Restaurants in Troy

The University Club & Restaurant’s New England roots are evident not just in its creamy, New England-style clam chowder, but in its very building. Nestled in two colonial-era farmhouses, one of which is the oldest, most wrinkly house in Amherst, the eatery is a venerable institution to the history of Massachusetts. The Boltwood-Stockbridge house contains the Daniel Chester French room, named for the Lincoln Memorial Statue sculptor who lived there as a child, and the Tory room, where nine loyalists hid during the American Revolution.

Today, the loyalists have given way to diners feasting on fare that changes with the seasons. Dinners consist of upscale proteins such as new york strip steak, braised lamb shank, and pan-seared salmon complemented by a farmer’s-market risotto loaded with fresh local produce. Alternatively, lunchtime visitors—or diners sampling the bar’s lighter fare menu—can nosh on a Black Angus burger or a jalapeño crab-cake po' boy.

Named _Valley Advocate_’s Best Steakhouse for five years in a row, Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery grills an array of steak cuts—ranging from sirloin tips to prime rib—to a juicy and house-recommended medium rare. Beyond its steaks, the eatery’s grub follows the same Southwestern theme as its dining room’s decorative touches, which includes a wagon wheels and a cattle skull. The kitchen’s carefully roasted baby-back ribs, barbecued chicken, and pulled pork complements homestyle favorites such as meatloaf, lasagna, and fish and chips. All of the hearty entrees pair with sides that run the gamut from fries to cowboy beans. An array of beers, encompassing award-winning pours such as Red Rock Amber Ale and King Oak Milk Stout, wash meals down more effectively than a good, long yawn in front of water slide. Opa Opa Steakhouse and Brewery also caters events on-site or at the customer's choice of location.

When China invaded Tibet, Thondup and Dolma Tsering's family escaped to India, and the two children enrolled in school for Tibetan children. They graduated and eventually moved to the United States in 1997, where they founded a business where they would celebrate their culture: Lhasa Cafe. Today, chef Tenzin Tsewang leads the staff at the restaurant, and Thondup and Dolma can still be found helping out around their authentic Tibetan restaurant on weekends. In the kitchen, chef Tenzin and Kalsang cook all dishes to order and make dumplings in-house from scratch; they use only fresh ingredients and refuse to use MSG or decorative glitter.

The staff follows recipes according to the Tibetan culinary tradition, which incorporates subtle seasoning and a lot of ginger, garlic, and the emma peppercorn. There’s also an emphasis on yak meat, which is lean and low-cholesterol and tastes comparable to beef. It takes center stage in dishes such as traditional mo-mo dumplings, pan-fried noodle dishes, and stews. Also on the menu: vegetable dumplings, vegetarian noodle soups, and lamb and chicken curries.

Lodged in a centuries-old Albany edifice abutting the Poestenkill Canal, The Irish Mist serves up hearty Celtic-inspired dishes in a restaurant stocked with bar and banquet facilities. House specialties such as duck, lamb, crab cakes, and sea scallops incorporate creamy sauces to showcase the kitchen’s range, and hefty of pub fare such as burgers, fish 'n' chips, thick irish stews, and meaty pies vanquish hunger with more finality than a meatball cannon. The Sunday sunrise brings with it the alluring aromas of made-to-order eggs and candied ham that waft from an all-you-can eat breakfast buffet.

In Captain Jack’s kitchen, the crew assembles a concise menu. With the fryer bubbling and the scent of salt and oil in the air, the cooks prepare fresh scallops, whole-belly clams, all-natural beef, free-range chicken, and hand-cut french fries. The menu appears selective because it is. They use only humanely treated animals from regional farms to make their house-made burgers and hot dogs, and all their veggies come from local purveyors who practice sustainable farming. In fact, everything at the roadside shack is so fresh that they don’t even own a freezer, which assures their ingredients are served in a timely fashion and that penguins never claim squatter’s rights.

Sun streams in through a wide front window at Al-Baraki, illuminating a decorative hookah and servers placing falafel, marinated meats, and flaky baklava on cloth-covered tables. A menu of simple Lebanese fare makes use of imported spices and local ingredients, infusing each dish with an assertive punch of flavor. Their moulouki, or "royal dinner," treats patrons to a traditional Lebanese meal that begins with a gaggle of appetizers, a meaty main of shawarma and lamb kebab, and goat-cheese pie. Alternatively, vegetarian dinners, such as falafel, can be ordered à la carte and washed down with traditional lemounada, a fresh-squeezed lemonade scented with water droplets handpicked off of rose petals. In Al-Baraki's feature in the Times-Union, correspondent Cheryl Clark describes the aroma of cumin in the air alongside the decorative baubles—from a fez to an inlaid chess case—chosen by Owner and Chef Paul Chedrawee and his wife, Simone.