Cajun Country In Schroon Lake

Crawfish-Boil.jpg

We can almost smell the crawfish boil from here! And that means it’s the annual Witherbee's Carriage House Bayou Bob Crawfish Boil, starting today and going through Saturday.

Bill and Patty have had thousands of pounds of crawfish flown in from Louisiana for this special event, which memorializes Louisiana native and long time Schroon  Lake resident Bobby Matchutas.

Bob taught Bill and Patty all of the secrets to a traditional Louisiana Crawfish Boil, including a dizzying array of spices and the precise timing required to achieve that authentic Cajun taste

Schroon  Laker Joe Steiniger has the terrific back story behind the Boil on his North  Country Rambler blog. It's a fun read.

For $12.95 you get a pound of crawfish, corn, potato and assorted veggies.

Tonight  there's Cajun music by 2 Guys DJ and The Adirondack Bluegrass Band performs on Saturday night.

Witherbee’s Carriage House 581 US Route 9. 518-532-9595

Chili Cooks Up Some Big Bucks

Picture: The chefs of the 2012 Great Schroon Lake Chili Cook Off

By any measure, the first ever Schroon Laker Chili Cook Off was a huge success. The incredible offerings from the home cooks and area restaurants were simply delicious. But the best part was the incredible amount of money raised to help support the Schroon Lake EMS Squad: $550!

And a huge congrats goes to organizer and local restaurantuer Shelby Davis. By her sheer tenacity and will power to make this event the success it was, the EMS squad and the community at large were able to benefit. Time and again, the folks of Schroon and surrounding towns have come out, dug deep into their pockets, to help local charities, organizations and families in need.

Shelby -- and her partner Chris Palmatier (from Mr P's Mountain Smokehouse and Shelby's Kitchen Therapy), have been here a little over 8 months. Yet they have whole heartedly embraced their new community and given back to it in spades. They are not alone. Many of our restaurants, other businesses and residents -- without hestitation -- are always there to step up to the plate and help out. We salute you all.

Here is a full list of all of the winners and runners up:

Best Meaty Chili

1st Place Trophy – Witherbee’s Carriage House, Witherbee’s Buckboard Chili
2nd Place TIE – Paradox General Store and Cafe, Paradox Beef Chili and Paradox Turkey Chili
3rd Place – Linda Gomes, Nat’cho Grandma’s Chili

Best Veggie Chili

1st Place Trophy – Witherbee’s Carriage House, Carriage House Vegetarian Chili
2nd Place - Fred Pospisil, Winter Trekkin Vegetarian Chili  

People’s Choice Award

1st Place Trophy – Ruthie Peterson, Hot Stuff  21
2nd Place – Mr. P’s Mountain Smokehouse, Mr. P’s Award Winning Chili
3rd Place – Beth Buell, Nat’cho Grandpa’s Chili