When you think of the best food in the area, does Schenectady come to mind? Schenectady recently topped a best food city list, beating out not only Albany, Troy, and Saratoga, but also all other cities in Upstate New York.

Chuck D’Imperio, author of the book A Taste of Upstate New York: A Guide to 40 Treasures, recently put together his personal list of the best food cities in Upstate, and Schenectady came out on top, out of a list of 12.

Here’s the full list:

Schenectady Binghamton Kingston Utica Ithaca Buffalo Oneonta Plattsburgh Rome Syracuse Rochester Saratoga

For each city D’Imperio lists a “crown jewel dish,” a “bucket list restaurant,” and a “surprise treat.” Here’s what he came up with for Schenectady:

Crown jewel: Morrette’s King Steak House, for their steak submarine sandwich

Bucket list restaurant: Ferrari’s Italian Ristorante, for their pasta sauce

Surprise treat: Perreca’s Bakery, for their cannolis

D’Imperio notes that Schenectady has been home to a great number of ethnic foods ever since immigrants came to the city to work for General Electric or the American Locomotive Company.

The term “Upstate New York” can be subjective – where does it really begin and end? – but given the above list, we can assume “Upstate” encompasses quite a large area: as far west as Rochester and Buffalo, as far north as Plattsburgh, and as far south as Binghamton. The fact that the Upstate region is so large makes this win for Schenectady all the more impressive!

Looking at the Capital Region specifically, Albany and Troy did not make the top 12, but Saratoga did. Saratoga’s highlights are as follows:

Crown jewel: Saratoga potato chips

Bucket list restaurant: Hattie’s Restaurant, for their classic Southern cuisine

Surprise treat: peppermint pigs

What do you think of Schenectady beating out the neighboring city of Saratoga? Or, do you think Albany or Troy should have made the list?

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