Hello, everyone.
Three years ago, at the beginning of November, we did a Pink Plate Special that especially appealed to a couple who came in for a birthday celebration on a weeknight. Every year since then, the birthday girl has called to remind us that it's time to make handmade pumpkin ravioli in a butter and sage sauce with smoked bacon, so she can come in on her special day and recreate the ecstatic experience.
And so we oblige.
Luckily, this is a Pink Plate that seems to have universal appeal and is especially appropriate for the first week in November: The pumpkins are prolific and if you leave off the bacon, it's an amazing vegetarian Pink Plate.
The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. For $30 per person, you get your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts, plus coffee, tea or espresso.
Time is running out for you to be a part of our very first wine dinner in the new private dining room. The dinners, on November 7 and 8, at 6:30 p.m. each night, will feature the wines of Warm Lake, a New York State winery on the Niagara Escarpment near Lake Ontario. The winemaking, done on a small scale, employs Old World techniques; the pinot noir fruit is triaged, punched down manually and vinified in French oak barrels. The grapes from four different sections of the vineyard are vinified separately, than blended by vintner Michael Von Heckler to make two dinner wines, Warm Lake Estate and Mountain Road.
Our wine dinners will feature a tasting of each of the four component wines and the Estate wine. Then we'll sit down to a warming soup as a palate cleanser and enjoy the Mountain Road with coq au vin. We'll finish with Warm Lake's dessert pinot noir with cheeses and desserts. http://www.warmlakeestate.com These two dinners are limited to 20 people each night around a single table Cost: $80 per person, plus tax and gratuity
We knew before we ever moved out of the diner that running a restaurant that serves three meals a day 365 days a year was going to be hard, especially for a couple of perfectionists who would have to learn to delegate. We have elaborated in this newsletter on many of our frustrations, and frankly on a couple of our failures, so it's probably not too self-indulgent to dwell on a little positive feedback. The following are excerpts from two emails we received this week that were especially welcome as we work around the clock to try iron out the wrinkles:
"Your new place is marvelous. The ambience is different, but equally as warm and pleasant as the diner, perhaps even more so because the setting is somewhat more formal and I felt warmer than the diner which I dearly loved-- a more precise complement to the menu. You have done a remarkable transition. Some specifics: the young woman at the door was a most pleasant greeter (and cute as a bug)! Your waitstaff was extremely professional, knew just when to perform each action, so the service was exceptional. And you are right in your element, the "hostess with the mostest". But I don't understand how you get the energy to keep that pace all evening. And you seem to know just everybody! "You said that one of the reasons you were excited about the move is that Paul would now have the kitchen he really wanted. And what a kitchen! We peeked in, and I was amazed. I would have liked to look around because I really dig kitchens, but the cook staff was clearly too busy to have some outside dude in the way. It seems a most workable environment from which he is producing remarkable food... We both had the cassoulet. In a word: I told Paul I would never again try to make one because his was outstanding, and I was humbled by his creation. I could never match his talent. He created what I thought was a unique flavor to compliment the beans and the meat. Susan remarked that Paul's sausage was special. "There were some minor (but equally important) things I noticed and appreciated. Joseph's sculpture is nicely displayed in the lobby, and, aside from being great art, in this display creates a certain tone of elegance and a calming effect as the guests first enter from the rowdy lobby. I liked the understated pumpkins by the fire place, Susan and I both remarked on the clever "wine wall" which again I thought contributed to the special tone of the dining area, as well, I am sure, as providing an easily reached convenience for your staff. Susan and I were both very impressed by the China, disappointed only in that there was no way to walk out with a piece! But, seriously, the deep dish with the very broad brim makes an excellent piece for presentation, the food sitting securely in the center, safe within the protection of the broad, wide, and high brims, detached from anything else in the universe. The dish provides a certain singularity so the patron feels able to concentrate on the tastes and aromas of the viands without interruption because at the moment they are the only thing in the world that matters. In short, we had a wonderful time made possible by your attention to all the details of creating a comfortable and friendly but elegant ambience for the provision of exceptional food."
And from another diner: "The Tastevin dinner last Sunday was just "devine"...as my wife so specifically described it - and I concur. Your Staff was phenomenal and, needless to say, the restaurant is just beautiful. I can assure you that you will see us more often. Would you be so kind as to place me in your email list...so that I don't have to go to (name withheld) and beg him to send me your emails."
Thanks. It's always nice to feel those pats on the back, and we never take them for granted.
Our Sunday Jazz Brunch this week will feature duck and andouille sausage gumbo, $12; truffle potato pizza, $11; praline French toast, $11; and crabmeat omelette with tasso Hollandaise, $15. The brunch specials run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. but we start serving at 7 a.m. The complete menu offered from 7 to 2 includes a Continental assortment of muffins, pastries, fruit, yogurt, quiche etcetera for $9; omelettes ($9 to $11); pancakes du jour ($9); the All in One, which includes 2 eggs any style, homefries, toast and sausage or bacon ($10); waffles with sweet cream butter and local maple syrup ($10); and Irish steel-cut oatmeal ($8). Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thanksgiving Dinner Thursday, November 23 Special prix fixe wine dinner Limited to 20 people around a communal table, we will be serving up a five-course heritage breed turkey tasting menu with four spectacular wines. This is a particularly good option for people who love to dine well and in a festive setting, but won't be with their families on our national day of gratitude. It starts at at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Also, turkey dinner will be offered in our main dining room, in addition to our regular menu from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will include free-range, all-natural local roast turkey and trimmings and pie for dessert for $35 per person, or your guests may order from our regular menu. Turkey dinner for children under 12 is $15. A few large tables still available for family groups. Call for reservations 518.583.3538
The Saratoga is offering our guests discount rooms as available. The package prices for dinner and an overnight stay run thus:
Regular turkey dinner with a room would be $114 per adult, plus wine, taxes and tips.
