Chaîne met for a lobster bake at Saratoga Spa State Park.
The 2,379-acre park in Saratoga Springs, New York is a National Historic Landmark. Its mineral springs produce sparkling water which owes its effervescence to carbon dioxide trapped beneath limestone formations. The park’s first mention dates to the French and Indian War when a soldier was brought there in hopes the waters would cure his wounds. By the nineteenth century entrepreneurs were bottling the park’s waters, but today it is one of the region’s notable playgrounds with hiking trails, spouters, two swimming pools, two museums, a hotel resort, and the Roosevelt Baths and Spa. The park’s buildings were constructed in the 1930s as an FDR inspired public works project to help the country survive the great depression and are prized for their Colonial Revival and Beaux Art architectures. In 1966 the famed Saratoga Performing Arts Center was opened and is now the summertime venue for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Ballet and hosts numerous concerts by world famous singers, musical groups and other renowned performers.
Albany Bailli Bill Harris secured the rustic Orenda Pavillion, a covered outdoor space with a broad stone fire pit in the center, and long wooden picnic tables. (The weather was superb, a roof proved superfluous.) The normally black tie-clad faithful arrived in every manner of dress-down (shorts and t-shirts, jeans, even Buffalo Bills jerseys). Note to self: ribbons worn over football jerseys still glint when sunlight reflects off pins that commemorate earlier feasts.
Speaking of things that sparkle, the afternoon began with a pour-your-own bar of Mionetto Prosecco Brut and Santa Margherita Prosecco Superiore, both vibrant and fresh with aromas of peach, apple and honey. For the still wine set, there was Domaine du Haut Bourg Cotes de Grandlieu Muscadet 2023 and Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2022. Maître Rôtisseur Adam Foti of PDT Catering and the newly opened breakfast and lunch bistro PDT Maison in Saratoga laid out an appealing table of hors d’oeuvres stocked with jumbo chilled shrimp, cured meats and assorted cheeses, crudité with hummus and ranch dip, marinated olives and mushrooms, and fresh and dried fruits. Live bluegrass and pop tunes played by Tim Welchgelaer and Chris Carey, both on guitar and vocals with Tim doubling on violin, raised an already cheerful mood.
Next, Maître Rôtisseur Foti brought the seashore to the landlocked Spa City. A tantalizing display of whole lobsters, steamed and served slightly warm, was arrayed on a picnic table covered in brown paper—apt backdrop to the tone of the park and the afternoon. Alongside the lobsters was a cacophony of clams, mussels, chorizo, fingerlings and corn on the cob, bowls of melted butter, and an assortment of perfectly grilled vegetables. For those who eschewed prosecco, muscadet, or chardonnay with lobster, there was Trimbach Riesling and Chateau Vieux Centenac Saint Emilion 2020.
Sunday in the park with lobsters’ sounds like maybe they were on leash. But they were the main course, and they were swell.
Notes on the Cast
Chaîne guests included first-time attendees John and Dorrie Enzien and Joseph Paolucci and Cheryl Johnson. Bailli Harris announced that this day was the birthday of Maître Rôtisseur AJ Richards and the gathering enthusiastically joined in singing Happy Birthday to AJ, accompanied by our two talented musicians.
