r/Albany

Last week I posted asking for help with where to shop for my kid’s dorm room and you guys came through! Those who pointed us to Ollie’s, thank you so much! We probably saved over $100 there between bedding and office stuff. The gal at REI convinced my kid she needed an actual coat and found us one on clearance. We were even able to hit the goof target! So thank you so much, you guys turned what could have been a shopping disaster into a shopping adventure!

I am in need of my first oil change/5,000 mile service for my new Toyota. What are the best, most reputable dealerships to get the service?

The answer is NOT NORTHWAY Toyota. Place is the worst… any other options?

Jazz Fest and PearlPalooza lineups seem much weaker than last year's.

Hi! Looking for somewhere near by to stay for a night while roadtrip/moving via car, so my car will be packed with all my stuff! Any recommendations?

edit: for more context, I was thinking a hotel with a lot or garage, doesn’t have to be in Albany Albany as I’m just driving through from Chicago on my way to Boston ish.

I’m also from Chicago and have had my car broken into with absolutely nothing in it right outside my apartment so I’ve grown up in a “don’t leave ANYTHING in your car” way so I’m looking for any recommendations for specific neighborhoods/hotels where my car & belongings would be safe.

We host a small event every year for about 20 people and usually just get trays of Italian food like Baked Ziti and Chicken Parm. Mainly because it's relatively inexpensive and you can order it from about 100 different places, so it's very convenient.

Ideally, we would like to do something different. Maybe Indian food or Thai or something unique like that. Looking for some good food ideas that would also be convenient for pickup.

Is there any way of finding out how many tickets were sold/how many people showed up? This felt like a genuinely, insanely overpacked show. Which makes sense, it's Kesha, but I'm so curious how many people were there. It felt like several thousand, I'd really even guess somewhere upwards of 10-12k.

(It was a great show overall but we left halfway through the setlist because we started getting scared of the exit crowds!)

I recently moved here and am looking for a new trivia place.

I went to Spinners Pizza last night and did trivia with Trivia Night Live. The questions and music were far too geared for an older crowd, my team is made up of mid 20 year olds and we were totally lost on the 70s/80s questions that dominated.

Are there any other places that would be better for us? Ideally in/around Colonie or west of Albany.

I am listing my property locally. Its on the lower end of value, probably will go for $125k.

I know I will be expected to pay buyer's agent the 2.5%.

The agent I talked to abput selling wants 3.5%. He is a broker as well, so he will get that entire 3.5%. Is this a little high? I was expecting them asking for 3% max. I know it is a cheaper piece of property, but as a broker he is getting it all. If you sold recently, especially on the lower end, what did you pay?

Looking for a staple I can get takeout from every now and then.

Are there any ACOA/ACA groups in Albany/Schenectady/surrounding areas? I see a few Al-Anon groups in the area but I’d really like the focus to be on the child/parent relationship when alcoholism is involved. TIA!!!

Does anyone know any small engine repair guys that would come on site to fix a standby generator. Ive ask a couple people so far and unfortunately they don’t do that kind of work.

Can someone explain the hype? We went to one on western and we weren’t impressed. Coming from someone not from the area.

What are your favorite and unique to Albany only places to eat a person should go to if only here for few days?

Vegetarian friendly and affordable would be great.

Here are few I tried and my assessment so you get an idea.

Loved the most:
Shwe Burmese

Liked:
Oaxaquena Triqui
Suwun Thai

Didn’t Like:
The Hollow Bar
The skinny Pancake