We live in Albany and always make at least two visits a year to the Noon Mark Diner. The food and service are legendary. And in recent years, they've upped their currency with an amazing gluten-free menu.
Our first clue this wouldn't be the usual...experience was when we pulled into the parking lot and were met with surly glares by kitchen staff slouching on the back steps smoking. Not a pleasant welcome, especially when we said hello to them and they glared at us. We put that unpleasantness behind us, eager for another good meal at one of our favorite places. Our second clue: it was a gorgeous Saturday in the Keene Valley yet there was many an empty table within. Normally it's chock-a-block with people and the overflow spills onto the porch.
Third clue: there were few of their signature pies for sale. Normally, there are garrisons of pies in their white cardboard boxes piled floor-to-ceiling and plenty of gluten-free varieties. Plus, always more frozen pie to be found in the freezer. For the first time in my 30+ years of visiting, the freezer was broken. Not a good sign or look.
The hostess was brusque and unfriendly but our waitress was kind. We were very disappointed to see the gluten-free menu had been done away with and the menu was slashed by 2/3 of its former opulence. We reluctantly placed an order for things we hadn't planned on eating. The food was mediocre at best. The fries were cardboard sticks. The Fried Fish OK, but definitely frozen-dinner vibes. My husband's order was wrong and he politely sent it back. He was served two poached eggs with his hash instead of soft-scrambled. The dish was returned to us with rock-hard scrambled eggs, presumably as a rebuke for having the temerity to send the eggs back to the kitchen.
I can only conclude, quite sadly, that this once-outstanding establishment is under new ownership. R.I.P. the Noon Mark of yesteryear. :(More