Sawdust Cafe - Gloversville

So much potential. So much disappointment all around. A quesadilla is NOT traditional Mexican food. A quesadilla isn't even considered adult food in Hispanic culture as they are intended for picky eatin' children. The bar lacked any real liquor or choices. All mixed drinks served in 16oz pint glasses like a college bar.

Went here on Saturday night. Visiting my son From Virginia. They were super busy which is a good sign. I ordered the cheeseburger with onion rings. The burger was great! Cooked correctly and nice and juicy. The onion rings were fabulous....highly recommend! Check it out if you're ever in Ballston Spa! As of February 20, 2019, they revised their menu and are under new management. I think they even changed the name to Sunset Grill. I can't wait to check it out the next time I'm in town

Above average choice for a casual meal. The manageable menu has a few twists that lift it from the ordinary; there was a bit of apple chutney in my pulled pork sandwich and andouille sausage in my potato salad (I couldn't actually find it, but the potatoes were fresh and tender and the dressing well-balanced). There are several Mexican entrees and side menus of specialty cocktails and house-made desserts (the fried ice cream seems to be a favorite). Prices are more than fair--my pulled pork on a generous Kaiser roll with choice of side was $8.99. The location is an older building right on Front Street. You go through a little entry hall to reach the dining room; duck your head if you're tall. The room was a tad chilly on the first snow day of the season, but I solved that by leaving my coat on.

Loved the previous version of the restaurant, Sunset Cafe; however, the new owners appear to be in over their head(s). The restaurant seems to be searching for an identity, as it still touts the Southwest cuisine that underpinned its predecessor, yet it features the logo of a beef cattle, and it has an expanded menu that is more random than interesting and eclectic. I tried an old favorite Sausage Quesadilla and found this take to be lacking (e.g., sliced sausage instead of ground sausage), and the presentation was cheap: gone was the well presented shredded lettuce, diced tomato (as I remember) and sour cream, to be replaced by a plastic cup of unremarkable salsa with some sour cream. The atmosphere feels decidedly cheap the inviting atmosphere of the Sunset Cafe has been replaced by a fairly sterile setting of cheap, plastic table covers; Cajun background music was replaced by overly loud rock music more befitting of a bar; ceiling tiles that were broken or not placed in the grid properly; and menus apparently printed on a home computer that featured numerous typographical and grammatical errors (e.g., dessert is spelled both correctly and incorrectly on the same page). While visiting on the second Friday they were open, the beer taps had failed, and I was informed that my choice of bottled beer was out of stock. Granted, failures happen, but it doesn 't appear that the restaurant was in a position to compensate with additional stock of beverages going into the weekend rush. One improvement over its predecessor is the attentiveness of the wait staff; however, on opening night, the waitress could not explain some of the new dishes on the menu (yet an earlier post on Facebook touted the review of the menu with the wait staff). I do hope it succeeds, as this restaurant can continue to be a good addition to the village. I hope that they will use these reviews as constructive criticism and make the changes needed to be successful.

The food was mediocre at best (one star rating is generous , and our meals took an hour to come when restaurant was nearly empty. The appetizer of Mussels was in a watery liquid that lacked flavor. The pork loin dinner came with mashed potatoes but the kitchen was out of them at 4:30 pm on a Friday. The vegetable was overlooked carrots. No roll or bread came with the dinner and no salad which I understand. I ordered a Fish Fry with sweet potato fries but regular fries arrived. The fish was over fried and the small piece of haddock was soggy. Cole Slaw is a favorite of mine but this rendition was tasteless strips of cabbage with mayo no flavoring. We were disappointed with the food and will not return. There are better places to enjoy a meal in the area. (Server was immature but that was ok with us as long as the food we were served was good.