Back in the New York Groove

The previous 5 blog posts were a catch-up from our 22-23 season in Florida. Now, to paraphrase Ace Fraley of KISS, we’re “Back in the New York Groove.”

Table of Contents

As usual, let’s start with our Nebalatan Word of the Day and the very interesting Saratoga Springs Post Office.

Nebaletan Word of the Day – Bacouz

bacous’/bacouz (pronounced buck-OWZ) – bathroom (Italian-American – backhouse) from https://americanitalian.net/2009/04/14/italian/

Used in context with Dad (Grandpa Tony) & Ma (Grandma Joanne) – a repeat of last blog post, but it truly was a repeat conversation for me as a kid!
- Dad – “Michael, did you pee all over the bacouz”
- Me – “No, I have good aim”
- Ma – “Michael, you have the aim of a drunk scustumad! Vafango!

The Italian-American Podcast had a fun cast about Italian American linguistics (see link) that started with “Biangolin’ – Bagnarol – Bacous.”

What makes it more interesting is that they claimed “bacous” was a Brooklyn/NYC term. But, Grandpa Tony used the word likely in the 1930’s as a child in Ashtabula, OH. When we went to Ellis Island, we found ships’ manifests with my Great Grandfather Lucio Valeriano (notice one “L”) and noticed that one of his US destinations was Brooklyn around 1903.

Historic Saratoga Springs, NY Post Office

Upstate NY is loaded with architecturally significant Post Offices. Unfortunately, as is the American way, some are being shut down (Canajoharie, NY), and worse, torn down (Fairport Village, NY). In the Fairport Village, NY case, the artwork was destroyed with the PO demolition (doesn’t seem to be a very Democrat, art and liberal loving thing to do!). But, that’s not the case in Saratoga Springs, NY.

The Saratoga Springs PO is historically significant enough to have a Wikipedia site (see here)

This is one of the oldest PO’s that I’ve found; built in 1910! At that time (and still is), Saratoga Springs was the expensive playground of the NYC elite. It is also one of the few PO’s I have architected by James Knox Taylor.

The exterior has classic symmetry used by later architects. The dark windows, brass front door, white trim, and round top windows provide great contrast to the medium dark façade.

The interior reminds me of the Galleria in Napoli with a massive lobby, glass ceiling, and elaborate work work (although much of it is now painted.

Finally, murals were added in the 1930s as part of the WPA Artwork initiative. They depict the horse racing culture that symbolizes the area. Great examples of period and location specific story telling through murals.

Forno Bistro (website) – Saratoga Springs, 5/18/23

Full Purchased Pizza Table of 93 Pizzeria Reviews (click here).

Style	Rating	Go Back?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Notes
Neapolitan/New York	Good	No	Good, but is it a Neapolitan or NY style, can’t tell, wants to be both	Nothing special	Lots, too much?	Dining room, nice	EXPENSIVE, wouldn’t go back for pizza, but other items were fabulous

Pizza Rating for Forno Bistro

No pictures, this place is trying to be an upscale, snooty Saratoga Springs Restaurant, not a pizzer (spelled that way on purpose since no Brooklyner would go here!) joint. As I noodled over my pizza, other patrons watched. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures in here.

During our visit to Saratoga Springs, NY, a quick Google search for “Pizza Near Me” revealed good reviews for Forno Bistro. Forno Bistro is more of an Italian-American “fusion” restaurant and not a pizza joint. As with many fusion style restaurants, Forno Bistro tries to do “special” (don’t read that as good) things than more traditional Italian-American joints. If you read that as that I’m not a fan of fusion, you’ve read that right!

I tried their pizza was billed as Neapolitan, but it’s crust was flat and with little air, so it was more like a New York style. The dough had good flavor, but the sauce was ordinary, lacking any distinctive flavor while lacking a distinctive tomato tang. Because the cheese was abundant, it overwhelmed the other toppings, disrupting the pizza’s balance.

On a positive note, the restaurant’s presentation was impressive, offering a delightful dining room experience. However, the high cost of the pizza, coupled with the style ambiguity and mediocre sauce, left me hesitant to return specifically for pizza.

Yet, Forno Bistro’s menu held some redeeming qualities, as other dishes were truly fabulous. Although the pizza didn’t impress me enough for a revisit, I might return to explore more of their enticing offerings and enjoy the charming ambiance of the dining room.