Saratoga Springs

Easily one of my favorite bridges! From Albany to Saratoga

One of the most charming additions to my trip to Saratoga was trying the natural springs that pop up around town. I probably would've taken them as park decorations instead of fountains had Tom not pointed them out to me. Apparently there are about 20 different mineral springs that were thought to have healing powers back in the 1800s (which was then supplied to bath houses) We sampled 7- the first one being in the racetrack called Big Red Spring.


I grabbed a paper cup and went to the faucet. I took a sip and immediately spit it back out. It had a burning sensation to it that was not pleasant. A couple of kids came by and also spit it out. Not a good start. The next few were also rather unpleasant. One spelled like rotten eggs. Some like feet. Another was naturally carbonated and felt like your tongue was being attacked.



It was only til the last drive around town that I got to try a decent tasting water, which is actually the spring water they use to bottle and sell. However you can bring jugs and bottles to the site that is located in one of the very beautiful parks and fill up. I saw one guy with about 10 Poland Spring (for shame!) gallon jugs filled with the free water.

Anyway, on Saturday night we headed to town to have dinner at One Caroline which is also the address. They use locally grown produce and meat that is probably organic too. They have live music from 7:30pm onward. We arrived at 6pm and were determined to stay at least til they started. After getting through the specials recited by our very nervous waiter (perhaps it was his first day?), we decided to share an antipasti plate which was amazingly satisfying.



This was a huge plate of cheeses (provolone cubes and bleu cheese), prosciutto, salami, olives, figs, crostini topped with pate, caramelized onions and capers; bruschetta with fresh mozzarella drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinegar, roasted red peppers, artichokes and some fresh greens. We also shared a farmer's salad that had beets, feta and onions. For an entree, he got the sticky chicken & rice, I got jambalaya. Unfortunately I was so full from the appetizers (again!) and couldn't enjoy the jambalaya but it was still good despite it missing the advertised crawfish.

For dessert, we headed over to the Ben & Jerry's.

I got Chocolate Therapy (chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and swirls of chocolate pudding) which is an in-store only special.

We raced back to the hotel to try to go for a late-night swim but found out the pool closed at 9pm. It was 10:06. So I passed out. Still a great day/night.