During our brief winter hibernation, we managed to get away to the island which inspired us to get into the restaurant business in the first place-- St. Barths-which is widely and properly regarded as the culinary capital of the Caribbean.  While there, we observed our chef and restaurant owner friends with a more discerning (and sympathetic) eye and appreciated for the first time how hard they were all working while making it look as though they were on vacation like everyone else.  We returned to frozen emergency brake cables in our car, a frozen drain pipe in our kitchen sink and a frozen grease trap in the restaurant.  Our grand reopening on Valentine's Day was thwarted by a wintry storm delivering a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain which turned our entire farm into a skating rink.  Only time will tell if this was a portent of things to come, but we had a very large crowd for the first night of our 2007 season this past Saturday and a nice turnout for Sunday brunch / lunch as well.

 

In deference to the season, we have decided to reopen with limited winter hours serving dinner on Saturdays from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. as well as lunch / brunch on Sundays from noon until 2:30 p.m.  To entice you to abandon the cozy confines of your homes in the middle of winter for the cozy confines of our barn, we are offering a special three-course prix fixe dinner in addition to our normal menu for $35.00 per person consisting of selections from our a la carte menu including an appetizer, a fish or meat entrée (vegetarian substitutions are always available) and a dessert together with a variety of amuses bouches or gifts from the chef which are one of the hallmarks of a dinner at Still River Café. We will make every effort to post the prix fixe menu for a particular week on our website, but you can also inquire when you call for reservations. In early April, we will return to serving dinner on Friday evenings and are considering adding Saturday lunch as well.

 

We are using the extra time afforded by our reduced schedule to experiment with new recipes, and our very talented kitchen staff has already come up with some exciting menu additions.  Laurent Olivier, a French-born and French-trained chef who worked in London before moving to this country, has drawn upon the culinary traditions of his native Normandy and created a truly spectacular rabbit dish featuring a poached saddle of rabbit, a stuffed leg and a rabbit rillettte with a leek-filled crepe on the side. Kristin Krysiak, our pastry chef formerly of The Lake Placid Lodge, has conjured a number of new confections including a cinnamon creme brulee paired with lemon poppyseed shortbread and a spiced mascarpone pear wrapped in phyllo.  We have also added a yellowfin tuna entrée comprised of seared black sesame seed encrusted tuna loin, tuna carpaccio with a shaved fennel salad and a tuna tatare.

 

We have expanded the wine list as well.  While we are very pleased to have what we consider to be one of the most interesting and reasonably-priced wine lists around and will continue to hunt for good values, a number of customers have urged us to include some higher end wines as well.  In response, we will be offering a number of exciting new wines including a Produttori del Barbaresco 2001 from Italy; a Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Gary Ferrell Pinot Noir 2005, Shafer Merlot 2004, and Hess Chardonnay Su'Skol Vineyard 2005 from California; a Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 from Washington; a Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004, Georges Deboeuf Morgon 2005 and Fleurie Domaine des Quatre Vents 2005 and Duval-Leroy Brut Champagne NV from France; and a Concha Y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 from Chile; and a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2006 from New Zealand.  Many of these wines have Wine Spectator ratings of 90 or higher.  We have also added two beers from the Berkshire Brewing Company-Golden Spike Ale and the appropriately named Cabin Fever Ale-to go along with the Steel Rail Pale Ale which has been one of our best sellers.

 

On the gardening front, there is not a lot to report except that we have a number of microgreens growing under lights in the basement of our barn in order to provide some color and crunch to our plates.  That said, the days are getting longer, the sun is climbing higher in the sky, and I have even caught the occasional notes of a song amidst the chatter of the birds who are struggling though winter like the rest of us.  Spring, therefore, cannot be far behind and with it the opportunity to get some dirt under my fingernails and revel again in the ancient rituals of planting, cultivating and harvesting.

 

We look forward to welcoming old and new friends alike to Still River Café.

 

Warmly,

 

Bob and Kara Brooks

www.stillrivercafe.com