The Bier Abbey, Schenectady

By -


With the closure of Mahar's, I've been looking for a place that had a similarly excellent beer selection and atmosphere.  I've been told mutliple times that the Bier Abbey was great, but hadn't made it.  On Sunday,  we happened to be visiting the Place Beyond the Pines to visit a friend who's a big fan, so we decided to finally check it out.  I can't really make this claim after only one visit, but I'm tempted to say it anyway -- this is the best beer bar in the capital region.

  More importantly, the selection of beers is outstanding, comparable to Mahar's.  Also nice is that they offer 4 oz. pours, which allows you to try multiple offerings and still drive home.&nbsp. I had Southern Tier's sublime milk stout, poured at the perfect temperature, as well as Nøgne Ø's sweet and smoky Tiger Tripel, which I hadn't had before but was fantastic. Ms. Garlic tried the Elysian pumpkin, a good version although it's not my favorite genre. The food is very well done as well. Our friend ordered a very good cheese plate. Ms. Garlic and I both had the fish and chips, which easily surpassed the very high demands I have of choices that will require me to spend an extra 15 minutes a day on the elliptical for at least a week. The haddock was actually flavorful, not the usual empty excuse to eat deep-fried breading, and there was a real, flavorful coleslaw rather than the typical tiny cup of cabbage slathered in mayo. Our friend had the Thai mussels which both Ms. Garlic and she were veryi impressed by (my allergies prevented me from trying them.)

The first-rate beers and very good pub food are served in a commensurate space. I find the affected "authenticity" of some of Albany's quality beer bars an annoyance in practice -- the communal benches at the City Beer Hall and rickety pub furniture at the Olde English are, how you say, uncomfortable, so the real tables and chairs inside and out are a relief.  I love what they've done with the space -- nice patio, nice bar with a large chalkboard listing the day's selections, and a very nice back room. Service was very friendly and efficient. 

If the Bier Abbey was in Albany it would definitely be my go-to pub, and it will certainly compel us to make the trip to the Stockade more often. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2013 at 11:16 AM

    Shame the bar service leaves much to be desired at times, if you are not "in", being rudely ignored isn't unusual.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TWD, Baking with Julia: Pizza Rustica

By -
Image
I'm thrilled to be one of the people chosen to write out the recipe for this week with Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia . If you check out what other people are saying about this recipe , they've summed it up pretty well - it is a sweet crust with a savory filling with the salty bite of prosciutto. Could it use some vegetables? Possibly some nutmeg? All the other bloggers who said that may be right. I do think though that the ricotta filling (I did buy ricotta made with skim) mixed with eggs is probably lower in fat than a quiche filling made with heavy cream - so that is a bonus. Overall, we liked it and my husband even immediately got up for seconds. It is a nice hearty dish that seems ideal cut up in slices and served at room temperature for a dinner party. It would probably be good for a brunch dish with a nice green salad. The other bloggers are right to point out that the fillings can easily be changed up. One problem I had: I read in Thomas Keller
Read more

French food at Chez Nous, Schenectady

By -
Image
This past spring I went to Germany for the first time on a work trip. It felt good to see some world, the arts people we were working with were incredibly hospitable, and I left with a warm impression of the German people in general (despite pretty much constant reminders of certain grim parts of their history in the forms of monuments and memorials all around the city, which I wasn't sure how to deal with). I also don't know a lick of German, which was fine because the German people often know English, but the Turkish people only know German so at some Turkish restaurants and second hand shops I had to resort to awkward gestures, which was all in all makes one appreciate what it is to be a foreigner in any land - a foreigner in this country for instance. It's certainly not easy. Anyways, on the way back I unexpectedly got stuck in Paris for a night. It's hard to explain what a natural and easy connection I have with French culture/food/language. Part of it might be t
Read more

Boca Bistro Bachelorette Party

By -
Image
My friend Jessica's Bachelorette Party was this weekend in Saratoga. It was a fabulous time. I couldn't believe how many really nice ladies she's friends with. I really love the movie "13 going on 30", and I watched it recently while out in North Adams dogsitting. I've probably seen it more repeat times than any other movie the last few years. I really love the pitch she gives on how to change the magazine. While her rival character gives the pitch to make the magazine more cynical, darker, more anorexic, the Jennifer Garner character says she wants to feature real women who are smart and pretty and happy to be who they are. Everytime I see that movie, I just love that scene so much. And so what a pleasure it was last night to meet so many interesting, accomplished ladies all in the mood to have a great time. We started out at Boca Bistro . Our friend Tiffany did a fabulous job organizing it for such a large party, and $30 per person for three courses was
Read more