Hello, everyone.

It's a pretty slow week for the Saratoga restaurant scene, and that's given Chef Paul Parker and his souschef, Mark Graham, time to experiment with some pretty spectacular food. We hope to see many of you this weekend to sample the fruits of their exciting collaboration.

"We're playing right now with the sides, experimenting with the vegetables that we're putting onto the plates so they could easily stand on their own," Paul said. "We put walnuts and cherries into the wild rice and we did some awesome potatoes with onions and bacon."

They'll be doing pork loin with cherries in kirsch. They'll also be serving a diptych of pheasant. Half the dish will be a miniature pheasant pot pie in port and cream, and the other half will be pheasant breast seared with olive oil and sea salt.

They are doing a really special monkfish dish with Szechuan peppercorns with papaya and pomegranate vinaigrette. The best way to describe monkfish is to compare it to lobster. It is sweet and rich and white, and is very well balanced by vinegary toppings. It is one of the uglier fish in the sea. It has a huge mouth with teeth that point inwards, so prey glides in, but can't get out. It has three long tentacles on its head, the largest of which is used as a lure to attract prey into that enormous mouth. Its stomach can distend so far that it can swallow prey as large as itself whole.

Since Valentine's Day, 2002, Paul has not ordered Chilean sea bass.
That was when we learned that Chilean sea bass consumption in the United States exceeds the legal limits. According to the Seafood Choices Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting world fisheries, illegal and unregulated fishing of this species is threatening to put an end to its commercial viability less than 10 years after it was introduced to the U.S. market. The group does not contend that the fish (formerly known as Patagonian toothfish) is on the verge of extinction. It simply claims that if demand for the tasty fish does not decrease, it will be illegally fished to the point that it will no longer be available to the general public.

Thursday afternoon, we got Chilean sea bass by accident.
"We ordered halibut, but we got Chilean sea bass instead. I hate wasting food and the fish is perfect, so we're working with it," Paul said. "We're searing it on one side, and putting the fish on top of potatoes. It will have raw oysters on top and then a mignonette of tomatillo and ginger and shallots. "It will be a beautiful dish, kind of gorgeous."

They've come up with a new vegetarian dish, a sampler that includes a potato mushroom gratin, a Romanescu bisque and a rice and vegetable terrine. Romanescu is a hybrid between broccoli and cauliflower family with a spring-like green color. The vegetable tastes much like cauliflower but is a light green color. Its buds are arranged in a beautiful fractal pattern. It is rich in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, and carotenoids.

"We were thinking about what to do for the Pink Plate and I said, 'Steak and eggs sounds like a cool idea.'" Paul said. "Mark had just seen this great recipe for a lightly smoked fish with eggs, so I said let's do it with fish. Hence Hake and eggs."
They're going to lightly cold smoke the hake, wrap it with bacon and then sear it. It will be served with a poached egg and a sauce Bearnaise.

Of the same family as cod and similar in many respects, hake is more coarsely grained with a slightly stronger flavor, although still quite mild. Atlantic hake has off-white flesh that becomes clear when cooked. It is low in fat and can range in texture from soft to firm.

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 and coffee, tea or espresso.

Sweetbread alert: Next weekend, NOT THIS COMING WEEKEND, Paul will be serving his famous sweetbreads. There are a number of people on a "sweetbreads call list" who are waiting for word that Paul will be serving this dish, and Cheryl will try to get to everyone this week, to give them fair time to plan before next Friday and Saturday, the 20th and 21st. In case she misses anyone, consider this advance warning.

Our Sunday Jazz brunch with pianist Cole Broderick will feature braised scallops with tomatoes and fresh basil ($14); fettucine à la vodka with sweet Italian sausage ($11); pan-seared sea bass with soba noodles ($12); and bananas Foster pancakes with bacon or sausage
($11) and grilled hanger steak and eggs ($13). Appetizer specials include steamed Rhode Island Littleneck clams ($12); crabcakes with lemon caper mayonnaise ($14); mussels marinière ($10), a salad of mixed baby greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette ($7) and soup of the day ($8).

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, frittata 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.

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

The Pink Plate Special
offered Monday, April 16, Tuesday, April 17, Wednesday, April 18, and Thursday, April 19.

$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:
Hake and egg
lightly cold smoked hake, wrapped with bacon and seared, served with a poached egg and sauce Bearnaise.

Notes on Nico and Léo:
Léo has reached a peculiar stage of yearling narcissism that makes it impossible to walk by any reflective surface. Every time she sees her reflection, she stands mesmerized, crooning, "Baby, baby, baby!"

We haven't heard the word "no" yet, but she has discovered the vigorous negative headshake and knows how to use it. Since she usually wants to do the opposite of what we want her to do, she's been shaking her head so hard we might have to introduce her to the family chiropractor.

Nico has been doing a lot better with controlling his need to squeeze his sister to death. It's not easy on him. Last night, Paul was reading to the two of them in bed and Léo spotted her brother's half- finished sippy cup of Ovaltine on the bedside table.
"Daddy, she stepping on me," Nico said quietly.
"He was afraid to do anything because he's been warned about hurting his sister, so he's being really calm and lovely, and she's literally walking across his head to get the cocoa milk," Paul said.

Paul was putting on the children's coats in the nursery when Nico pointed excitedly to a big garbage bag and said, "Daddy, you forgot that."
"What is that?" Paul asked. "It's stuff I peed on."

The Parker family
at Chez Sophie
518.583.3538