17 TINKER STREET
WOODSTOCK, NY 12498
845-679-5763
OWNERS: PIERRE-LUC MOEYS AND NINA PATUREL;
CHEF: PIERRE-LUC MOEYS
Though sleek Oriole9 debuted in post-millennial 2006, it nevertheless bears a direct connection to Woodstock’s 1960s heyday. The parents of one of Oriole’s co-owners, Nina Paturel, once operated the town’s Café Espresso, a noted haunt of the counter-cultural aristocracy, including its king and queen, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. When Paturel met her future husband, a chef, in Amsterdam, she brought him home to Woodstock. Chef Pierre-Luc Moeys recounts the story of how the newlyweds opened Oriole9:
“I had never been to the United States before and she drove me up to Woodstock on the first day that I arrived. We went to this place called Heaven and I was, like, ‘I want this to be my restaurant one day.’” Paturel and Moeys opened Oriole9 on the Tinker Street site of Heaven within a year. Though classically trained in French and Italian cuisines, Moeys hit the kitchen with the intention to “cook whatever I want.” Moeys continues, “I like to say, what people bring us is basically what we cook. I guess our food is very much Mediterranean and, now—more and more—North African. We do a little bit of Asian stuff, but we also own Yum Yum Noodle Bar [with Erica A. Mahlkuch] in town.” Moeys, who grew up in Holland, says, “I just grew up with the flavors of North Africa in my house. In Amsterdam, there is a large North African influence, also, of Indonesia. These flavors are like second nature.” Though Moeys serves meat dishes in his restaurants, happily, the cuisines of North Africa and Indonesia are also vegan friendly. Laughs Moeys, “Well . . . we are in Woodstock, New York: It’s the vegan capital of the world!”
(SERVES 4)
For the eggs:
1 pound of fresh cepes (if the season does not allow, use ⅓ pound of dried, rehydrated cepes)
1 cup Armagnac
10 ripe plum tomatoes
2 cups olive oil, plus more for frying eggs
20 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon dried chili flakes
Salt and pepper
1 big bunch flat leaf parsley
Olive oil for frying
8 eggs
1 whole loaf fresh, good quality bread (says Moeys, “your choice, and make it delicious”)
To prepare the sofrito: Chop the cepes and combine them with the Armagnac and set aside. Peel the tomatoes, either by using a potato peeler or by blanching in boiling for 20 seconds after making a shallow, x-shaped cut on the bottom of each tomato. After blanching, immediately shock the tomatoes in an ice bath, and, when cool, slip off their skins. Set aside.
In a stock pot, place the olive oil. Chop all the garlic cloves but one (keeping it whole) and then add the chopped garlic to the pot. Heat the mixture on low just until the garlic starts to sizzle. Once the garlic starts to brown, add the chili flakes. Crush the peeled tomatoes with your hand, then carefully add them to the pot. Once all tomatoes are added, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer the mixture on low for 4–5 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture does not scorch on the bottom.
After 4–5 hours, the oil on the mixture will start to turn red. Add the cepes and the Armagnac. Return the mixture to a boil and then lower again to a simmer. Simmer for another hour, then season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, chop the parsley fine. Place a splash of olive oil in a frying pan and place it over low heat. Add the eggs and slowly cook until the whites are firm. Cut 4 slices of bread and toast. While the toast is still hot, rub it with the reserved whole garlic clove and set it onto four plates. Place two eggs on each toast slice, then add a heaping spoon of the sofrito. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
