Red Front: Best Pizza in Capital Region (says Mr. Husband)

We are always and eternally on the hunt for the best pizza ever. Mr. Husband eats like a five-year-old, so with that comes an insatiable love of all things pizza. He stumbled upon Red Front Restaurant in downtown Troy, home of the Cob Pizza. A cob pizza has the sauce on top.

We did not order the cob (as my five-year-old-eating husband was afraid being that it is new and foreign to him), but we did order what we believe to be the best pizza we've had yet ever. The pizza was sweet and the topings seemed to be so fresh and chopped into pizza-topping-specialty sizes that they added additional delight to the palette. We got the works and added lots of meats. Mr. Husband rules when it comes to pizza ordering. We used to fight about it as I like mushrooms and olives, but we don't anymore. I sat down. I sit down. I let him have what he wants. He is a simple man, and pizza is one of his things.

Red Front is an old spot, and it is so friendly as to be like walking into a warm hug. There are TVs for sports fans and a lovely lineup of draft beers. I had the Brooklyn Summer Lager. The pint glass was sexy, and that always makes the beer just a little bit more fun.

We sat at a high table in the front of the bar. The front door of Red Front was open, inviting folks in off the street. There are two other dining rooms--the place is made to meet the public's need. With pizza this good, they probably fill the place on Friday nights.

As a bonus, the bathrooms are clean and smell terrific (every time I use the word "terrific," I hear the commercial from the 70s about the shampoo named "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific." Thank you, 1970's.) For a place that seems like it's old--the building seems old but is fresher than you expect-the bathroom was a nice surprise. See, I do not rate an eating experience on the food alone. The bathroom must also reflect a clean environment. You can tell a lot about a person and an establishment by the bathroom. I totally live by that rule.

And the restaurant has this funny little pizza-making guy on the red front and sides. I trust this funny little pizza-making guy and he didn't let me down.

The menu is extensive and not only pizza because while they are famous for the cob pizza, this is an Italian restaurant. But we went for the pizza, and it was inexpensive. We ordered six slices of "the works" for $13.50. We also ordered garlic-cheese bread, which also totally delivered on taste but was the most messy garlic-cheese bread ever to eat. So what. It was The Yum.

Mr. Husband was happy. Izzy was happy. The beer was draft (could have been a tad bit colder), and the bill was not overwhelming at all. We loved this place. Mr. Husband wouldn't shut up about his declarations about "best pizza ever." And I know he was being truthy, because he said, "I'd even pick this up on the way home from work." Shut up! That's damn fine pizza because Mr. Husband is thinking and planning for dinner without being prompted. I hear angels singing.

This is another hidden gem. This spot has never come up in search results for "best pizza" or whatever Boolean phrase for food we have slammed into a search engine. Today, we got lucky. And we were rewarded with such a fine pizza surprise.

After dinner, we took a walk, or "urban hike" as my buddy Bhavesh used to call it, through downtown Troy. We stumbled upon something fantastic (coming up next!), and Izzy skipped and danced down the tree-lined sidewalks. This area is such a great example of "revitalization." Every time we venture over the Hudson to Troy, NY, we are surprised and pleased. We find something new. There is always something new hidden in this old, little town.

Do You Want to Build a Family Sing-Along: Scotia Cinema

The Scotia Cinema is a family movie theater in Scotia, NY that is an inexpensive, fun way to spend the afternoon. We went there this winter after building a snowman to sing "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" with Anna from Frozen. Not the "real" Anna, but the real one-on-screen Anna. She was hanging out for a while in Scotia. Who knew?

That's right! The Scotia Cinema, a totally family-friendly cinema, offers a family-sing-along with musical kid movies. For anyone whose little princess is obsessed with Frozen, singing along with the movie was The Most. We can't wait for the next sing-along movie opportunity. We will always go to there for the Scotia movie funtimes.

The theater is small, cute, and family-owned just for your family. The movie prices are inexpensive and the theater is clean and quaint (see photo below of screen). We were so pleased to find this gem hidden in our own backyard. I'm not sure it's really hidden (it's actually on a main street), but I think it's not well known due to limited marketing. Everyone should know how awesome this place is--it was a Scotia local yokel who told me about the theater. He said we'd love it. He was right.

