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My wife and I had an anniversary dinner last night at Chez Sophie which epitomized why this is such a great restaurant. First it is friendly and extremely accomodating. We were given a table near the last minute at a good time on a busy night. Second they saved some soft-shell crabs for us on request. The environment is comfortable and relaxing and the service is pleasant and professional and the food is just great bistro food - pristine ingredients, simply but expertly prepared. My wife and I started with cocktails of champagne with an orange rhum that was subtle, well-balanced and delicious with just a hint of sweetness from the rum. This accompanied their great bread and lemon-garlic white bean dip. We started with the soft-shell crabs which were as good as I have ever had. They were perfectly fried and served with a gorgeously delicious lemon-butter sauce that was neither too sweet nor too tart - just right. I scraped every bit of this off the plate. My wife and I shared a half-bottle of 1996 Meurseault from Pierre Matrot that was stunning with the crabs and on its own. Cold cream of lovage soup was next up. This was incredibly tasty (I thought it had curry in it, but I was wrong), though slightluy salty. My wife had their sweetbreads sauteed with lemon, butter and capers that is always wonderful there. I had a fantastic veal-chop with chinese black vinegar and mango that proved a marvellous combination balanced like a great dessert wine. This was served with perfectly cooked asparagus and relatively ordinary roasted potatoes. We shared a half-bottle of 1995 Hermitage from Guigal that was delightful though still somewhat young. Desserts consisted of a well-executed creme caramel with pistachios for my wife and a fine strawberry-rhubarb compote for me. I have posted a lot recently on a recent experience at Per Se. Although on a different level, this dinner in its own way was every bit as satisfying as that. That is not to say the overall experience was the same, just that based on expectations both proved to be absolutely satisfying. If you are planning a visit to saratoga or vicinity this summer make a point of visiting this restaurant. Paul Parker's cooking is right on.

This works. The menu was fairly similar to ours from four days earler, although it was sufficiently different to be interesting and make me wonder what the different dishes would be like. I would have been particularly curious about their treatment of the soft-shell crab sandwich. I had a ss crab last night at Chez Sophie in Saratoga that was as good a one as I've ever had - perfectly fried and crispy with a fantastic lemon-butter sauce.

Just to remind any interested parties, the date for the eGullet Day at the Races in Saratoga is Sunday August 15th. It will be a potluck picnic. Please chime in with plans for attending and what you plan to bring.

That's right, Suzanne. Last night my favorite local restaurant, Chez Sophie, squeezed my wife and I in and gave us a great table at the last minute when I called a little in advance to make a reservation and let them know it was our anniversary. We didn't expect or get any other comps. The dinner was fantastic. That was enough.

Using an iPod or similar device with a radio tuner goes a long way in providing good driving music to your specifications while on a long road trip. This helps to keep one's attention from being diverted from finding a good roadside food stop (obligatory food reference ) by looking for radio stations.

I like The Wine Club, Inc. based in California. They have a great selection and prices on wines from all over the world. Like anywhere else, the selection is always changing based upon availability so they may or may not have the specific wine you want. Their recommendations are generally pretty good too.

I met the owner once at a wine dinner at The Four Seasons - cool guy.

No luck.

It is this that in my mind at least makes Adria and his peers consistent with the ideals of Slow Food. By the way, I would like to complement everyone in this thread. It presents a somewhat different view of Adria, El Bulli and what is behind it all, or at least somewhat different take on what I have seen and followed. Tony, thanks for the teasers. I, too am really looking forward to seeing the completed project.

Per Se is a good value on any night, but the cost is even easier to justify on a special occasion. It just so happens that last Thursday was my one-year anniversary as a member of eGullet! Now you tell me! We should have had a special toast.

The five-course prix fixe at Per Se is $125, or just eight dollars more than the $117 three-course dinner at Gordon Ramsay. On that basis, I wouldn't describe Per Se as pricey. Both are "pricey" in that they require a fair bit of money in order to indulge. Per Se, while "pricey" is in IMO a great value for the money. Not having been to Gordon Ramsey I cannot attest to that for that restaurant.

It is pricey, but it is worth it if you can afford it.

As someone who enjoys eating and appreciates both culinary "creativity" and unique, pristine ingredients "simply prepared" and as one who believes strongly in the value of the Slow Food movement, I do not feel that any of these are mutually exclusive. In fact, I feel, that they are mutually supportive and necessary. In order to appreciate creativity, one must have a basis in enjoying pristine, simply prepared ingredients, especially when the creativity is a play on those same or different ingredients or else one cannot evaluate if something is truly "creative". The Slow Food Movement is all about protecting diversity of ingredients, production and cooking, which is IMO essential for both "creative" cuisine and cuisine based on the primacy of ingredients. The important aspect of creative cuisine to me is expanding my mind by presenting ingredients new or old in ways that make me appreciate them anew. If that is successful, it doesn't really matter to me whether the ingredients are "pedestrian" or luxuriously "rare and expensive". I will admit that I have yet to eat at El Bulli, so I can not make a judgement on Adria's cuisine from first-hand experience as to whether or not he has been or is currently succesful in that regard. I do not rule it out of hand, however, that he may be "succesful" by my definition even with less expensive or exotic ingredients. Another way of looking at it, is that expensive, exotic ingredients are no guarantee of success either, unless they are handled in a masterly way. As far as a "decline in standards", I would argue the opposite for food standards as more and more people (esp. in the U.S.) have become more and more sophisticated about matters culinary. I believe this is in evidence all around us on eGullet.

