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Hi John and Colleen, March 1, 2007
My name is Suzanne and I am a transplant from Williamsburg, Virginia.
I've been up here in Massena NY for about 2 years now and have gone way
past withdrawls for good quality food...especially seafood!!! I read
your restaurant review this past weekend in the Watertown Times and I
cannot wait to get to Saranac Lake to check you guys out. I was hoping
to get out there this weekend but I'm afraid a snow and ice storm
looms.....bummer. I am looking forward to good ol' oyster stew, fried
oysters, crab cakes, gyros (pronounced yeeero), brisket, miso
broth....YUMMMM!!! I want one of everything! Hope to meet you guys
soon....take care.
Sincerely, Suzanne Bayorgeon
Dear John & Colleen, March 16, 2007
The visit to your "Little Wonder" in Saranac Lake on Thursday, March 15th, made us two for two ... we were there at the Winter Carnival Weekend and now twice we have come away with smiles and happy stomachs!
It is so refreshing to find such culinary delights available without having to mortgage the house to enjoy. It is so worth the trip to drive from Massena!
I see a letter from "Suzanne - transplanted from Virginia" and can only tell her to make the trip! We were in the Maryland Bay Area - me for 27 years - my wife forever - before I transfered to Massena and "Eat-N-Meet" is the only place we have found that has any idea of how to do a Maryland Crab cake.
We will be back whenever we are in the area ...
Thanks for everything. Tim & Brenda Burrell Massena
Dear John and Colleen, March 26,2007
Jill and I moved to Saranac Lake just about a year ago. During our nightly walks with our dog Bailey, we noticed your family hard at work on the Eat N' Meet Grill. To be honest, what I remember most clearly from those busy days was your Elvis statue that never failed to land smiles on our curious faces. Other than good taste in music, we had no idea what to expect!
What we've discovered is a hearty menu filled with new tastes and experiences within walking distance of our home. I travel quite a bit for work and have eaten all over the country. As you know, everyone has his or her "special spot" they want to take you to--their own "best kept secret" closely guarded by area locals. I have eaten at many of these during my travels. I have to come home to experience the creativity and goodness of Eat N' Meet, my own "special spot" tucked away in the mountains. When relatives and friends visit, dinner at Eat N' Meet is a given, our own "special spot" that never disappoints!
My favorite Eat N' Meet meal at the moment has to be the goat curry stew and a fresh Arugula salad. Jill is partial to the from-scratch veggie burgers with a sweet side of plantains for dessert. We're both still exploring the menu, giddy with the discovery of future favorites. We do have one complaint. Every time "The King's" crooning catches our ears, our mouths start to water for some Eat N' Meet goodness...we forgive you!
James, Jill, & Bailey
April 4,2007
Dinner a couple of nights ago was fabulous. The liver and onions was
great and the Korean dish with kim chee was awesome. Thanks!!!!
Claire
Dear John & Colleen, May 1, 2007
Unfortunately as you were opening up last summer, my girlfriend and I were
packing up our things and heading out to college. Through a friend we had
heard that the food was great, but couldn't manage to get in before we
left. On our visits home throughout the school year we wanted to stop in,
but could never find the time. A couple weeks ago we got into town and
thought about a few places to go out to dinner. We then thought about your
restaurant and decided to give it a try. We had seen the menu online and
already knew what we were going to order.
While traveling in Jamaica last summer we tried a dish that was new to us.
This dish was Jerked Chicken and it was cooked at all the huts, shacks,
and restaurants all over the Island. We came back and tried making it at
home, but had mixed results. We also tried it a few other restaurants, but
still no winners. Nothing was as good as the original. This is where you
come in. We had seen your menu online and were very excited to try your
Jerked Chicken. We were overly impressed with our meal. It was as good as
any place in Jamaica, if not better. We have been back twice since our
first trip and have thoroughly enjoyed all of our meals. We look forward
to coming home in late May and trying different menu items throughout the
summer. What a great place to eat!!! See you soon.
Brian Fitzgerald
May 1, 2007
TOP 5 PLACES TO EAT IN THE U.S.A. I loved it and I have eaten all over the place and this place is for sure in my top 5. can't wait to go back amazing!
George Potsos- bass for Devon Allmans Honeytribe. www.honeytribe.com
Dear John and Colleen -- September 3, 2007
As you know, Ed and I are regulars, and we regularly brag about you to all our friends and acquaintances. We've had many meals in Montreal, in some of the finest restaurants, and had despaired of finding really good food in the Tri-Lakes -- until you guys opened up. Without question, you have the best food around, and at very reasonable prices. We love the variety and stop in several times a week. Why cook when you have the talent, the imagination, the exotic ingredients -- all that it takes to produce fabulous eats?
Tonight's tilapia with wild oyster mushroom soy butter was exquisite. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
Nancy Murphy
October 5, 2007
We just want you to know how much we love your innovative menu, fresh ingredients and just plain wonderful food. We enjoy everything from simple dishes like your delicious chicken noodle soup to the fabulous silver tin specials and all the fresh seafood. I hope the word is out that you guys are the best in the area!!!
