Ton's Sports Bar

Woo Hoo! It's FOOTBALL season! My favorite time of year/place... autumn in the North Country, upstate New York... And football, of course. I have been a fan of (American) football since I was a kid. I remember my Dad teaching me the concepts and rules of the game while watching on TV Sunday afternoon, sitting in his lap in the easy chair. I used to be the only girl playing in local, neighborhood, pick-up games as a tweener. And the guys liked me on their team. I was agile, fast and understood the strategy.

Now back in Potsdam, my daughter Julie (of this project) is doing cheerleading as a 5th grader in Middle School. She cheers in an all ages club for the pre-High School football squad. I, Mom (of this project) am taking her to the games to cheer and realize that neither she, nor most of the younger cheerleaders know ANYTHING about the game!

We don't get cable TV right now (as part of our family budget cuts), so I can't watch the games (insert sad-face smiley emoticon), nor can I sit my kid in my lap and explain the game to her, as my Dad once did for me. Enter Ton's Sports Bar! What a great excuse to bring your kid to a bar! I was wondering how I was going to tackle the bars in our North Country This Week's Restaurant Guide.

Off we headed on our bicycles to 159 Market St from our home just down the street a few blocks away. I told Julie we would stay and watch the first half of a game and I would explain what was going on while we ordered and ate some food for our blog. I knew she would not be interested enough to last an entire 3 hour game. It was a beautiful fall day, warm and sunny. So we were in t-shirts as we rode our bikes along the lane, tree line leaves just starting to change color for the season.

We arrived in time for the kick-off of the Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills. We sat in the main table area in front of the big screen we had all to ourselves. There were only six other patrons sitting at the bar itself (where I would rather be), able to also watch the Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints on the smaller TVs. I noted that Ton's has a pool table, foosball and electronic dart board games. There is a small stage where bands play on Friday and Saturday nights. There is also a free popcorn machine. There looks to be a juke box, but it probably only gets turned on week nights.

Its a good, typical bar menu, better than just the basics, with a real kitchen. It offers chicken tenders, popcorn chix or shrimp, burgers, hot dogs, fish sandwich, poppers, mozerella stix, onion rings, and cold sandwich basics-ham, beef, turkey, tuna or egg salad with potato or mac salad sides and a soup du jour. I am going to add here that I scoped this place out this summer. They make excellent Bloody Marys as I learned while using them to check out some Grand Slam Tennis finals action earlier this year. It is a friendly and even "family" atmosphere, at least in the pre-evening hours, of which is all I can speak to.

I ordered the chicken parmesan sandwich and large fries to split with Julie. Though normally I would have gotten a tasty beer to go with my meal (they have Saranac Pale Ale on tap), I was on a restricted diet for a medical procedure in two days so just went with a 7-Up. Julie got a Shirley Temple (her favorite bar beverage) along with her, fittingly enough, Buffalo chicken wings... mild w/bleu cheese, celery a given. Julie praised them, I tried them and they were excellent. They were deep fried then drenched in a lovely, tasty hot-tangy sauce, dripping and pooling with grease.

This is why I have to say, as I did in our blog for The Bagelry, here is a type of cuisine that seems only to be properly accompished in a regional setting. First thing is that Julie's order of "mild" above, would be considered scalding "hot" in other areas. There may be some rare place, far-flung from the northeast U.S. that pulls off "Buffalo" style chicken wings, but I have never experienced it, despite my extensive living and travels. Most places at least try to cover for their shortcomings by labeling them as just "wings" on their menu. But, you can still tell they are trying to do this... Buffalo style hot wings as popularized in western, upstate NY. Said "wings" or "hot wings" are just wrong on so many levels... the worst ones being done in this odd kind of reddish-colored batter, like quasi-southern fried chicken. They aren't even spicy hot, at least not to my seasoned palate. Bleu cheese dressing is usually not even a choice and you are lucky to get celery on the side. Maybe they give you some other mayonnaise-based dressing to cut the bite (?) of the so-called hot sauce, like ranch. Puhleeez, what a joke.

We watched the game. I tred to explain every play and down. I brought a real football and demonstrated the position of the center hiking it for special plays like the quarterback sneak. Julie and I have thrown the ol' pigskin around in the yard before, so I figure this is like a visual aid to teaching the game. It was 21-3 Raiders at halftime when I asked her if she wanted to go. Of course, she said yes. In my own heart, I knew it could be a blow-out or a fantastic comeback. Alas, it was the latter as I found out later. It seems a little unfair that the only live football I get to see these days are her Middle School cheering games with these sad rules that take away the kicking aspect for lack of skills. But, when I'm there, I empathize with these young kids even if only as a young kid myself at the neighborhood playground field. And I still get into it!

Oh, btw, we have transitioned into the Fall Restaurant Guide now. As this "no rules" blog goes, we will piddle our way through as we see fit or the moment strikes us.