Hello, everyone.

Inevitably, when we serve the cheeks of any animal, we get clever rakes who ask us "which cheeks are they?" So with his tongue planted firmly in cheek, so to speak, Chef Paul plans to offer pork cheeks this week, or joues de porc.

What makes cheek meat so special is the marbling. When you cook them slowly, they get unbelievably tender and succulent. It's an odd dish to offer in the summer because it is so rich, but Paul plans to counter the effect by serving them with new heirloom potatoes from Sheldon Farms - red-skinned yellow-fleshed potatoes - with celery and carrots. He'll braise them and serve them with the braising broth rather than an intense reduction, and hit them at the end with mustard and horseradish.

We prepared a tasting menu Thursday night for a couple who does tasting menus with us every year, every couple of nights for the duration of ballet season. By the time they've eaten with us six or seven times, sampling five to 10 courses per meal, it becomes a rather charming challenge to find something we haven't served them before. Paul found his inspiration in a conversation he had with the couple a couple of nights ago, when it was discovered that one of them makes really good meatloaf at home. From there, we devised an all American goof, starting with crabcakes, dabbling in the middle in Paul's version of meatloaf, and ending with peach melba, a classic, almost clichéed, but wonderfully satisfying dessert which we made available to the rest of the dining room as well.

Georges Auguste Escoffier, sometimes regarded as history's greatest chef, created peach melba just before the turn of the 20th century in honor of Dame Nellie Melba, an Australian opera singer who performed regularly at Covent Garden, near the London hotel where Escoffier worked. Peach melba is a peach poached in vanilla syrup served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. Like so many brilliant things, it's simple. In its simplicity lies its genius.

However, to be honest, Escoffier's original creation was a little over top. Melba had sent Escoffier a couple of tickets to Lohengrin, and Escoffier was so impressed by the opera that the next night he made an ice sculpture of a swan, reminiscent of the swan boat in the opera, and filled it with poached peaches and ice cream. He called it "Pêcheau Cygne" or "Peach with Swan." A few years later, at the opening of the new Ritz Carlton Hotel in London, he added a raspberry purée to the recipe and re-named it "Pêche Melba." (An aside - Dame Nellie's real name was Helen Porter Mitchell Armstrong. She called herself Melba because it reminded her of Melbourne, where she had left behind her husband and baby to become a singer.)

We're stocking up on a lot of wines for the track season, from cheap, quick, friendly pours to spectacular rarities. Three of the wines struck Cheryl as particularly interesting as she unpacked the cases that arrived Thursday. Two of them are 2002 Corbières made by Suzette Lignères and her sons, Jean and Paul.

Domaine Lignères is situated in the shadow of the Montagne d'Alaric just 40 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast in the Languedoc between Narbonne and Carcassonne. The vineyards start at the Alaric mountains in the west, with the vines cooled in the summer by Mediterranean breezes and battered by Atlantic winds that can reach speeds of 50 knots. The family uses the oddities of the climate to control pests and molds, rather than using pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. They plough between the vines trunks and encourage grass growth in some parts of the vineyard. Low yields are guaranteed by strict pruning, allowing only 500 to 800 grams of grapes per vine and hand harvesting to avoid waste.

The "Las Vals" wine ($47) comes from a little valley lying West to East at the southern border of the vineyard. From the Roman fort perched on the crag of the Roc de Rolland (Charlemagne's companion), the view over Las Vals (Little Valley in local dialect) is breathtaking. The Lignères fell in love at first sight with this valley, and Suzette purchased the upper terrace to plant her first 15 hectares of vines. The wine is made from 77 percent mourvedre and 23 percent Syrah grapes from 20-year-old vines. In 2002, only 315 cases were made.

The "Notre Dame" wine ($58) comes from the the southern end of the estate. The wine is made entirely of grapes from low-yielding Syrah vines. The soils and vines make Notre Dame's syrah notable for its depth, spiciness and dense and velvety tannins. In 2002, only 440 cases were made.

Another cool wine from the same delivery is Alain Paret's "420 Nuits"
St. Joseph, 2004, ($86) a rustic country cousin of New World syrah with smoky black fruits and whiff of earth and leather.

This is probably a good moment to ponder a couple of those wine terms we toss out without thinking, assuming everyone knows what we are talking about. Old World refers to wine-producing Europe – France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, etc. New World refers the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa. This is not just a matter of geography. It's all about style. Old World wines tend to be relatively subtle and elegant in taste and smell. New World wines tend to be bolder, more in your face.
When people talk about Old World syrah, they are mostly talking about wines made with the syrah grape from appellations in the Northern Rhône, such as Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, and Côte-Rotie.

The most famous New World syrahs are from Australia, where they call the grape shiraz. The U.S. produces similar wines, where they are sometimes referred to as shiraz and sometimes as syrah.

Both Old World and New World syrah is a beautiful dark, deep red. The Old World wines will sometimes get so dark, they are opaque. The New World wines tend to be more purple-red. Aside from that, they are quite different. The Rhône Valley syrahs typically have deep, peppery, earthy bouquets that make you think of rich, concentrated prunes and raisins and black currants. They tend to have an elegant balance and harmony.

The New World syrahs, can be over-the-top and dazzling, with flavorful, showy, forward fruit. The heady bouquets make you think of the words ripe and jammy rather than rich, and they generally have a strong vanilla scent from the oak aging. Rather than Old World black pepper, the New World wines have sweet notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.

A bad Old World Syrah can taste thin and acidic, smelly like an old shoe. A bad New World wine can taste overripe, flat and herb-heavy.

