Le Verre Volé in Paris (Photo: Courtesy of Le Verre Volé/Facebook)
Still planning your Parisian summer getaway? You’re just tying up some loose strings before you can split town, right? Something something about misplacing your suitcase again, huh? Yeah, us too. Even if you’re sending out one more search party for your passport holder (never leave home without it!) and are pretty sure you’ll find it eventually– relax, stop making excuses and let Paris come to you!
At least that’s what these two had in mind– Thomas Vicente of the Paris-based bistro La Verre Volé, and Justin Chearno, the wine consultant at The Four Horsemen, the Williamsburg wine joint opened by LCD Soundsystem frontman-turned-bar-proprietor James Murphy. Vicente and Chearno have teamed up to erect the Eiffel Tower in Brooklyn, so to speak, for two nights in September.
Chearno and Vicente go way back– they actually met at La Verre Volé seven years ago– and after Murphy opened his Williamsburg bar with Chearno in the summer of last year, Vicente wanted to come hang and have a sip or 500 on his pal. “He’s been coming every year to my restaurant,” Vicente said.
(Photo: The Four Horsemen’s Instagram)
“We always talked about doing something together one day,” he added.
La Verre Volé was featured on The Layover, hosted by celebrity chef/ultimate dreamboat Anthony Bourdain, but it’s been a favorite of epicureans and wine connoisseurs for a while now, having developed something of a cult following since it opened its doors in the Canal Saint Martin neighborhood.
Vicente explained that Murphy’s wine list was very similar to La Verre Volé’s, but that he was contemplating importing some of his secret weapons from France to add to the pop-up dinner menu. “We’re thinking about bringing caillette, its like a pâté made out of swiss chard, pork, and balsamico.” However, he acknowledged that it can be a “bit complicated” getting things past U.S. customs. To solve that quandary we highly recommend the tried-and-true balloon method– just fill some water balloons (double up, of course) and…
No matter what Vicente and his team decide to do about the crotchety people at Customs, the restauranteur guarantees a very “Verre Volé” atmosphere: “We’re going to bring our skills with wine and food to Williamsburg, and we’ll even bring the music that we play here at the bistro.” The pop-up will be keeping in tune with La Verre Volé’s focus on local, seasonal ingredients, which is why Vicente explained that he can’t say for sure what’s going to be on the menu yet.
However, he revealed that they’re going to be serving four to five small plates with things like crudo and shellfish, and then two main dishes, including fish and something classic French.
At the Paris headquarters, Vicente and his team don’t have a wine list; instead, they simply advise customers based on their tastes, food choices, and preferences. “We’re all about democratizing the wine,” Vicente said.
For Vicente and Chearno, the most important thing is bringing together the celebratory spirits of their two restaurants. “We just want to share a place with friends, have fun, and of course see my friend Justin again,” Vicente said. “It’s all about the pleasure.”
Le Verre Volé will be taking over the kitchen at The Four Horsemen on September 13 and 14, at 295 Grand Street between Roebling and Havemeyer Street.
Correction: a previous version of this post identified James Murphy as Vicente’s partner for the pop-up idea, when it was actually Justin Chearno, the wine consultant at The Four Horsemen and a long-time friend of Vicente’s, who collaborated with him.