Skidmore College Murray-Aikins Dining Hall

My wife and I were looking for an affordable dining experience somewhere near Saratoga Spring’s historic Beekman Art District where we were searching for collectible woolen pot holders, when we discovered this buffet on Unilocal!Murray-​Atkins is situated within a residential community including tower apartments and a nice view of a broad forest. The buffet itself has a nice mini supermarket at its entrance, perhaps for nearby residents to grab a snack or a few grocery items. I admit I was confused at first by the diners scanning in with cards, but it seems Murray Atkins has some sort of membership program similar to Dave & Busters.
Architecturally, the interior is somewhat mind boggling. Picture Picasso meets Applebee’s. There was an unusual disparity in warm and cold colors, one side being orange, the other a bluish-​green theme. There seemed to be a lot of beatnik, Jack Kerouac, bohemian, Allen Ginsberg, Phishfan types on the red side. My wife whispered to me that she smelt the skunk! The blue side was more what you’d expect to see at any normal all you can eat buffet, a lot of people in sweatpants, mostly homegrown American, nothing unusual here.
This buffet is massive! And clearly quite popular with the Saratoga youth! My wife and I felt ten years younger being in this energetic crowd. We were also pleasantly surprised by the diversity in Saratoga Springs. There where whole tables of people from different races! Seating seemed help yourself, but the food was bountiful. We were especially fond of the Emily’s Garden as there were a number of snazzy jazzy vegan friendly little numbers. My wife has a rather severe gluten allergy, so we were grateful for the gluten free items. Just one bite of wheat and she’s bloated into an miserable elephantine monstrosity, and no one wants to deal with that on a three hour drive back to Poughkeepsie, NY.
Overall, I was rather impressed by Murray-​Atkins. (They even let you cook your own eggs on a range in the back! I don’t even know if that is legal!?) My only disappointment was the exit experience, where it is expected that you sort out your silverware and napkins along a conveyor belt. It felt a little authoritarian for my liberal inclinations.