Coq au vin was amongst the first dishes that Chef Cipolla was formally taught at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) 15 years ago.  It was also Julia Childs's featured dish in her groundbreaking 1961 cookbook "Mas

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Chef had a much needed vacation.  While he was trying to relax and dream up the midsummer menu, your Spy was of course peppering him with a hundred questions.  All I got back was "Yes Montreal! I had 200g of Pâté for breakfast."  That's it.  For

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I had never had Beef Wellington before.  Not only was it never on a menu...like anywhere...but in my mind, Beef Wellington was in the same category as other strange food I might be served as a kid at my great Aunt's house....like tuna wit

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A multi-course prix fix meal is relatively rare in Upstate NY so it's not unusual for first time diners to have misconceptions about what to expect.  I'm going to address a couple in this post; namely "How much food are we talking about? and "How long

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I wanted to recognize a few of our wonderful purveyors.  It's simple, if you want the very best tasting food a good place to start is high quality ingredients and we are honored to have some of the best regional purveyors available.  I have previousl

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Our Sommelier, Hannah, has composed a beautiful wine pairing for our early spring menu.  I wanted to get into her head and try to appreciate the thought process behind a pairing like the flavor profiles she's keying off of and how she finds optio

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While French cooking techniques and sauces are classic and time-tested, it can be a bit intimidating if you didn't do so well (like me) in HS French or didn't graduate from the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) lik

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Our Diver Scallops come to us on-demand and ultra fresh from Maine via the famous Browne Trading Company.  They are big (equivalent to a U10) and a true "diver" scallops in that they are hand harvested by divers vs. net dragged.  According to Bro

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I'm on a roll and also feeling like something sweet which brings me to Pavlova.  While our Chocolates always come with surprises from our talented pastry chef Lizzy our final dessert, Pavlova, may be a complete mystery to you.  Pavlova (the d

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We have a passion for food and for educating our diners.  Anyone that has dined with us before knows that Chef Cipolla expertly describes the ingredients that comprise each dish and typically shares some story behind the dish's creation.  Howev

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