Added Value

Just as the racing association adds value to a purse, each THE TRACK MAITRE D adds value to your handicapping membership by providing tips on great restaurants to frequent.

THE TRACK MAITRE D believes that racing is not just a day at the track, racing is an experience! And what better way to make it so than by ending your day winding down at a great restaurant and enjoying some good company in a setting that lends itself to the Sport of Kings?

The fall brings new tracks into the mix and simulcast locations are more in play than ever before. As we showcase Florida's West Coast Simulcast Alley in our newsletter The Stretch Call, we focus in on Solorzano's Restaurant in the center of this snow bird paradise

Located at 2117 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, Florida, this family-owned restaurant hails from Hoboken, New Jersey and has had a following since 1977. Fran and her husband run a tight ship; he being the chef and she being the only waitress. Ample staff surround the two of them as Frank Sinatra music plays in the background and Fran chatters away with her patrons like they are family.

Tucked away in an obscure plaza, this gem of a place offers daily specials from lasagna to gnocchi with true Italian and boasts a select wine list paired to the food. You'll even find desserts flown in from New York's specialty bakeries.

So many poeple believe good Italian fare is hard to find when they sojourn South for the winter. At Solorzano's you never had to give up the best of dining, service and of course, location, ideally enroute to or from the simulcast destination of your choice.

Please call ahead 941-906-9444, you're here in season!

When we turn to 2009, we will paye homage to the East Coast of this great state of Florida with gourmet fare for the hungry handicapper.

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ONE CAROLINE STREET BISTRO

When in Saratoga Springs do as Saratoga residents and tourists alike do after a successful day at the track - go out and eat at one of the many fine restaurants!

THE TRACK MAITRE D and team found One Caroline Street Bistro by perusing restaurant row at the track where we were encouraged to try this great place located (you guessed it) at 1 Caroline Street in downtown Saratoga Springs. Now, we have been visiting Saratoga for 22 years and tried many dining locations. We always get excited when we find a new one to add to our list. This one is a keeper.

As you enter One Caroline Street Bistro, you step down into a warm and cozy room that is broken up into pockets of intimate dining experiences. There is stone and wood everywhere. A small bar is to your right as you enter and as luck would have it, we were seated with the entertainment just a few feet away. Cocktails first, of course, and they were delicious. I often move to Manhattans in such a warm location as this one, and I followed suit, but Vodka would play a role shortly. Great appetizers for two of the three team members and a generous salad of arugula and goat cheese prepared us for the entrees. Sticky chicken over dirty rice, pork saltimbocca with cheese and pumpkin ravioli, and shrimp and scallops over crab meat ravioli in a Vodka sauce were received with great enthusiasm. Special note: 16 local and sustainable farms supply the restaurant. The owners describe their food as “not travel weary but fresh from the farms in the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys.”

Our fabulous evening ended with a few after dinner libations as we listened to Sarah Pedinotti and her band performed a set of songs that locked us in and moved this restaurant to the top of our must visit list. We couldn’t let the week pass with out another excellent evening at the owners’ other location, The Mouzon House where we dined again in style and, once again, enjoyed Sarah’s music. The mix of music that is available Monday to Saturday at both locations compliments the entire evening.

This August, we will be back to both restaurants more than once! Call them as well, 518-587-2026 and tell them THE TRACK MAITRE D sent you!