Our next dinner out was at an old favourite, the Turf Club at Saratoga Springs! We started coming here many years ago when it was one of the best value 1TS place for steak and have always enjoyed our food.
It’s rather underrated so it’s never been a major must-do kind of place for us. But I remember some years ago, maybe 2016 or 2017, we were looking for somewhere to eat near Disney Springs as we were staying at a Disney Springs hotel within walking distance.
Shockingly, none of of the menus at Disney Springs appealed to us that day (we had already eaten at 2 other places there). And we had leftover credits to BURN lol! So we spent the effort to trek all the way over to Saratoga Springs to have a lovely dinner at the Turf Club! And even paid extra for an uber back to our hotel. AND thought it was entirely worth it.
Looking for places to eat, I suddenly remembered how much we used to enjoy the Turf Club and decided it was time to check it out again.
It was a beautiful evening so we asked to be seated on the patio. The inside is cool, quiet, slightly dimmer, and very cozy in a lounge type of way. The patio was serene, cool (with fans whirring overhead) and absolutely delightful with a scenic view of the water.
I asked about the bread service in the beginning but was confused after a while when nothing showed up. So I flagged our server down again to ask and she didn’t realize I wanted it (as I didn’t explicitly ask for it). So if you want free bread, looks like u have to ask. I’ve noticed this to be a trend in some nice restaurants lately and cheapskate that I am, I’m so not a fan of having to beg for free bread.
It came fairly quickly. Served warm, I thought it was really good! Firmer outside, the inside was soft and fluffy and I ripped up a little bit for DH. The salted butter made everything better. I believe the rolls have parmesan and onions or something like that. A great start to our meal!
Next up was our entrees:
DH asked for his Carrot-filled Agnolotti to be pureed. It was already pretty soft with agnolotti pasta with pureed carrots , mushrooms, and truffle onion cream. I took a taste and the flavour combo was delicious. (And prob way better not pureed lol). Still it made it easier for DH to eat and he really enjoyed it.
I had the Braised Lamb Pappardelle mostly because it sounded very interesting. Our server said her favourite was the pork chop, but that the lamb is a 50th anniversary special so good idea to try it before it disappears. She said to make sure I didn’t miss the goat cheese smeared on the side of the plate.
Oh wow. How do I describe this dish? First the pappardelle pasta was perfectly cooked and the wide, rather thick noodle was just right for this dish. The lamb was very gamey (DH tried a bit and didn’t like it - so u better like lamb as the flavour was pronounced and strong). The sherry gastrique was almost like a broth, it was so thin. The dash of goat cheese was a strong counterpoint to all the other flavours happening.
It is a very unusual tasting dish and yet, reasonably approachable (if you like lamb and goat cheese). Very fancy feeling and just so different from what most of us normally eat. I don’t think I have ever had a dish like that in any restaurant. A symphony of flavours and yet it felt light (huge contrast to the typical rich and heavy dishes here at Disney). Huge thumbs up for me.
In the meantime, DH and I spent every other minute oohing and aahing over how relaxing the patio was and how much we were enjoying the serene atmosphere. Our server was also very friendly and personable which always helps with the happy vibe.
Dinner over, it was time for dessert.
DH ordered the mango passionfruit creme brulee and I got the Black and White - basically a panna cotta with some chunks of chocolate cake.
I am obsessed with puddings, custards and jello and surprisingly, have never been a big fan of creme brulee. It’s always been just OK for me and I have had some very good quality ones. So it was the same with this. Maybe it’s the burnt sugar crust that I usually just peel off. DH enjoyed it and I gave him some chocolate cake to mix up with it.
The buttermilk panna cotta was so good. If you’ve never had panna cotta, it’s like a creamy jello, only better without the firmer bite of jello. This one was lovely with a strong milky, creamy flavour.
I didn’t find the chocolate cake bits particularly interesting and gave most of it to DH. I was not much of a fan of all those chocolate crumbs either but ymmv. I found them rather blah and detracted from the loveliness of the panna cotta.
Not sure I would order this again though. Mostly got it because none of the other desserts jumped out at me and I figured DH would like the chocolate.
A wonderful dinner and I will be bumping this up my to-eat list in the future.