Archives

Hello, Everyone:

Our Pink Plate Special is inspired by one of the four pork dishes that Chef Paul donated and served for the Feast of the Fields at the Saratoga Polo Grounds Thursday night. We'll be doing pork sausage with sage, pistachios and beer, braised in apple cider and served with sweet and sour cabbage, featuring free-range pork from Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY.

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.

The Feast of Fields event is a lovely annual fundraiser for Saratoga Plan, a land trust that helps keep farmers farming. They raised some money, but they could use much more help. To learn about this organization, visit http://www.saratogaplan.org/aboutus.html

Cheryl threw Paul in, but it probably is going to be exceptionally wonderful. The organizers were auctioning off a weekend at Camp Uncas the Adirondack Great Camp on Mohegan Lake formerly owned by J.P.
Morgan. For some reason the bidding was laggardly, probably because of all the donated food and beer the participants consumed before the live auction began. Cheryl spontaneously volunteered Paul to go up to the camp and cook dinner for the winning bidder. It was a Chez Sophie customer that won the prize.

Our musings on mass-produced beer last week evoked a torrent of email
responses:

"Dish water beer straight out of the bottle belongs downtown-maybe even as far downtown as Queens. Hooray for Sophie. Keep the newsletters coming. Will be in soon for our third dinner since you opened."

"While I often joke the "Life is too short to drink cheap beer" I wonder if you are trending towards elitism. I don't think that having a small selection of light beers or one or two "standard" beers would attract the "wrong crowd". At the same time, if you are trying to encourage people to move up from the standard bar fare to really good dining, a few familiar items on the menu would be nice. I have to admit that on occasion I still drink a Millers, and grew up on Budweiser and Genesee Cream Ale."

"I deal with this issue on a daily basis and have found that bars and restaurants that take a hard line approach to the "no crap on tap" philosophy almost always end up cultivating the cliental they hoped for. I have also found that even many "salt of the earth"
types can and will be converted (if only for their time at that bar) to a craft brewed beer if given samples and made to feel included rather than excluded. A bartender that knows and loves great beer is key to this. It's a slippery slope indeed since beer to most people is a fizzy yellow liquid that sponsors football stadiums and the like and spends more on advertising than the actual liquid. But I digress.
I would submit that if the Bud drinker wont be satisfied by Stella, he/she wont be satisfied at all by anything other than a more recognized fizzy yellow beer. You, as I am sure you know, can't please everyone. Chez Sophie and other fine establishments offer patrons something different. People come to such places for that
very reason and I applaud your commitment to quality and detail.
Viva la difference! (did I spell that right?) My response to the guy who says "Bud is the best beer" is to ask if he thinks McDonalds makes the best burgers. They can usually relate to that analogy, and become more receptive to trying something new."

"I, for one, am glad you stood your ground on the beer. If they want their beer and multi-screen sports TV bar (what ever happened to good bar conversation - as the Irish say, 'good crack') there are plenty establishments in SS that could accommodate them, and the hotel bell captain can easily direct them. There was some concern on Susan's and my part and those of our friends who cherish Chez Sophie and what you
do and how you do it when you decided to make the move to the hotel.
We were happy for you, but concerned about what may be lost, as we saw these challenges on the horizon. We are so glad you are keeping your standards, your style and your sensibilities. It will benefit you, Sophie's legacy AND the hotel in the long run."

"I'm happy you have decided not to compromise on the beers. There are enough other places where people can drink that stuff! Retaining your uniqueness is important."

"The philosophical dilemma you had is one we contend with on a daily basis at our European Café...when people ask for a sandwich on white bread or Russian dressing on their salad!!! Or a Budweiser!!! And, our answer is that's not beer or you will love our balsamic vinaigrette...if they don't, they can drive 6 miles to McDonald's or some bad American restaurant. We have been fans of your restaurant ever since we move to the area in 1994...we have recommended to hundreds of people...and we loved hearing your stand on these "rather down-to-earth, salt-of-the-earth types" requests."

"Some things seem so ironic. When I was involved in convention planning (national meetings back in the 70's) we used to select hotels which, even on weekdays if possible, had an elegant brunch, and if we needed to stay over a weekend, we were certain to book such an establishment. I vividly recall an Atlanta hotel (but not its
name) which had more food then one could eat in a week, including rare or unusual viands, the table centered by an elegant ice sculpture. There were other such wonderful locals, and the brunch was often more soul reviving than the dinners in the same places. And I don't remember that we paid any less, or much more, than you are now charging for your prix fixe. (Seems people don't realize what a deal they are getting)! There is much to be said for an experience which can be happily brought to mind so many years later, even if there are a certain mass of the masses who cannot raise to this level of appreciation.
Have you thought about putting in a rot gut lite beer tap and charging twice as much per serving as any of your good beers and serving it in especially ugly and hard to hold glasses? You could justify the additional cost on the need for special isolation of the equipment so as not to contaminate your superior brands and the need of special procedures to disinfect the glasses and additional pay to console the servers abused by such servings. Each order could be accompanied by a complimentary serving of three or four highly spiced and poorly cooked chicken nuggets!"

