Thanksgiving Breads and Sweet Stuff

North Woods Bread Co. is gonna make your Thanksgiving spread just a little more special with the above offerings. Hurry, you must get your orders in by Sunday, November, 20.

Blessed Are The Cheese Makers

When we set out a couple years ago to discover the North Country’s cheese scene, we were udderly blown away. The cream of the crop is right here in our Adirondack backyard, with the North Country Creamery, Asgaard Farm and Dairy and the Sugar House Creamery taking the best in show ribbons.

And you can visit all three in one outing with the annual Essex Country self-guided driving tour, which follows the scenic Ausable River Valley this coming October 9th, a Sunday!

You get to sample some extraordinary cheese, meet the cheese makers and get up close and friendly with goats and cows. It’s an awesome day out for all ages. There’s also food for sale.

From the official press release:

“Three locations: North Country Creamery (931 Mace Chasm Rd., Keeseville), Asgaard Farm & Dairy (74 Asgaard Way, Au Sable Forks) and Sugar House Creamery (18 Sugar House Way, Upper Jay). The cheesemakers of Essex County are delighted to announce the Third Annual Essex County Cheese Tour! This self-guided driving tour follows the scenic Ausable River Valley through the foothills of the Adirondacks. It’s the perfect excuse to get out and soak up the fall foliage while also treating your taste buds. On-farm tours and cheese samples are free! Cheesy lunch fare is available to purchase, and farm stores will be open for sales. This year, those that have their “passport” stamped by all three creameries, will have a chance to win one of three prizes. For more information email essexcountycheesetour@gmail.com”

Schroon Lake: A Not So Secret Foodie and Drink Destination

Many locals and summer visitors have discovered there’s an amazing array of gourmet goodies right here in Schroon which can elevate any meal. The foodie’s week starts each Monday, with the freshest of produce at the Schroon Farmer’s Market.  As the season rolls on, the array of fresh veggies, fruits and herbs gets better.

Among the vendors are Dutch Dessert Bakery, Winding Brook Natural Meats, Juniper Hill Farm produce, Black Rooster Maple Syrup and Drinkwine produce. The market runs all summer until August 29, 9am to 1pm, on the lawn in front of the Town hall.

New this year,  we highly recommend the micro greens available from Anthony Ruiz and his Gather It Up Farms. Just a few pinches added to a salad or any dish will add a sensational taste and crunch that enlivens any meal.

Schroon Laker recently reviewed the variety of microgreens: “Sunflower, which, for my palate, had a nutty taste, with a crunchy and juicy mouth feel, to Beets, wow – an explosive taste of beets seconds after it hit my taste buds. The microgreens version of Red Russian Kale was mild and sweet. The Arugula was my favorite: an intense pepper bomb.”  Another surprise was how long the refrigerated shelf life is for these greens.

Order directly from Anthony at his Giant Mountain Studio in Schroon. Prices start at $2.50 for a small container.

Who doesn’t love fresh baked bread? North Woods Bread Company has had a huge impact and filled a previous void on the local foodie scene. Located at the back of Pinecone Mercantile, on Main Street, follow your nose – the daily bakes (five days a week) are posted on a blackboard in front of the store.

We are talking about sweet treats and bread that you will rave about, tell your friends and have you buying extra to share with others.

We’ve tasted the multi-grain boule with cranberries and walnuts, sourdough white, olive-oil rustic with Italian herbs, multigrain with an amazing array of seeds, honey wheat, the sesame batard,  the cheese scone, dried onion boule, parmesan cheese boule (mydaughter’s favorite), apple rye, blueberry-lemon scones, and fresh croissants that seem to be made of air (and butter).

But wait, there’s more inside this little treasure: some of the best local cheeses in North Country, killer small batch flavored olive oils and roasted coffee beans that any coffee lover would be proud to bring home.

On the olive oil front,  we love them all:  Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Lemon, Italian Herb. Garlic, Sun-dried Tomato and Habanero.

As for cheese: shut the front door. Three ofthe ‘Dacks finest artisanal cheese producers take center stage in the small fridge on the counter of the bakery. A variety of cheeses, farm to your table, are available from Sugar House Creamery (Upper Jay), Asgaard Farm & Dairy (AuSable Forks), and the North Country Creamery (Keeseville).

And we almost forgot their homemade granola in flavors such as banana nut and apple spice. The bread and baked goods change on a weekly and or daily basis. Baker Edward Marks’ goodies are often sold out less than two hours after opening!

