The Standard in Crossgates

We took the kids to The Standard Restaurant and Lounge, a new place in Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. The space used to be Bugabook Creek.

Overall we liked it. Prices were not outrageous, with most entrees in the $20 ballpark. The menu was interesting. One thing that stood out was the portion size. My wife had the ribs, and the picture below is after she started:



This was, seriously, the biggest rack of ribs I've ever seen. They were good, though not great. It came with sweet potato fries - something more restaurants should have.

I had "dry-packed" scallops over mushroom risotto. This was also good but not great. It seemed a little salty to me (especially the risotto). Not as bad as PF Chang's in Colonie, but just a little too much.

One plus is that the place is kid-friendly, though not over the top like Bugaboo was. They do have a kids menu, and a lot of people had kids with them.

We had an appetizer too. It was a combo - three different kinds of rolls (sort of like eggrolls) along with a spinach-artichoke dip. I liked it. The rolls were good and came with a few dipping sauces. The spinach dip came in a huge container with chips - I don't know how anyone could eat all that. It was more than enough for four adults. I was so stuffed that I couldn't eat much of my entree (especially after I ate a couple ribs).

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Update: We went back the other night. It was a Saturday night and the place was jam packed, as was the entire mall. Perhaps a good sign for the economy. While it took some time to get seated, and service was understandably a bit slow, the food was excellent. The portion sizes were, again, outrageous. The biggest standout for me was the cheesecake. I love a good cheesecake, and I'm picky. This was the best cheesecake I've ever had in Albany. Cheesecake Factory may have more variety, but for a straight-up New York cheesecake, the Standard has it. Not only was it great, but it was so big it made dessert for two other meals. My wife got a brownie thing with ice cream and it was monstrous. We haven't finished the brownie yet. She had a burger too and that was done right.

Melting Pot in Crossgates (Guilderland)

About a week ago we went to the new Melting Pot at Crossgates in Guilderland. It was an experience worth trying. The Melting Pot is a fondue franchise. In other words, it's a chain restaurant. Like the Cheesecake Factory at Colonie Center, it's aiming for the high end of that arena. This is a good place for a warning. We spent over $100 on dinner for two and we didn't even have wine or drinks.

With that budget-busting issue in mind, it was worth going. We arrived for an early dinner (on the way to a movie) and, as seems common with new places, it was full. Fortunately we were able to get two seats at the bar with a "burner". We got a set of courses that come as a package deal. It starts with a cheese dip. You get breads, veggies and a few other things to dip in the melted cheese. The server mixes up the cheese and stuff and heats it up there then it stays warm on the burner. We liked this part of the meal very much.

Next came a salad. Not bad but nothing special. If salad is a key element of your meal, then this is not the place for you.

The entree course really stood out. It's a little like Japanese nabe or shabu-shabu style cooking. There's a big pot of broth that's hot on the burner. You get raw meats and a few other things on a plate. Put the meats on the tip of a long fork and put that end into the broth. Let it cook for about 90 seconds. Take it out and dip it into any of about 8 dipping sauces provided. Our meal had a wide variety of meats including a well-marinated pork, shrimp, filet mignon, another steak I think, chicken, and salmon. There were also some spinach dumplings (which were almost impossible to get back out of the pot). The servers were very helpful in explaining which dipping sauces were best paired with which meats. They were well-trained and helpful.

The meal closed with the chocolate. This has a similar plan. You get a variety of fruits, cakes, and a couple other items to dip. I remember we liked it very much.

So the fondue style parts of the meal were all impressive. If you can afford to blow $100 on a meal for two, then you should give it a try. I can't see ourselves going there for dinner more than maybe once a year. Another option is to go for dessert only. That would cost a lot less and give you a good feel for the experience part of it.