Alan W.
Yelp
A taste of France on Long Island's North Fork!
I couldn't imagine that a place such as Demarchelier existed in an area where most eateries offer Italian specialties or American twists on seafood. But it does exist--in the Menhaden Hotel on Front Street, just steps from the Shelter Island Ferry.
It was a reason for us to step outside our coronavirus comfort zone. We had not dined out since February. It has been our tradition for the most of the past 40 years to dine on French cuisine to mark our wedding anniversary. The challenge, the result of having a finicky bride, was finding a French eatery with outside dining and duck on the menu. Demarchelier matched the criteria.
Demarchelier opened in June after operating for more than 40 years on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Inside, its cozy, but circumstances dictated that we dine on the sidewalk outside the hotel. It was a bit breezy being a block from Peconic Bay. A dozen or so black metal tables were spaced appropriately outside the Menhaden's entryway. The only drawback to dining outside was the occasional car of truck passing by sans muffler.
We were greeted cordially by one of the masked staffers after checking in inside then led to our outside table and directed to find the menu via our phone cameras and the laminated QSR code affixed to the table top.
The concise menu offered traditional French fare--pate, escargots, moules mariniere, salad Niçoise, filet mignon au poivre, coq au vin and duck a l'orange, to name a few selections. There's also a list of four daily special appetizers and entrees. The wine list is equally simple with about two dozen selections, many offered by the glass.
Service was cheery with courses delivered with correct times between them.
As for dining, my wife started with an endive, fennel, apple and goat cheese salad, leaving me most of the greens. The duck a l'orange is usually served with green beans but the kitchen readily substituted a pure rendition of mashed potatoes to satisfy my wife's vegetable phobia. The duck, ordered with extra sauce (at an irritating $2.50 upcharge), was well roasted and the sauce was tasty without being cloyingly sweet. Her finale, chocolate mousse topped by homemade Chantilly cream, was gone in an instant.
Iwent with the specials, beginning with duck rillettes, a rustic pâté of duck meat poached in its own fat shredded and stored in that fat. It was plated with mesclun, cherry tomatoes, cornichons and good crusty bread. It was a tad dry, but enjoyable nonetheless. For my main I opted for monkfish with lemon and caper sauce piccata-style. Three large, nicely crusted pieces of white, firm fish surrounded a mound of tangy ratatouille. Not a bit was leftover. I finished with a dessert special, crème brullee, a thick vanilla custard with a candy-hardened crust, a big fat strawberry and powered sugar. A perfect ending.