Seth, Thanks for the update on Park Slope and the photo of the Museum. I haven't lived in Park Slope since 1982. It has changed quite a bit since then, especially in availability of a variety of foods. While it was never an Italian neighborhood per se, Italian food was probably the most widely available. I can't recall the last time I've been to the Brooklyn Museum, although it too was probably in the early '80's. I used to enjoy going there as a child. Your breads look good enough to rival my favorite Italian bread bakery - Caputo's on Court St. Their breads and cookies are fantaastic.

Seth, Nice blog so far. The pictures of Sahadi's really brought back some memories of growing up in nearby Park Slope. I would love to see more pictures of the special food places in the area if you could swing it. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing.

For my dinner the wines came out to $115pp not including T&T since only three of us were drinking. This included 2 full bottles of wine - Brewer-Clifton Mt. Carmel Santa Rita Chardonnay '02 $51.49 from WineAcess.com and Cigliuti '99 Barbaresco (2000 vintage available at $51.99 via wineaccess.com). Five other wines were served by the glass (with refills) including Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve NV $68.73 in magnum, 2003 Txomin Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina White ($16.99/bottle at WA), Hiedler Gruner Veltliner 2002, although I'm not sure which bottling ($13-38 at WA depending on bottling), 2002 Scheurebe Spatlese Gleisweiler Holle (can't find a price) and Clos des Paulilles Banyuls 1999 $20/500ml bottle at is-wine.com . The wines were all good and well-paired. As one can see they weren't the most valuable wines, although the way most restaurants mark-up the cost of wine $115pp really wasn't bad for the amount of these wines we drank, the glassware and the service. I believe Per Se has a $75/bottle corkage fee in place for brought wines. I had a good look at their wine list, which I thought very interesting and reasonably priced.

A lot more goes into the consistency of cheeses than just production. Storage and maintainence is at least as important. I have been disappointed with French and Italian cheeses I have purcchased despite having had fabulous specimens on other occassions. One of the most variable cheeses I find is roqueforte. when it is on, it is one of my absolute favorites, but when it isn't I find it overly salty or ammoniaized. That is most likely not a fault of the producer. Guru, you talked about how some people are willing to not only tolerate, but praise home-grown products that they would not tolerate elsewhere. I think the answer is a question of expectation. I am much more willing to cut myself some slack and enjoy a dish I have prepared somewhat inexpertly than the same dish prepared the same way in a fine restaurant. That is because I know I am still learning the rudiments of the craft, but I expect more from the professional with years of experience. Quebec cheeses are far from perfect, but I find them interesting especially compared to other North American cheeses producing regions, although they too are on the upswing. Quebec cheese producers should certainly continue to hone their craft and not rely on native goodwill. My experience with them is such that I think they are doing so. I will continue to order Quebec cheese when in Quebec because they are good and I believe getting better and I cannot get them in New York. If I could get them in NY, I think I would probably be less enthusiastic about buying them in Quebec. The other international cheeses are much easier for me to find in the US.

An interesting comparison of value would be an evening like I had at Per Se and a similar evening down the hall at Masa. Culinarily they might be apples and oranges, but I am looking to compare value to the overall experience. Someday, perhaps, I might be able to make that comparison and judgement, but unfortunately not today.

I would agree with this statement. The food was all excellent, but from that perspective alone not the absolutely best I have ever had. Not one dish sent me through spasms of rapture, however, the entire experience was phenomenal and I believe a result of his creativity and obsession with detail.

The only person we were specifically introduced to in the kitchen was Chef Benno, so unfortunately I cannot identify anyone else from Per Se in the photos.

Fascinating discourse, Steven. I have not yet eaten at ADNY. I will have to wait to replenish my bank account in order to do so, unless someone else would like to take me Nevertheless, after my meal at Per Se, I am intrigued that someone whose opinion I respect as much as yours, would make a cogent argument for an even better restaurant. One thing I doubt, however, is that ADNY can leave as much of a sense of "value" for its respective high tab the way that Per Se has. Never have I spent so much on a meal and feel that I walked away with a bargain as I did at Per Se. Also, since I am not an acquaintence let alone friend of Chef DeLouvrier, how likely would it be for me to walk away from ADNY with similar impressions to yours? At Per Se, I didn't "know" anyone, but I was made to feel that I did.

How bnig was the truck you needed to get it home? Seriously, how big was that?

Did you cook the lobsters or were they cooked by the store? If the latter, were they weighed before or after cooking? If the latter that might explain the lack of meat as the weight may have been from water from cooking.

I believe that you are correct, they were probably soft-shells, having recently molted. It is best to ask specifically for hard-shell lobsters at the fish-market. On the other hand, the soft-shell probably weighs less than the hard-shell, so maybe you would be getting more meat per pound with the soft-shells. How was the meat that you had?

Liz, Welcome to eGullet. I think you will find that nice casual will work in the other two restaurants, although formal is ok too. The best bet is to be "chic", whatever that is.