Review: The Inn at Saratoga

Category: Reviews
Published: September 2006

Would you like to enjoy fine dining and the charm of Victorian Saratoga all in one evening? If so, you must plan a night out at the Inn at Saratoga. The dining room is, in one word, elegant-decorated in burgundy, rose and green tones with rich champagne drapes. The ornate woodwork is truly fabulous, the Victorian light fixture is stunning with artwork depicting beautiful scenes of old Saratoga.

We had the pleasure of meeting Chef Gerardo Tona who earned his degree at the California Culinary Academy. He worked at some of San Francisco's finest restaurants including LA Folie under renowned chef Roland Passot. Luckily for us, he moved to the capital district two years ago and is now the executive chef at the Inn.

We started our dining experience with a bourson cheese tart with sun dried tomato. It was scrumptious. For an appetizer we had a salad of tiger shrimp over a wedge of ice berg lettuce, grapefruit segments, red onions, kalamata olives and feta cheese, with roasted pepper vinaigrette. What a delightful blend of flavors. Our other appetizer was to die for-blue cheese and chicken cakes. After our appetizers, we were given a glass of champagne with sorbet to cleanse our palettes. Very nice! We dined on pan seared flounder and tenderloin of beef. Both dishes were exceptional. The flounder was prepared with bacon caper vinaigrette, and the tenderloin was wrapped in bacon. Both dishes were served with red bliss potatoes and seasonal vegetables cooked to perfection. We savored every bite. At the end of the evening, we met pastry chef Daniel Casey, better known as Sugar Daddy. Daniel suggested a dessert sampling and so we indulged in vanilla charlotte with chocolate musical notes and a medley of berries with amaretto Chantilly cream, banana crème-Brule with a yogurt Chantilly cream and to top all of this off, a Bing cherry ice cream napoleon with layers of dark chocolate. Each dessert was delectable but, being a cherry lover, the Bing cherry ice cream napoleon sent me off to heaven.