The City of Albany is going to be a test review to see if it posts. Since yesterday my photos have…read morenot been posting on Yelp. The last app update was four days ago. I'm very sad. As for my state capital I think it's beautiful. I've never been unhappy with our state government. As a low income senior citizen I don't pay taxes in my state. I feel our governor always works well with my City of New York. There you go! I'm a fan and if you live here you may be a fan too!

If you like parking tickets and school zone violations this is a great city to add some tax to your…read morealready unbelievable amount of taxes due. Come to visit the capital and get a 50 dollar parking ticket when the sign says free parking after 3pm. Why not drive around and explore the city. Feel free to drive through one of the 20 ,20mph, school zones with speed cameras. Summer when school isn't in session, doesn't matter, they still are school zones. O by the way the deliberately obscure the former blinking zone lights so you are not aware of the school zone. Have another 50 dollar ticker for the thrill. I'll avoid this run down dump like the covid vax going forward.

I wanted to see Moby and made my way down to Lark after 2pm. I wasn't sure what to expect or how it…read morewould be made as Moby is know for electronic music. But it was amazing. Moby is kind of a dork and would say after every song "thank you, thank you very much" intoning almost none of the soul contained in the music. Soul there was, Moby is near genius in the color of sound. Grabbing a rhythm and riding it out, exploring it from angles and giving it dimension. The band was amazing, violin, vocals huge drums and keyboard made the future of music. The crowd started a little stiff but everybody was dancing by the end. Wrapped and surrounded by an incredible sound system all of the tens of thousands of people who were there on an amazing September day were having a good time. I'm usually kind staunch about my personal space and I had to throw that right out the window. It was friendly however and Albany cool was in full display. Except for the dude right in front of me. I don't know what the hell he was on but was totally out of control. Going from Maori warrior to cheetah in the grass dance moves. He was spasmodic and epileptic and we tried to crowd surf him away. But he wouldn't go. He was directly channeling music into movement and that was scary. Larkfest is a highlight of Albany.

Not sure on details about when this event happens, but i was fortunate enough to be in Albany…read moreduring Lark Fest. Live bands, vendors, food and a packed street in front of the park. A lot of fun for a Saturday afternoon.

Buckingham Lake/Pond (depending on what site you check) is in the middle of a quiet suburban area…read morein Albany. There's a path around it to stretch your legs and/or those of your canine companions - circle it twice and you've walked 1 mile. The playground area makes this a popular neighborhood destination. The fountains were active today (it's a warm day in February with some ice cover), but the ducks were.

Very pretty walk in the middle of stately housing. Even when walking through a mist it's ok since…read moreit's mostly shaded. Half mile around.

Great experience! Got our wristbands quickly and were on our way to tastings immediately. All of…read morethe breweries' servers were super polite and friendly. It was nice to chat about all their different beers, history, and what they'll be doing in the future. And then we met Mill House Brewing - they are awesome! I got to talk to one of the owners and he gave me great advice as a home brewer. I'm hoping to see a lot more from them upstate. It was a much quieter and refined event than a lot of beer 'tasting' events. There was great food in between booths/tables to enjoy between tastings. Had a great time.

Not quite as good as last year: a tasting contest doesn't really make for much of a spectator…read moreexperience, to be honest. A couple of real stand-outs, with the clear winner being Mill House - their double IPA was a clear best of show and the staff were the most friendly; the new brewery at Indian Ladder also impressed. Otherwise, not much beyond the basic tasting this year, but a perfectly enjoyable tasting with a large variety of brewers in any case.

The City of Albany is known for its many headquarters for the State of New York Government. It's…read moredefinitely a great city but I'm a little disappointed with the government department of taxation and finance. I started working on my taxes. The first thing I noticed is that I'm trying to complete them the old fashioned way. My daughter printed what I sent off the tax website and it is the online fill in form. The worst thing I noticed was that I can't read the tiny print! Bottom line I'm doing the best I can copying last year. I'll look up 2025 changes. They're getting what I have and I'm hoping they deal with it! I always get $63,school tax back. Get it together for the elderly Albany!