Here are some more details you should know before you go, from the Scotia Cinema website About page: http://www.scotiacinema.net/scotia_cinema_about.htm "We obtain our films normally between 1 and 2 months after their opening date and charge an admission of about half of the area's first run theaters. Our concessions are also much more reasonably priced."

Note to those who go, I believe it is a cash-only theater. However, you won't need much cash. Tickets are around five bucks and popcorn is a dollar or two for a container. No need to drain the bank account for this mini-adventure.

We'll be heading there tomorrow for a showing of "Mr. Peabody & Sherman." This weekend is a "down" weekend filled with video games, organizing our house, and cleaning bathrooms. So for a quick adventure away from cleaning products and laundry, we'll head to Scotia and get our inexpensive movie-groove on.

Photo from Scotia Cinema Webiste: http://www.scotiacinema.net/scotia_cinema_about.htm

Beer on a Barge and Walking the Hudson

We were planning to go to a little festival in the hamlet of Spencertown, NY today. Rain came and while it does a darn fine job of turning everything the most verdantly green ever, it has a habit of thwarting outdoor festival plans. The festival is moved to next weekend, so Mr. Husband came up with a very quick and easy alternative plan. He surprised me. I'm the planner. I'm the one. It now appears that my position as Adventure Planning Family Go Supervisor may be in jeopardy. Ok, hardly, but he did a super job.

There is this trail that runs alongside I-787 from Watervliet, NY to downtown Albany. "What is that damn trail?" I think nearly every day that I travel on I-787. You can see it while you are stuck in your stupid car on your way to your important job. You can see it while racing home at night from picking up kid(s) from school--it mocks you as you scramble your brain with thoughts of what to make for dinner. I think about it so much that my mind is walking along it and happy instead of driving when I am driving. But I have had yet to go to there physically.

Today, all of this changed. Boom. Just like that. Mr. Husband not only suggested it but he also made it happen by demonstrating some expert family-organizational skills. I didn't push. He actioned the plan. We walked about 2-4 miles on the Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail. For those fond of maps, you can see the entire trail, of which we did a very small portion, here. We started out by locating 4th Avenue in Watervliet. When you get to 4th Avenue, head toward the river to run into the trail head. You'll go under a creepy little concrete structure and you'll think "bridge!" and then you'll think maybe it's not a bridge. I think it's a bridge of some sort.

For a day that threatened rain and killed festival opportunities, it was a gloriously sunny day with big, fluffy clouds and a sweet breeze to keep the air from ever getting stuffy. I dressed my daughter and I in pants and long sleeves. I was too conservative, but we were never uncomfortable. Because, like, you care about that kind of point. To the trail!

It's so well-maintained! Like every park or trail we've ever encountered in The Capital Region. I am always amazed at the lack of litter. It makes me think that the people around here really care about the place in which they live. I like that. I will join them. I will care, too.

We walked and walked with the Hudson River on our left and the very loud highway on our right. Loud? Yes. Disturbing? Only for as long as it takes to learn to tune it out. And to remember that this gorgeous walk is beside a busy highway, which is often a place overlooked, abandoned, and filled with trash. Rejoice! Walking trail with a canopy-of-birds cacophony and waving leaves that tickle the air. Great use of land, Capital Region. Well done.

We walked way past Green Bridge that leads to Troy, NY. This bridge is probably not called Green Bridge, but I can't figure it out online and we didn't do a good job documenting during the hike. I didn't know I would start a blog until about an hour and a half after this photo was taken. I will do a better job or fire myself. Right now, I am totally on probation. Trust.

The trail just goes on and on and on. All the way to downtown Albany. There are picnic tables and benches along the way in little spots of beauty. There are bikers going back and forth and alerting you to "on your left" to let you get out of their way. Share the path! There are kids learning to ride their bikes. There are happy families everywhere and couples making the most of their weekend.

There is plenty of room for everyone. And it's so convenient to Latham, NY folks. It's right there! Instead of dreaming about not being in your car, you can head here. In fact, I will now think about stopping here on the way home from work instead of racing home to throw a meal together. We can make better use of our time by being active and outdoors instead of fighting with our toddler to "please take another bite." She will totally appreciate a grilled-cheese-on-the-go than having to sit still at the dinner table (she is fond of falling off our high bar chairs).