"That Suzanne Sugarbaker moment and the description of your encounter with the pawing conventioneer was one of the most invigorating paragraphs I have read in quite some time! Well done! I especially enjoyed the "no decent hotel within a 30-mile radius!" On behalf of the educated men of the Capital Region, thank you for putting that poor slob in his place!"

"The great thing about the Belgian-style beers you have on draught and in bottles is that they really work well with your food and are a great alternative to wine. I'd be interested to know how the draughts are doing and if any perform better than the others. I'd suggest that you consider doing some seasonal rotating of the draughts and try some of the Trappist beers on tap if you can get them. The three you have are good choices and great beers. I'm glad to hear things sound like they are going so well. You have a great location. It must be different with two other meals thrown into the mix, but changing things up is what keeps us all young. ;-)"

"Good for you (on the beer situation). Never compromise your standards. You have always been steps above the others."

"I loved all the beer and sports stories. Just stand your ground - it is where you belong! Oh, and just one question...what is torrefaction?"

Answer: "dried by fire or scorched"

Cheryl is getting very excited about the kids Halloween party on Tuesday, October 31. She other night she constructed a costume for Nico (court jester seems appropriate, ne c'est pas?) and ordered a bunch of glow in the dark skeletons and cobwebs for the courtyard, as well as majorly cool items for the goody bags. The idea is that there are very few places to take kids on Halloween, especially if it falls on a school night. We took Nico trick or treating last year and barely ran into any other kids, so we assume everyone was at the mall begging for andy from the store employees. We decided to use the upper dining room for a kids party, with games, magic tricks, crafts, prizes for the best costumes and a little kiddy buffet. The parents can come and have dinner in the lower dining room while the kids party and pop upstairs at will to enjoy the fun.

The party will start at 5 p.m. and go to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31. Admission for children will be $5 per kid, which includes snacks, games and prizes.

Composer Cole Broderick plays cool jazz on the baby grand in our lounge on Tuesdays and Fridays and during Sunday brunch, as well as during parties and special events. Cole is not only a talented native son, but has also received a "Critic’s Choice" citation from Billboard Magazine for his four CD set "Seasons of Saratoga." His newest solo CD, "In a Dream" was recently released.

Notes on Nico and Léo: Our little Léo is apparently undergoing a growth spurt that requires more fuel than her parents know how to deliver. After several days of intense nursing (every hour, which means no sleep for Mommy) we decided to load her up during the evening meal to see if we could get some sleep. We had some fresh peaches that were darn near as big as the child's head, so we took one, peeled it, puréed it, and mixed it with oat cereal, making a container of fresh food that should have lasted for several meals, if not several days. Léo ate the entire thing at one seating and begged for more, finally draining both of Mommy's lactating organs and finishing with a large bottle of rice milk. An hour later she was hungry again. If she had more than two teeth (on the bottom only) we'd just fix her a steak.

This obsession with food presented her with an awkward problem in the bath. Mommy was submerged and Léo was sitting on her lap trying to get to the milk supply. She stuck her face under water three times trying to latch on, then looked at Mommy with a puzzled expression.
Then she reached under the water with her hand, grasped a nipple firmly, twisted it and tried to drag it to the surface. This was not fun for the target. Moments later, Nico, who was sitting in on the bathroom floor with some toys, tried the same maneuver, with considerably more strength and dexterity. Mom yowled. Nico grinned and said: "My baby sister taught me that today."

Nico, who is omnivorous to a surprising degree, flummoxed his mother yesterday. She cooked him chocolate pudding as a treat. The kid loves chocolate and ice cream and crème caramel, so it seemed like a good gift. The first surprise was when he refused to lick the spoon. "I don't like it," he insisted. "You haven't tried it," Mommy protested.
"It's chocolate." He absolutely refused to partake.
Later that night, when the warm pudding cooled and set, she offered him a bowl. He again refused. She explained that it was a special treat she had made for him. He obligingly touched the tip of his tongue to the spoon, nodded his head enthusiastically, and said :
"It's very nice. May I have something else?"

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 list (or receive less frequent postings about wine dinners or special events) please let us know by return email. We hope you enjoy our news.

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 would like to sign up to receive weekly Chez Sophie updates,
please let us know your email address!