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Hello, everyone!

Last week was such a crazy week with the four-star review and the burst pipes and all, Cheryl was almost afraid that the plan she had been secretly nurturing for a couple of weeks would have to be abandoned. Luck prevailed, and she was able to kidnap Paul and the children and drove them to Boston for a couple of days, largely to go to the Boston Aquarium. That may sound like a small thing, but it was the first time we'd gotten to go anywhere together as a family since before we opened the restaurant in June, and it was a good as a week in Paris - and nearly as hard to pull off.

Saturday night was the first night since 8,000 gallons of water poured from a burst pipe into the dining room Wednesday that we could seat the downstairs, which was a good thing, because we had about 100 reservations, far more than could be accommodated in the upstairs bar/ private dining room area. Cheryl had gone in early to scrub the walls and windows after the Quick Response team removed their blowers and dehumidifiers, and had left at a reasonable hour with the children Saturday night to make sure we had clean laundry for the trip, which Paul still knew nothing about. Paul stayed late to do some baking and close up after the last diners left, but his evening dragged on so late he ended up falling asleep on the daybed in the nursery while changing his shoes. When he woke up and came home at 9 a.m. Sunday, he realized it was about 50 degrees in the house. We spent the rest of Sunday morning and early afternoon getting a repairman to get the furnace in our home going so we could leave the house safely.

We threw a couple of suitcases into the car and drove off, but the Volvo was making awful noises. Curiously, there were no warning or repair messages flashing on the dashboard, even though this is a car that starts to gripe at you when the windshield fluid well gets to about half full. We luckily discovered that the problem with the car was being caused by a lack of steering fluid, which was easily corrected. We had to stop at the restaurant to make sure the Sunday staff knew how to stuff sausage for Monday's Pink Plate Special, and grab Nico's winter boots, the camera and a pair of shoes for Cheryl, and then we finally got on the road.

We didn't get to Boston until 9 p.m., but the Financial District hotel we stayed in had 24-hour room service and we had a surprisingly good meal of beef short ribs and Cobb salad with a bottle of well- aged Lebanese wine. (Nico and Léo stole most of the lobster.)

The next morning, we got up early and hit the Aquarium, which was everything we'd hoped it would be. Both children were enthralled by the penguins and the giant sea turtles and the jellyfish, and would have happily slept there if it was allowed. To see photos, visit our newsletter on the website at http://www.chezsophie.com

That night we tried a restaurant right across the street from our hotel called Umbria, which did a few things well. We had the Triologia di Mare, which had a giant prawn in puff pastry, stuffed calamari and fried scallop, tri-color gnocchi with braised and pulled wild boar in a bitter cocoa ragu; Arista di Maiale alla Frutta, which was Kurabuta pork loin stuffed with prunes and dried apricots with butternut squash and quince compote and Anatra Croccante all’Alloro, which was probably the best thing we ordered. That last item was Muscovy duck that had been marinated for 24 hours before being roasted, so it was about as tender as rillette. It was served with braised red cabbage, cranberry bread pudding and a blood orange sauce.
http://www.umbriaristorante.com/Content/Dinnermenu.html

The next day we went to the Museum of Fine Arts, which Paul was particularly interested in because of its collection of Japanese swords and armor. Unfortunately, that exhibit was closed because of renovations. Nico did as well as the average 4-year-old in an art museum. After about a half hour, he was ready to go. On the walk back to the train stop, he was asked what he remembered most from the Museum. "Well," he said soberly, "It didn't have any games."

Léo, on the other hand, may have the makings of an art lover. She grinned into every glass cabinet and sang "ooh" and "aah", with just as much zeal as she had shown at the Aquarium the day before. Come to think of it, she might just appreciate the mere act of being held up to things at this age. (By the way, the food in the cafe at the MFA is surprisingly good.)

The adult highlight of the trip was arranged by a couple of regular customers who live in Boston. They found a babysitter for us for Tuesday night and joined us for our first grown up meal since Léo was born a year ago - imagine, dinner without wiping smears of mashed potatoes off our faces or wrestling a wiggling toddler who insists on making rude noises from under the table. Bob and Courtney Feathers, who recently spawned their own first son, chose the restaurant for this special child-free meal and they did extremely well.

Lala Rokh is a small, family Persian restaurant on Beacon Hill that features ingredients imported from Azerbaijan by the mother of the owners, who are siblings. The dishes include flavors such as sumaq, saffron, fenugreek, barberries, cinnamon, raw onion, pickled cucumber, fresh mint and basil, grilled tomato, tarragon, parsley, spinach, beans, tomatoes, dried plums, and the juice of unripened grapes.