We could have walked for hours. But there are no bathrooms on the trail. That's normal. So we turned back after mile marker four. We were headed to a hidden gem we discovered off the Watervliet-Troy exit when we thought we were at the parking lot trail head.

We parked our car, and looked for the trail head. But all we did was loop around some utility house under a bridge. Instead, we spied beer on the water! What? We both were questioning if we were seeing what we thought we were seeing. Like a fantastical mirage in the desert, we are seeing what we think is a barge bar on the Hudson! It is! It is! The Rusty Anchor is a barge bar restaurant on the Watervliet side of the Hudson.

We walked the gangplank from shore to the barge to inspect the draft beer list. It was not the best, but it was not awful. They had Davidson's IPA and Shipyard Summer Ale. We could stay. Our daughter sat in her stroller as it was close to naptime and watched the ducks and birds on the water. She was so entertained she forgot she had an iPad (a public restaurant must-have for parents who like each other, like to talk to each other, and want a bit of romance between being-a-parent-all-the-time time). We enjoyed the sun and the breeze off the water. We watched boats. We felt like we had a bit of the good life.

The food was ok, too! The fries were fresh, and the server was so kind and totally didn't forget anything. The menu is standard bar food, but they have steamed shrimp and some other seafoody options. Not bad for a stumble-upon restaurant on the water. We loved it. We totally took the stress of the week, put it in a pint glass, and we drank it up.

This nugget may become our spot. The easiest way to get outside, take a fantastic walk, and then reward yourself. Thank you, Capital Region for being awesome!

Family Adventure, Go! Here we are in Albany, NY.

More than a year and a half ago, my little family relocated to Albany. Some locals call is "Smallbany," but it is also known to be "in the middle of everywhere." And it is. I am overwhelmed by how much there is to do. All the time. We moved from Birmingham, AL--a beautiful place for a couple weeks out of the year when it's not crazy-in-Alabama hot. Birmingham has a wonderful arts community and one of the best little arts festivals ever in the Sidewalk Film Festival. But we wanted more of an outdoorsy lifestyle for our new family (our daughter is not yet four-years-old).

Our first pick was Seattle, WA. Of course.

When researching Albany, NY, we found that it shared a similar outdoors-lifestyle-potential. The thing is, if we can learn to ski one day--we can have a full twelve months out of the year outside under the natural canopy of life. We want that. Edith Wharton and Henry James both have heroines who come from Albany. That settled it. We are now well-entrenched in the Capital Region--the New York State capital is here in Albany. (It is not in New York City.)

We moved to the base of the Adirondacks, the backdoor of the Catskills, and a hop-skip-and-a-jump-of-a-train-ride to NYC. We can wave to our friends in Boston and real, live New England is within hyperbolic spitting distance. The Hudson river reminds us daily of the Revolutionary War and our freedom while we find pocket parks all up and down her great shores. New York State parks and hiking trails are immaculately maintained. This little world is built to encourage the outdoorsy lifestyle. We, therefore, are on the go all the time.

So this is the story of our adventures. And the story of jazz hands, selfies, restaurants, raising a toddler-to-be-a-good-human-being-one-day, and the testimonial of two working parents who push each other to be outside--to be better than we are right now. We go. We do. We shun the sedentary since we both have office jobs where we either sit hunched over in front of computers all day or we sit straight up listening for our names in corporate meetings. To top that off, my husband is a gamer. He is an expert gamer, and I am super proud of him. It is important that I get him outside so that he gets some fresh air every now and then. To air out a gamer is a noble thing.

We want to teach our daughter about the natural life--about hiking, biking, camping, bugs, dirt, and so much more. We want to prepare her for the Zombie Apocalypse and living off the land. We want to experience as much as we can. We want to learn a lot along the way.

We also like fresh draft beer. And wine. And cheese fries. We like to find surprise restaurants. We trust Yelp. We like to make a family adventure out of the weekend (and you already get that by now). I like to repeat myself and use punctuation to make a point. The Capital Region is honestly the best place on Earth right now. It's spring-creeping-into-summer time. There is nothing like it in the wind.

Cheers to you. I hope you enjoy our ride and learn a little bit about how much awesome there is in every direction in The Capital Region. It's a way of life.