Sharks Road Trip

Being able to combine road food and football is the best of two worlds.  I work in the broadcast booth for the New York Sharks, a women’s professional football team.  One of the first things I think of when the season’s schedule comes out is to see what the road games are and then to start making a list of places to eat.  Last Saturday the team was playing in Schenectady, New York to take on the New York Nemesis.  
I went through the Road Food forums and other foodie websites for ideas.  Travelling from Boston, I decided to hit Nick’s Nest in Holyoke, MA., Ted’s Fish Fry in Watervliet, NY, and Price Chopper in Slingerlands, NY.
 
Unfortunately it was pouring when I got to Nick’s Nest so I didn’t bother to take out my camera.  Despite the weather the place was very busy.  I ordered a chili dog and a cup of baked beans.  The atmosphere of the place was quite interesting with a feel of something out of the 30’s.  I must say that the hot dog was only OK and while the baked beans were nice and hot, they were lacking any sweetness in flavor.  They tasted like they were made without any brown sugar.

By the time I got to the New York border, the skies started to clear.  I originally wanted to go to Bob & Ron’s Fish Fry in Albany but they are closed on Saturday’s. Instead I headed to Ted’s Fish Fry for what I guess is a regional thing?  They serve a fish sandwich which consists of a fish fillet that is cut very thin and breaded. It is fried and then served in a hot dog bun with a chili/cocktail sauce on top.  It kind of looks like a strange hot dog.  But it is was quite tasty and came with a side order of either french fries or onion rings for only $4.
 




In the past when I had travelled through Albany, one of my favorite stops was Platt’s Place, a deli across from Colonie Center.  They had some really nice triple decker sandwiches and had been around for quite a few decades.  But around 10 years ago they disappeared and I have been scouring the Internet to see if they were re-opening somewhere else.  For quite some time I could not find anything but recently saw a few mentions of Platt’s on a web board.  It seems that family members that started Price Chopper, the supermarket chain in Upstate New York (where Rachel Ray started) got some of the recipes from the Platt’s family and started a restaurant inside the supermarket in Slingerlands.  The take-out restaurant is located inside the supermarket right next to the deli department.
 
 
I ordered the Vincentian, a triple decker sandwich, consisting of corned beef, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Russian dressing.  The sandwich came in a red-checkered box, along with a half-sour pickle and a bag of home-made potato chips.  It was a very nice little package that they gave you.
 
 
 As for the sandwich itself, sometimes memories just don’t always match up.  It was a good sandwich but not as good as I remember.  I would go back, but maybe try something else next time.  They made the sandwich with the corned beef and swiss cheese in the bottom layer and then on the top level they just had the tomato, lettuce, and dressing.


To say the least, I was pretty stuffed by game time.  At least I don't have to talk, just work the sound board.  That prevented our listeners from any unwanted burping...  It was a good ballgame with the Sharks defeating the Nemesis 21-7.  The Sharks next road game will be in Philadelphia on May 2^nd.  I already have a list of places that I might hit, but if anyone has any suggestions I am willing to listen.
 
 
 

Great little regional report, with fine photography.

I spent many weekends in the Albany/Troy/Schenectedy area in the 1970s, but I never caught on to the fish-fry thing.  We could use some places like that around here.

How many games does the league play each season?  Seems like you will have a lot of roadfood opportunities!

Enjoyed your report. Just wonder when the Sharks will play the Jets. That would be quite a rumble.

Maybe the Jets should look through the Sharks for a new quarterback.  :)

Great report nysharks!  I would be all over that fish-dog or whatever it is.  Looks scrumptious.  Welcome to RF!

 Thanks to all for the kind words.  The Sharks play in the Independent Womens' Football League (IWFL).  Believe it or not, there are 53 teams around the country including Canada.  They play by NFL rules except the ball is a bit smaller because women's hands are smaller.

Unfortunately they only have an 8-game regular season so there are only 4 road games per year so road food opportunites are in short supply.  But the Sharks have a history of success and I usually get another road trip or two in during the playoffs.

