Lake Placid Dining Review

Fireside Steakhouse
229 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY‎
(518) 523-2682‎
This place is a short walk from our lodge and on the recommended list by our host at the lodge. My group ordered prime-rib there, excellent and hardy. I got the chicken/shrimp/sausage pasta which came in a huge plate. I barely finished 3/4 of it with the help of my companions. The decor in this place is fabulous, with a real fireplace that burns logs. I think most of the places in Lake Placid keep their Christmas lights and some decor throughout the ski season so it’s very festive. I had some nice warm apple cider which had a healthy dose of cinnamon. I can imagine the holidays must be really nice here. Beer selection was ok but I didn’t get one.

Lake Placid Pub and Brewery
813 Mirror Lake Drive
Lake Placid, NY‎
(518) 523-3813‎
http://www.ubuale.com/
Probably the bitterest IPA (Lake Placid IPA) I’ve tasted in my life. K. was adventurous and ordered a Fresh Powder Milk Stout. C and I got the 46er which was still quite heavy but at least not as bitter. Our friendly bartender poured us sample size shots of all the beers on tap and told us that the town has a pretty vibrant bar life that closes around 2 or 3am. Coming from NYC, we were all relieved after hearing that. Since the slopes close early (4:30pm, they don’t have night ski like most slopes in PA) we were worried that bars closed early too. Since we had dinner early, we didn’t catch too many people at the bar. We played a game of pool and some darts and headed out.

Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood
34 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY
(518) 523-1629‎
http://www.greatadirondacksteakandseafood.com/index.html
CL ordered a pasta dish. C. got a porterhouse (pretty good). K. got the rib eye (I wasn’t crazy about it). I got the surf n turf which included half a lobster and 14 oz prime rib (amazing!). Minor issue is the density of the mashed potatoes. I was expecting something more fluffy. For drinks I ordered a Ausable Wulff Red Ale and then did a bunch of refills of root beer made by the local brewery. K. got some coffee flavored beer which was rather unique. In the end everyone who’s ordered drinks can take home a souvenir glass (with various logos, such as ski, hockey, snowboard, snowshoeing). For dessert I tasted the port ice cream which is always a win. Overall probably the best meal I’ve had in Lake Placid. Will definitely come back next time I’m in Lake Placid.

Dining Resource
http://www.adirondackguide.com/ncdining/ncdining.html

Lake Placid, NY

Lodging
Art Devlin’s Olympic Motor Inn
http://www.artdevlins.com/index.htm
We got a great view out of our balcony. The place is walking distance to quite a few restaurants and also has a free shuttle bus to Whiteface Ski Area. Lobby provides coffee and muffins in the morning for a quick breakfast.

 
Skiing
http://www.whiteface.com/
I was warned in advance that Whiteface is more geared toward intermediate (blue trails) and experts (black trails). Most of the trails on the top half of the mountain are blue or black. If you want to do a scenic ride, take the cloudsplitter gondola and then ride it back down. Since gondolas are enclosed and your ski equipment go outside of it, you don’t have to worry about getting on and jumping off with your skis. While you are up on the lookout point, be sure to watch out for strong winds and take your photos quickly! If you want to ski down, you have your choice of blue and black trails. I skied down the blue trail once, but found it pretty difficult. The second time I went up the gondola I just rode it back down.

 

The lodge has a nice outdoor picnic area for warmer days (day 1 of our trip) and indoor fireplaces with comfy chairs (for day 2 when it was cold).
First day we just brought Subway Foot Long sandwiches for lunch. Second day I bought chicken fingers and fries from the food court and thought they were pretty tasty.

Back to more skiing. I took a 2-hour lesson the day 1 which was helpful. Finally figured out how to ski parallel as opposed to wedge (pizza stance) all the way down. At first it proved difficult but the zigzag S way was much better for steeper hills. It was only after falling down the blue trail on day 2 when I realized maybe I needed more work on skiing and controlling my turns/stops. Day 2 afternoon I most did drills on the bunny slope and a beginning hill. Some slope reviews:
-Mixing Bowl: bunny hill near base lodge. Wide and very little slope. Mostly you’ll see people taking lessons. Day 2 was a bit icy but mostly a very good place to warm up and do your skiing drills.
-Round-a-bout: Not really a trail, it’s just a flat path that leads to the Bear Lift.
-Bear: My most comfortable green trail. I did my lessons on this one so I got the slopes all figured out. 
-Fox: I keep falling toward the end of this probably due to lack of speed control. I think it’s a bit steeper than the Bear.
-Gold/Silver: Near the kids lodge. When I went to that side I didn’t see many people on the slopes. Basically bunny hills for that lodge. When you take the lift, you can ski down a path that will lead you back to base lodge. You can also take a bus back to base lodge. 
-Excelsior: the blue that leads from the gondola downhill. I fell so many times it’s not even funny…
-Easy way: it’s a green from mid-mountain but still proved to be difficult and long for me. All of these long trails are a few times longer than the Blue Mountain green trails, even the Paradise.

Dining Review (next entry)

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