One of our appetizers was an extremely special dish called kashk-e- bademjan made from roasted eggplant and caramelized onions, surrounded by minced beef and mint oil, dressed with a little goat's milk yogurt. We ordered all the mazze (side dishes) and torshi
(relishes) and particularly liked the anbeh, made with tamarind and mango and the sir, made with whole, vinegary cloves of garlic aged in the sun. Actually the little bowl of vegetable pickles were probably as good, if not better, than the other two, now that we rethink the debate at the table.

Our plates were all passed from person to person at intervals so we could try everything. We especially liked a polo made of veal, lentils, caramelized onions and dates and Paul thought his chicken dish was the best thing on the table. We had Persian baklava for dessert, as well as saffron ice cream with little flecks of frozen unsweetened whipped cream interrupting the expected texture.
http://www.lalarokh.com/

So now we're back and are concentrating on making wonderful food for all of you. We truly hope a few more of you will join us for our Warm Lake wine dinner next Wednesday, January 31. This dinner will feature the wines of Warm Lake Estate, 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 dinner will include 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
The dinner is limited to 20 people around a single table in our private dining room.
Cost: $80 per person, plus tax and gratuity

Our Sunday Jazz Brunch this week will feature chicken braised with white wine and tarragon served over polenta ($14); three-cheese baked egg puff with roasted peppers served with sweet spicy bacon ($12); grilled ham steaks with sweet potato pancakes and maple butter ($14); pan-seared sea bass with carrot butter and roasted fingerling potatoes ($14).

The brunch specials run from 10 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, 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.

The Pink Plate Special this week will be chicken fried Kobe-style ranch steak, which may bear explaining on several levels.

Ranch is another name for a center cut steak from the boneless chuck shoulder. The name “Ranch Steak” is a supermarket name used as a marketing tool replacing such attractive monikers as shoulder center steak, cut steak, shoulder petite, and chuck clod arm roast.

A ranch steak is usually cut no thicker than an inch, weighs 10 ounces or less, and is usually trimmed of all excess fat. Since it is from the chuck primal, it is very flavorful, but it can be tough if not prepared properly. Paul will marinate the meat to tenderize it, bread it and pan fry it, which is what is mean by chicken fried.

Kobe is a city in Japan famous for its ridiculously coddled and expensive beef. The Australians and a few American ranchers have been raising the same breed of beef (Wagyu) and employing Japanese techniques (daily doses of massage and beer) to produce remarkably flavorful and tender beef at a fraction of the price. (There's not a lot of real estate in Japan, so doing something as land consumptive as cattle farming in Japan, is, by its very nature, a luxury.

Our guests can have a taste of this international luxury for a mere $30 per person Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If that's not enough to lure you, then we'll throw in your choice of soup or salad, your choice of selected desserts and coffee, tea or espresso for the same low price. (That's called a Pink Plate Special, baby.) Diane Lachtrupp and Johnny Martinez offer free tango lessons to Chez Sophie customers once a month on Wednesday nights. The next tango night will be Wednesday, February 7. Diane and Johnny will offer a free lesson at 8:30, with dancing following. For those who would like to dine first before dancing, our regular menu is offered until 9 p.m. The bar menu is available until 10 p.m. and the bar will be open for at least a couple of hours after that.
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

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

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

Notes on Nico and Léo:
Léo turned one last Friday, and we had a small family celebration in the restaurant. To see photos, visit our newsletter on the website at http://www.chezsophie.com. She ate her her first bites of Sophie's lemon cheese pie and nearly flourless chocolate cake, let her brother blow out her birthday candle and had uproarious fun with the helium balloons and wrapping paper. This weekend she ate her way through Boston

Both children were in heaven at the New England Aquarium. After a full day of running through the exhibits and playing every interactive video game in the joint, Nico cried when it was time to leave. He was less enthused with the 3-D IMAX movie we took him to.
We chose a deep sea underwater movie, thinking it would be a little more relaxed than say, a dinosaur movie. He was very excited to put on the 3-D glasses and be seated in front of the enormous screen, but the trailers before the movie included some rather spectacular footage of a Tyrannosaurus Rex charging straight into the audience.
Nico spent the rest of the 45-minute deep-sea film with his head buried in his father's shoulder, refusing to put the glasses back on or open his eyes. (Actually, he did put them back on for a second because his mother was whispering to him descriptions for the
visually impaired of the beautiful anemone. He looked at the screen,
and immediately a shark shot towards the camera and scared the hell out of him.) The Pink Plate Special offered Monday, January 29 through Thursday, February 1

$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:
chicken fried Kobe-style ranch steak

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..

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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.)

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