The Next Blink is Here- Potsdam, NY

Last week from Saturday to Wednesday I made a whirlwind trip with my oldest daughter to Potsdam, New York where she will be attending Clarkson University in pursuit of her doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. Moving her to her new home for the next three years in an apartment, across the street from SUNY Potsdam. Potsdam isn’t a large city or for that matter a big town, it is a quaint Victorian North Country village and one of the ten original towns of St. Lawrence County, having been established in 1831. Potsdam is 16 miles from the St. Lawrence River, a one-hour drive to Lake Placid (Winter Olympic 1932 and 1980) in the Adirondack Mountains and a mere 80 miles from Montreal. Named for the same city in Germany – Potsdam is the cultural and educational hub of Northern New York. The downtown area offers shops, boutiques and restaurants and there is a large Italian influence in the local cuisine. Ahhh the cuisine, that’s what I’m all about; this trip included some regional favorites of New York State. The drive is about 8 hours from Norwalk and is all expressway until you reach Watertown where you pick up the last 60 miles on US 11, Thank goodness for EZ Pass on the toll roads. Day one was signing her lease getting the keys moving her “stuff” into the apartment that she will be sharing with two other Clarkson graduate students. After an exhausting and very cramped drive we chose Mama Lucia’s for our first dinner, on the visit in November we tried Maxfield’s and Sergi’s, so we were itching for something new. Mama Lucia’s answered the call perfectly, located in what appears to be the old train station the restaurant is one of the few upscale and pricier restaurants. We sat outside on the stone patio near the Raquette River and was served by a very exceptional waiter named Joseph, who is a law student at SUNY. Fresh Italian bread with soft butter started the meal off. I opted for a Utica regional specialty called Chicken Riggies, grilled chicken, spicy cherry peppers, rigatoni and a tomato cream sauce, which hit the spot. The next day was cleaning, unpacking, putting furniture together and making several trips to Wal-Mart for items forgotten or needed. Dinner that evening was at the Cactus Grill located in an old warehouse building on the river with rooftop or deck seating, we chose the deck and was treated to house made chucky salsa, with tri-color chips, margaritas. I ordered Shrimp Chimichangas and Syd ordered Fajita’s, more food than we could eat. That evening we ventured into the Park Brothers Coffee Shop for a tea and a smoothie. On Monday we went to the Three Bears Bakery (a gluten free establishment) for cinnamon rolls and cupcakes – I’m usually not a gluten free connoisseur but the rolls were delicious. After a brief stop at her apartment we were off north on US 11 to wind our way through the Adirondacks to Plattsburg on Lake Champlain. Left Plattsburg after a quick lunch at the Naked Turtle on the lake and then south to the AuSable Chasm (a deep gorge on the AuSable River) – west into Lake Placid where we want to return to and spend more time. The

Adirondacks are breathtakingly beautiful, tall mountains, gorgeous lakes and small resort towns. From Lake Placid we traveled south to Utica where we spent the night in the birthplace of Chicken Riggies, though I didn’t get to try them there. Tuesday was spent exploring Seneca Lake Wine Region in the Finger Lakes, we started on the west side by Geneva on the north and traveled south hitting at least 6 wineries (some tasting was included), this region of the state is also beautiful, and the views are spectacular. Dinner was in the small town of Watkin’s Glen on the southern shore of the lake and we ate at the Seneca Harbor Station where I tried Chicken Riggies for the 2nd time and decided their version was my favorite, it wasn’t as spicy and included some pepperoni chunks. We then headed west again and spent the night in Rochester before leaving on Wednesday for Buffalo and Niagara Falls. How can you be that close to the falls and not see them yet again (I think I’ve seen then 4 times). While the Canadian side is to be honest the better view it’s still a pleasure to see this handiwork of God and feel the power in that water falling over the cliffs. My real quest in Buffalo of course was wings and not just any wings, the original wings at the Anchor Bar near downtown. The restaurant was initially established in 1935 and is most famous for being the birthplace of spicy chicken wings known outside of the Buffalo area as Buffalo wings. According to the Anchor Bar website:
On March 4th, 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now-famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Late that evening, a group of Dominic’s friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat. They looked like chicken wings, a part of the chicken that usually went into the stock pot for soup. Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce (Franks Red Hot and Butter) and served them with some bleu cheese dressing and celery sticks. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience their new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar.
The restaurant is a funky collection of license plates from every state and around the globe and the dining room has photographs and testimonials to the Anchor Bar from famous people around the world. Syd and I shared a “double” order with medium sauce and enjoyed every drip of sauce from our fingers. We left Buffalo full of good memories and full bellies and made the final leg home via I-90 through Cleveland.
It was a trip I savored for so many reasons, the most important being that it was time spent with my wonderful daughter before she embarks on this next adventure in her life. I know she is going to be an amazing doctor because she’s an already amazing, person, daughter and friend. She leaves this coming Sunday with the remainder of her “stuff” to make that 8-hour drive without me and I have been practicing how to not fall apart as she pulls out of the driveway…letting go isn’t ever easy, especially for me! I’ve already been re-searching airfares and have mapped out the drive from Detroit across Ontario. Her next “Blink” is here and I’m one very proud Dad!…Clarkson University…take care of Syd!