I must confess that I went to grad school in Albany for 2 years and never knew about the fish fries or the mini-hot dogs in the area.  Between studies and no car, that did put a crimp in my road food exploration but I did get to explore a few bars with my classmates.  But now with the Internet, GPS, and a car I have been able to make up for lost time.

Do you know if yall play the Dallas Diamonds ?? They're my home team and I think this season is the strive for  FIVE !!! 

nysharks-
Very nice report.  That fish/hot dog thing is something I have never seen before.

I just looked up the schedule and the Sharks don't come to Pittsburgh this season, since the Passion got to New York instead.  If they had, I would have offered to meet you for a meal or two.
 
As for Philly, I can't recommend Tony Luke's any higher.  Just a terrific place!

Nancypalooza


Maybe the Jets should look through the Sharks for a new quarterback.  :)

Great report nysharks!  I would be all over that fish-dog or whatever it is.  Looks scrumptious.  Welcome to RF!

Kellen Clemens of the Jets is from the University of Oregon and grew up in the ranch country of Burns in southeast Oregon. if he gets protection, I think he will be a strong contributor for the Jets.

 

buffetbuster


nysharks-
Very nice report.  That fish/hot dog thing is something I have never seen before.

I just looked up the schedule and the Sharks don't come to Pittsburgh this season, since the Passion got to New York instead.  If they had, I would have offered to meet you for a meal or two.
 
As for Philly, I can't recommend Tony Luke's any higher.  Just a terrific place!

Thanks for the invite!  The Sharks played in Pittsburgh last year and despite a tough loss I had a good time there.  I hit Primanti Brothers, Robert Whorley, and the Original Hot Dog.

I did try to go to Pierogies Plus, but they are closed on weekends.  I did try and stop by on Saturday just in case they were open.  What an interesting looking place.  It used to be a gas station and the only thing missing were the pumps.  There was an elderly lady sitting outside peeling potatoes and I tried to talk with her a bit to see if I could scam a pierogi (I have no shame) but she didn't speak English.

On route to Pittsburgh I also hit Dienner's in Lancaster, and Yocco's in Allentown.

Maybe it's a good thing we don't have that many road trips...

Nice report.  Please keep them coming.  Welcome to RF.

nysharks-
You did very well in Pittsburgh and hit some of our best Roadfood stops.  If the sharks come back here in 2010, look me up.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to more reports from you!

Very nice report and some great pictures.  That fish sandwich in a hot dog bun looks very good.  Thanks for some good ideas for places to visit when going through Albany.

The Sharks played in Philadelphia on saturday, May 2nd.  The game had a 6:30pm start so the broadcast crew drove down the morning of the game.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of food on this trip.  

The first stop was in one of Brooklyn's Chinatown to grab a few char sui baus for the road.  Also grabbed a few other dim sum items from Joy's K Seafood, one of my favorite places.  What makes the Chinatowns in Brooklyn (there are 2) so good, is the food is as good as in Manhattan but the prices are cheaper and probably most important, you can find parking.

I had gotten enough food to keep me busy munching as I drove down the New Jersey Turnpike.  But before I crossed into Pennsylvania, I made a stop at Mart Soft Pretzel Bakery in Cinnaninson, New Jersey.  They used to sell pretzels at the old Pennsauken Mart but they were kicked out along with dozens of other vendors when they tore down the mart to make for a hockey rink that never got built.  The land is still empty.  The pretzels there are a perfect example of the soft pretzels that Philadelphia and South Jersey are noted for.  The place is located in a little strip mall but they are busy.  All they sell are soft pretzels and you see people drive into the lot and then leave with a bagful of the soft warm pretzels.  They are so good with a little bit of mustard on top.  There is a Subway store next to them and they don't get as much traffic.

I got to the ballpark about 3 hours before game time to set-up the radio equipment and get ready for the pre-game show.  The Sharks pretty much dominated the game and won 33-7.