Regular turkey dinner for 2 with a room would be $149, plus wine, taxes and tips.
Regular turkey dinner package for 2 adults and one child under 12, staying in the same room, would be $164
The wine tasting dinner with an overnight stay for 1 would be $179 plus taxes and gratuities.
2 people staying overnight together could do the wine tasting Thanksgiving for $279, plus taxes and gratuities.
New Year's Eve at Chez Sophie, 2006 Sunday, December 31, 2006 Our most elegant party of the year
Early seating prix fixe special Tables available at 5, 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m. Prix fixe five-course menu including options for three of the courses, with a glass of Champagne included Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity
New Year's Eve all night party Tables available at 8, 8:30, 9 and 9:30 p.m. Prix-fixe eight-course menu, including options for three of the courses, midnight Champagne toast included Jazz Pianist Cole Broderick to play starting at 8 p.m. Cost: $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity
Special prix fixe wine menu available as well as our full wine list and bar Double rooms at The Saratoga available for $199 per night. Reservations required with credit card confirmation 518.583.3538
Live Piano Jazz Jazz pianist Cole Broderick plays the baby grand Tuesday through Friday night, and during Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (barring special events that preclude live music.) Cost: No cover charge
Tango Wednesdays The members of Tango Fusion, a local tango club, gather in our lounge after their Wednesday night class ends at 8:30 for cocktails, snacks and dancing. The public is welcome to come hang out at the bar, join in and pick up a few dance pointers from instructors Diane Lachtrupp and Johnny Martinez. For more information about local classes by Diane and Johnny, see the Saratoga Savoy website at http://www.saratogasavoy.com/files/instructors.html Cost: No cover charge
Tasting menus Chef's Choice seven-course tasting menu available each night. The menus are designed based on the best and most creative dishes Chef Paul K. Parker is serving each evening. We will pair wines for you or you can order from our extensive wine list. Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and tip. Everyone at the table must partake in the tasting menu
If you're feeling less impromptu, you can call ahead to arrange a special tasting menu with the number of courses and wine pairings designed to suit your capacity, dietary restrictions and budget. Tasting menus arranged in advance will be printed on commemorative vellum scrolls personalized with the name of the host or the reason for the event. Cost: $50 to $200, depending on the number of courses and the wines selected; available for two to 75 guests Call Cheryl to make arrangements 518.583.3538
The Pink Plate Special offered Monday, November 6 through Thursday, November 9
$30 per person includes your choice of soup or salad, a special entree, selected desserts or a cheese course and coffee, tea or espresso.
This week's special entree: handmade pumpkin ravioli with sage butter and smoked bacon
Notes on Nico and Léo: Halloween is a trying holiday for adults who try to call themselves responsible. After all, the key component of the holiday seems to be dressing up in costumes and begging for candy. Kids are so naturally excited by these activities that it's hard to be stern and keep them from actually eating any of the candy.
Nico woke up especially early on Halloween, so his papa decided to burn off some his energy by taking him on a field trip to Saratoga Apple in Schuylerville to buy apples and pumpkins for the Halloween party at the restaurant that night. On the way back, Nico fell asleep in the carseat, so his papa brought him home to finish his nap in the driveway with Mommy in attendance, rather than driving straight to the restaurant, waking him up and trying to keep him occupied in the kitchen while the apples were peeled.
Paul switched cars and drove away, and Cheryl loaded all the costumes and games and Baby Léo into the car containing the sleeping Nico. Before she could start driving, the fire alarm at the volunteer firehouse went off, waking Nico. He found himself not at a farm, not at the restaurant, and not with his daddy, and began to wail in concert with the siren. "Daddy did this!" he sobbed. "J'accuse!"
The costumes for the kids worked out pretty well, while they lasted. Nico was a court jester, dressed in a black bodysuit with a belled hat, a multi colored ruff trimmed with bells, and various other flourishes. Grandma and the babysitter got a little confused about all the pieces Mommy made when they were helping Nico into his costume. They slipped out for a trick or treating session before the Halloween Party, and Cheryl didn't realize the problem until Paul mildly asked his wife why she had sent her son out to prance around Broadway wearing a skirt. The part around his waist was supposed to be around his neck.
The costume didn't stay on for long anyway. Neither did Léo's sugar plum fairy ensemble. Grandma managed to get all the gauzy purple and green pieces attached to the 9-month-old long enough to take a picture, but that was pretty much it.
Cheryl and Paul have been enjoying the great help of maternal Grandma Betty, who has been visiting from Arkansas this past week. She watched the kids at home a lot, so they wouldn't have to be cooped up in the nursery at the restaurant. Grandma has had both her knees replaced, so it was a little hard for her to play outside with our rambunctious three year-old. Cheryl was getting a little worried about his thorough exposure to the Arkansas culture in which she was reared: i.e., eating a lot of white bread and watching television. Wednesday brought gorgeous warm weather (well Cheryl thought it was warm: her mother thinks 60 degrees is still freezing) so she suggested that Nico be sent outside to blow off some steam. Grandma bundled the kids up for a snow storm, sat on the porch with baby Léo and sent Nico into the yard to "find a deer."
He came about 10 minutes later saying he was ready to go inside. Grandma asked him if he found a deer. He said: "Yes, I found him. I chased him up a tree. But he'll be fine. I'll go up get him down later."
We hope to see you soon,
