Category Archives: Albany

Restaurants in Albany/Schenectady area

Parivar Foods

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Parivar Foods, Albany, NY

This is a fantastic market and cafe in Albany. My family frequents this place often but this was my first time eating here. We got five dishes and all shared, which is seriously the only way to order Indian. We started with the Samosas that were an appetizer special, they weren’t huge and I appreciated that because fried dough with no filling isn’t all that exciting. Up next was the Bhel Puri followed by the Spring Dosa and Onion Uttapam. All dishes were on par that day but they came out extremely hot so I had to wait a few minutes to enjoy– which was hard to do since I knew it would all be delicious! Last came the Gulab Jamun that rounded out the meal supremely. I frequently forget about rosewater syrup, which covered the fried milk balls, since it’s not all that common in western cuisine but it’s wonderful every time. Oh and I almost forgot to mention the Mango Lassis, if you like them this is not a drink to miss! While I didn’t get anything from the market side my sister stalked up and has had nothing but good things about the food she has tried.

DeFazio’s Pizzeria

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DeFazio’s Pizzeria, Troy, NY

After hearing my Dad talk about DeFazio’s serving one of the best antipasto salads he’s ever had and terrific pizza I asked if we could go while I was home over the Thanksgiving holiday. This joint is small, there are four tables in total, but I never underestimate unassuming locations since I like to think the smaller the place the bigger the magic. And I will give them credit they do take reservations. With no discussion we order the DeFazio’s Italian Sausage Antipasto Salad, the salad came cluttered with goodness– homemade sausage (yes, cooked hot sausage), roasted red peppers, and fontinella cheese were the clear winners if I had to choose. Next we ordered the Puttanesca Pizza, which was topped with artichokes, fresh mushrooms, Kalamata olives, capers, mozzarella cheese and spices. The olives were real and the capers added to the salty goodness that was this pizza. The crust though was what solidified me as a bona fide fan. It was thin and chewy but still had the brick oven bottom. Finally it was cannoli time! Around this time you can either choose regular filling or pumpkin filling plus you have the option of having the shell covered with chocolate or plain. It must have taken a good five minutes before I knew which one I wanted but after much debate I got a Chocolate Covered Cannoli with regular filling. It was freshly filled so no soggy shell here! I was stuffed but that didn’t stop me from eating the whole thing and not sharing… not even one bite. It’s true there is great pizza everywhere these days but there is something about Pizza in New York that no other state manages to achieve.