The on-air talent had wanted cheesesteaks so I spent some time the night before on the Web looking for some places to try after the game.  Since we were going to be in North Philadelphia I figured that I would look for something near the park.  Personally, I like Pat's in South Philly but to drive down there and look for parking was not something I cared to do.  I had read that there were 2 places in North Philly that were noted for their cheesesteaks and were right across the street from each other, kind of like Pat's and Geno's.  The different reviews were very positive so off we went to Dalessandro's and Chubby's.

Being the foodie in the group, it was my intention to go to both places and get a cheesesteak.  They just wanted to go to a place to sit down and eat one.  It was around 11pm and both places were quite busy, but Chubby's had some booths.  I ordered a cheesesteak with onions and provolone from both places.  Both sandwiches looked almost exactly the same.  

But at Dalessandro's they chop up the meat finely.  I wished I took my camera into the place as they had a pile of chopped up steak about 1 1/2 feet high on the grill.  As for the taste, they were both good, but not great.  I preferred Chubby's as Dalessandro's had some extra seasoning in it that I wasn't expecting and didn't make it a more positive experience.  If I was in the neighborhood I might stop by, otherwise a trip to South Philly or Tony Luke's would be in order.

The next road trip will be to Medway, Massachusetts on May 30th.  It is near the Rhode Island border and I am thinking of some classic Rhode Island roasted chicken dinners.

nysharks,

I just noticed your trip report for the first time.

Teds is one of my favorite stops in Buffalo, and I would probably have to say one of best, if not the best onion rings I've ever had.
 
I remember Platts. We used to go there back in the early 90's when I would visit my brother who lives in Albany. By the time my mother moved up there in 1996, I'm almost certain it was gone by that time or shortly afterwards...
If you decide on one of those Rhode Island Chicken dinner, I would have to recommend Wrights Farms in Burrilville.. I used to really enjoy The Bocce Club in Woonsocket, the Sterns wrote about it in their older roadfood books, but the last time I was there was back in 2000 just before I moved to Rhode Island. I heard a few years back they had some "food poisoning" issues, they're still in business so I can only assume the matter was rectified.

I like Village Haven in North Smithfield RI , Wrights is bigger but
I like the spices on the chicken at Village Haven better. The two Restaurant are 10 mile a part from each other. Not quite like
Pat's and Gino's but close.

I have been to the Bocce Club recently and thought the food was pretty good.  Actually I prefer it to Wrights Farms, but then again maybe I like the extra tang of food poisoning.  Wrights must be doing something right though, the place is huge and it is usuallly busy.  Kinds of reminds me of Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus, Mass. in the old days.  Alas Hilltop is more of a ghost town now.

Thanks for the tip on Village Haven.  I have also been to the Pines, but still prefer the Bocce Club so far.  For those not in the know, you don't go for a Rhode Island chicken dinner if you are on a carb-free diet.  

Excellent report and photos.  I'd love to see more.

That fish sandwich really threw me until I realized that I'd eat the very same thing on a hamburger bun.

Maybe it was the color red on a hot dog bun that scared me.

Shape shouldn't matter.

You wrote this...

 

nysharks


One of the first things I think of when the season’s schedule comes out is to see what the road games are and then to start making a list of places to eat. 

 
 

...but I thought of the (single) Travelin' Man and heard this.

 

 

(Now, if you're actually a male versus a female, I'm still thinking of

The Travelin Man only this time I'm laughing out loud.  )*

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

* Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Enjoyable report, and I love the sign for Ted's.

The Sharks had a controlled scrimmage up in Schenectady, New York this past weekend.  Driving 3 hours to watch players practice is not my idea of a worthwhile time, but it became more of an excuse to go hit the road looking for some good eats.