Dearest Albany, We…read morelove you. This is a letter to express that. When we first set eyes upon your bus station, we were skeptical. Don't all love stories start out that way, though? Something changed as the visit went on. Walking through the streets, we discovered that Albany has a history. Of what exactly, we're not sure. But something regal, something elegant. The Egg first drew us in with its architectural quirks. But as we stood underneath it, gazing out onto the City, we realized that it is so much more than a concert hall. It is the Renaissance of upstate New York. It begs us to answer the question: what came first, the Albany or the Egg? And the Egg was only the beginning. The more time we spent getting to know Albany, the more we found to love. The New York State Museum, with its lack of entry fees and interactive historical exhibits, taught us how to be kids again. An older gentleman at the front desk directed us to the carrousel. We laughed and we laughed. While on the carrousel, that is. The rest of the Museum is quite serious. The fun didn't stop there. We wandered into a nearby smoothie shop/art gallery. We experienced the thrill of a traditional Albany-style grilled cheese. The locals are so enterprising and cute! Well, at least the one we found. When one walks the empty streets of Albany, one finds oneself. Thank you for the journey. Peace and love, Visitors

Came here with coworkers for a business dinner, and from the outside you'd never expect how great…read moreit is inside. The restaurant itself is smaller and broken up into different rooms, which actually makes for a really nice, more intimate dining experience. The service was top notch. The staff and our waitress were incredibly attentive very professional and always right there when you needed something without being overbearing. As for the food, everything we had was excellent. I ordered the duck, and having it prepared in different ways including as a sausage was honestly amazing. The eggplant appetizer was on another level, and the grilled octopus was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. I also had an espresso martini, which was made really well. To top it all off, the pistachio cake for dessert was the perfect finish. Overall, this place is truly top notch great food, great service, and a great experience all around. Definitely worth checking out.

Traditional Italian food in a cozy atmosphere. The ossobuco was tender and flavorful. Pasta is…read morefresh and served al dented. We shared a sumptuous pistachio cake for desert. The service was exceptional. Recommend for couples and small groups.

RESERVATION ONLY * WOW! What an amazing meal! Best carbonara I've ever had. Husband ate all of his…read morevodka pasta with chicken. High quality ingredients. Lovely glasses of wine. Service was great. You can tell the people working here take care of their space. Someone was always cleaning. Tiramisu was light and flavorful. What a great gem in Albany.

This place completely exceeded our expectations. From the cozy atmosphere to the amazing food and…read moredrinks, everything was top tier. The staff was welcoming and attentive, which made the experience even better. We started with the garlic bread, and it was warm, buttery, and perfectly prepared. Along with that, we ordered an espresso martini and a limoncello spritz -- both tasted fantastic and paired really well with the meal. For my main dish, I chose the chicken carbonara, and it was rich, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. My boyfriend had a creamy pasta with shrimp and mushrooms in a pink sauce, and he loved every bite. Overall, such a memorable dinner spot and definitely somewhere we'd come back to again.

