Tag Archives: herkimer ny

A Little More Stone Soup, Please

Recently I went for another meal at Stone Soup in Herkimer, NY, so I could sit inside instead of in the beer garden.  I took a few pictures to use in a blog post.

Elegant dining surroundings.

I am well used to dining alone; I’ve done it for years, even before I was a widow, but looking at the dining room, I thought it would be very nice to sit at a table with a few friends.  I’ll have to arrange that sometime.

I do love a tall table.

Or I could sit with one friend at a tall table.  I SO miss my bestie, Kim, who moved to Colorado!

Where I sat.

Instead I sat at the bar, which I also like to do.  I ordered the Alex Smash Burger, which is what I had before.  I feel I should branch out and try other menu options, but that smash burger is just so good!  I love the homemade chips that come with it, too.

My view from where I sat.

It might be a good idea if I stopped eating out so much, so I can cut down on calories and save a little money.  But then again, it makes for such good blog posts, and I do love to support a local business!

Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden is located at 148 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-219-5045.  You can find them on Facebook.

 

Just a Walk in the Park

Today I checked out the Town of Herkimer Park.  Full disclosure:  I went to get a couple of pictures to submit with my article about the Herkimer Town Board Meeting (regular readers may remember I freelance for Sentinel Media), but I have been interested in seeing what is there.  I sadly missed the Wellness Fair June 14, but I heard it went really well with vendors, food, activities, and demonstrations.  They intend to make it a yearly event, so I hope to attend it next year at least.

They looked like they were having a lot of fun.

 

Some gentlemen were playing pickleball.  I had heard jokes about how rough and tough those pickleball players were, so I asked them if they were the infamous pickleball players.  They admitted it, and graciously allowed me to take their pictures for my blog.  I brought up the Superbowl commercials with Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara playing bad-ass pickleball.  They liked the commercial, too.

Maybe not as bad-ass as O’Hara and Dafoe.

I walked around the park, checking out the other facilities.

I could use a little more fitness in my life.

I didn’t look too closely at the Fitness Court, but if I go sometimes wearing more athletic clothing, I would like to.

I do like a nice trail.

I did not walk very far on the fitness trail either, because I wasn’t even wearing good sneakers.

Nicely marked basketball court.

Of course basketball is out of the question.  I have neither a basketball nor teammates.

I don’t have an electric vehicle, either.

Another good feature is electric charging stations.

The next event the Town Park Committee is planning is a car show on July 26.  I plan to put that on my calendar! The Town of Herkimer Park is located at 154 Pine Grove Rd., East Herkimer.

 

Bad Pictures, Good Eatery

The other day I checked out the other new restaurant in Herkimer, NY, Paradise Eatery.

Must get a shot of the window without all the reflections!

I had been intrigued for some time by “This must be the place” on the front window.  I heard they had opened and stopped by one afternoon.  At the time I stopped they were only serving smoothies, smoothie bowls, or appetizers.  Appetizers are my favorite, so I looked at them first.  I chose Crab Rangoon.  Ooh, were they good!  They came with soy and boom-boom sauces for dipping.

Oh dear, this isn’t the best picture either.

I could have sat out on the patio but opted for the dining room, which was almost empty at the time.  It was just before the dinner rush.  I appreciate beating the rush.

And this one’s blurry! Damn!

I took a picture of the ceiling on purpose, because it is one of the cool ones you often see around here.  As you see, it is not such a good picture.  I am nobody’s photographer.  However, even with lousy pictures, I can recommend Paradise Eatery.  If the other menu items are as good as the Crab Rangoon, you will be in for a treat!

 

I Love Flowers

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  I know I threatened to make this blog All Pride Stride 5K All The Time, and I did go for a long (for me) run this morning, but it was not very eventful.  Besides, I have some flower pictures!  I love flowers.

I forget who this guy is.

I pass by this statue many times per week on walks and runs.  It is Meyers Park, which is fairly close to my house.  Somebody takes very good care of the plants around the statues.  Next time I’ll get a shot of General Herkimer, who stands on the other side of the park.

