July 28, 2010 |
Short Order
Father and son Demarchelier will open L’Oubli, a bar with small plates on LES
Ben Demarchelier and his restaurant-veteran father Eric expect to open L’Oubli, a bar with small plates at 188 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side next Wednesday. “We’re just waiting for the liquor license to arrive,” Ben Demarchelier said. Each week there will be three featured cocktails rotating -- one classic, one modern and one molecular -- “but customers can order whatever they want.”
The 55-seat joint will have bar stools at both tables and counters, so standup friends can join a full table to taste the Demrachelier riff on bar food. “Very personal,” Ben says, from Grandma Demarchelier’s charcuterie and duck rillettes to Welsh rarebit, an English notion with cheddar cheese that he’ll tweak using French beer instead of Guiness. Tasting plates will include Camembert fondue and small portions of fish cooked in papillote, perhaps with Ricard and lemongrass or with gin and cardamom. “Everything local, as much as possible.” Of course.
“There will be no disco attack, just mellow music” – Oubli means memory loss, the idea is “forget your cares.” A late night menu will be served till 4 a.m.
Ben Demarchelier left his bartender post at Brasserie Cognac to organize the bar action at Monkey Bar but left when he found that spot “too formal.” He’s been back mixing it up at Brasserie Cognacc till now. Dad runs Demarchelier at 50 East 86th Street between Madison and Park.
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