The Broken Inn in Niskayuna keeps things simple, friendly, delicious

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NISKAYUNA — Have a sandwich with a aspect of snark at the Broken Inn, located in a compact brick strip mall on Nott Street in the vicinity of the Niskayuna Co-op.

The Damaged Inn’s neighbors, earlier and current, in the purchasing plaza are represented by initial signage decorating the cafe: drugstore, barbershop — that variety of matter. That assists the cafe, which opened this previous March, come to feel like a part of the community.

Most of the furnishings, which all have an exciting provenance, came from someplace else: booths, the extended bar, the substantial-best sweet tables.

What’s a sweet desk? It integrates a industrial coin sweet device into the steel hardware beneath the table. Form of by your toes. The dispensers all surface to be stuffed with Reese’s Parts.

The menu is spot-mat-sized and laminated, and could double in a pinch. The whole factor is printed on just one aspect, including commentary from the proprietor, and he has a large amount to say.

You go to the Damaged Inn for a sandwich, a salad or a snack. The menu is quick — burger-significantly less, even. There are wings ($15 a dozen) and sliders ($12) and hummus ($12) to share and commence, and French onion soup ($8). Furthermore an primary, unclassifiable stuffed bacon app ($12).

Choose from 4 salads: chef and Buffalo chicken (both $15), Caesar and Greek (both of those $12). There are 5 sandwiches like a French dip ($16) and Blatnick’s roast beef ($16), named for Niskayuna’s individual Olympic gold medalist.

There is a back garden veggie wrap ($12), and grilled cheese and ham ($16), thinly sliced ham in between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Sandwiches include mac salad or coleslaw. Fries are $3 excess.

On weekends, they serve brunch-variety meals, these kinds of as eggs Benedict, and open up at 10 a.m.

The Damaged Inn does issues its have way. Like, it will take dollars only. Do not stress: There is an ATM in the place, and it only fees a buck.

Instead of letting the credit rating card firms skim 3% off each tab, the restaurant sends the similar quantity to aid regional deserving triggers. Teams modify regular.

You can quickly break up a large sandwich, but it’ll expense you. There’s a $20 penalty for a shared plate because, as the menu states, “split plate costs suck,” and the servers conclude up creating half as considerably. The $20 goes to the month’s Niskayuna bring about.

Per one more place newspaper’s “Table Hopping” site, all these quirks come from Tommy Nicchi, whose father opened the Comedy Operates, now found in Saratoga Springs, and Deli Is effective, lengthy closed, on Central Avenue in Albany. There are ties to Gershon’s deli, which points out the emphasis on sandwiches.

Nicchi is a hectic man, with a different Comedy Operates in Las Vegas, and he operates the parent enterprise of both. He also guides expertise for a club in Hawaii.
There was pushback from the neighbors, who didn’t want a bar shut by. So the Damaged Inn (named for daughters Brooklyn and Kennedy) doesn’t continue to keep late hours and asks that you not park on the neighbors’ lawns.

I arrived before Patrice, got a comfortable, padded booth with check out of the bar and eating area, and recognized I didn’t have any hard cash. Yikes! Then I remembered the ATM in the eating area around the ice-product window.

Pink Floyd was participating in, not much too loud. Partner Eric would approve of the common rock soundtrack.

You enter from the Clifton Park Road side of the strip mall into the dining room, or by way of the entrance, which is the bar. The plate-glass windows offset the darkish wood, and the repurposed fittings look original to the building.

We begun with a plate of sweet corn nuggets ($10), the special appetizer of the day. The walnut-sized deep-fried snacks are somewhat sweet on the outdoors, with a thick, delicious crust that provides way to a soft, creamy centre studded with whole corn kernels.

Along with was a cup of horseradish-scented creamy dipping sauce. The nuggets ended up topped with grated cheese, which appeared a random choice.
They are addicting, and we tried not to eat them all. “Pure junk food,” reported Patrice approvingly.

Patrice had a chef salad with balsamic on the aspect. I pointed out the freshness and substantial excellent of the Romaine. She liked that the meat and cheese were rolled alongside one another and sliced. It was arranged correctly: The egg was quartered exactly, the tomato and sliced cucumber positioned precisely.

“I like the two sorts of cheese,” she stated.

The Broken Inn fries in peanut oil, which provides further taste to any meals. Patrice handed around a matchbook-sized crouton. It tasted like it experienced been rubbed with refreshing garlic, then deep fried. Delicious.

The Broken Inn’s turkey club ($16) is made with 4 slices of bread and towers around the fresh new pickle and cup of mac salad. Thinly sliced turkey spilled onto the plate, leaving a good deal additional driving.

There was an abundance of bacon in two of the levels, and I fortunately nibbled at the salty, nevertheless chewy and not crispy items all-around the edges.

I taken off two of the bread slices, which still left a wobbly sandwich but gave me to prospect to charge the tomato (ripe, thinly sliced) and Romaine (ideal compact leaf).

The bread is from Perreca’s Bakery in Schenectady, which describes the fantastic chewy crust and organization crumb.

As significantly as probable I experimented with to maintain it together, and it was genuinely a handle. I liked all the fillings and built my way via the just one diminished 50 %.

The facet of fries ($3 further) was a delight, with thick-minimize, just-right basic sliced potatoes — outdated-faculty fries that never want any seasoning apart from salt.

The server largely still left us alone to chat but was there when we necessary some thing. By this time the place was busy and it was challenging for me to listen to her.

We shared an get of soft-serve ice cream ($5), foregoing the chocolate lasagna ($8) and other desserts. It was served in a tall glass with rainbow sprinkles over. I outlasted Patrice, and kept functioning prolonged after she’d set down her spoon. The strong observe of vanilla retained me going.

Cones or cups are each and every $5. There is chocolate and vanilla. The ice product window, on the Clifton Park Highway aspect of the making, is open up for wander-up enterprise.

The tab for our meal, together with a person lemonade, arrived to $56.16. I left a fantastic suggestion above that.

We liked the area a good deal, for its quick environment and seamlessly built-in repurposed furniture, and we appreciated the meals extremely considerably.

Also, it’s locally owned with good area children doing the job there. And when we fail to remember to bring cash, there is an ATM.

Caroline Lee is a freelance writer who life in Troy. Arrive at her at [email protected].

The Broken Inn

Exactly where: 2209 Nott St., Niskayuna (518) 469-5622 broken-inn.com.

WHEN: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 11 p.m. Friday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m Sunday

HOW Substantially: $56.16 for food, including tax and before idea

More Data: Children’s menu. Parking in entrance large amount and across the road in the big great deal. Dollars only. ADA compliant. Takeout not out there at this time.