Yay! They bloomed!

And here is my house, made extra cheerful by peonies and daisies!  I think the daisies may have gone a little too far this year.  I may need to get rid of them entirely and plant something else.  I also need to get around to planting something anything elsewhere in my front and back yards.

Ignore the mess, enjoy the daisies.

I cut a bunch of the daisies to make a cheerful bouquet for my living room.  I would like to cut a couple of the peonies and bring them in, because they smell so nice, but I am afraid of bringing in ants with them.  Ants help peonies open by crawling inside the buds and eating something.  That is about the only good thing I have ever heard about ants.

I still have not done much about making my own garden grow; regular readers may recall that the daisies and peonies come up with no effort on my part.  But the second week of June isn’t too late?  Is it?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

A Yummy Snack

The other day I finally made it to Caffe’ Maya in Herkimer, NY.  It was late afternoon and I was feeling peckish, not ready for dinner but in need of a snack.  I happened to walk by Caffe’ Maya and found it open.  Score! I had an antipasto for one, and it was delicious.

I know, I only should have taken a picture from the outside as well.

It looks like a traditional Italian place with lots to look at.

Maybe too busy of a picture?

Of course, seeing all the cans made me want to cook for myself, which I rarely do these days.  Then again, my stuff probably would not turn out as well.

Not such a good shot with the sun coming in the window, alas.

I did not take a close look at everything hanging on the wall.  Perhaps at another visit.  Of course there must be another visit.  I must try other things than the antipasto!

I did not sit on this inviting bench.

The bench was near the door to the ladies’ room.  I guess you could sit there an wait if it was Occupado.  Oh wait, that’s Spanish.  Silly me.

Caffe’ Maya is located at 208 S. Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-574-2236.

 

What Is It With Me and Theatre?

Yes, it is Lame Post Friday again, the day of random observations and half-baked philosophy.  The day where I get silly for about 200 words then dive into the weekend.  Once again, I look to my Media Library for inspiration.

This is NOT what my hair looks like now.

This is me as seen on stage in Prescription: Murder at Ilion Little Theatre.  Actually the last view of me on stage was my awesome slipper sticking out from behind the couch after my husband had strangled me, the bastard.

Me dead. You would think the murderer would have looked happier; I was pretty annoying.

However, I did not want this to be another theatre throwback (not that there’s anything wrong with that), so I will look for a different sort of picture.

I should cook more recipes.

I just found my copy of this cookbook underneath my coffee table.  I do not know how it got there.  It is the cookbook put out by Herkimer County Historical Society, and the inspiration for my murder mystery, Recipe for Murder Royale.   Oops, I am back to talking about theatre.

Love the mustache.

You may think I am getting away from theatre with a shot (literally) at the Elks Club in Herkimer, BUT…  to begin with, many of my murder mysteries have been performed there; this was a shot of Frangelico in a Frangelico glass, the inspiration for one of my all-time favorite character names, Frangelica Inferno; AND the shot glass reminds me of a glass that was a present from  cast of a stage play I directed that later figured in a murder mystery for Herkimer County Historical Society.

So I have walked down Theatre Memory Lame and plugged Herkimer Elks and Historical Society.  I think I’ve earned my Happy Hour beverage.

 

A Stop at the Chowdown

Yesterday was the first Herkimer Downtown Chowdown of the year!  The food truck festival takes place Mondays all summer long in Meyers Park.  It features a variety of vendors and live music.  I had to cover the Herkimer Town Board Meeting for the Sentinel Media Company yesterday, and it was right on my way to stop and have a hot dog.  Like I said, a variety of food choices, but I LOVE hot dogs!

Herkimer loves its Chowdown!

Full disclosure:  I did not take any pictures, trusting to having something in my Media Library I could use.  I did not stay long at the Chowdown  anyways.  I enjoyed my hot dog and chatted with a couple of my friends from the Herkimer County Historical Society.  They had a table where they were selling tickets for their grill raffle as well as promoting some of their events.  I may go to a class on genealogical research.

