COMTESSE THÉRÈSE BISTRO OPENING SOON!!
TARGET DATE END OF SEPTEMBER, 2010.
our own wines and our own-grown herbs
local North Fork duck, seafood, poultry, vegetables, etc!
The six year-long marathon of licenses, permits and construction is almost over!! In a charmingly renovated historical house from the 1830's at 739 Main Road in Aquebogue, NY (phone 631-779-2800), the intimate 28-seat bistro is expected to open at the end of September 2010 and will serve self-grown and local food, along with our own Comtesse Thérèse wines.
Bistro, 739 Main Road, Aquebogue. Chef Arie with edible chicken-of-the-woods mushroom found in Wading River
Chef Arie with farmer Doug Cooper of Mattituck
The bistro was inspired by the small, family-run restaurants in the wine villages of the Medoc, St. Emilion, Burgundy, Tuscany, etc. -- where it is taken from granted that only local wines will be served. The bistro will only serve the award-winning, food-friendly Comtesse Thérèse wines - including the Russian Oak Chardonnay, Rosé, Blanc de Noir, Hungarian Oak Merlot, Traditional and Chateau Reserve Merlots, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In early fall 2010, watch for our first-ever 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from young vines, and the world's first-ever Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvignon from the fantastic 2007 vintage. We are also planning to make fruit and herb sines and to apply for a microbrewery license !
Chef Arie with fish supplier "Phil the Phisherman" on Long Island Sound, out of Mattituck Inlet - what a fluke!
Chef Aristodemos ("Arie") Pavlou is Executive Chef. An experienced Nofo game hunter, fisherman, and mushroom gatherer, Chef Arie has long grown his own herbs and fruits for the kitchen, a knowledge honed by years of professional culinary experience on the North Fork as well as a year of agricultural labor at Comtesse Thérèse vineyard. "I never knew before how labor-intensive vineyard work is. Now I know what work goes into producing a bottle of wine, so I appreciate it more."
Chef Arie with Raphael winemaker Les Howard at L.I. Wine & Food Festival, June 27, 2010
Chef Arie is a graduate of the L'Ecole Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and trained at Michelin-starred restaurants in Provence, France; at Le Cirque 2000 in Manhattan; and René Pujol, also in Manhattan. He was formerly co-owner of the Hotel Coeur de Vignes restaurant and inn in Southold, where the wine list was a several-time recipent of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Chef Arie is currently an instructor of culinary arts at the Culinary Institute at Suffolk County Community College on Main Street in Riverhead. He is the co-author of two books, "Wonderful Ways to Enjoy Foie Gras" and "Great Soups the Easy Way."
The Sun Garden
The backyard of the bistro is "the Sun Garden"
- full of sunlight, herbs and vineyard by day, and lighted by solar lights at night. Along with a miniature vineyard planted with Dijon clones of chardonnay, an herb garden has been planted along the western edge with 20 types of herbs. Under the solar-lit grape arbor, creeping thyme grows between the paving stones. Pretty views of the Sun Garden, the mini Kentucky bluegrass lawn and the five-acre apple farm to the south can be obtained from the bistro's roof deck, also solar-powered.
At the Comtesse Thérèse vineyards at Union Avenue in Aquebogue, about a half mile away, 40 blackberry and raspberry bushes and 30 blueberry bushes have been planted to supply the bistro, with more to be planted in fall 2010.
Extensive herb gardens located at owner Theresa ("Tree") Dilworth's house in Mattituck, full of earthworms from years of composting, will supplement the fresh herbs on the daily bistro menu.
Chef Arie with chives at the herb garden in Mattituck
The bistro will source in-season produce from local North Fork farms. Local duck, seafood, shellfish and poultry will also be prominent on the menu.
Smoked duck and fish are a Chef Arie speciality. He uses local peach, apple and hickory wood, local grapevine cuttings, and the oak staves of our own wine barrels to impart delicate aromas into the smoke.
Cilantro in flower, Mattituck herb garden
For the Feb. 11, 2010 Riverhead News-Review article on the bistro finally getting Town permits, click here.
BISTRO ADDRESS:
739 Main Road
P.O. Box 2799
Aquebogue, NY 11931
631-779-2800
we are located just east of Church Lane, on the south side of Main Road
just east of Woodview Farms' red barn
across the street from the old Fauna Restaurant
