Saratoga seasonal restaurant to reopen July 10. / file photo

Noah Frese

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The executive chef of one of the hottest new restaurants in the Capital Region also will be in charge of the kitchen at the storied seasonal restaurant Siro's this summer and next.

Noah Frese, who quickly gained a strong following as the startup chef of The Roosevelt Room that opened last July in North Greenbush (my review here), will be juggling both positions during the Saratoga Race Course meeting this year and next. He succeeds Elliot Vogel, who ran the Siro's kitchen for two seasons and now is executive chef at another trendy new restaurant, The Delaware in Albany.

Frese, 27, won a place among the "Rising Star" young chefs at the recent Albany Chefs’ Food & Wine Festival. He is a legacy culinarian, the son of James Frese, founding chef of Pasta Pane in Clifton Park and the former Ama Cocina in Albany. His resume includes such local upscale spots as 677 Prime in Albany and 15 Church in Saratoga Springs, as well as the Barcelona Wine Bar in Charlotte, NC, and celeb chef Daniel Boulud's Manhattan restaurant Cafe Boulud.

Frese won't be the only Roosevelt Room culinarian at Siro's. His pastry chef, Julia Aiello, also will be creating desserts there during the meeting. Although Frese will remain in charge of the Roosevelt Room kitchen, his sous chef Mike Leffler will handle day-to-day duties while Frese is in Saratoga.

Although Siro's will not open for the season until Wednesday, July 10, with the Siro's Cup dinner, it will open its raw bar during the four-day run of the Belmont Stakes Festival on June 6-9. That event marks the move of the final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown from its traditional home at the Belmont Park track in Elmont, Long Island, to the Saratoga Race Course while Belmont is being rebuilt.

Siro's is located at 168 Lincoln Avenue, opposite the track. Dinner service will be offered Wednesday through Sunday, with the dining room closed on the track's dark days, Monday and Tuesday. Phone: 518-584-4030.

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