To call the Eat ‘n Meet Grill, located on the main street in Saranac Lake, NY, unassuming, would be generous. It’s a combination eat-in restaurant/take-out restaurant/shop/hodge-podge. There are a couple small tables with an assortment of mismatched chairs, an upstairs deck, complete with Elvis (though it was closed for construction when we were there), a freezer with some local meats/cheeses for sale, and a bunch of shelves stacked with boxes of hot sauce and other condiments (which also were for sale, I think). Not your typical… well, I’m not sure what to compare it to. It was so strange that we gave each other a look when we walked in, each of us probably questioning our choice, and whether or not it was too late to turn around. Quirky is a good word.
BUT. Don’t judge a book by its cover, as they say. Eat ‘n Meet is a staunch supporter of the local food movement, so much of their menu is sourced from Adirondack-area farms (their menu also changes daily). This is one of the reasons we stopped in – we love to eat regionally. To me, it’s much more fun to enjoy something that was grown/raised right around the corner, rather than the standard mass-produced stuff you can get in any Applebee’s or Bob Evan’s. And while we’re on the topic of food, it was excellent, and cheap to boot.
We had a couple sides, single portions of hush puppies and plantain dumplings (obviously not local :)). Most of their sides come in single and family portions. We got three each of the hush puppies and dumplings, at $1 per side (not per dumpling). For dinner, S ordered an Adirondack blue potato and leek hash, topped with a wild mushroom cream gravy. I tried the chevre empanadas (locally sourced from Asgaard Farm), which came with a fresh salad and a really good dressing. Both dishes were served simply, in disposable containers (it is primarily a take-out place), but what they lacked in flair they made up for in flavor. The hash had a nice earthy richness to it, and the tanginess of the chevre was not overbearing. The aforementioned salad dressing had a subtle sweetness that balanced the chevre well. Each selection was $12, so our total bill was under $30. Not bad.
Eat ‘n Meet Grill gets five stars out of seven. It’s a different dining experience, but the food is very good and the price is right.
Oh, so THAT”S where all the Adirondack Blue potatoes ended up, huh? We buy our seed potatoes from the Cornell University potato research station near Lake Placid, and this year, after a big New York Times article all about them and their special varieties, we couldn’t get the blue ones. We barely got any reds, either, which are my favorite.
We’ll have to get up there earlier this spring . . .