With Alex firmly ensconced in his graduate program in Cooperstown, NY, we find ourselves passing through Albany, NY quite frequently, and usually around lunch time. This past trip we stopped at Provence, which is located in the Stuyvesant Plaza, right on Rt 20, or Western Avenue locally. As you might expect this is a French restaurant, and also a wine bar. It offers traditional fare and an excellent and expansive wine list, through which you can visit every major wine making region in France.
This time Cheri ordered one of her favorites, crab cakes, and they arrived hot and crunchy. All crab meat, these were quite good. They were served with a side of Madagascar Green Lentils. I opted for the Kobe
Brunch Menu
A very attractive ceiling
Burger, and this was juicy and perfectly cooked to my medium to medium rare request. You can certainly opt for more traditional french options as well, and at dinner they offer staples such as Bouillabasse, Steak au Poivre and Coquille St. Jacques. Prices on all menus are very reasonable, especially considering the quality of the food.
With lunch we ordered two glasses of wine. They were:
2009 Seignur de Lauris Vacqueyras – this was dark red and brought dark fruits to the palate, with earthy tones, tobacco and plum. Also some dark berries and spice made themselves evident. Medium bodied it sported good length and well integrated tannins.
2010 Perre de Laville “Le France de Logis” Chateauneuf du Pape – this was darker red with a big nose of red
Lunch Wines
and black fruits, loam, smoke and savory notes. All this came out on the palate as well, and the wine was big and long. Full bodied, this was an excellent drink.
You could pick up just about every type of French wine by the glass, including several Bordeaux, a Mercurey and a Puilly Fuse or two. The bottle list was excellent, and some examples are:
1999 Caymus Special Selection $295 (not French but apparently Special)
2003 Chateau Clinet Rouge $120 – not bad in a restaurant, but more than we would ever spend.
2000 Paul Roger Vintage Brute $225
So you could spend a few bucks on wine, but you don’t have too. I like that.
Provence is one of our favorite places in Albany. Our wallet is out when we are passing through.
PROVENCE: STUYVESANT PLAZA ALBANY, NY 518.689.7777
A votre sante!
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