EAT YOUR WORDS: Albany poet, Carol Durant has released Portion Controlled Poetry, her third book in a category she dubs Poetic Gastronomy. We caught up with the poet, author + playwright to take about her menu-inspired work.

DISHING EXCLUSIVE: Three months after departing NeoVista Hospitality as COO, John Hwang is back with two restaurants of his own: The all-day, all-you-can-eat J. C. Hwang in former Dale Miller/Taste at 30 S. Pearl St. + Robata, an outdoor, robatayaki-style grill. We get the scoop.

Intel: After Peck’s + MyBacon, Exec. Chef Nick Ruscitto enters his pizzaiolo era.

INTEL: Anton Kinloch goes back to his rum roots as he reworks Lone Wolf, the upscale 3-year old Kingston cocktail bar, in the image of his original New Paltz tiki bar, Fuschia Tiki.

INTEL: The Dishing caught up with Andrew Patterson, former bar director of Milas in Schenectady, as he takes on a new bar director role at Sweet Polly in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

INTEL: Saud Khan, a 518 local + content creator known as Chaiguy on Tiktok, opened two Pakistani chai + coffeehouses in NYC after closing Alif Cafe in Glens Falls to move downstate. Now, he’s back with Alif Cafe 2.0. which soft-opened this week. We have the early intel.

INTEL A new sibling for Milas + a new addition for Ziemann Hospitality with the planned opening of Bar Calvin in Stuyvesant Plaza. Coming June 2027.

EXCLUSIVE: As The Larkin HiFi closes, a veteran Albany bar team get ready to take the reins.

INTEL: Chef Colin Miner is back in Glens Falls with a new modern menu at soon-to-open Katy’s Wine + Whiskey Bar. We got the early scoop on his small plates menu.

INTEL: Lone Wolf embraces its Cambodian identity + launches new Khmer Hot Pot Sundays

Join Capital Roots for the first Good Food Fest at the Capital Roots’ Good Food Market. Enter the pickle competition or cast your vote for the ‘Best in Brine’ pickle competition sponsored by The Dishing x Whiskey Pickle.

Head over to the Whiskey Pickle for an after-party where the winning pickle brine will star in a pickle cocktail!

With its expanded focus on education wellness, we ask event VP Jackie Williams + master mixologist Lynnette Marrero what drinks industry pros can expect at BAR CONVENT BROOKLYN this year.

INTEL: As Panza’s celebrates its 88th year + the arrival of Elliott Vogel as their new Executive Chef, his first spring menu honors the restaurant’s Italian history, while his foraged, seasonal plates take center stage.

Alleyway Snacks started as a end-of-service trade between two chefs. Now it’s almost daily with plans for more bartering, community building + an Instagram account of its own.

The viral Pizza by Plu is going back to its roots with multi-town parking lot drops + famed pick up rules. With the new Guilderland shop as his prep kitchen, Brian Plutchok pivots the plan.

Award-winning Deep Fried Beers latest creation isn’t a beer. It’s a bagel. We talk to head brewer, Johnny Osborne, about his Deep Fried “Beergals.”

INTEL: Pinhook Bourbon’s Next Saratoga Blend Is Coming This Summer. The Dishing was invited behind the scenes as industry professionals determined the blend.

UPDATE: Linger over a Long Lunch or lazy wines in a garage now officially named Merkin. Cafe Mutton’s chef-owner Shaina Loew-Banayan dishes the details on their new addition + its bushy backstory.

As Bar Director Andrew Patterson departs Schenectady for Brooklyn, Collin Myers steps in at Milas.

After Ichiban Japanese + Wok N Roe Burmese, the no-frills El Guayaquileño is bringing coastal Ecuadorian flavor to Albany’s Central Ave.