Sperry's

Sperry's Restaurant Review:

Sperry's is a Saratoga Springs thoroughbred racing season staple every August, but was formerly an afterthought the rest of the year. However, it has become a year-round must-visit since Christel and Colin MacLean bought it in 2010, expanded the facilities and installed Dale Miller as executive chef. It offers four distinct dining spaces: The Tavern Bar, with red leather upholstered booths and the original bar; The Caroline St. Room, with original fine art and French doors; The Garden Room overlooking a courtyard; and the seasonal Garden Patio, notable for its atmospherically lighted trees. Miller has retained some of the “old Saratoga” style offerings with an ocean raw bar and the usual steaks and chops. But he has broadened the possibilities to include numerous new and updated dishes. Some examples among the appetizers are artichoke fritters with Meyer lemon aïoli and balsamic greens; risotto with herbed goat cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds and blood orange essence; crispy Thai pork belly with sweet potato silk and soy-brown butter glaze; and the "Cigar & Brandy," a smoked-salmon sushi roll with a tobiko red caviar tip, served with a snifter of saké brandy. Among the entrées, enjoy roasted Maple Leaf Farms duck breast with a huckleberry sage demi-glace, grilled 59-hour Cajun-spiced rib-eye, and an oven-roasted halibut filet with a leek and shiitake compote and a vintage port sauce. For dessert, we suggest the gâteau marjolaine, a flourless three-layered confection featuring hazelnut meringue, praline buttercream and chocolate ganache. Miller, known for creating broad and reasonably priced wine lists wherever he cooks, here offers nearly 40 wines by the glass.