Stockade Inn  -- May 2007
6.88 - 7.5, 7, 7, 7, 6.8, 6.75, 6.5, 6.5 

A rather dreary day turned into a dreary evening, weather-wise anyway. A evening spent with our DP8-ers is never dreary… The evening began at the Teators with assorted mini bruschettas, crudités and our usual assortment of beverages. We caught up on the latest – the upcoming newest renovation project at the Teators, the upcoming end to school (blah, blah) and the usual conversation that occurs this time of year among those groups of people that live in the country and have a mountain of yard work to accomplish in a very short period of time.
           The off we went, or perhaps I should say up, over, around and through more country roads than I could count. Surely the Teators could have found a more direct route to The Stockade Inn in Schenectady, but then it wouldn’t have been the Teators. Thanks to them for almost always finding a way to show us the more scenic route.
          Obviously, The Stockade Inn is nestled in the quaint, tree lined section of the Stockade section of Schenectady. We entered this lovely, old building to find ourselves in the midst of a somewhat chaotic state – proms, weddings, birthday parties and the bar business all happening on top of the regular restaurant business.  That being said, we were ushered promptly to our table, a large round located in the middle of the dimly lit, much more subdued, dining room. ...
         The usual drinks were ordered (2 bottles of Williamette Pinor Noir for 5, 2 pinot grigios and 1 white zin) and enjoyed as we perused the varied and numerous entrée selections. A warm selection of bread was served just prior to the arrival of salads and appetizers. The house salad was good, but ordinary, there were a couple of generous spinach salads with blue cheese, a bowl of beef vegetable soup declare very good and a dinner sized portion of calamari accompanied by a citrus butter sauce that Deb K shared with 3-4 people (and there was probably still enough left over for a full dinner) that was quite possible the best ever.
         Dinner arrived in a comfortable fashion – short ribs (Deb K), seared scallops (guess?), roasted lamb chops for Judy, pork tenderloin, steak for Kriss (well done? she said it was), swordfish (Tim and Don) and cioppino for Chay. Without remembering all the exact details of everyone’s meal (I’m no Don, that’s for sure), it is safe to assume it was well enjoyed by many empty plates and/or requests for ‘doggy’ bags. For a while, there was a quiet hum of knives and forks devouring well prepared and beautifully presented meals. ...
         Dessert consisted of Key Lime Pie, Peanut Butter Mousse Pie, chocolate raspberry cake, apple something --- along with the usual purveyors of Sambuca and Frangelica.

The Up Side
         Other than a small case of car sickness from the whirling and twirling around the curves and up and down the hills, it was a beautiful ride. I thought that overall the meals were incredible – well prepared and generous portions that were a delight to the eye and the palate. I think everyone would agree Stacey was by far one of our best servers in terms of personality and fulfilling our requests when made.

The Down Side
        That being said, the service was good, noting that Tim had to request water glasses be filled on at least 2 occasions. Tim also noted that the swordfish was just o.k. Also, and I do not believe this has ever occurred before, I think there should be sanctions for “stealing” someone else’s choice. The Stockade Inn had been on the Karnes’ list but the Teators beat them to it.