beer in the capital region!

an amazing tasting at a local winery just wasn't enough for the kramer family- we needed more booze!  just 10 minutes away from the Saratoga Winery is the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company. This place is a MUST SEE for any beer lover in the capital region.  there are only two words to describe this place- "free tasting."  that's right folks, for zero dollars you can hang out in a small intimate pub and try amazing beer. for free!  let me show you around:

here she is folks... in the middle of nowhere!

it's tiny and intimate inside... perfect for beer sampling!

hmmm... i don't remember which one this was...

and they had cute chairs...

here's mom's nice nails...

and they had fish!

the people at the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company are super cool and will let you make your own case.  dad had a lot of fun picking out the perfect case... i'm glad he let me share!

wine in the capital region!

my parents came up this weekend, and i'm calling it the "super kramer weekend."  first stop- jose malones in troy, ny.  Well, the food was TOO good, that i gobbled it all up before I could take any decent pictures of it, so let's just roll on to day two- the saratoga winery!

I basically just found this place online.  my parents are on a super winery/brewery kick, so i told them that i'd find a fun place for us to taste some booze up here.  pressure! i'm really glad i found this place though, because it was easy to find, had amazing wine, and had a really cool atmosphere. i'm definitely going back for some fall/winter wines when the time comes...

you think you're going nowhere, then you come across this gem...

hmmm... wall of wine!

here's the laminated list... just mark off what you'd like to try, and it's all yours!

some of the awesome bottles we sampled...

i think it was the cabernet sauvignon... i bought it... it was too good!

back room with all the wines we sampled...

oh man... they had homemade goodies from around the area... it was GREAT!

beautiful back deck!  i can't wait to come back in the fall when the leaves are turning!

more back deck...

me and my parents... how cool are they?!

me and matt... olde timey...

cool grasshopper dude gave us some afternoon entertainment...

oh just another day at the track...

i'm so excited to have spent the last two weekends at the track.  last year i didn't go at all, and i felt like i was missing out on something.  it was great getting to hang out with friends, drink (too much) some booze, lose a little money, and eat some awesome food.  here's how the day went...

and they're off!

view from our awesome picnic bench- thanks mike for getting me out of bed so early... SO worth it!

ok- there are just TOO many numbers in here for me- i just look at names ;)

muy importante...

too much. (but delicious!)

drink of choice

it was fun taking pictures with you all day, capow!

i like you because you're smart!

too cute.

shake shack baby!  (over priced and small ) the cheese was nice and melty though, and of course i got it with mustard!

mike's snack of choice... aka breakfast

holy crap- black & mild's!

shot of the track...

<3

lucky cigar!

hats, horses, and hattie's

yesterday was my first day at the track. ever. it was surprisingly exactly what i expected.  we got to sit in a sweet box and bet on ponies based on their names ( i bet on Kaitlyn, my sister's name, but wasn't so lucky). one of us won big :) but we all had a great time....

on the way up i was raving about hattie's, the best fried chicken joint around! i definitely got TOO excited when i realized that they had a booth set up with fried chicken sandwiches. best day ever! thanks to my favorite Green girls for making it an awesome day!

horses!

tara really looked the part with her hat and pearls... no wonder she won big!

place your bets ladies and gents!

ok... so here's the most important part (at least to me anyway!) sweet potato fries from hattie's!

and a fried chicken sandwich! heaven on a bun!

 and here they are!  next time you're at the track, you MUST visit them!

all those numbers gave me a headache...

horses... i was more amused with how green the grass was...

vintage...

i'm heading back next weekend with capow, so expect even more horsie pics next week!

Gambling on a good time...

Last week we hit the town and made a trip to Saratoga for a night of food and gambling. We went to Hattie's (I didn't get a chance to get any pictures there because it was super dark in there, and frankly I was to busy stuffing my face with awesome southern style food!) seriously, go there, and you will not be disappointed!
Anyway, we ended up hittin' the Racino, and although it wasn't really my scene and I lost some of Matt's cash, we had a really nice time. I even got to watch this crazy dude lose all his money and proceed to scream and throw a hissy fit. It was awesome!

So here are some pics that I managed to grab with my phone... Enjoy!



















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