đź«’Exclusive: ALLEYWAY SNACKS? THE SARATOGA CHEFS TRADING PLATES
It started in late April, a little over a week ago, when Chef Julia Evans, the chef de cuisine of Noah’s in Saratoga, took an end of service cigarette break in they alleyway between Noah’s + Hattie’s on Phila Street. There she was met by Dan Pugliese, manager and pasta maker from Familiar Creature across the street, both of them holding take out containers.
It was the first time the pair had actually met, although the two pasta makers followed each other on social media. Evans handed off an octopus appetizer topped with tapanade and n’duga parm balls; Pugliese hand delivered a tuna crudo from the chef pop up happening that night. When Evans posted the exchange to her Instagram story with the nippy caption, “alleyway snacks,” I had to know more. We chatted about the ongoing street barter. - SDP
Alleyway Snacks started as a trade between two chefs. Now it’s almost daily with plans for more industry bartering, community building + an Instagram account of its own.
Story: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Provided.
Intel: April 2026
SDP: Hey, Juls. I’m honestly obsessed with this. How did the alleyway snack trades start? Was it your idea or Dan’s?
JE: Ha, I knew you’d love it. [Laughs] Yeah, so we’d never met, but you know we both make pasta and we’d never gone to each other’s restaurants—because schedules are crazy and when we’re off the restaurants are closed—but we really wished we could taste each other’s food, so we decided to do an exchange. We did talk beforehand about allergens… but basically it started one night and then we kept it going. We’ve pretty much done it every day since last week.
SDP: So, you just walked across the street with a plate?
JE: Well, we did it, like, close to the end of service and Dan came over to our alleyway. He travels to our side. So, he’d come in to the alley and walk right into the kitchen which was great because it meant we had our back of house and front of house tasting it. It’s really great. And you know, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and wanting to do something with the community. Like, you’ve got very visible chefs and the public side of chefs and politics, but you have these line cooks and bartenders working hard and this gives them a chance to try something from another restaurant. It just feels really wholesome, you know? Something after service, without it being centered around alcohol or drugs.
I mean, honestly, I think about the economics of a restaurant, about food costs, about waste. I almost hate money at this point. It feels so much better to barter and give each other something good to try. I have all these ideas I’m thinking about to build community
SDP: You’re right, food costs are crazy right now. It feels on point that you’re thinking about line chefs and sharing and building community. You’ve been doing this over a week… What are some of the plates you’ve bartered? Do you decide ahead or is it a surprise?
JE: Yeah, we talk about it a little and decide. So far I’ve tried Familiar Creature’s schmaltzy potatoes, their carrots, focaccia, steak frites… Actually one of our line cooks, Alex, is now over at Familiar too, so we traded Brussels for a rigatoni cacio e pepe. And the steak frites/focaccia for mezze…
(*This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.)
DISHING INTEL: đź«’ Follow the alleyway snack trade on Instagram at @alleywaysnacks
PHOTOS: Below, shots of Chef Juls in the alleyway + some of the alleyway snack trades. (Photos provided/Julia Evans.)
