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Hello everyone!
After months of trying to figure out lighting and other technical issues, Joseph C. Parker, venerable artist and founder of Chez Sophie, has installed a new exhibit at Chez Sophie called "Expressions of Love."
The sixteen pieces in this exhibition are Valentine's Day gifts that Joseph made for his late wife Sophie over the 52 years of their marriage. (Sophie passed away in February 2001.) The sculptures range from small drop-metal figures embracing or clutching hearts to a large plasma-cut steel silhouette of two entwined lovers that was used as a ridiculously sexy headboard to a bed.
Joseph has agreed to have most of the pieces cast in bronze to sell to other people who want to express their love and affection. The castings will cost between $300 and $3,000 depending on the piece. We invite you to come in and see the exhibition and ask Cheryl or Joseph to unlock the display case so you can fondle the works of art.
The castings will be done to order, so if you want to give one as a gift to your romantic love in the near future, we can create a pretty promise package for you with a photograph of the original to present as a gift for a birthday, anniversary, engagement or Valentine's Day.
Joseph and his wife Nancy Griffis will be on hand during dinner on February 14, Valentine's Day, to discuss the sculptures and take orders for castings.
The following sculptures are part of a new exhibit at Chez Sophie of the work of sculptor and painter Joseph C. Parker.
"Expressions of Love" is a collection Valentine's Joseph gave to his wife Sophie during their 52-year marriage. The originals are not for sale, but solid bronze castings can be ordered with prices ranging from $300 to $3,000, depending on the piece. For more information about pricing and ordering castings, please contact Joseph at 518.696.2250
Joseph also has two paintings in the Glens Falls Centennial Juried Exhibition called "It's About Time" at the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council's Lapham Gallery at 7 Lapham Place in Glens Falls. The opening reception is Friday, January 25, from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information about the show, visit Http://www.Larac.org/gallery.html
Many of you came in this past week because our Pink Plate Special was Sophie's famous veal scallopine with cream and lemon (or escallope de veau à la crème.) This was one of her signature dishes and is still fondly remembered by many patrons.
We received a lot of comments from customers on the subject of veal scallopine and signature dishes, and thought we'd share a few:
"Hooray for the Veal Scallops! I never order them, but my husband always does so I get to the have the eclectic daily special as well as the "house" special. The best of two worlds indeed. The funny thing is that if someone asked me what your signature dish was/is I'd say escargots. They're always on the menu, and I've never had them the same way twice; the ones flavored with Pernod being my favorite! As a mere mortal woman I did tackle Keller's Cornet for a black tie New Years Eve dinner. They came out beautiful and delicious, however, my $30 manicure could not disquise the burns all over my hands from rolling the dam things; I had never rolled a hot wafer before! Yes, I'm sure Keller gets much finer salmon than me and, of course, some meals are all about location. Nevertheless, my guests were impressed in my tiny West Side house.
On a recent trip to Chicago I ate at Alinea, now there's food that cannot be prepared or even served by mortals! Tempura fried frozen pumpkin pie skewered on a flaming oak branch..."
"We two believe Sophie's signature dish to be the veal scallopine in cream and lemon--if you would fly us back next week so we could get it for $32 prix fixe, we might consider farm sitting in May....:-)"
"When I brought my twin sister to the restaurant a couple of years ago, she fell in love with the veal scallopine. She still raves about it. When I would tell her that I am coming to the restaurant she would ask me to order the veal scallopine and send it to her in Ohio. I told her that while I could understand the request, it was not practical, gastronomically speaking, for me to purchase this dish one evening and then overnight it to Ohio the next day. After much discussion, she finally agreed that her request was not reasonable. However, that does not prevent her from waxing fondly about the veal scallopine whenever I mention Chez Sophie to her."
"About Paul not repeating himself, with no apology or regret; it reminded me of a story I read about Willem deKooning, the abstract expressionist painter. A writer was
asking him if he was concerned that one of his paintings, "Easter Monday" was starting to deteriorate because of the less-than archival materials deKooning would use. The
painter replied that "Easter Monday" was a painting he had done years ago and really held no interest to him anymore. He was at a different point in his artistic journey and if the painting disappeared into dust, he didn't care. He was already on to the next painting. It's all about the journey not the destination, be it food or paintings. I hope Paul never makes the same thing twice."
"Paul doesn't need a signature dish! We come there to enjoy the fresh ingredients and the wonderful choices on the menu. Certainly Paul doesn't need one, although the veal is wonderful, and it's too bad we can't come this week!"
Pink Plate Special
The Pink Plate Special this coming week will be tortelloni made with pumpkin, pine nuts and Canestrato cheese with a sauce of garlic, sage and olive oil. Tortelloni are a stuffed pasta, usually round or square, that is larger than a tortellini.
The Pink Plate is a weekly prix fixe special we offer on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Pink Plate is a $32 per person three-course special, including your choice of soup or salad, the featured entree, two selections from our cheese board or one of a couple of featured desserts and coffee, tea or espresso.
Valentine's Day
We've started booking Valentine's Day, Thursday Feb. 14, and we thought we'd give you a brief outline of what we have planned. We'll be offering an elegant, five-course, $75 per person prix fixe menu, replete with oysters, chocolate, foie gras and all of the other most romantic foods in the world.
Jazz Brunch
The brunch menu this Saturday and Sunday will feature blueberry, banana and walnut baked French toast with your choice of bacon or sausage ($14); pan-seared chicken breast with Dijon-tarragon cream sauce ($15); winter ham salad with mixed greens, pears, walnuts, and honey-lime vinaigrette ($14) and papardelle pasta with sausage ragout ($14). Appetizer specials include a crabcake with lemon caper mayonnaise ($16); a salad of mixed baby greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette ($7); moules marinière ($11) and soup of the day ($8).
