CLIFTON PARK — Sonny and Cher. Batman and Robin. Eddie and Mario.

On Monday, the eatery formerly known as Eddie F’s Clifton Park transformed into Eddie & Mario’s New England Seafood and Pizzeria, marking the official collaboration of two Saratoga stars: Mario Cardenas of West Ave Pizza and Chicken fame, and Eddie Fazzone, owner of Eddie F’s New England Seafood Restaurant.

“Eddie & Marios was created with a simple idea—bring together the comfort of handcrafted pizza and the freshness of quality seafood in one inviting place,” the business’ website states. “Our kitchen blends classic techniques with bold flavors, using fresh ingredients to craft dishes that feel both familiar and exciting. From oven-baked pizzas with crispy crusts to satisfying seafood favorites, every meal is made with care and passion.”

The restaurant’s new menu includes pizza slices and pies, subs (hot and cold), Italian entrees, wings, fish baskets, lobster rolls, and much more. The offerings are available for takeout, dine-in, and third-party delivery.

Although Eddie F’s in Clifton Park has undergone these changes, the Eddie F’s in Saratoga Springs will remain the same.

Eddie & Mario’s New England Seafood and Pizzeria is currently hiring for all positions.

For more information about the restaurant located at 1742 Route 9 in Clifton Park, visit www.eddieandmarios.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Dec. 2, Lisa Sondhof, founder of Operation Gingerbread and the Youth Forward Foundation, joined more than 40 residents of The Wesley Community for an afternoon of holiday cheer and gingerbread house decorating. 

Sondhof founded Operation Gingerbread in 2023 with the aim of cultivating a sense of community and spreading holiday cheer.

Sondhof’s Youth Forward Foundation is a Saratoga-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering disadvantaged and underrepresented youth by creating access to athletic, music, and academic opportunities. The foundation was launched earlier this year.

CLIFTON PARK — A new pickleball club will celebrate its grand opening in Clifton Park on Dec. 20 after opening festivities were postponed earlier this month.

Stephen Frye, a former math teacher and athletic director, founded the FryeGuys Pickleball Club as a space where people of all ages can enjoy the game, stay active, and connect socially. The club will feature three new indoor courts, and three instructors are already listed as staff members on the FryeGuys website.

According to the website Pickleheads, pickleball saw a 158.6% nationwide growth rate from 2020 to 2023, and has become “the fastest-growing sport in America.” There are now hundreds of places to play pickleball in New York State, with a number of them scattered throughout the Saratoga region.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Arms Hotel recently announced the launch of its new, limited-time holiday tea service, which will occur every Saturday this month (Dec. 13, 20, and 27).

The experience includes a selection of hot teas paired with a three-tier tower of sweet and savory finger sandwiches, tea cakes, and other treats. A special children’s tea menu will also be available.

Reservations must be made in advance at the following link: tables.toasttab.com/restaurants/a8887a6a-3716-46ff-ad7b-42328f250a71/reserve.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Neither snow nor sleet could stop Noah’s Italian from delivering on its opening night, which saw the new Phila Street eatery more stuffed than a conchiglioni.

Packed with a boisterous crowd, the highly anticipated Italian chophouse that features handmade pastas by Chef Danny Petrosino (of Osteria Danny fame) rolled out a menu that included early favorites like fried mom’s spaghetti, mezzi rigatoni, K.D.’s chicken parm, and hand-selected USDA Prime steaks. The dishes were served on plates that a server said were made by the same company that provides dishware to the White House.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given Chef Noah Frese’s background at the track-adjacent Siro’s, a few notable names in horse racing were among the opening night attendees (trainer Chad Brown, jockey Katie Davis, and former jockey Trevor McCarthy, to be specific).

Noah’s now joins several new establishments that have created something of a restaurant renaissance on Phila Street. Nearby are Familiar Creature, a wine bar from the owners of Hamlet & Ghost; Standard Fare, the latest venture from the duo behind Bocage Champagne Bar; and Fillies on Phila, a casual wood-fired pizza joint.

Noah’s is located at 43 Phila and is open Tuesday through Sunday. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ushering in what it called “a new era of precision and patient-centered care,” Saratoga Hospital recently announced the addition of a da Vinci 5 surgical robot.

The robot’s “enhanced ergonomics, improved visualization, and dramatically faster energy generator” are designed to improve surgical precision, reduce operation time, and support smoother instrument exchanges, the hospital said.

“Introducing the da Vinci 5 elevates our surgical capabilities and reinforces our dedication to delivering the highest quality care close to home,” said Jill VanKuren, president and CEO of Saratoga Hospital. “This technology supports our surgeons with new levels of precision and control, and it opens the door to safer, more efficient procedures for patients across our community.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — If you’re looking for Broadway’s newest bookstore, look up.

Botanica Books hovers above downtown Saratoga, a couple flights of stairs removed from the shoppers, drinkers, and gallivanters.

“I wanted something that felt a little bit off the beaten path, something that people might be curious about,” said Botanica’s owner and manager Carissa Mina. “The foot traffic has been great… Booklovers will go as far as they need to see a bookshop.”

The short climb is rewarded with a boutique-style store that looks more like a treehouse than Tree House Brewing: a plant’s tendrils fall between two bookshelves; a floral rug rests beneath two green cushioned armchairs; and a bird named Stevie Nicks is perched above the patrons. (Yes, Botanica has its own pet bird named after the witchy singer-songwriter.)

