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Lake George, NY


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Okay, here's the deal. There will be about 100 of us meeting in Lake George, NY in late September. One of the activities planned for this horde is to go on a 3 hour drive through the area and overwhelm some local eatery. Now, the group of denizens that will be following me on this journey are heading to Fort Ticonderoga to absorb a bit of local history. We plan on getting to Fort Ticonderoga around lunch time. We can either go on the Fort tour before or after lunch.

Enough background...here's the conundrum, where can I take this crowd of rowdy (and probably dowdy) people for lunch in the Ticonderoga, NY area? The second part of the equation is that lunch not cost more than $15 per person which should be a pretty easy goal to hit in that part of the world. I'm thinking about pizza (this is New York after all) or something Italian. So who (anybody?) has any idea of a reasonable (and really good) place to eat in that part of the world? All ideas appreciated (no chains though, I have a reputation to uphold here, you know).

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I lived in Bolton Landing years ago. But will try to get some up to date information. Generally would say it's a tough area as most restaurants are tourist traps.
A couple of weeks ago, three of us checked out Gino's Ti-Pi Restaurant. They have a pretty decent pizza and the steak and cheese sub that a third person had was described as juicy and tasty and "yummy" which is somewhat subjective...I didn't taste it so I'm not sure exactly what yummy means...the pizza I had was good but the Italian sausage wasn't spicy (to me at least). However, the crust was good with just the right amount of crispiness and the toppings were adequate without overwhelming the sauce and cheese...overall, a pretty good tasting pizza (it wasn't Kinchley's by any stretch but it was 2000% better than anything Pizza Hut or Dominos passes off as pizza).
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Ft Ticonderoga? Isn't that the pencil factory???

Number 2s for everyone!!!

Ask the Canadians and they'll tell you it's where the American's got their butts kicked in an ill-fated (and poorly planned) attempt to attack Canada... :lol:
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I went to camp 30 miles up on the NY side of Lake Champlain, not far from Ft T. Been back many times, we did get our butts kicked!

Ask the Canadians and they'll tell you it's where the American's got their butts kicked in an ill-fated (and poorly planned) attempt to attack Canada... :lol:
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A friend and I are in Lake George for the weekend so we asked the hotel concierge to recommend a good place to eat. When we replied that we had no particular cuisine in mind, he recommended Mario's on the north end of the village. We headed there quickly (I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now past 7:00pm). Mario's is located on a hill in a converted house. We parked (lots of parking, very few spaces available) and entered. We were greeted by a very nice young lady who told us we would have about a 20 minute wait. We asked if there was a bar or lounge where we could wait and were directed to the bar. Walking through the restaurant, there were no seats vacant anywhere. The house was completely filled. There were locals and visitors both filling every table. (we knew the difference..the locals dress better). At the bar, I ordered a Manhattan, unfortunately, this was the only low-light of the evening, the Manhattan was made from what seemed like a mix. The service however was pleasant and everyone around the bar was having a good time. I saw the chef walking through the bar and heading to the kitchen and asked what he recommended from the menu. "Veal Saltimbocca and Osso Bucco", came the prompt answer. Osso Bucco just happens to be one of my favorites so my mind was quickly made up. We were quickly summoned to our table. The service was fast and friendly. The water and bread were delivered (the water cold and the bread nice and hot and extremely good). Our server listed the specialties of the day but before she could get through the list I said Osso Bucco and my friend said Veal Saltimbocca. We were asked for our preference in salad dressings and I requested the house made which was creamy Italian. Off she went...after a wait of about 5 minutes our requested bottle of Ruffino Reserva was presented properly and I did the wine ritual. The temperature of the wine was spot on...just slightly chilled but not cold. After a few minutes of conversation and a bit of wine drinking, a runner showed up with our salads. OMG, that was the best creamy Italian dressing I've ever had..a bit of bite, no sweetness, just the perfect accompaniment to the greens. I don't think there was a bit of anything left when the salads were finished. The finished dishes were promptly removed only to be replaced by the main event of the evening. My Osso Bucco was a large portion of veal shank falling off the bone. There was a hint of wine in the gravy (sauce?) that added just a nice bit of bite to the extremely well cooked veal. As if I needed more, dinner was accompanied by a rather largish bowl of what appeared (and tasted) of house made pasta with a pleasant tomato based sauce. I'd tell you more about the spaghetti but I didn't have more than about two bites because of the quality and quantity of the main course. We both finished off everything on our respective plates. The level of conversation was minimal (and if you know my friend Jonathan, you know he can talk and generally does). We finished off dinner with a house made cannoli. No words for this, it was excellent and a great way to finish dinner. The bill including wine was around $98 which was a very good price for such good food.

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