Last Thursday The Knockturnal was invited to an exclusive Fall menu tasting at the new and hippest restaurant in Hoboken, Antique Bar & Bakery.
A joint venture between Chef Paul Gerard, formerly of Exchange Alley and Soho House, filmmaker Joe Castelo and New York nightlife impresario, Rocco Ancarola the landmark bakery merges the worlds of food and film draped in seventies nostalgic decor. What makes the restaurant unique and unlike any other is that it houses a historic 30 ton, 400 square foot, 1,000 degree coal oven built from the original bakery which produced the famous ‘Hoboken Sticks,’ an Italian baguettes so prized Sinatra had suitcases flown to him while on tour. The motto at Antique Bar & Bakery is “to keep the fire burning”.
The food is prepared with the flavors and technique of peasant Italian and French cooking. Highlights to Fall menu include the Hot Hole Whole Octopus with Burned Tomato, Olives & Chili Oil and Big Bone Marrow with Charred Onions and Sweet Thyme Wine Reduction. In keeping with their overall creative spirit, the menu is written as a movie script. Chef Gerard assembled a gang of street savvy men that can hang when creating delicious food dishes while fighting the dragon of an oven.
Check out our exclusive coverage with Chef Gerard on the inception of the restaurant.
Q: How long have you been open?
A: 9 months and it’s been going great since. It was originally a bakery. I had a place in Tribeca and my partner, Joe, met a partner of mine at the time, Belle Reve, in a coffee shop in MTK and discussed that he had a landmark building that he wanted to convert to a restaurant. The oven had intrigued Joe to the building and Belle Reve said you should meet Paul. I came out and saw the oven and was completely blown away. We did not want it to be a white tablecloth place, we shared an understanding of the heritage of the building, the stories of urban neighborhoods that our families were from and we immediately began collaborating and storytelling.