History of Saratoga

Saratoga: super bowl of chips

Saratoga Springs has improved the American historical cultural canon through the years, especially in the area of food, which might be something to consider as you plan on attending your next Super Bowl party.

One thinks immediately of the club sandwich which Mr. Canfield developed in his casino, so players did not need to leave his Faro tables to refresh themselves.

I am not sure where you stand on the long running ‘Saratoga Potato Chip Debate,’ or whether you deem this be legend or perhaps upstate myth. The best part about folk tales is that no one will really ever know what actually happened in Moon’s Lake House.

The undeniable fact is George Crum certainly was a Saratoga Lake pioneer in many ways, and that he was a very successful man of business, having built a “shrine of rare cooking.” One of the reasons for the chip mystery might be quintessential to chefs from the beginning of time; never reveal your secret recipe. I am not sure if any potato chip investigators have looked into “the fact that they were made from a peculiar variety of potatoes, the like of which nobody else raised,” but that quote certainly adds merit to a prodigious legend.

I have long ascribed to a deep-seated personal theory, that rather than Commodore Vanderbilt being the influence behind the creation of the potato chip, that it was instead the notorious prankster John McBain Davidson, whose rather unusual middle name is often misspelled. “Ole John McB,” built the fine cottage which still graces 203 Union Avenue, and was one of pugilist turned Congressman Morrissey’s partners in founding the Saratoga Race Course.

Mr. Davidson was known for his mischievous sense of humor and would take practical jokes to the extreme. Mr. Crum had long been in Mr. Davidson’s employ as a wilderness guide and cook. My theory is that George Crum created a salty retribution potato chip snack on one of Mr. Davidson’s Adirondack camping trips, which would have required mass quantities of certain beverages to slake his victim’s thirst. Just a theory, which is more fun than serious, and we can all have our own. After all, Evelyn Barrett Britten in her legendary Chronicles of Saratoga wrote, “Much confusion exists in stories of the origin of Potato Chips.” She wasn’t kidding, and that’s what makes it so much fun!

Whether feeding famished fans of the Seahawks or Patriots, raise a glass and a chip and enjoy a fine tradition.