Peck’s Arcade

Peck’s Arcade is a great restaurant up in Troy, New York. My wife‘s friend Nick is the chef there:

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When we were up in the area visiting my wife’s family for Thanksgiving, we stopped in to try the food. The building itself is a really cool historic structure that used to be an inn:

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The place was full – even the wine bar next door that is under the same ownership.

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We had a great bar style seat that was overlooking the small but extremely organized and efficient kitchen staff:

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The cocktail menu is really dynamic, with old fashioned shit like the Pisco Sour, as well as new recipes like the Hibiscus Negroni.

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Pisco Sour and a Red Scare are pictured below. Both were really tasty and well made.

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We started out with several small plates. First was the octopus with hummus and roasted red pepper:

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The char was excellent on this. The tentacle itself was expertly cleaned to be void of any chewy skin but the suction cups remained for a great crispy texture. It was soft and light.

Next was the bowl of wild mushrooms:

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This might have been my favorite of the night. The mushrooms were simply but properly done with brown butter and coarse salt.

Next we tried a crostini with sardine. This was really flavorful and smoky, with a great savory punch to it.

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The last of the small plates we tried were these fire roasted local carrots with dill, yogurt sauce, spicy smoked pepper paste and brown butter crackers:

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Next we tried a pair of house-made pasta dishes. The first was the pillow soft gnocchi with a nice classic tomato and basil sauce:

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The star, though, was the thick chitarra pasta that was served with broccoli rabe, a mild cheese sauce and some grated egg yolk.

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It brought out the inner goombah in me so much that I started loading up my fork with twirling motions against a spoon, like my grandfather used to do:

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For dessert we tried this really tasty smores panna cotta that came with chocolate cake, burnt sea salted marshmallow and homemade graham crackers.

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Some cookies came with the bill as well. These also had a hint of salt in them, just like the dessert, which made the chocolate in both items really pop on the taste buds.

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If you happen to be in the Albany/Troy area, definitely give this place a try. Everything on the menu looked so good, and with a seasonal menu that changes often, it will always offer something unique and different with each visit.

PECK’S ARCADE
217 Broadway
Troy, NY 12180