Because the styles are so different, you often hear people describing a French wine as "surprisingly New World" when it has unexpectedly rich, jammy forward fruits. When people describe a California wine as "Old World" it usually refers to a subtlety that stresses secondary and tertiary flavors over big fruit

The start of the local chanterelle season was marked by us this week as the first of the expert mushroom hunters arrived on our doorstep with muddy knees and a brown bag stuffed with gorgeous fresh mushrooms. It was Paul's day off, so Cheryl brought the little bag of pleasure to Souschef Mark Graham. He buried his face in it and inhaled deeply, emitting groans of pleasure. The two mushroom hunters looked at each other and one of them said: "That's funny. That's exactly what Paul did the last time we brought him a bag of chanterelles."

We got a shipment Thursday night of gorgeous striped bass Thursday afternoon which Paul plans to roast and serve with a duxelle of exotic mushrooms, shallots and microgreens dosed with an intense sherry wine vinegar.

We'll be getting Copper River sockeye salmon Friday, and serving it with an aromatic and light sauce of saffron and orange. Copper River sockeye is a wild salmon that attains a deep red color and muscular flesh after it swims upstream the 300 miles from Prince William Sound through the Baird and Wood Canyons. The river leads the salmon to a 60-mile wide delta known as the Copper River Flats near the remote fishing village of Cordova before plunging them 3,600 feet into the sea.

We're getting rabbits for this weekend from Wanabea Farm in Shushan.
Paul plans to stuff the loins with a mixture of dates and nuts and foie gras, roll them it in caul fat and roast them in the oven.
Wanabea Farm is a relatively new operation operated by Bruce Marchegiani in the former livestock auction barn at D&D Farm in Shushan. He started a year ago as a hobby and six months ago turned it into a business.

One of the cheeses on our cheeseboard this weekend will be Queso Leonora, a flaky, yet creamy goat's milk cheese with an ash rind from Léon, Spain. The smooth, full-bodied taste has just the right amount of tanginess on the finish.

We'll have chukar partridges this week, which are similar in size to pheasant but have a slightly nuttier flavor than both quail and pheasant. They are a member of the genus Alectoris, and are mostly gray all over with a black band from the eyes, down to below the neck. They also have several black bars on the flanks. Native to Asia, they were introduced to the scrubby brush lands of the western United States in the early 20th century. We'll also be serving quail, for the sake of comparison.

Paul is also very exited about an entree he's doing with Canadian wapiti elk and black currants. Wapiti are the oldest North American breed of elk. The word comes from Shawnee for "white rump" referring to pale patches on the animals' posteriors. Among deer, they are second in size only to the moose, rich in flavor and low in cholesterol.

You can order a Chez Sophie picnic box lunch to pick up in the morning and take with you wherever you plan to spend the day. There are three options: chilled filet mignon with a variety of condiments; roasted Cornish hen and a vegetarian 'grand plateau des sans visages'
which will be an array of salads with a balance of proteins, vegetables and starches. Each of the dishes will be served with two sides, something with fresh, seasonal vegetables and something like fingerling potatoes dressed in olive oil and sea salt. You can order the boxes by telephone the night before by calling 518.583.3538 and pick them up any time after 8 a.m. The prices will range from $17 to
$21 per entree.

Our Sunday Jazz brunch this week with pianist Cole Broderick will feature tortelloni with mushroom sage sauce ($13); sautéed chicken breast with bell pepper and onion confit ($14); grilled orange-cumin glazed center cut pork chop with pesto potato salad ($14); and banana- oatmeal raisin pancake with choice of sausage or bacon ($13).
Appetizer specials include Rhode Island Littleneck clams steamed with white wine and herbs ($12); a salad of Sunset Hill Farm greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette ($7); crabcake with caper mayonnaise ($14) 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 ($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 at an additional charge or you can order from our extensive wine list.
Cost: $75 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: $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 is on summer vacation.

Notes on Nico and Léo:
We did a rare and wonderful thing Tuesday night. Both Paul and Cheryl left the restaurant in the capable hands of our employees and went to the ballet. (We've been out to dinner together only twice in the last year and we haven't seen an adult performance together in at least four years.) We wanted to take the children, but we also especially wanted to see the new ballet composed and conducted by Bright Sheng, whom we met last year when the Philadelphia Orchestra was performing the orchestral and vocal piece he composed, The Phoenix. We knew from experience that the inside seats at SPAC are not the best place for small children during the ballet, and that it's very difficult to concentrate on a ballet while sitting on the lawn with two children who want to dance, explore the treat bag and ask a thousand questions about what is going on onstage. So we brought Hope, the children's nanny, along and she sat on the lawn with the kids during the first two ballets, while we sat inside with Mr. Sheng's charming wife. Then we joined our children on the blanket for the final ballet. Léo, who is 18 months old, was surprisingly interested in the dancing and music, as Nico was at her age. But what was a real treat was how four- and-a-half-year-old Nico responded. After this performance, we think he's almost old enough to come inside the shed where he can really see what's going on. He was fascinated by the "boy dancers" and demonstrated pirouettes and kicks after the ballet with surprising agility. He was still wide-eyed and chatty when we took the kids back to the car at 11 p.m., Léo straining to leap out of the stroller and Nico riding on his Daddy's shoulders.
"I'm a flying dinosaur!" he declared to the world.
"Do you have a big eyes like a flying dinosaur?" Paul asked. "Do you have big teeth like a flying dinosaur?"
Nico burst into song:
"I'm a flying dinosaur because my eyes are big enough.
I'm a flying dinosaur because my teeth are big enough.
I'm a flying dinosaur because I can see Hope and Mommy I'm a flying dinosaur on top of the world!"

A passerby commented: "I'm surprised he's even awake, let alone flying."

The Parker family
at Chez Sophie
518.583.3538