Laura Veryanxious loves her free range hens and their cage free eggs. But lucky for us, she is willing to part with a few of them. If you're driving on Route 9  -- between Alder Meadow Road and the NY State police station, look for an unassuming little house with a FRESH EGGS FOR SALE sign. Laura is a friendly farmer who will be happy to introduce your kids to some spunky egg layers and their amazing hairstyles. 

Eggs are an amazing bargain at just $3 a dozen.

From Schroon it’s just a short skip and a jump to North Hudson’s Adirondack Buffalo Company, where you will actually see the wild Buffalo roam.

The Adirondack Buffalo Company is owned and operated by Doreen and Steve Ossenkop.  Their farm, nestled in the heart of the ‘Dacks on Blue Ridge Road, is home to a herd of about forty American Bison  (aka: Buffalo). Pull over into the shop’s parking lot overlooking the vast property to see bisons and their babies blissfully grazing.  The store sells healthy bison meat burger patties,  steaks, roasts, stew meat, and ribs. Buffalo meat is naturally low in fat. Our favorite cut is their New York strip. DELICIOUS!!!

Not a red meat eater? The store also features handmade jams, relishes, sauces and baked goods, gift items and antiques.

Good Libations: Schroon Lake was blessed by the craft brew beer Gods when Paul Mrocka put his Paradox Brewery in our midst.

There is so much to say about Paradox, (just look through past posts in our Food and Drink section), but the best way to experience Paradox is to take a trip to their big beer tentand dive in.

The Adirondack style biergarten is a destination for relaxed and convivial outdoor drinking. Order up a flight of 6 delicious micro brews, made right on the premises – then try to decide which one you like best.

It’s a family and dog friendly place (soft drinks for kids and dog treats)  with tetherball, corn toss, and a volleyball net set up in the back yard. 

While there you can taste another Schroon Foodie secret, their giant hand made with beer salted pretzels – made in Schroon Lake.

A most welcomed addition on the drinks front is Jared Doyle’s new Schroon Lake Wine and Liquor store.

Besides a wide variety of the most popular wines and spirits, Jared carries a very special hand crafted treat: Wyoming Whiskey. It’s hard to get your hands on this, but Jared has a special connection. Made by Jared’shigh school mate Dave "Faz" DeFazio, it comes from the first legal distillery in Wyoming.

Now in its second season, Vine and Barley has been getting a lot of attention and rave reviews for the fresh menu of food and drink in Schroon Lake. Patti Mehm’s Main Street establishment features award winning New York state wines (try a flight of 6 with a delicious charcuterie platter), refreshing wine slushies,local beers, and lite fare.  Patty tries to source food locally whenever possible. Try the artisanal smoked salmon and several varieties of North Country cheeses from an Adirondack dairy cooperative.

Know of another local treat? Tell us in comments.

The Tale of a Long Hot Summer and 1,000 Wine Slushies

Mike and Merle and the 1,000th Wibne Slushie

On those scorching days of summer, Schroon Lakers had many options to quench their thirsts, And one of the most popular ways turned out to be the unique and bright colored offerings from Vine and Barley, Patti Mehm’s cool tavern on Main Street.

We are talking about her now famous wine slushies, an adult version of what you might get at a 7-11, but so much more decadent – and alcoholic.

They come in flavors ranging Strawberry Lemonade, fresh Berry, the Tropical Rita (white wine base, V&B’s version of a tropical margarita without tequila) and Senorita and Strawberry Mango. At $7 a pop, V&B did a mighty business.

So much so that they sold their 1,000th yesterday to Merle, a visitor from New Jersey, who also ordered the 1, 0001. Bar tender Mike Dobbel treated Merle on the milestone purchase, according to Patti Mehm.

“It’s been a very good year for us,” Patti told Schroon Laker today.

“We didn’t sell 1,000 slushies last year, and there are still many more weeks in the season ahead. Beer and wine have also been big sellers for us, but we can keep an actual count of the slushies.”

“People love them. They have really taken off. Friends keep referring their friends to try them”.

V&B, above the Towne Store overlooking Main Street, is open till 6 pm on Sunday and 2 pm - 8 pm Monday to Thursday and 2 pm - 9 pm Friday and Saturday. They specialize in light fare, including soups, salads, vine ripe Caprese, locally smoked salmon and their meat and cheese platters.

So congrats to Merle, Patti, Mike and all of the gang at V&B on your next 1,000 and many more in the years ahead!