Another picture from a different year, but I think this truck was there again.

Hildreth and Kelsey were the musical entertainment.  They were still playing when I came back through the park after my meeting.  I danced my way along the path.  I find musicians like it when you do that.

You can follow the event on Facebook at The New Herkimer Downtown Chowdown.  I hope to catch a few of my favorite musicians there, at least briefly.  And sample some of the other delicious foods!

 

Stone Soup? Yes, Please!

Friday I checked out the newest restaurant in Herkimer, NY, Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden.  I had heard from friends that it was a good place to eat, and the outdoor seating area was lovely.  It took me a couple of tries to be hungry at a time they were open, but then I had a great meal!

I especially like the lettering!

I had been watching with interest the work being done on the empty storefront.  As soon as they had a Facebook presence, I followed that.  The name was inspired by the children’s story “Stone Soup.”  The lettering on the sign comes from different locations across the country.

It can seat up to 50 outdoors.

I opted to sit out back, in the beer garden.  I was early, so tables were not filled.  I ordered a smash burger with homemade chips.  I am a sucker for homemade chips!

Where I was sitting.

This would be a great place for a group of friends to meet.  I must gather a group of mine soon!  In the meantime, perhaps I will go there for lunch and get a picture of the indoor seating.  And sample more of the menu, of course.

Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden is located at 148 Main St., Herkimer, NY.  You can check their Facebook page for menu and hours.

 

Some Semblance of a Post on Slacker Saturday

My blogging woes continue as I missed making my Lame Post Friday post yesterday.  It is early(ish) Saturday morning and I thought I could type some semblance of a post before trying to get on with my day (as Truman Capote famously said, “That’s not writing, that’s typing”).

Is this cool or what?

I thought I would use the pictures I added to my Media Library a few days ago.  I saw this lovely dragon fly towards the end of a walk and paused to take a picture.  I don’t really know from dragon flies; I guess there are different kinds.  Perhaps I should research the matter and report back.

Preview of Coming Attractions?

I have been interested to see these signs on some of the (sadly) empty buildings downtown.  BOA stands for Brownfield Opportunity Area.  The signs are put up by the Herkimer Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), which has been awarded grant money and has big plans.  This is another subject I should research and report back on.

More Pub than Grub these days.

I have talked about this place before, The End Zone, one of the businesses keeping Main Street from being a ghost town.  There are others, but I have not taken pictures of them recently.  I think I will do that on a future walk, just to give a shout-out to those businesses (preview of coming attractions).  Unfortunately, today it is raining.

I see I am over 200 words and have no excuse for not getting on with my Saturday.  Well, I guess I still have to eat breakfast.  In any case, I thank you for tuning in and will try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

Happy Blogiversary to Me

Under the heading Shows How Much I Pay Attention, WordPress just wished me a Happy Anniversary (or did they mean Blogiversary?).  I did not even remember that was coming up.  I have been blogging since 2011.  Fourteen years (took me a minute to do the math).  Full disclosure:  my lightheadedness continues, so I am not up to doing much of a blog post anyways.  I think a Throwback Thursday will just about fit the bill.

Look how cute he is (was).

From May 2011 to October 2016, my blog was unillustrated, because I did not know how to add pictures (what, unillustrated is not a word?  I’ll be damned).  One of the first posts I did with pictures featured my dear, since departed, husband Steve at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY.

A creepy shot from one of my favorite movies.

Once I learned how to add pictures I took, I soon learned how to download pictures from the internet, so I was able to indulge my love of movie monsters.

Yes, I am a drama queen.

And I was able to use my blog to tout my community theatre endeavors in Little Falls, Ilion, and Herkimer.

This was a great evening!

 

I also like to plug local businesses as well as the music and art scene.  The above picture is Oscar Stivalo and friends playing jazz music at the Renaissance Pub in Little Falls.  The Ren was hosting an exhibit of Stivalo’s paintings, and this was the opening.

And so my blog continues.  There are some new businesses in the area I need to check out and write about, as well as some favorites I want to revisit. As always, I thank you for staying tuned.