Ah, good old Wolf Road, always evolving. I don't get back home too often, but I seem to always see…read morenew businesses popping uphere. Chain burger joints seem to be the new craze on this strip. Luckily some of the oldies like JT Maxie's, Denooyer Chevy and others are still around! Most people don't realize this busy Capital Region road used to all be farmland a mere 60 YEARS ago. My mom grew up in the South Colonie area, it has got to be wild to have experienced how much this has changed. I think there MAY be one private residence left on this road. I was looking through an old book on Wolf Road while I was home in the 518. It's by Naylor, Platt and Platt, I imagine the Colonie Town Library would have a copy. I was skimming the book and found out that a country club once stood where Colonie Center is. I lived in Albany 30+ years and it's amazing how much that mall has evolved, it's now quite nice for this region. I remember the Herman's sporting good store on Wolf Road, that moved to Colonie Center and is now long gone. I miss the days when we had Papa Gino's across from the mall! I remember driving by Jerry's Bike Shop and Cranberry Bog often as a kid, hard to believe these spots are no longer there. Platt's Deli was another popular Wolf Road institution, that was replaced by Bucca di Beppo (if I remember correctly). It's amazing how many businesses have come and gone over even just the last 20 years. 2012 brought us Trader Joe's, which has horrible parking nation wide and even in Smalbany too! I'm not quite sure why they placed this popular store in such a congested area! The traffic on Wolf Road is to be avoided at Xmas, but after living in Los Angeles, I now snicker when my friends complain about this thoroughfare.

Wolf Road, a popular restaurant strip in Albany is by far a major strip of road that anytime I head…read moreup to Albany, I always end up taking. Whether it's to get to Colonie Center at one end of the road to the Albany-Shaker Rd intersection (leading to Albany International Airport), there's no stopping at what's always going on in this strip of land. I always have enjoyed heading into Colonie Center, but sometimes stop at McDonalds down the road, or if I'm in a real pickle I'll stop into Hooters (on a whim), but I always find something I'm after on Wolf Rd. There's no stopping the businesses here. You have plenty of hotel/motels here, and several banks have locations down this strip. The only trouble is all the traffic lights which ties up traffic too often. There's a few gas stations along the route, but I'm amazed at what's there already. I'd hate to demonize Wolf Rd because there's so much I can get to when I'm there, it's sometimes necessary to say "avoid it" because of the traffic lights and heavy traffic. It's all city traffic here, stop-and-go all-the-time; sometimes the average tourist hates but will encounter when coming down this road for the umptisquat time. IHOP is always a family favorite - especially with it's former gabled-roof charm, but if it isn't for Colonie Center and the airport (because exits 3 and 4 of the Northway really never hit home for helping me get to the airport) , I never thought I'd go past or use this road ever again. When traveling this strip, you have to know what you want and be willing to accept just what you get even if it's farther than you'd want to travel to get to the outer areas. Full-time locals of both Albany and Colonie, might have better viewpoints of most of the other locations, but when you travel, you have to be select, and selection is definitely a lot of what this area is like. I have headed into more businesses than you can imagine - all on Wolf Rd both as a tourist,and a semi-local, and each time I'm amazed at what I didn't know the last time I came, and I'm always in for more knowledge the next times I come through, thereby replacing other notions of what I didn't know about before.

Only open Friday and Saturday! Wonderful, try them!…read more We thought it was closed but NO, we love this place.

This review isn't of the food here, because I haven't had the food. It's a review of the cocktails…read more Sometimes in my reviews I mention that I don't know much about the cuisine that I'm reviewing and you should take my opinions with a grain of salt. That won't be the case here, because I'm a big weird cocktail nerd, and I'm putting my hands on your shoulders, looking you straight in the eye, and telling you that cocktails at 288 are very, very good, and not in an I'm-grading-on-a-curve-because-there-aren't-many-places-around-here-serving-truly-good-cocktails kind of way. The drinks here are well-balanced and tasty, but also INTERESTING, which makes this end of Lark Street with 288 and The Savoy officially the best place to get legitimately good and creative cocktails in the Cap District. The cocktails at 288 are good because the bar manager, Emmanuel, is an absolute pro: he was the reason that the cocktails at the late, lamented Speakeasy 518 were the best around, and now he's brought his expertise to 288. He's working with a much smaller bar here, but describing your favorite flavors to him and letting him surprise you is still a great idea. If you want to order off of the menu, the Commodore #2 (with house-made grenadine) might be my new official drink for fall/winter 2021. Really, though, you should just order whatever looks good, and be prepared to end up ordering another.