If the arboreal vibes aren’t enough to lure you in, the shop differentiates itself from other Broadway booksellers with its special-interest titles that cover literature, art, antiquity, botany, history, religion, politics, and more.

“I think my distinct personality would be that I love to read and I love to learn, and I really wanted to have a bookshop [where] all the books in it are books that I’m really interested in reading or learning from,” Mina said. “People can come in and find something that maybe they weren’t looking for and that they might have an interest in reading or learning about.”

Mina is a New York native (Niagara Falls, to be exact) who moved back to the great Upstate after living in Colorado, where she owned and operated a children’s bookshop called The Wandering Jellyfish. She’s also a writer herself and was active in Colorado’s wordsmith scene. After journeying back to New York, she hoped to recreate that community here in the Spa City. To that end, Botanica offers itself as a meeting place for writing workshops, book clubs, classes, and other small gatherings.

“Writers, we’re a lonely bunch,” Mina said. “I missed my community and [wanted] to give writers a reason to get together.”

Although Botanica only recently opened, local authors are already drawn to it. Saratoga Schaefer—a self-described “author, poet, and graveyard dweller” who is both named after Saratoga Springs and now lives in the area—stopped by Mina’s shop with an advanced copy of the forthcoming horror novel “Trad Wife.”

“It’s fantastic,” Mina said of the Schaefer book that’ll be out in February. “I love a good horror book.”

Lovers of good books of all kinds can stop by Botanica Books at 456 Broadway, Suite 302. It’s open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those interested in using Botanica as a meeting place for book clubs or writing workshops can contact the store at hello@botanicabooks.com.

BALLSTON SPA — The Still at Speckled Pig held its grand opening last weekend after a sneak peek of the distillery during Oktoberfest provided a first look at the space.

The Still, located next door to Speckled Pig Brewing in the former home of Jim’s Garage, features a modern, dark, green-and-black interior with a long white bar and plenty of seating. When the weather is agreeable, two garage doors open to an outdoor patio with Adirondack-style chairs and fire pits.

In an interview earlier this year, one of The Still’s owners told Saratoga TODAY that the new spot would offer whiskey, bourbon, cocktails (old fashioned, whiskey sour, autumn rye, martinis, Tom Collins, and a spiced pear mojito appeared on a recent menu) charcuterie boards, salads, steaks, and other small plates. The Still also served brunch on Sunday during its opening weekend.

The Still is located at 17 Washington Street in Ballston Spa. It’s open Thursday through Sunday.

Editor’s Choice  |  Ceramics by Amoreena O’Bryon Design

For special occasions, the plate matters just as much as the food on it. 

Tradition meets modern décor with ceramics that showcase the natural world. Ceramics by Amoreena O’Bryon Design, LLC. are not just a piece of functional art, they tell Saratoga’s story as the “City Within the Country.” 

Twenty years ago, while a student at Middlebury College, Amoreena discovered how much she enjoyed working with clay. Born in Italy (where her father sculpts marble and her parents still return for six months a year) Amoreena grew up surrounded by art. 

After meeting her husband, Bill, living in San Francisco and Woodstock, NY, they moved to Saratoga Springs, where she built a successful marketing and design business, and worked for Saratoga agencies, garnering clients including Business for Good, GE Global Research, the American Museum of Natural History, and others.

Good for Goodness’ Sake

Two years ago, Amoreena took a class at the Saratoga Clay Arts Center (SCAC) and fell in love with clay all over again. 

“I’ve always loved designing and making useful, beautiful things,” she said. “I want it to have some kind of purpose. I use graphic design to communicate something, and I make my ceramic pieces to be beautiful but also to serve a function.”

Inspired by work she saw in the center’s Schacht Gallery, Amoreena began practicing the “sgraffito” process, a technique that results in images that are reminiscent of block printing. She begins by painting a black underglaze onto the greenware that is then softly carved away to reveal the color of the clay underneath (and creates the details of the design). 

Dreaming of a White Christmas

The natural motifs of this simple, Scandinavian folk-art style dishware offer modern convenience with a traditional look and feel in a variety of shapes and sizes, making it suitable for any occasion and type of cuisine. 

“I’m riding the wave of that black and white aesthetic that people are really into right now,” said Amoreena. She creates images of birds and animals, including some of the slightly “more edgy” creatures (her snake plates just fly right off her table when she sets up at area markets and craft fairs, she said). 

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Visually appealing molded designs and painterly animals are also among Amoreena’s collection. She began selling pieces of her ceramic work this past summer at the Block Island, RI farmers’ market table her mother, painter and ceramicist Leslie Hartnett, has operated there for 37 years. Amoreena was also among the rotating selection of ceramic artists at Saratoga’s Second Sunday Market in Saratoga Springs’ Congress Park and recently exhibited at the Opus 40 Fall Faire in Saugerties, NY. 

This season, add country charm to your holiday shopping list. Find Amoreena Ceramics on November 29th, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Saratoga City Center’s Holiday Craft Marketplace; on December 7th, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the LARAC Winter Arts Festival at the Queensbury Hotel; and on December 13th, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Night Work Bread Bakery’s Pop-Up Shop in Ballston Spa. 

In the Spring, find her at the Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs Home & Lifestyle Show’s Artisan Showcase, Feb. 28 – March 1st at the Saratoga City Center. 

For updates, follow @amoreena_ceramics on Instagram. For commissions and more information, visit www.amoreenaceramics.com