Thanksgiving in Lake Placid / Adirondacks

Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 09:13 AM
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Thanksgiving in Lake Placid / Adirondacks

We're spending three nights at the High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid over Thanksgiving (Weds-Sat,). Would love some up-to-date intel on best places to eat/drink and some novice-to-intermediate level day hikes. We're a middle-aged couple, traveling with two big dogs. Into locally sourced food and local beer, nothing too super-fancy on the restaurant side, we tend to be pub/bar regulars. (Though I am eyeing the Mirror Lake Inn's Thanksgiving Day buffet, which sounds fabulous.) Will have a car but also love to walk. Willing to drive ~30 minutes' radius for food outside Lake Placid if it's worth the trip. Thanks for any help!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:24 AM
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If you want to hike up one of the high peaks, both Giant and Cascade are good hikes close to Lake Placid. Cascade is an easier hike, but both are doable for any age, and the views from both are great.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1322361
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1322381
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 12:02 PM
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Thanks, J62!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 01:18 PM
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I have stayed at Mirror Lake in twice and while it has been a while, I LOVED it and the food was amazing!
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Old Nov 30th, 2013, 09:02 AM
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Just home from our trip and wanted to share our restaurant report:

Mirror Lake Inn for Thanksgiving Day dinner was lovely. Beautiful setting, bountiful buffet, turkey and poached salmon were standouts. A few misses, like stale rolls. Peanut butter pie and sour cream apple pie were nice finishes.

Great Adirondack Steak & Seafood: great place for a beer and a bite. Super crowded in the bar on Black Friday, grumpy servers, wailing kids. But good sandwiches and great beer. We had a salmon BLT sandwich and a fried eggplant and mozzarella sandwich and they were both excellent.

Liquids & Solids: by far our favorite dinner. Interesting, broad and deep menu with lots of locally sourced meat and veggies. Sweetbreads on parsnip purée was great, as was the pumpkin chili with braised short ribs. Great craft beer on tap, expertly mixed cocktails and very nice atmosphere, lively bar crackling woodstove and very non-touristy. If I lived in Lake Placid this would be my go-to spot.

Chair 6: We had breakfast there our first day and liked it so much we went back a second time. A small place with a mom-and-pop vibe and local ingredients. Would have done dinner there too but ran out of time. Pumpkin-ginger pancakes were fabulous, the syrup was real, and the smoked trout omelet with fresh cheese and capers was a fave. Also a major draw: very, very good, strong coffee served in big mugs with aggressive refills.

Maggie's Pub at the Lake Placid Lodge: This is the more casual restaurant at the lodge, which is a gorgeous lakefront retreat with a nouveau-riche clubby kind of atmosphere. Artisans Club, the fancier restaurant, offers a tasting menu at $115/pp and an a la carte menu that includes several options for caviar courses, so maybe "more casual" isn't saying a lot, but hey. Maggie's has a three-course prix-fixe for $34/pp, which I did and was happy with: Mac and cheese to start, skirt steak and molten chocolate cake with house-made salted caramel ice cream. Husband had the post-Thanksgiving leftover plate, which was an open-faced sandwich with turkey, stuffing and trimmings with gravy, which he gave an "OK." We went without a res on the day after Thanksgiving, which meant waiting about an hour for a table, but we walked around the grounds and star-gazed and then got a drink and sat on a comfy leather sofa in front of one of the many fireplaces, and it was lovely and romantic. The whole evening went swimmingly until about halfway through our meal when our server vanished and we sat with dirty plates, waiting on coffee and dessert for so long that I was getting up to go complain to the hostess when he reappeared. It was easy to get peeved about this, but they were holiday-slammed and the food was really delicious, so I'd still completely recommend.

Dancing Bears: A casual restaurant and sports bar that's part of the High Peaks Resort where we stayed. Smack in the middle of town, totally serviceable for breakfast or lunch or watching a game and eating bar snacks like calamari, which were delicious. Not a destination dining spot but a safe bet for a club sandwich or a burger on a sleeting night, for sure.

The Cottage at Mirror Lake Inn: this little lakefront pub was really charming and cozy, with great local draft beer choices. We had drinks there twice on our way elsewhere, but did not eat. Good service and colorful characters.

Noon Mark Diner in Keene Valley: stopped there for breakfast on our way home, on recommendation of Trip Advisor peeps; don't bother. Apparently they are beloved for their pies, but basic breakfasts of omelet and egg sandwich were nothing special, and torturously slow.
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Old Nov 30th, 2013, 11:02 AM
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Thanks for reporting back; always nice to do that and leave feedback for others searching similar requests.

Glad Mirror Lake Inn worked out well, despite what I hope were minor issues. Happy that after all these years, it is still worth recommending.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 12:13 PM
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Sharing a good blog post with even more places to try:
http://saratogafoodfanatic.com/2015/...ake-placid-ny/
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