The brunch specials run from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The complete menu, offered from 7 to 2 p.m., includes a Continental assortment of muffins, pastries, fruit, yogurt, frittata etcetera for $9; omelettes ($10 to $12); pancakes du jour ($10); 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).
Cole in the House
Our artist-in-residence, jazz pianist Cole Broderick, plays the baby grand piano from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Cole also plays the baby grand Tuesday and Friday night (barring special events that preclude live music.) Cole, who won a Billboard Critic's Choice Award for his 4-CD set of jazz compositions: "Seasons in Saratoga," recently released his seventh CD "Chez Sophie Jazz." This is the first time he's recorded with a vocalist. (The singer is Cheryl Clark, co-owner of Chez Sophie, wife of Chef Paul, mother of the adorable Nico and Léo.) Some of the cuts of the CD can be heard at http://www.chezsophie.com/. Copies are for sale for $16 at Chez Sophie and through Cole's secure PayPal-friendly website at http://www.colebroderick.com/sound-7.htm We can also mail-order the CD's for an additional $4 shipping and handling.
Skidmore Graduation
Skidmore graduation weekend has also started to book heavily. We'll be offering an elegant, four-course, $70 per person prix fixe menu, and will be serving the Friday of Skidmore Graduation weekend from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. by reservation. On the Saturday, we will extend brunch to 3:30 pm. and start serving the prix fixe dinner at 5:30.
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 at an additional charge or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $80 to $200 per person for seven courses, 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: Depends on the number of courses and the wines selected; available for two to 75 guests. Call Cheryl to make arrangements at 518.583.3538
The Pink Plate Special
offered Monday, January 28, Tuesday, January 29, Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31
$32 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:
tortelloni made with pumpkin, pine nuts and Canestrato cheese with a sauce of garlic, sage and olive oil
You can tell they're restaurant kids. We were cooking dinner and the two kids were playing on the kitchen floor. Nico was being terribly busy, moving small step stools and fishing little glasses out of the counter. He filled a bottle with water and retrieved some straws from the drawer. Then Léo sat across from him and he started to pour water into a short glass and add a straw. Cheryl stopped to look at the children quizzically and Léo explained: "Baw ten da!" Nico asked: "Mommy, do we have any rocks?"
Sunday night we dined at Cantina with friends and managed to hit a part of the evening where there weren't many customers. The waitress, who was absolutely wonderful (and apparently studying early childhood education) was very friendly to the kids and encouraged them to run off a little steam in the untenanted aisle near the kitchen. She brought them cranberry juice in paper cups with lids, which they wanted to run with. Cheryl and Paul were a little uneasy with relaxing the "restaurant rules" we've tried so hard to teach both of them, but knew that they were having fun and not really bothering anyone. Paul drew the line at allowing them to walk around with the paper cups in their hands and confiscated them every time the children got up from the table.
At some point, Léo grabbed her cup, and Nico, trying to be a good big brother, took it away from her so he could put it back on the table. Léo protested, which caused Paul to turn his head just in time to see Nico standing up with a cup in his hand. "Nico! I told both of you, you are not allowed to take the cups away from the table. I do not want sticky juice spilled in this restaurant."
"I'm putting it back," Nico said in an aggrieved tone.
He set the cup on the table, just as Léo tried to climb back up on the banquette, causing the cup to crash to the floor, splattering sticky juice everywhere.
"Nico!" Daddy roared.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Nico said sincerely. (He really had been trying to be good.)
Cheryl, who'd been sitting close enough to see the whole thing, but not close enough to catch the cup, quickly interjected: "Nico, it's okay, it's not your fault."
Paul looked up from the wet pile of paper napkins on the floor to see if his wife had lost her mind.
Nico looked from one parent to the other, and asked hopefully: "How is it NOT my fault?"
Léo, who turned two on Saturday, is becoming increasingly distinct and specific in her speech. Sometimes, however, her pronunciations take a little decoding, especially since Mommy is old and the babysitter is not. Tuesday, Cheryl dutifully kissed an invisible boo-boo on Léo's finger, and the child said something unintelligible. Mom asked her to repeat it a couple of times, then turned to four-year-old Nico for assistance. "Do you know what she's saying?" Cheryl asked.
"Peace Out Dog," Nico replied with a smirk.
Leo turns 2
The Parker family
at Chez Sophie
518.583.3538
Chez
Sophie was founded in 1969 by sculptor Joseph Parker and his French-born
wife, the late Sophie. The business moved to a vintage stainless
steel diner in Malta Ridge, New York, in 1995. It is owned today
by Sophie and Joseph's son, Paul Parker, and his wife, Cheryl
Clark. In June of 2006, they moved the restaurant into their current
location in The Saratoga Hotel on Broadway..
If
at any time you would like to be removed from our weekly email
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P.S.
Each month we draw a name at random from our database of customers
and send them a $50 gift certificate to Chez Sophie. If you would
like to be added to this promotions database, which is owned by
Chez Sophie, please send us an email with your name, address,
telephone number, birthday and anniversary. People on the list
will also receive a gift certificate by mail or email for a free
glass of champagne or dessert on their birthdays or anniversaries.
(You only need to enter once to be eligible every month.) If you think you are on the list but have not received gift certificates on your special holidays, please contact us with an updated email address. We find that many of the email addresses we have collected over the past few years are no longer valid.
If
you would like to sign up to receive weekly Chez Sophie updates,
please let us know your email address!
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