Thanks, Marjorie & Cliff Cochran
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cochran's Cabins / Kiwassa Lake Bed & Breakfast
1150 Kiwassa Lake Road, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
www.adirondackcabin.com / www.adirondackbandb.com
518-891-5721 OR 518-524-3745
January 29, 2008
My face just recuperated from the jerk chicken I had on Friday. Thanks, it was delicious! I cant wait to try the goat stew.
-Tony
January 30, 2008
- Kathleen HI; February 1, 2008
We visited Saranac Lake this past summer. Our daughter was 4 years old and is considered a great eater and is quite patient. So, we visited. We were blown away by the wonderful meal. Yes we had to wait but it was worth it. Our daughter got a kick out of the Elvis statue and walked around the mini putt course.
Thank you for a great meal. We mention it whenever we hear someone is heading in your direction and even if they aren't heading in that direction, it's still worth talking about the meal.
Regards, -Jackie
John and Colleen, April 26, 2008
We just finished our dinner of escargot (Shelia did share 1 escargot with me!) and kielbasa and hush puppies , and bread pudding, and flan. Absolutely fantastic! This is the 2nd time that we drove the 50 miles each JUST to go to your restaurant. (Thanks to the Watertown Times article by Wally Siebel)
Thanks for creating a restaurant that is just perfect!
Chris and Shelia Whalen
North Lawrence, NY
John and Colleen, May 9, 2008
I can’t explain how excited Claire is and I am to have our locally grown beef on your menu.
What you are doing for our community is astonishing and magnanimous. You are actually helping small farmers and producers of the NYS region make a living and “partnering” with us by showcasing our web sites and names on your menus.
Because of your interest and utilization of our product we have received phone calls and feedback that inspire us daily to continue with our challenging farming enterprise.
Your “socially responsible” practices and EXCELLENT preparation of product make your Grill and Larder stand out as a leader in unique and local dining experiences within the blue line!
Best Regards,
Patrick Clelland
Clelland Farms at Studley Hill
ContactUs@Clellandfarms.com
ClellandFarms.com
518-483-5554
Duane, NY
July 27, 2008
We were directed to eat at Eat 'n Meet from the book store around the corner. She told us that the food was wonderful, so we tried it. My stepson got the trout and he was thrilled, hubby got the perogies and was ecstatic, and I ordered the corned beef w/sauerkraut and I was in heaven. The food was definitely worth the wait, well worth it. There was a lot of food and the two gentlemen making the food were so friendly. I give all the forks I have for this restaurant. I will eat here again next summer....keep up the great food...
Much success!!!! Debbie
Hi! November 2008
We just enjoyed your beef pot pie, our first time in your
establishment. What a great idea you two have with your "it's not
fast, it's food" concept! We now have an answer to our perennial
question "What'll we do for dinner tonight?"
Best wishes,
Chuck and Helen Cairns
Hello John and Colleen, January 4, 2009
Just wanted to thank you again for the Sunday dinner party we had for my birthday. We had a blast. And the food, as always, was amazing! From the lobster profiteroles, leg of lamb,rosemary chicken, etc.,to the best carrot cake I've ever had. This custom tailored menu was perfectly executed and well priced. Everyone is still talking about how much fun we had.
David and 11 of his Friends
October 7, 2009
I’m sitting at Eat ‘n Meet for the third time this week. Where else, in a town of 5,000, can you get plantain dumplings, tempura battered butternut squash in ‘dulce de lychee’, poutine, jalapeno cornbread, home made kielbasa, falafel, pork schnitzel on brotchen, and crawfish and andouille e’touffee’?
The place feels like a crowded, old-fashioned country store. Looking around at the walls I see a framed certificate for the Guiness Book of World Records – something about the largest order of fish and chips ever served. Below that is a rectangular shadow box with five perfectly matched sea urchin shells: their matte white ovals stand out from a beige background. They seem random and strangely barren, the kind of thing I associate with hairdressing salons for tourists in Santa Barbara. Below them is a poster for the New York State Chocolate Festival of ’97: that seems right at home.
In the window is a poster for music: “The legendary grandson of Pete Seeger, Rodriguez-Seeger”, will play here in SaranacLake sometime soon. On the fridge is a bumper sticker : “You Are What You Eat” sponsored by the village whole food store, Nori’s. Then some print-outs of the global supply of fish, and a page about “Hoki”, a fish whose name in French is “merlu a longue queue”, which means it is a hake with a long tail. A pretty scene with mountains and an Adirondack chair says “Adirondack Harvest”. Next to it is a sign from Squeak Creek Apiaries advertising their local honey. The Adirondack Beef Company invites you to “enjoy the Same Wholesome, Grass Fed Beef that We Raise and Eat Ourselves”. It has a picture of a steer having a bad hair day: a tousle of tawny hair sits like a toupee on its head, between a rack of really sharp horns. Finally there is a long article from the New York Times titled, “Freeze That Thought” with sexy pictures of food in ice cubes. It is about freezing artichokes, peppers, egg whites, tortillas, wine and duck livers. The recipes include cookies, chicken livers with caramelized onions, and cannellini beans with bulgur and arugula. Top that off with coconut-nut macaroons.