The first stop was to Gus's Hot Dogs in Watervilet.  The place is on a side street in a working class neighborhood.  Some might take offense, but the place is a dump!  The little red shack would make a good illustration for the definition of delapidated in the dictionary.  But on the plus side, they served the Capitol Region's classic of mini-hot dogs with meat sauce.  There is usually an argument for which place serves the best mini-hot dogs and Gus is usually one of the contenders.  It can't be too bad as there was a line when I got there around lunch time on a cold sunny day.

 

I ordered 2 mini-dogs at only 65 cents each and a sausage sandwich.  I have been to Famous Lunch quite a few times before so I kind of knew what to expect with the mini-hot dogs, but When I first took off the wrapping I thought that they sold me a hot dog that had half of it broken off.  I poked around a bit and saw that it was just a very small hot dog.  As for the taste,I can't say I was impressed as others have been.  I would prefer to be able to taste the hot dog, but the taste was overwhelmed by the meat sauce, the onions, and especially the bun.



As for the sausage sandwich, it was very tasty with grilled onions and peppers.  It consisted of an Italian sausage patty served on a hamburger bun.  It was good and I would get it again, but I think I prefer the sausage in its casing to give it a nice snap with every bite.

I still had plenty of time to get to the field and I was still a bit peckish, so I looked at my trusty GPS and found a Hot Dog Charlie's was nearby.  HDC also serves mini-hot dogs with a meat sauce and so I ordered 2.  A sign above the cash register said they had a clam roll for $2.99.  Going against my better judgement, I ordered one.  Unlike Gus's, Charlie's building was relatively new or renovated, clean, and well-lit.  The kitchen is open and you can see them prepare your food.



I ate the food in my car, and thought that the hot dogs were much better than Gus's.  There was a better balance of the ingredients and you could taste the hot dog.  I still prefer Famous Lunch, but this was a close second.  As for the clam roll, what can you expect for $2.99.  They reminded me of the fried clams you used to get at Hojo's.

After spending 3 hours in the cold watching the scrimmage and doing a few interviews with some of the players (found out that one of the rookies for the Sharks had moved to New York from Dallas because she won VH1's "I Want to Work for Diddy" reality tv show) I headed back to the city.  Unfortunately it was too late to hit more hot dog places (like in Kingston) and I was kind of getting hot dogged out.  For dinner I went to a Price Chopper supermarket and bought my favorite Albany deli sandwich the Vincentian.  I wrote about this in the beginning of this thread and it was just as good as before.

The 2010 women's football season starts this weekend, but the Sharks have a first week bye.  They open their season in Philadelphia next week.  Their other road games are in Carteret, New Jersey, Boston, and Pittsburgh.  So if anyone has any road food suggestions for these areas, please feel free to post them. 

welcome back. Looking forward to hearing more.

I had to look back; that is a beautiful sandwich.  Sorry about the disappointing dogs!

Gus's hot dog wasn't terrible and I really wanted to like it, but the other ingredients overwhelmed the hot dog.  On the plus side, it really is an interesting road side stand in a gritty neighborhood.  Still there was a line of people there, so there are quite a few people who differ with my opinion.

nice reports nysharks.
glad to see you didn't disappear.
looking forward to many more.

Nice photos, sharks, but that Vincentian triple decker sandwich doesn't look very appetizing (as you pointed out).  The corned beef appears to be a grocery-store deli sliced product  .

nysharks


The 2010 women's football season starts this weekend, but the Sharks have a first week bye.  They open their season in Philadelphia next week.  Their other road games are in Carteret, New Jersey, Boston, and Pittsburgh.  So if anyone has any road food suggestions for these areas, please feel free to post them. 

There's a TON of stuff already on ere about Pittsburgh & Boston and Northern NJ. Use the SEARCH FUNCTION and you'll find more places than you could cover in a lifetime of Football Seasons.

Ah yes, we're going to watch the Dallas Diamonds play tomorrow night... Looking very forward to it... Those gals are TOUGH ! 

How are the Jersey Justice ladies? A force in the league?

I think I would have enjoyed a lot of that food.  Nice photos, too.