We have spent the last 6 or 7 years driving around and satisfying our curiosity about the US of A, visiting all of the lower 48 states at least once and have seen more of Nebraska, Florida, and the Southwest than anyone I know, but nary a posting about our home town of Albany, NY. Not that it is an uninteresting place, but its often the case that you don't see things that are right under your nose (literally).
On April 3, 2015, for example I was walking down Jay Street on the way to the gallery, and there on the sidewalk, a few houses down, were these wonderful old shoes, apparently left by some well meaning neighbor for someone to make good use of. Used clothes give me the willies but taking a photo is ok. This one was taken as is, with no effort on my part to pose them, proving the point that you don't need to go to Prague or Venice to get a good picture (although it helps, of course).
Sam's on Lark Street...
Up the block from us is Lark Street, the main drag in our section of the city, an area which has tried, unsuccessfully over the past 20 years, to reinvent itself into some kind of upstate Greenwich Village kind of place, but like most places trying to reinvent itself, it takes one step forward and two, sometimes three steps backward. There is frequent business turnover, and presently a quarter of the storefronts are vacant, including both stores at the top of our block, and the last real art gallery is closing this month. Restaurants, bars, tattoo parlors, two or three gift shops, and three second rate pizza places round out the picture. Late at night as the bars empty, our streets are filled with hoards of squealing, howling drunk 20 somethings from the burbs who have parked on our block and at 2am are heading back to their Subarus to drive home or to another bar, hopefully far away. But I'm not here to rant., I'm here to report. Sometimes I just can't help myself. Sam's....
Three blocks from our house on Lark Street is Sam's, one of the last authentic greasy spoons in town, where an old guy can find peace and a bottomless cup of coffee in a questionably well washed cup, greasy eggs and fried potatoes of uncertain vintage that may leave you queasy, even before you've tasted them, and pancakes that photograph well, but were dense, heavy, under cooked, and severely tested Jackie's aversion anything falling outside of her narrow comfort zone. She was brave enough to accompany me on this dangerous assignment, and has nothing but regret about the food, but did find the patrons welcoming and the conversation intelligent and interesting.
The above photo was taken September 13, 2011, when our nephew Billy B. was up visiting for a few days and looking for some action on the wrong side of town. These days, almost all of Albany could qualify as the wrong side of town so we started the day with breakfast at Sam's. I hadn't been back since, but did remember the food to be surprisingly good and have looked forward to returning, but maybe 5 years was too long to wait. The guy waving to us is John who lives across the street from us and judging by his placement in the next photo, he is still there, same seat.
I always kind of liked the 2011 photo and thought I should do a posting on Sam's, but thought it would be incomplete without some food photos, which I never got to, so now that I convinced Jackie to join me on this urban adventure, the job is complete. There is nothing cute about Sam's, but if you are in Albany and looking for the greasiest spoon in town, Sam's won't disappoint.
Bon Appetit
Pablo
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