Tip A Canoe Restaurant & Grill

"Adirondack Chowder"
by Josh K.

After finishing a long hike in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, one should always be rewarded with some delicious food, or at least a frosty pint.  My usual go-to for such things tasty is the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery.  If we don't go there, the standby is the Baxter Mountain Tavern.

On this trip, we needed gas so we had to head back south on Route 73 toward the Northway (the obligatory Keene Stewarts) and would stop in Keene if anything looked good along the way.

Upon entering the small town,  we spotted a restaurant with open porch seating and a Long Trail Ale advertisement in the window.  We were sold.

We were warmly received, and took a seat outside to enjoy the late afternoon August sunshine. There were only 4 beers on draught, but they were all smaller breweries: Saranac, Sierra Nevada, Switchback and Long Trail. Fine by me.  They had the staples (Coors Light, Bud etc.) in bottles.   Pints of Long Trail and Saranac IPA were ordered.

The beers came out cold and hoppy.  As we were drinking, I asked to see the menu. We saw other patrons order the Fried Haddock (it looked amazing).  However, I just wanted a small snack.  A few items stood out, but I was drawn to their homemade seafood chowder.

Yes, I know, the Adirondacks are very far from the sea and chowder is not exactly a regional specialty.  However the description "Homemade" filled with "in-house smoked salmon", clams, and shrimp sounded marvelous.  It was, especially the smoked salmon aspect. My cup of soup was devoured in seconds.  I was hungry for more, but we had to get back to Albany.

As the ADKs are my home away from home, we will definitely be back to the Tip-A-Canoe.

Came here after hiking one of the High Peaks (Big Slide) in the Adirondacks, it was a short drive from many of the entrance points for trails.

The food was good, service was ok (but I think our waiter was new so he mixed up some orders- not a big deal, and didn't mention the draft specials but you could tell he was trying hard and was still attentive to our table's needs).  I would come back after another hike.  We went there for lunch, the prices were very reasonable.

It's a bit further down the road than the diner, but worth the (5 minute) drive since the food from the diner isn't that great in my opinion.

Excellent food--the chef is very good. I would call the food "Continental", but of course you can also get a burger. I usually order fish. Prices are mid-range; a full-course meal will cost $20-$30 (without wine). They do serve alcoholic beverages. I suggest that you call before going there to make reservations.