spirit of saratoga
story by JUDITH WHITE photos by SARATOGA PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS
First published: October, 2009

Fifty South - Restaurant caters to diners' tastes

It's not difficult to find the gold in the Gold Room at Fifty South: it's in the experience - the food, the waitstaff, and the overall ambiance. Owner Kim Klopstock has the eye of an artist, the warmth of a lifelong best friend, and the talents of both an executive chef and a successful entrepreneur.

She's also an overachiever with a flair for pulling pieces together and making the whole outrageously unique.

Widely known as a caterer to the stars, her 15-year-old Saratoga Springs business - the Lily and the Rose - has provided elegantly appointed, delicious meals for numerous well-publicized social benefits and weddings and all other types of very special events in Saratoga, in Manhattan, on yachts and in board rooms wherever.

She opened Fifty South two years ago, both to provide additional work and kitchen space for her catering business, and to satisfy her own yearning for a place of her own.

Located in an unpretentious former tavern on busy Route 50, just north of the village of Ballston Spa, Fifty South is open from 8 a.m. throughout the day and evening seven days a week, serving breakfast, lunch and an extensive dinner menu in its large dining room or in the adjoining bar.

But there's another option. Klopstock put together a special occasion room: a goldcurtained, pine-paneled side room, and when it's not booked for a special event, the

Gold Room seats perhaps 25. My son and I were among diners at about a half dozen tables on a recent Sunday evening. Tables were set with silver candelabra or tall single candlesticks, and the room was rich with an eclectic mix of oriental carpets, oil paintings and appealing appointments.

Tiny sterling salt and peppers - not more than an inch-and-a-half tall - added a fantasy dimension to our setting, and my son - nearly 25, but still a kid - immediately unscrewed the top of one to satisfy his curiosity.

Gold Room diners order from an abbreviated menu, on this evening including seven offerings listed as "Starters" at $8 to $12; several salads for $9, and eight entr�es for $14 to $22.

Klopstock often refers to the Gold Room as a "tasting room," and that's what she recommended we do: taste and share several different items.

Wisely, we let her make the choices, and she explored our tastes in food.

Did my son like tuna?

Yes, he said, but preferred it very rare.

Klopstock was thrilled.

Would he try lamb?

Of course.

"Rare lamb?" she asked.

Absolutely, the son confessed, thereby passing muster.

(Klopstock has a note at the bottom of the menu saying that consuming raw or undercooked foods may increase the risk of food-borne illness, but that she prefers to serve things on the rare side.)

A helpful and knowledgeable young waiter, Kyle, poured us glasses of Bonnie Doon, a white wine blend, which went well with our seafood starters - hand-cut calamari with pomodoro sauce ($12), and lump crab cake with greens and house reemoulade ($10).

The calamari filled a deep soup bowl, more than enough for the two of us even if we hadn't had a second starter. Lightly fried, they were perfectly al dente. The 6-ounce crab cake didn't take a back seat, though. Thick and chunky, it was buttery crisp on the outside and pure flavor inside.

But we weren't through. Glasses of a lovely red wine, Soter North Valley, accompanied our entrees: New Zealand spring rack of lamb served in a martini glass, four meaty bones poking up from mashed sweet potatoes with demi-glace ($14); and pan-seared, line-caught tuna

"This is my home, and these people who eat here are like family. Some of them eat here three or four times a week."
Kim Klopstock owner of Fifty South

(4 ounces, which is the serving size for most of the entrees, although an 8 oz. portion can be ordered for an additional $8), spiked with two jumbo shrimp, served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a Wasabi cream, steamed vegetables and a light Asian ginger sauce ($19).

Our conversation became distinctly monosyllabic, with remarks limited to words like "Yum," and "Wow" and "Mmm."

We shared the food, and we shared our delight in the food.

A molded espresso bombe of mocha chocolate gave the meal a richly decadent finale.

This was a breathtaking meal, both in appearance and taste.

My son was blown away and asked appropriate questions before my sated mind could think of them.

He wanted to know about the rich demiglace on the sweet potatoes, and was told it begins with veal and beef stock, takes three days of simmering to reduce to about a single cup, and is referred to in the kitchen as "liquid gold."

He said he'd like to bring his girlfriend from Montreal for dinner in the Gold Room, but she requires gluten-free foods.

No problem, Klopstock told him. She even has a dedicated gluten-free fryer in the kitchen. She has a ton of customers with special dietary needs, she said, and she enjoys accommodating them. She likes doing vegetarian meals, too, and used to be a vegan herself, so is familiar with the options.

In fact, there seems to be something for everyone at Fifty South. Outside the Gold Room in the diner, a separate menu lists regular dinner entrees from homemade Pomodoro sauce over linguine topped with organic pesto ($12) to a grilled Angus filet mignon on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes with that liquid gold demi-glace and saut�ed baby organic spinach ($16).

There are also nightly dinner features in the diner, listed with suggested wine, such as tenderloin tip, stir-fried with brown rice, Asian vegetables with a tamari and sweet and sour sauce ($16), paired with a Morgan Pinot Noir ($8 a glass).

Klopstock said she really didn't know anything about running a restaurant when she opened Fifty South, but she did know she wanted it to be a community gathering place, where people of all ages feel like family.

"This is my home," she said, "and these people who eat here are like family. Some of them eat here three or four times a week."

The bar also serves as counter space for dining, particularly for breakfast. People who want to mix and visit can eat at a large "community table."

Breakfast is served all day, and Klopstock said it's not unusual to find kids eating pancakes while their parents order from the dinner menu.

Anything on any of the menus can be ordered as take-out, and reservations are accepted for all three meals. People in a time crunch are encouraged to call and place their order for a particular time, and the restaurant will have it ready and waiting.

"It's all about service," said the accommodating owner.

About 22 employees work at the restaurant, depending on the season, and Klopstock has lots of volunteers - friends and relatives who help out when needed.

"My best gift is all the people I know, because of the breadth of my catering business," she said.