The shelves have everything from Aunt Jemima yellow corn meal to handsome bottles of Spanish vinegar; from masa to wild Adirondack cepes (mushrooms) and Zulkan azucar morena. There is a Heinz ketchup bottle next to Bin Laden’s Fire: picture a hot sauce bottle with a label of Bin Laden ducking from rockets that are aimed at the cobra he has on his head for a turban. “Masa para hacer tamales” is right next to a gallon of maple syrup. The metal can the syrup is in has gotten politically correct since the days when my Granny B. would send it from Vermont for Christmas: now, on the side, next to the man in a red cap at the maple syrup still, it explains the debt we own Indians. “The Indians called it ‘Sinzibukwud’. The Indians taught the first white settlers to tap maple trees in the spring, then evaporate the sweet sap until it became maple syrup.”
Also in this hutch is Manhattan Key Lime Juice, a real hairy coconut looking woefully out of place (the last ones I saw were washed up on the beaches of Hawaii), and “cuitido Salvadoreno”: pickled cabbage from El Salvador. Yucca, green chili peppers, coconut milk, lychees, and menudo share shelf space with caviar, sliced conch, sardines, tiny Viennese sausages, anchovies, and Oreo cookie pieces. I could eat here every day, especially if I could wash it down with “BrainWash”, in the bottle sporting a skeleton with steaming brains.
Did I miss the taxidermied fish flapping its tail over the order counter? Or the bear head buried away in the corner? It seems to be snarling at the floor. It is next to a prize fish that has fallen 90 degrees so now its open mouth leaps at a flan mold and a brace of fish carved of rough wood. These last two trophies are by a glass case of handsome, rugged looking knives and their leather holders, beautifully crafted and costing hundreds of dollars. I read a page that says they are made by Jack Vargo, who I assume is the brother of Chef John Vargo. I look again and admire the work as best I can in the dim light. Jack also makes beautiful axes, which have porcupine quill bags embroidered by his wife. I think of Eliot, and I begin to miss everyone at home.
As I look up the shelves in this section of the store I see an enigmatic box that reads, “Our Pride Is Inside”. It sits in front of bottles of hoisin sauce and bags of what I think are dried shrimp. A ceramic Santa Clause next to them looks at a chafing dish; the dish reflects a stone gargoyle which seems to be grabbing its butt and laughing manically.
When I get up to leave I notice the boxes of produce all around me - they were delivered just before I got here. I know this because the man who delivered them stayed to have shrimp with his wife. On his way out he carried boxes and flats that will be filled at his farm with the next round of produce: tomatoes, butternut squash, lettuce, beets with the most beautiful tops I have ever seen, onions, apples, potatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers. What a nice way to do business.
When I ask about the Guiness certificate, Mike, in a Godzilla tee shirt, tells me he and John did indeed cook the largest serving of fish and chips ever recorded: 34 pounds of fish and 18 pounds of chips. I check out the newspaper clipping fading in the corner.
While I am getting my scarf out of my backpack I notice a New York license plate on a shelf that says, “Get Fish”. But my final impression is of a poster tucked in the shadows in the back: Einstein is smiling at his own words, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Amen to that.
Jill Littlewood
Jill@Littlewoodstudios.com
435 E. Pedregosa
Santa Barbara, CA, 93103
(805) 898-9260 (home) /(805) 448-2045 (cell) /(805) 898-0703 (fax)
Hi John and Mike, October 19, 2009
Thank you very much for the wonderful, fantastic, delicious food that you made and prepared for Rebecca McGuire and Marc DiGirolomo’s wedding (September 26, 2009). Everything was delicious-we could not stop eating!!!! We appreciate all that you did and we are very grateful to both of you. We wished we lived closer so we could enjoy your wonderful meals on a regular basis. Please don’t ever stop cooking.
Thanks again,
Diana
Diana McGuire, RN, BS
Pharmacovigilance Data Manager
Endo Pharmaceuticals 100 Endo Boulevard /Chadds Ford, Pa 19317 / 610-459-6472
nkisseljohns@twcny.rr.com October 20, 2009
Sometimes you come across a meal so good, so delicious, so fresh that you must tell the world. That was our experience with the food we received at the Eat 'n Meet Grill. We ordered the homemade kielbasa on a crusty roll (no peppers 'n onions)and the pork shoulder cutlet sauteed w/caramelized apple cream and potato pancakes. As the menu explains, be prepared to wait about 30 minutes for your meal. Be patient, it's well worth the wait. The kielbasa had an amazing taste, not real salty like store-bought kielbasa and the roll was indeed crusty, yet wonderfully fresh underneath the crust. The pork shoulder w/apples was a true tastebud delight. The pork was unbelievably tender and the caramelized apple cream sauce was unlike anything we had ever tasted before. A wonderful burst of apple, but more. The potato pancake was the perfect accompaniment to this dish. The atmosphere at the Eat 'n Meet was exactly what we look for in a restaurant, unassuming and homey. We're already trying to figure out how soon we can go back!