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Iconic Saratoga Restaurant is Off To the Races in Turtle Bay

By Amy Zimmer | April 1, 2011 1:24pm
Siro's of Saratoga is bring its upscale horse race ambiance to Turtle Bay.
Siro's of Saratoga is bring its upscale horse race ambiance to Turtle Bay.
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www.sirosny.com/

By Amy Zimmer

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — A little bit of Saratoga Springs, the bucolic upstate town where New Yorkers like to escape to the horse races, is coming to Turtle Bay.

The famed Siro's of Saratoga is opening a fine dining restaurant and more casual "Club House" at 885 Second Ave., between 47th and 48th streets, and has some heavy hitters behind it.

Yankees relief ace Mariano Rivera is a partner in the Club House and "Entourage" star Kevin Connelly is part of the team behind the upscale half of the eatery, said Keith Kantrowitz, a mortgage banker who is part of the group of investors behind the project.

The popular trackside restaurant has been a staple on the Saratoga social circuit since it opened in 1930. 

The Saratoga institution, once described as "a stamping ground for equestrian-minded magnates, grandes dames, dandies and the occasional miscreant," is only open during the six-week racing season.

"In an often repeated line once uttered by a waiter, Siro's is where 'Goodfellas' meets 'Gone With the Wind,'" the New York Times wrote in 2003.

Siro's will not only bring its cassoulet, lamb shanks and raw oysters, it will also bring some horse culture.

Kantrowitz said it will be decorated with pictures of famous horses and other horse-related artwork.

"During the racing season many of our customers are from New York City and many of them are loyal," Kantrowitz said of the impetus for the downstate outpost.

Kantrowitz's group — which included New York Post publisher Paul Carlucci and Steven Schoenfeld, managing partner of a New York-based financial services firm — took over Siro's in 2009.

Kantrowitz expects the New York City restaurant and club house to open in 2 months.