Skytop

Ok so lately it seems that all I do is eat, but actually I am way behind on my postings so I have a lot of restaurants to talk about. I went to the Skytop in Kingston - Great food, and a view overlooking the valley- very nice. Even better, the vinegarette here beats Milano hands down- it is a sweet light dressing which is fantastic. They are a 'steakhouse', and I did notice the steaks on the menu, but just had soup and salad.

This was definitely worth the trip. Of course, the company was really the best part of the trip.

They also brew their own beers here. The amber went down very smoothly!

http://skytop.moonfruit.com/#

beautiful art

My friend painted this for me. I love it; it gives me the feeling of a flower garden, peaceful and beautiful...

Albany Pump Station

Went here for dinner on Friday, with a pretty large group of people (30?) This was the first time I ever ate here, had a steak sandwich, and the beer was good - I had the Pump Station Pale, which was good, but I am not the most sophisticated connoisseur of beer at this point! Met some nice people in this group, and look forward to getting together again.

http://www.evansale.com/index.html

MIlano

We went to lunch here on Friday. I keep picking places that I have never been before, so we met here at 1 o'clock.

Unique catering once did an event I was at, and I remembered their citrus vinegarette on the salad - very light and crisp. I had a grilled chicken, spinach, sun-dried tomato, parmesan cheese, vinegarette salad. Pretty good. He had a caesar salad.

So we haven't gotten together in a few weeks, and we had a lot to catch up on - Apparently this restaurant closes down between lunch and dinner, but they were very accomodating since we sat there talking till 4:30...

http://www.milanonorth.com/

Overheard at a concert

Verbatim, in which a middle-aged woman is speaking to the performer:

"I am a lesbian, and your songs give me goosebumps".

Monsters of Templeton

So the church lady book club just finished this selection for February.

http://www.laurengroff.com/?display=home

I cannot say enough how great this book is. I loved the story, I loved the writing. Early on in the book, I consciously realized how talented of a writer she is - I really loved it. Read it.

Pretenders 1/ 29/09

The Pretenders opened their "Break up the Concrete" tour here in Albany at a nearly sold out Palace Theater. They played a good mix of their classics and a lot of songs from the new record, (which surprisingly I loved right out of the box). The band sounded great, and of course what can be said about Chrissie Hynde that hasn't already been said? She is the quintessential rock and roll girl...Who doesn't still want to grow up and be her? She seemed like she was enjoying herself up there, and it was also good to see Martin Chambers back with the group on drums. There are a couple clips from this show up on youtube.

Set list:
Boots of Chinese plastic
Talk of the town
Don’t cut your hair
Message of love
Don’t lose faith in me
Love's a mystery
Back on the chain gang
Rosalee
The last ride
Stop your Sobbing
Day after Day
Don’t get me wrong
Tequila
Thumbelina
Break up the concrete
Brass in pocket
Bad boys get spanked
Tattooed love boys
Kid
Precious

the Wait
Up the Neck

They had opening band that I wasn't familiar with 'American Bang', who were good and loud, perfect for an opening act -I think they are based out of Nashville - They have a couple albums out, the latest is called "Move to the Music". Their web page bio calls them 'unruly Southern-fried Garage-Rock' I guess that sums them up pretty good (?!).