Parting Glass, Saratoga Springs, NY

This is another restaurant that I had visited in the past, though this one was more recently, on temporary duty last spring.  I wanted to bring Kari here because I thought she would like it and it would remind us of our recent trip to the UK.

Parting Glass is an Irish Pub that made us feel like we could be in the middle of Ireland.  It had a variety of decorations, all with an Irish feel to them and the smallish windows made the place feel cozy.  They had an excellent beverage selection.

I had the Davidson Brothers IPA.  Davidson Brother's is a brewpub in Glens Falls, NY.  We will have to visit them...

The beer is a British style IPA vice an American IPA.  There's a lot of confusion about this so it's important for you hopheads (like me) to realize that a British IPA is going to be smoother and less bitter than an American IPA.  This distinction is a recent phenomenon brought on by great American brewers going nuts with hops to make extremely bitter and hoppy ales (which I do love.)  I also love a good British IPA and this one brought me right back to the pubs in England.  It was an excellent example of the style.  I gave it a 4.0.

http://www.davidsonbrothers.com/2009/08/ipa/

Kari had the Lake Placid UBU Ale which is an English Strong Ale.  We also gave this a 4.0 (what do you expect from a gold medal winner!)

http://www.ubuale.com/

We were both feeling great after a good day at the track and casino.  BTW, the thoroughbred track is not where the casino is.  The casino is at the harness track a couple miles down the road.  Just so you know.

Anyway, our waitress was handling 24 people at various tables (yes, I counted) and she still managed to be friendly and attentive, as well as keeping the service speed as fast as she could.  I'm assuming the dinner help was late or the dinner rush early as she got a helper after about 30 minutes.  Her name was Suzi or Susan and she really held the show together there.

I ordered The Rasher, which is a egg batter dipped and fried sandwich with irish bacon, ham, cheddar and a delicious spicy mustard.  It tasted as good as it sounds.  It was not too greasy and easy to eat despite being fried.  I gave it a 4.  It came with decent steak fries which were served hot, just like they should be.

Kari had a Salmon Burger which was okay, but nothing special (score it a 3).  She got it with Sweet Potato Fries which were excellent.  They were hand cut, peels on and super hot.  She gave them a 4.5.

This restaurant has turned into a reliable place for good food, great atmosphere and great beer.  We will almost certainly come again - we'll have to since neither of us had the fish and chips which were top notch the last time I had them!

http://www.partingglasspub.com/