Sub-zero temps, snow, ice bars! From Lake George to Saratoga Springs, February is the month to bundle up for hot toddies, fire + ice.

INTEL: Welcome to The Hi-Note in Saratoga Springs. Canned beer, a Fernet club, wood-clad walls + ‘80s basement vibes are all in place at The Hi-Note.

Nigerian Chef Tayo Ola of the bi-coastal Ebi-Ayo Supper Club is the culinary inspiration for Albany-based Nigerian fashion designer, Mo Rabiu. Chef Tayo brought his supper club from L.A. to NYC and he talks with The Dishing about growing up in America through food and sharing culinary identities through seats at his table.

Little Goat (Rhinebeck) serves up polished farmhouse and community appeal with an all-day bakery, Mediterranean-inspired menu + the martini service of our dreams.

Zach Wolfgramm (Kindred, Saratoga) crafts his Second Hand Smoke for The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series.

Will Hoschek (Itameshi, Albany) fires up a non-alc cocktail using kosho, a salt-fermented yuzu and green chile paste, for The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series.

Brian Plutchok, creator of Pizza by Plu, talks pizza drops, pasta, DJ-ing + why some people can’t handle The Rules.

WHERE TO EAT—Below Ground at the Empire State Plaza.

Anton Kinloch (Lone Wolf, Kingston) serves us what we want in a non-alc Dirty “Martini” for The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series.

In Hillsdale, Hilltown Hot Pies lives up to the hype with dough to die for + crushable wines. 🍕

Kat Dunn (Padrona, Hudson) brings the heat in ‘Smoke Signals,’ her spicy, Lapsang Souchong tea dupe of a boozier original for The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series.

Double Chicken, Please? At Hy’s Fried in South Egrement, Mass., we talked with owner Jack Luber about his family fried chicken recipe, vinyl-only DJ sets and why Hy’s might soon be a fried chicken empire.

We ask 7 bartenders if zero-proof cocktails are here to stay. They’re all in.

INTEL: Curious Elixirs, booze-free, ready-to-drink adaptogenic cocktails crafted by bartenders and made in the Hudson Valley, was one of the first on the market. We asked founder John “J.W.” Wiseman what’s changed in a decade.

INTEL: What happens when 9 Saratoga bartenders help to create a unique Pinhook Kentucky bourbon whiskey? You get a true Spa City blend. And it’s coming to Saratoga soon.

Filipino Chef Champ Peralta talks taste memories, culinary collabs + finding balance by swapping his tiny shop for a food truck in 2026.

For The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series, Trudy Steier (Savoy Taproom) reworks their signature Pink Jeans.

For The Dishing’s ZERO PROOF cocktail series, Tom Blassman (Allen Street Pub) serves up the Apple Wagon, an on-the-wagon apple cider mule.

For The Dishing’s DRINK THIS non-alcoholic cocktail series, Andrew Patterson stirs up an aromatic Periwinkle Pom to make at home.

For The Dishing’s DRINK THIS non-alcoholic cocktail series, Keshonn Hatcher serves up a spicy spin on a No-groni.