Yanni's Too

Yanni’s Too – August 2015
6.82 – 8, 7.25, 7.25, 7, 6.8, 6.75, 6, 5.5
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A half-hour drive to Ravena, a scoot east to Coeymans, a slide next to a scenic town park, and hugging the river is Yanni’s Too. Again, like Catskill’s Port of Call and Dock Street Station last month, we enjoyed the river views and gawked as a couple large ships glided past.
          Yanni’s menu is classic casual-river, and then some. Try calamari four ways; a dozen starters of seafood, nachos, fries, wings; ten sandwiches and wraps; burgers done six ways; three steaks, with six “enhancements”; ten more entrées, five fried baskets; four Italian meals; and a dozen desserts.
          And if one checked the online menu ahead of time, a made-up mind might have been changed by the Specials sheet listing another ten appetizers and fifteen entrées.
Our choices:
--> Lobster mac & cheese, gigantic bowl (Deb K: excellent, doggie bag was as big as the bowl)
--> Fried shrimp basket, with a big handful of fries, coleslaw, and two sauces (Chay & Kriss: both very good)
--> Fried scallops baskets (Deb T: good but might have liked a non-fried choice)
--> Ribeye steak, with onion ring topping (Ken: very good)
--> Broiled seafood trio – fish, shrimps & scallops with bread crumb topping (Kerry: ok)
--> Broiled grouper topped with lobster pieces and sauce (Don: tasty, fish a bit soggy)
--> Caesar salad with chicken (Julie: excellent)
          Most of the entrées came with steamed vegetables – satisfactory enough.

Appetizers dotted the table.
--> Caesar salad (Deb T, Chay, Ken: all good)
--> Clam chowder (Kerry: very good)
A table share included:
--> Bruschetta fresco - fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar on grilled bread. The bread could have been toasted a speck more.
--> Yanni’s Famous Calamari, seasoned with lemon-garlic-wine, deemed good by the calamari enjoyers.
Both were devoured in short time.

Dessert was almost passed up again but Kriss pressured Don:
--> Ultimate chocolate cake (Kriss: very good)
--> Chocolate mousse cake (Don & Deb share: a pleasurable dessert)

The drink order started with our arrival at the indoor bar at Yanni’s, most of us drinking draft beer or gin & tonics, and this carried over to the table.

Ambiance centers on the river. Arriving just after 6 p.m., in late August, we soaked in the summer feel of shirt sleeves and water and boats and greenery. Our table placed us feet away from the water, about ten feet above river level—a pleasant arena to enjoy dinner.
          The building looks like an old pavilion that got improved, and then revised, and improved again. Inside, a large bar dominates, a small corner occupied by DP8ers until we were ready to move riverside. Outside, the metal-covered roof, about fifteen feet long, covered about seventy feet of tables, with a plastic-roofed extension adding more dining space.
          As dusk fell, the two rows of lights, twenty in a line, half-garishly lit the area, while the trees across the river faded into darkness before the rising full moon silhouetted them. Passing boats and ships created a wake that glistened in the glow of the moon.
          The background music from the live band indoors, the laughter of the tables nearby, the scruff of loose stone of those walking nearby added to the feeling.
          Tables were joined, covered by dark linen, and covered with napkin-wrapped sets of a knife and fork. It was classic outdoor summer dining that we will recall several months from now.

Service by Colleen was excellent. A middle school teacher, she found out our past occupations (oops, sorry, Kerry) and we told teaching stories for a minute. She seemed busy but took care of us in a personable and attentive way, a perfect match for the evening. (The only quibble was a waylaid ketchup bottle.) Good luck with the school year, Colleen.

The bill for the evening, including all costs, came to $72 per couple, plus the drinks we had ordered at the bar.

It’s been a rare DP8 summer, with both months designated at group picks at riverside establishments, and with no pre-session. It will be a choice to discuss for future summers. All arrived at Yanni’s in good time, except for South Cairo car that tried the industrial park first.
Conversations, in the car or at the bar or at the table, included: the Karneses trip to Cayman, the Quinns’ youngest is a Syracuse freshman—should be an empty nest but older siblings are still home, George Pulver’s passing, job and residence status of children, the second grandchild of the Monteverds and the obligatory oohing at the photos, Ken almost snapping his neck noticing two young beauties approaching, the Delaware County Fair, the golf games of Chay and Kerry, Julie’s new love, Mexican soap operas, cruises on the Hudson River, the recent nice weather with only one warm spell, paving of local roads, a Finger Lakes trip, the whereabouts of the Adamses (Europe) and Pisano & Burhouse (NC), Deb’s art opening, Don’s century, driveway coatings and costs, visions of Florida, and more that have eluded recall.