Diners' expectations are directly proportional to the prices on the menu, and both were lofty during a recent dinner at the newest incarnation of Chez Sophie at the Saratoga Hotel. True to its heritage, Chez Sophie didn't disappoint.
The original Chez Sophie Bistro was opened in Hadley by Sophie and Joseph Parker in 1969 and has been located in several places since. Sophie, a petite but powerful force in the kitchen, could make a simple tossed salad as interesting as the most elaborate entree, and her duck breast was said to be so good, it made critics and generations of diners weep.
The restaurant was a family affair, with Joseph greeting guests, son Paul often behind the bar, and Paul's wife, Cheryl Clark, serving customers. Sophie succumbed to cancer in 2001, and since then Paul and Cheryl have stepped up to run the business.
Last summer, they moved the restaurant from a delightful refurbished diner on Route 9 in Malta to the renovated contemporary interior of the hotel adjacent to the Saratoga Springs City Center. It's a larger space than before, elegant where the diner was charming, split by a double-sided fireplace into an upper bar area and lower dining room that faces a planted courtyard where one of Joseph Parker's humanistic metal sculptures strikes an acrobatic pose.
While the dinner menus, which change daily, still make use of classic French techniques, they are broader and more adventuresome than at the previous location, thanks in part to new equipment but mostly due to Paul Parker's love of food from all cultures. Sesame-crusted scallops with ginger miso broth ($12) appears on the appetizer menu with such standards as house pate with cornichons and Dijon ($11). Apple and corsendonk (a Belgian ale) crepinettes (sausages) with cider-bacon sauce ($33) show up along with that classic sliced duck breast with apricot and green peppercorns ($28) under entrees.
The crab cake appetizer is one large patty presented atop a puddle of lemon caper mayonnaise. The cake itself was breaded in panko crumbs before frying, giving it a light crust that yielded to an interior of delicately flavorful crab meat. The accompanying mayonnaise was bright enough to accent the seafood without overpowering it.
Fois gras with coppa and fruit compote ($16) was a plate of intense flavors that danced on the palate; a perfectly seared slice of duck liver perched on a slice of toasted baguette, accented by slices of dried ham, dollops of finely minced stewed apricots and cherries, and drizzles of a sweet balsamic reduction.
As is common in higher-end restaurants, soups and salads are not included with the entree, but they shouldn't be shoved aside due to their extra cost.
The leek bisque ($8) looked much like an asparagus or pea soup but was a subtle and skillfully seasoned warmer that came topped with a large flat crouton. A beet salad with goat cheese, pine nuts and vinaigrette ($9) turned what is often a dowdy root vegetable into the celebratory center of the dish. Mildly zesty, the beets contrasted beautifully with the smooth tang of the goat cheese and the richness of the nuts.
A glass-encased, floor-to-ceiling wine area at one end of the dining room displays the hundreds of wines available. Chez Sophie's wine list has been honored with an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine for the last several years, and with 25 pages and 400 vintages ranging in price from $20 to $430, it is an impressive catalog of primarily French vintages. The list changes frequently depending on what strikes the Parker-Clark fancy, but we most liked the dozen or so by-the-glass offerings we had to choose from.
From the entrees we chose two classics: veal chop with rosemary demi glace and grilled trout with fines-herbes vinaigrette.
The chop was a thick, perfectly cooked slice served on the bone with the rich, aromatic sauce and accompanied by buttery mashed potatoes, gently steamed green beans and small whole carrots.
Paired with the same vegetables, but fluffy white rice in place of the potatoes, the trout was served head and tail still attached. But you had only to lift the top side to get to forkfuls of the tender white meat within. Although napped with a vinaigrette, the sauce wasn't the least tangy or tart; instead, it tasted of fresh herbs that enhanced the flavor of the fish.
Having a table close to the waiters' station didn't disturb our meal, and it gave us a little insight as to how the team managed everything smoothly. Bussers would clear tables and report to the servers, ``Table 25 will need three forks, a steak knife and two spoons (to reset between courses).'' Then the appropriate flatware would be placed in a napkin on a platter to be delivered to the table.
Water was refreshed regularly, tablecloths were swept clean between courses and dishes were removed at the appropriate times. Only a slight unfamiliarity with the menu and the failure to notice stiff napkins that had slid from diners' laps marred otherwise excellent service.
For dessert we tested the fried bread pudding ($9), with the classic homey dessert cut into elongated cubes and fried as if it were French toast. It was a good, substantial but not-too-sweet ending.
Vacherin, another French offering, traditionally consists of layers of crushed meringue between layers of ice cream, but the Chez Sophie version ($11) offered when we dined came served as a delightful, snowmanlike edible. A round of meringue was topped with a scoop of vanilla gelato, fudge sauce, whipped cream and a cap of meringue. It was cold, airy, flavorful and, thanks to the crunchiness of the meringue, seemed to last forever.
The four-course dinner for two -- including two glasses of wine, coffee and a 20 percent tip -- came to $204.
No, this isn't Sophie Parker's Chez Sophie. It's more contemporary in appearance and more adventuresome in flavor, but it remains true to her perfectionist spirit. Yes, I think Sophie would be proud.
Ruth Fantasia can be reached at 454-5362 or by e-mail at rfantasia@timesunion.com. |
