Roger K.
Yelp
We had an hour or so to kill in Saratoga before our next appointment and decided that the best way to occupy our time was to head toward Henry Street. Both the Taproom and the Merry Monk were both open as we searched for a parking space. Since we had been to the Monk not that long ago I decided we should visit the Taproom.
At 4:30 on a Monday there was plenty of seating. The couches in front of the fireplace had been moved into the adjacent hallway leading to the kitchen and the restrooms. In their place, a DJ's station had been set up with plenty of old fashioned albums and two turntables. The records were already spinning, courtesy of the bartender. Since we had chose a high-top closest to this area, the bartender was kind enough to stop by our table to let us know that we could ask him to turn the music down if needed.
The bartender was the only front of the house staff person that we recognized since our last visit. Inquiring of our current server of the status of a former favorite server we learned that all the staff were newly hired. She, in fact, was into her first week. But she was friendly, efficient, and new the menu and beers well already. She reminded us that Mondays were $1 oyster night and tonight's offering were Rip Tide oysters.
In spite of a fellow Yelp friend's not so enthusiastic report on a previous Monday's oysters here, we ventured into ordering a half-dozen since we didn't know what type of oysters he had experienced when he was there. These were clean, farm-raised, medium sized, and fresh. They were served with the typical mignonette, lemon wedge and the Taproom's own mix of a slightly spicy, chunky salsa.
We also ordered a cheese board with Rupert cheese ($8) consisting of a sprig of red grapes, a ramekin of caramelized onions, and toasted farm bread. This Vermont cheese is made from raw jersey cow milk. This five-years-running award winner, was semi-hard, had a nice flavor, and was slightly sharp. The grapes were nice and sweet and the bread was probably from Rock Hill, which guarantees it would be good.
BTW, our beers were a Lawsons Super Sessions #2, a double IPA, ($8/pint) and a White Hag Milk Stout ($9/pint). Both excellent.