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Review: Schenectady’s Horses Lounge | Daily Gazette Food & Drink

Jasper
Review: Schenectady’s Horses Lounge | Daily Gazette Food & Drink

At the Horses Lounge on McClellan Street, we weren’t the only ones who knew. “Everyone’s out,” the waiter remarked.

You may remember the Horses Lounge from when it was owned by Fred and Gladys Fritzen and later by their son Christian. They opened in 1976.

And then they closed it last summer. They started looking for a buyer.

Tommy Nicchi, who owns the Broken Inn in Niskayuna and Comedy Works in Saratoga Springs, heard about the closure from some of his customers, who expressed regret at the closure.

When he attended an estate sale of the restaurant, it became clear to him within minutes that he wanted to take the place back.

“It was important to me to find a buyer who would continue my family’s legacy,” Christian Fritzen said in a previous Daily Gazette article. “We have been an integral part of the community for nearly 50 years and I am thrilled and very happy that it will continue.”

It opened in May, has been renovated and looks pretty good, and is focused on Schenectady. The dining room is decorated with old postcards of the city and collages of old photos of customers from when Fritzen owned the place.

Kathy and I had a prime spot at an umbrella table outside the restaurant. “It’s not as loud here as I thought it would be,” she said, noticing the traffic in the area.

The walls surrounding the terrace help to dampen street noise and are planted with more planters of lush petunias than is strictly necessary.

There are small lights under the umbrellas and fairy lights with Edison bulbs shine on the terrace. They also look cheerful and festive during the day.

Reopening of The Horses Lounge in Schenectady (5/2024)

You’ll love the menu, there are basic pub fare like chicken wings and burgers, hot dogs, flatbreads and sides, and a few appetizers. It’s laid out in an unusual but easy to understand way. Choose your category, e.g. burgers. Add toppings to customize it. Or a flatbread pizza. Add toppings to customize it. And so on.

A burger costs $13 and is served with fries. There are also veggie burgers and gluten-free buns. A Sabrett hot dog costs $6 and is served with chips. There are also veggie hot dogs.

Sides cost $5. Choose between onion rings, potato pancakes or sweet potato fries. For a little more money you can add dressings.

There are four appetizers; if you like the sweet corn nuggets ($10) at Broken Inn, you’ll find them here, too. There are four meal-sized salads.

You’ll need your phone to scan the QR codes at the table for the wine, beer and drink menus, or go to the website where you can click on a link to each menu.

If you don’t want that, I trust the server can rattle it off for you, assuming that server is anything like ours. She was great.

Images: The Horses Lounge, Schenectady (8 photos)

We were warmly welcomed and seated. The waiter brought us menus and immediately took our drink orders. Kathy admired the petunias.

Our fried broccoli with cheese ($10) arrived in a flash. We didn’t know what to expect, the menu description just said it was served with blue cheese. What we got were fried nuggets filled with chopped broccoli and melted cheddar cheese in a crispy, delicious coating.

“These are good,” Kathy said, and I said, “Wow.” They are a delicious snack.

“You don’t need anything,” my friend said, but they’re served with Horses blue cheese, so we took some out of politeness. I’d already eaten six of them before I knew it, so beware.

“How would you like your chicken, grilled or fried?” the server asked when Kathy ordered the Buffalo Chicken Salad ($13). It’s nice to have the healthier grilled option.

It’s actually a meal-sized salad, with a pile of lettuce at the base. “I like romaine, it’s crunchy,” Kathy said. She liked the chopped celery, too.

The white meat of chicken was grilled, sliced ​​and tossed in buffalo sauce. “It’s a nice way to cut chicken,” Kathy said of the handy slices. The sauce was “really mild, but you get the flavor” and the chicken was “delicious.”

The croutons add that extra something, they’re big and tasty and fried for extra flavor. She took them out one at a time as if she were eating a snack.

Review: El Patron II in Burnt Hills is not to be missed – At The Table

The chicken was covered in blue cheese crumbs and the server brought extra dressing in case Kathy wanted more. Very good salad.

We shared a portion of sweet potato fries ($5). “These are delicious,” Kathy said. “I love them, you can taste the sweet potato.”

They were covered in a very thin batter that became crispy and blistered in places, and lightly dusted with salt.

I liked them too, they are addictive. There was easily enough for two or more people.

I treated myself to a portion of wings ($15), a dozen of them. You can get them boneless and add sauces like garlic parmesan, peanut butter and jelly, or chipotle mayonnaise for a dollar more. I had buffalo, medium, bone-in.

I got traditional wings, they were big and had a good meat to skin ratio. They shouldn’t be too big.

The sauce was mild and medium-strength, full of flavor. I could have used a little more, but didn’t want to ask for it. I later learned that you can get more sauce for no extra charge. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender. What more could you want?

The Broken Inn in Niskayuna accepts cash only and donates the three percent credit card fee saved to various community groups. The Horses Lounge, which accepts credit cards, donates #% of all cash sales to groups and causes as part of an initiative called #RespectSchenect.

So they are nice too.

We packed our leftovers into boxes and the waitress noticed that the boxes weren’t staying sealed and made sure we each got a plastic bag to put the food in. “It’s good,” Kathy said.

The price for lunch for two with sodas was $57.24 without tip. I paid cash so a portion went to a Schenectady nonprofit.

Good food, nice people. Enjoy the Horses Lounge now when you can eat outside or anytime in the dining room. It’s all good.

The Horse Lounge

WHERE: 912 McClellan Street, Schenectady; (518) 382-0239; thehorseslounge.com

WHEN: Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., closed on Mondays.

HOW MUCH: $57.24, before tip

MORE INFORMATION: Credit cards: Master Card, Visa, American Express. On-street parking; off-street parking is available. The building is not ADA compliant, but the patio is wheelchair accessible.

Review: El Patron II in Burnt Hills is not to be missed – At The Table

Images: The Horses Lounge, Schenectady (8 photos)

Reopening of The Horses Lounge in Schenectady (5/2024)

Review: El Patron II in Burnt Hills is not to be missed – At The Table

Images: The Horses Lounge, Schenectady (8 photos)

Reopening of The Horses Lounge in Schenectady (5/2024)

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