We were fortunate recently to be able to cobble together a five-day weekend around the Labor Day holiday, and we decided to use our extra time off to head upstate to the Adirondacks.  If you’re unfamiliar with New York State’s geography, here’s a primer:  the Adirondacks form a state park which begins about 4 hours directly north of New York City.  It’s the largest state park in the entire country – comprising almost 6 million acres – and it’s home to the largest mountains in New York, plus some interesting historic sites.  So it was a great place to spend a few days, go out in nature, escape the city’s heat, and get to know some of the corners of our state that we hadn’t previously explored.  And of course while we were there we tried a lot of local foods, and now we’re going to share them with you (but just be warned that we will show some images of meat here).

For the first couple days of our trip, we made the town of Lake Placid our home base, since it was near some of the hiking trails and other places we wanted to visit.  It’s also one of the larger and more popular towns in the Adirondacks, so there were lots of food options.  For example, we stopped one morning at Cocoa & Dough to try a few of their donuts – here’s a campfire donut (on the bottom left), made with marshmallow fluff, Golden Grahams, mini chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle; a Zinger (bottom right) with vanilla frosting, raspberry jelly and coconut flakes; and a Rhys Reese’s, with peanut butter and chocolate frosting plus mini Reese’s Pieces.

 

 

Then one day for lunch we went to check out Big Mountain Deli & Creperie, which serves up 46 different sandwiches, made on your choice from seven different breads.  Miriam decided to get the Seymour (on the left), made with grilled mushrooms, zucchini and bell peppers, fresh mozzarella, and pesto, all on basil pesto bread.  Meanwhile, Cyril had the Marcy, made with turkey, apples, white cheddar, and horseradish, on asiago peppercorn bread.

 

 

We also stopped one day at Big Slide Brewery so Cyril could try some local beers, and while there we decided to get a small charcuterie plate so we could try some local cheeses.  You can mix and match items on your board, so we got camembert from a creamery in central New York and some cheddar from up near the Canadian border, served with crackers, local raisin fennel bread, truffle honey, and Marcona almonds.

 

 

Then we went to check out another brewery in town, which we heard also had some good food.  At Lake Placid Pub & Brewery Miriam got to try their soup of the day, which was tomato and Gouda …

 

 

… while Cyril had some hot wings.

 

 

The brewery happens to have some interesting meatless selections, like this vegan BLT made with tempeh bacon and a vegan basil mayo.

 

 

And a pizza topped with vegan chicken tenders, tempeh bacon, jalapeños, and a chili ranch sauce.

 

 

And we finished off with this piece of Mount Marcy mud pie.

 

 

We found a cool local ice cream place in Lake Placid too – Emma’s Lake Placid Creamery, where we decided we wanted to try a crazy shake.  This one is the cookies and cream shake, made with cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate sauce, a crushed cookie rim, and two Oreos on top filled with vanilla ice cream and sprinkles.

 

 

On our way out of Lake Placid we decided to stop at yet another brewery, this one in the town of Saranac Lake.  Aside from trying more beer at Blue Line Brewery, Miriam was able to get their mac and cheese, made with an IPA sauce and served in a crispy edible bowl (you have to ask for it without bacon, though).

 

 

And Cyril had the Yak-Zie pizza, with a BBQ-buffalo sauce and tomatoes and chicken on top.

 

 

Also in Saranac Lake we got to visit Mountain Mist Ice Cream, where we split this sundae with vanilla soft serve, chocolate sauce, and nuts.

 

 

Later we headed up to the very northern part of the Adirondacks, which is pretty desolate in terms of restaurants (but has some very lovely trails!).  For dinner we had to head up to the town of Malone, which lies just north of the edge of the mountains, and there we found a cool restaurant, Hearth of Malone.  We started our meal there with their jumbo pretzel, which comes with sides of beer cheese and homemade maple mustard.

 

 

Then we split a bowl of their fettucine alfredo …

 

 

… and a margherita pizza.

 

 

The next day we headed east, to the town of Essex, where you can ride the ferry across Lake Champlain.  Just about a block from the ferry dock is Pink Pig Cafe, where we picked up some quick brunch items.  Miriam had a slice of the quiche of the day, which was spinach, red pepper and cheddar …

 

 

… and Cyril got the egg sandwich, with bacon and cheddar on a croissant.

 

 

Later in the day we drove through the town of Long Lake and decided we had to stop at Custard’s Last Stand, for ice cream but also because we love a good punny name.  There Miriam had some chocolate-vanilla twist custard, topped with caramel-filled chocolate turtles.

 

 

And Cyril got another sundae, also with chocolate-vanilla twist, caramel, and nuts.

 

 

That evening we ended up in the town of North Creek and got dinner at Bar Vino, which serves up some pretty interesting small plates.  We tried these eggplant chips, in a hot honey sauce …

 

 

… and some arancini made from polenta, corn and green onions, with tomato sauce and a spicy aioli.

 

 

Plus Cyril had the shrimp and grits.

 

 

The next morning we stopped for sandwiches at Izzy’s Market and Deli, also in North Creek – Miriam got the Little Slide, without bacon, which had lettuce, tomato, onion, and white cheddar on sourdough.

 

 

And Cyril got the Rapid Runner, made with fried eggs, sausage, cream cheese, spinach and tomato on a ciabatta roll.

 

 

Finally, as we were headed out of the Adirondacks on our last day, we went through the town of Warrensburg, near the southern end of the park, for one last local ice cream stop.  Luck E Star Cafe has a seasonal ice cream stand, so there Miriam had a cone of the maplenut soft serve, which combines maple and walnut flavors …

 

 

… and Cyril got yet another sundae, this one with peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter cups, and nuts.

 

 

We went up to the Adirondacks primarily to go hiking, but we also really enjoyed getting the chance to check out so many different food options:  breweries, local breakfast and lunch spots, some hidden gems – and lots of ice cream places.  Some of these restaurants and stands may not be open by the time you read this, as a lot of places in the area are seasonal and only open in the warmer months.  But summer is the perfect time to visit the mountains, so if you’re headed up that way some time in the future, we hope your consider our recommendations and check out these places in one of the most beautiful areas of the United States.