All Over Albany

H&L on the Hudson

Albany has a lot of waterfront. But it doesn't have a lot places along that waterfront to grab something to eat.

So we were happy to find our way to H&L on the Hudson this week, a food trailer set up along the riverfront at the C. Springer Marina on the south end of Broadway.

H&L sells a range of breakfast and lunch items -- egg sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs, burgers and similar offerings. There's a nice wooden patio alongside the trailer that overlooks the river, with picnic tables and umbrellas.

H&L on the Hudson is owned and run by Holly and Larry Spinosa. As Larry explained, he had been looking for something else to do after three decades as a butcher for local supermarkets. And when Holly's son -- Joe Martin, the owner of the marina -- approached them about maybe doing food at the spot, they said yes after giving it some thought.

"I'm glad we did," he said. "It's fun. And we're putting good food out."

This is the first full season for the operation. It opened last July, and Larry Spinosa said they didn't do much to get the word out because they wanted a chance to find their footing.

It appears H&L already has a bunch of regulars. Wednesday afternoon a steady of stream people stopped by around noon, many of them exchanging familiar greetings with the crew inside the trailer. Spinosa said breakfast has turned out to be very popular, with many workers from the businesses along the industrial waterfront coming by for egg sandwiches and pancakes.

"I try to have nothing but the best," Spinosa said as we talked about the menu items. That means two-egg breakfast sandwiches, egg-bread buns for the burgers from a bakery in Rockland County, buns from Amoroso's in Philadelphia for the cheesesteak and the sausage hoagie (made with sausage from Pellegrino Importing), housemade Michigan sauce (via a recipe from Larry's aunt Helen), and coffee from Capital City Coffee Roasters.

For lunch on Wednesday, we tried the veggie burger, which came with cheese, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onion, along with a handful of housemade potato chips for $7.50. The bun was nicely squishy, the veggie burger (a food service product, Larry said) had some nice depth of flavor, the veg was crisp, the caramelized onion and cheese and sauce added richness, and the chips were crunchy. We'd happily eat it again. And we're looking forward to stopping by another time.

H&L on the Hudson is open Monday-Friday 6:30 am-2 pm and Saturday 7:30 am-2 pm. Its season stretches from April to October 20 this year.

Pics

There are a few pics at the top in large format if you're curious to see more and check out the menu in detail -- click or scroll all the way up.