Philadelphia. PA -- Salads in Albany

Although I don't kvetch as much as some about the food in Albany, one thing that's hard to find in Albany is a good salad. You know, the kind you can get anywhere in a big city -- with cool stuff, like berries, arugula, goat cheese, bleu cheese crumbles, et al (Bellini's and Provence have good salads, but those are nowhere near downtown).

Even harder to find is a good place to get a take-out salad. While I was walking on Pearl Street the other day, I had lunch at Greenhouse, which is a chopped salad cafe. I can't judge the salad fairly, as I came in 15 minutes after it closed and the salad wasn't so fresh at that point, but it does have a neat menu, the place is cute, and the staff were friendly, so I'll probably go back.




Greenhouse, a chopped salad cafe on Pearl St.



More exciting is the new place that's opening up in my neighborhood, Jackbit and Joltz. Interesting name -- here's why:

"It's Australian slang for food or a meal," owner Daniel Batto tells me. "Somebody might say, 'I could go for some good jackbit.'"

Batto, owner of Top Shelf Catering in Clifton Park, isn't Australian and has never been Down Under, so he's justifying the name by offering jaffles, a type of grilled or toasted Australian sandwich. (Translation: Aussie panini.) A jaffle iron is at right.

Jackbit & Joltz, with a seating capacity of 35 to 40, also will feature an energy-drink bar with homemade concotions including a salt-rimmed "Jolterita" and an orange-flavored soother called the "Hangover Hammerhead."

"We'll be the antibooze place on Lark," says Batto, who quickly notes that, as the owner of Northeast Bartending School, he is in no position to oppose alcohol on moral grounds. It's just a good niche. (It also probably facilitated approval from the Lark Street community and the city zoning board.)

The hoped-for unveiling of Jackbit & Joltz is July 1. It will be open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Labels: Albany, Restaurants

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