Hit Up Druther's Brewing Company

Saratoga Springs was not part of the plan.

On a road trip through the Adirondacks and New England with my buddy Pat, and my pup, we found ourselves with no other place to stay, after a pit stop on the Northway had turned into an impromptu and lengthy telephone conversation putting the final stamp on the end of my previous relationship.

Later, while standing in the parking lot of the Saratoga Battlefield, we spent more than an hour looking for campsites and lodging as far north as Burlington, VT-- the only place we could find with a vacancy was a small mom-and-pop motel on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs. We jumped at it. It was approaching dinnertime when I strolled into the office pay for our room. I asked the sun-wrinkled clerk, with the fine odor of cheap cigarettes, where a good place was to go for dinner. Whatcha lookin' for, she asked. Beer, I replied with a forced chuckle, so as not to sound like an alcoholic. We have lots of that here, she said, and handed me the receipt.

Druthers was the first place that came up when I looked up "brewery" on google, so that's where we headed. Set back from the road, the brew pub has a generous outdoor beer garden, framed on the sidewalk by a hand-crafted iron archway. The interior is new but rustic, wood galore, with quotes from luminaries such as Seneca and Churchill on the walls. But the best part is the beer and food-- I was in treat-yo'self mode, so I had the herb-marinated/grilled flat-iron with pickled red onion, spinach, blue cheese, and strawberry gose gastrique. It was divine, and went perfectly with the hand-crafted beer which flowed liberally. Pat had their signature "Loaded Mac & Cheese" but had filled himself up on the homemade pretzels and beer dip--which is a can't miss--and took most of his meal back to the motel boxed up.

Check out Druther's website here for more information, and don't miss this gem next time you find yourself passing through Saratoga Springs!

pc: the arch pic taken from http://www.hudsonvalleysojourn...