We took our first Adirondack camping trip of the year over the 4th of July weekend and tried to make the best of it while dodging raindrops and a million mosquitoes. We were semi successful in staying comfortable with crazy humidity and no pillows, but explored some new places to us in the High Peaks Area and found some definitely worth sharing to all of you who might spend some time up there. We stayed at Sharp Bridge Public Campground just north of North Hudson, NY and all of the places mentioned are within relatively short driving distance from there.
We arrived on a steamy Friday afternoon and, after setting up and going for a swim in the serene and chilly Chapel Pond on Rt 73, we stopped in for our first visit to Green Point Foods in Keene Valley. We walked in not knowing what to expect and after the weekend left as big fans and future regulars. Their operation consists of what they call Homemade Foods + Specialty Goods and it is so refreshing to find people trying make quality food and offering a diverse selection of both to go items and high end pantry items in the High Peaks area. Our first visit was for some cookies, a spicy unfiltered ginger soda and some quinoa tabouleh salad that whetted our appetite for more. The cookies (oatmeal-golden raisin and classic chocolate chip) were both fantastic and the quinoa tabouleh was a nice take on the traditional variety.
We ate breakfast there the next two days and was pleased to see that they used Stumptown Coffee which made for a smooth, rich cold brew to jolt me awake after some questionable sleep. This complemented their varying quiches (zucchini and caramelized onion) and breakfast sandwiches served on homemade English muffins with local eggs and thick chunks of sharp cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. Loved everything about Green Point Foods and we’ll be back soon!
We spent part of our Saturday in the Lake Placid tourist area and snacked on some Adirondack Jack sweet and salty popcorn from the Adirondack Popcorn Co along the way. Crunchy, a hint of maple, very fresh and a much improved version over the name brand. After a drive up Whiteface Mountain (great views even with some cloudiness passing through), we stopped for an early dinner at Liquids and Solids just outside of town. I had heard good things over the last couple of years and was excited to get some food a bit outside of the typical steak/family restaurant scene.
We started with the charcuterie plate with pork terrine and rillette, duck prosciutto, chicken liver terrine, corned beef tongue, toast and cranberry mustard. Everything was tasty but our favorites were the cured duck and the hot pork rillette which tasted kind of like concentrated pulled pork along with the sweet and slightly spicy mustard. Good stuff! Our polenta dish with veggies (asparagus, brussel sprouts etc) was deepy flavored but needed some salt and acid to brighten the whole thing up. Caesar salad came out with the polenta dish and was also missing salt and especially the lemon. Solid showing and I’m sure we’ll stop in again.
Sunday morning following our Green Point Foods breakfast, we made a stop at the Keene Valley Farmer’s Market at Marcy Field to grab some local ingredients to cook back at home. Fledging Crow Farm had a good selection of in season veggies and we grabbed great looking scallions with large bulbs, dinosaur kale, cabbage and ripe tomatoes. We just finished eating and cooking all the items and everything turned out really well so we recommend stopping in if you’re cooking while in the area. Other items of note around the market were tasty dill goat cheese from Asgaard Farm (coincidentally the same place that made the caramels), bunches of hardwood cutting boards, local meats of all different kinds and a good selection of other local foods and crafts. Surprisingly large for the area and open on Sundays through the season.
Our last stop of note was Oscar’s Smokehouse just outside of Lake George. Their products were in bunches of stores around the region and I was really excited to see what the storefront had to offer. We dealt with the glut of traffic around the area on a Sunday around lunch time and grabbed a couple of deli meat sandwiches from the counter, some German potato salad and a couple of meat sticks. MEAT STICKS! We had smoked brisket with smoked provolone and pastrami with habanero cheddar sandwiches on ciabatta rolls and both meats were fantastic. Not over cured or smoked and they were both tender and beefy. German potato salad was The mustard was a bit on the sweet side but still had a kick that made it acceptable. They also had a large selection of other homemade meats for sandwiches and a huge variety of sausages and other cured meats. Great store and we’ll be back on our way through Lake George again!
All in all this was a good trip to one of my favorite vacation spots with the added benefit of new food places to enjoy. Really looking forward to our next trip!