Downtown Lake George is fairly busy and touristy during the summer, but there actually is a reason for it; Lake George itself is actually a very nice, scenic lake with several nice beaches, with nice vista of the surrounding mostly-undeveloped Adirondack mountains. At the end of the day, it’s enjoyable to find a nice restaurant with a deck overlooking the Lake, and soak in the sunset over a light dinner and a beer. However, it’s actually a bit difficult to execute that vision, since the nature of downtown Lake George’s development resulted in a lot of long, narrow alleys perpendicular to the Lake, so a lot of places just don’t have the real estate for a nice deck. But a notable exception to this is Christie’s on the Lake.
Christie’s sits on Christie Lane, one of those narrow alleys between Main Street and the marina, but in Christie’s case, they’ve got enough space to fit a very large outdoor deck that looks over both the marina and the Lake, making for a very pleasant dining experience if you can score one of the better situated tables (not too much of an issue for our visit on a Thursday evening). So as the sky started to turn color and the Lake started to settle into a nice glassy surface for the evening, we enjoyed some of the local craft beer (mine was a nice IPA from Paradox Brewery) and looked over the menu.
The menu at Christie’s is what I call “Lakeside Tavern Fare”, with a bunch of appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, and a handful of seafood dishes. We started off with a menu of one of my favorite bar snacks, Buffalo cauliflower bites. The version at Christie’s is good: nicely breaded and just-tender fried chunks of cauliflower with a fairly bold buffalo sauce, these really hit the spot.
But along with several other folks at the table, we got one of the weekly specials, a plate of Arancini, the Sicilian classic of risotto breaded and deep-fried, and the version at Christie’s, like the Buffalo cauliflower bites, were very nicely done: a rich and flavorful risotto enrobed in a nice, crispy outer layer.
But the real objective of mine for a nice dinner overlooking the lake was to indulge in a lobster roll while enjoying the scenery. As I mentioned a few weeks ago in our review of White Cottage Snack Bar, it is something I look forward to each summer: lightly-mayo-dressed lobster salad, on a split-top roll that’s been grilled in butter. It is simply a great way to focus on the actual lobster in a light, refreshing sandwich, and the version at Christie’s is pretty good: nice, tender, and well-flaked lobster meat, some onion and celery, and a light mayo dressing on a nicely toasted roll. I may like a little more claw meat in my usual lobster roll, but otherwise, this was a fine, quality roll.
Two others in the party opted instead for the fish and chips, and the version at Christie’s matched the quality of the lobster roll. Starting with a good slab of fish (haddock, which I personally think makes for one of the best fish and chips), cook it just to the point of starting to flake without drying out, and get a nice crisp to the breading, and this was quite tasty. The fries? I’ve had better, but these certainly weren’t a slouch, either.
So, while the prices are a bit high, and the waits can be long on weekends, if you’re looking for a nice, mid-week spot in Lake George to have dinner and enjoy a sunset, Christie’s is a solid choice. I expect it will continue to be an annual tradition for us.
