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Murray, a native of Wynantskill, worked in various local
restaurants and earned a degree at Johnson & Wales University in
Providence, R.I. An externship followed in the Florida Keys, as well
as various other jobs, including corporate chef work in New York. He
also was sous chef at the four-diamond Ashley's at the Marriott in
Colonie. Now, he handles mostly the cold dishes -- salads, desserts
and so on.
Weber moved over from Troy's well-regarded Allegro Cafe where he
learned at the elbow of talented chef/owner Andrew Plummer. He has a
certain affinity for seafood, perhaps a product of working on
Nantucket for several summers.
I had been remarking to Constant Companion the other day that,
with rare exceptions, the restaurant food in this area was becoming
boring for a reviewer. Yes, there are some imaginative spots around,
but in this line of work I can't keep going back to the same
places.
One of the problems I've encountered has been a terrible sameness
because so many people are buying so many of the same ingredients
from the same purveyors and doing the same things with them.
It may make economic sense to pick up a jar of demi glace from
Sysco, or a piece of fish from Captain Lee's, but it doesn't do a
lot for the adventurous palate.
That's why the Arlington House menu was a pleasant surprise: a
continually changing "trio of fishes"; a "fall melange" with
ingredients changing depending on what the chefs find at the
markets; rock shrimp and crab cake; duck stir fry. And a nice wine
list to go with it, including a decent selection of New York state
wines.
I began with the Shaker Oyster Broil, a half-dozen exceedingly
tender oysters on the half-shell, doused with a heavenly herb cream,
and dusted with cheese for an au gratin finish. A crisp corn relish
made a nice counterpoint.
Constant Companion was surprised by the abundance of the house
salad, a pile of young mesclun greens and veggies in a roasted
onion/tarragon creamy dressing.
Mrs. Brown, history buff that she is, felt compelled to order the
Stop Twenty-Two Pie, named for the old trolley schedule: a nice fall
presentation of roasted chicken, vegetables and a garlic herb cream
with a bit of puff pastry atop.
The entrees were a hit all around. Mrs. Brown had the fresh
garlic and black conch pasta, mixed in with escargots, clams and
tomatoes and basil with a splash of anisette. A brothy,
full-flavored mixture.
Companion's grilled New York sirloin was a beautiful lean,
medium-rare piece of steak with sauteed mushrooms and a garlic
parsley buerre saucing that complemented the aged flavor of the
meat.
My deep sea scallops were exquisite -- a generous amount of
lightly cooked morsels with a sweet, robust tandori glaze, sided by
a sweet pea basmati rice, a red cabbage slaw, corn relish, grilled
peppers and more.
At the Arlington, the "more'' can mean up to a half-dozen
different vegetables accompaniments because Weber and Murray insist
on feeding the eyes as well as the mouth with cleverly designed
presentations that avoid that old bugaboo of dishes being so heavily
constructed they're difficult to eat.
We finished with excellent desserts -- a soup bowl of blueberry
creme brulee for each of my companions, and a delicious chocolate
pate construction with red raspberries for me.
The quality of ingredients here is just as evident as the talent
in preparation. Asked about it later, Murray said:
"We're very picky about ingredients. Our game is fresh, we buy
the whole veal leg and cut it down, we use classic reductions
instead of buying ready-made. We even use five different purveyors
for our meats. I don't know if it makes the best economic sense, but
we want to serve the best we can."
So far, so good.
Our bill -- as always before tax, tip and alcohol -- was $97.85
for the three of us, or $32 and change
each.
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Arlington House
Arlington House