THE COOP

FLOCK TO THE EAST END FOR A NEW TAKE ON CHICKEN

The owners of Southampton Social Club, Union Burger Bar, and Union Sushi & Steak are bringing a new concept to Southampton that has never been done before on the East End. Restaurateurs Ian Duke and David Hilty opened Southampton’s first ghost kitchen called The Coop. And, as food guru Ian puts it, The

BY HARRY BRADS

Coop serves chicken that is simply “scrumptious”. The Coop is operating out of Southampton Social Club, which is closed during the off-season but is still open for private events. The ghost kitchen concept enables customers to order delivery as well as offer Curbside Pick-Up for guests who order through the website or over the phone. There, in fact, are daily specials for those who order directly through the restaurant’s website for Curbside Pick-Up. While there is no indoor or outdoor dining, The Coop is available for catering small gatherings and events.

“With the success of Union Burger Bar, it was absolutely part of crossing the idea of there being a ghost kitchen because of the sheer amount of take out and to-go business we’ve done these past

couple of months. A lot of people are staying inside and now that dining outside is nearly impossible, we think there’ll even be a further rise in people wanting to just pick up the phone and order delivery,” Ian Duke says. “We’re excited now because we’re keeping people employed and in fact, we’re employing more. We’re just trying to keep going through this horrible pandemic that we’re all suffering through.”

The Coop is available on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash. The menu certainly features chicken! A variety of fried and rotisserie chicken options are available with a wide assortment of sides. A few items to note that really separate The Coop from others include the Barbecue Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, chipotle mayo, cabbage, and apple slaw. The biscuits topped with fried chicken and covered in a rich sausage gravy are to die for, and the Fried Chicken Bowl brings mashed potatoes, fried chicken, corn, scallions, cheddar cheese and rich gravy together for a dish best described as simply awesome!

In addition, you can order as many as 100 wings for a party (the chef recommends the Mango Habanero sauce, but the others available include Louisiana Hot Sauce, Teriyaki & BBQ) and that comes with homemade bleu cheese, celery and carrots. The menu also includes a Chicken Caesar Salad and Hamptons Wedge Salad with applewood bacon bits. Altogether, there are a variety of sides to choose from including biscuits, both creamed and fresh corn, honey glazed carrots, mac & cheese, and sweet potato fries. Beverages include ice cream floats, soft drinks, house-made sweetened and unsweetened iced tea, bottled beer, wine and sparkling cocktails.

“Ultimately I find people always have conflicting perspectives on what they want to eat. What we’re doing is incorporating the best of both worlds - we’re going to have ridiculously great tasting fried chicken and the mashed potatoes with gravy and creamy corn,” Ian says. “But we’re also going to have the healthy rotisserie chicken with fresh sides like Brussel sprouts and roasted broccoli that are all farm to table. The chicken that we’re using is cage-free, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free. So essentially, we’re going to encompass something for everybody.”

Located inside Southampton Social Club 256 Elm St, Southampton, NY 11968 631.984.1284 thecooptogo.com

Le Lustre

WILL YOU BE THE OWNER OF THE LUX CHAMONIX HOME?

BY ANN GRENIER | PHOTOGRAPHED BY ADAM JOHNSTON

Le Lustre is a private luxury home in the Chamonix Valley of the French Alps, an epicenter of historical creativity drawing in the likes of well-known mountaineers and poets. Le Lustre presents the perfect restoration with the backdrop of Mont-Blanc.

Modern Chamonix is a painting comprised of a palate of interesting facts - romantic poetry dating back to mid 17th Century when Chamouny was discovered, coupled with a carriage road built in the 1860s to link Geneva to Chamonix. Add a railway line which first opened in 1901 and making history as the first Winter Olympic games debuting in Chamonix in 1924, to the fabulous art deco period all added to the texture and warmth of this beautiful alpine town.

Seven years ago, a talented interior designer, Georgia May took over a project that had been at the center of town which had been lying dormant and unfinished for several years. “It was clearly going to be a long haul project, but I was captivated by the potential for the project, the extraordinary views and the history of the building”. The first 24 months were spent acquiring additional adjoining spaces and peeling the whole construction back to “bare bones”. This involved removing an existing roof construction on the upper floor, and designing and erecting a new mansard roof, hand double pinch pleated in copper surrounds complemented with a 9m (27ft) bay window (looking up to Mont Blanc). The design required planning approvals which received a positive audience once the planners realized how sympathetically the treatment of this unloved building was being brought back to life.

The building itself was constructed in 1928, and the design concept was to reflect the period of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s while retaining the integrity of the original features of the building. The conceptual architectural design and the interiors were undertaken by Georgia working closely with two firms of architects — Alexander Stuart Design from Hong Kong and FedArch Studio in Chamonix (who played a key role in achieving planning consents and managing the project).

After achieving planning approval, Le Lustre moved from concept to reality over the course of two years. The result being a juxtaposition of art-deco meets contemporary-modern and includes a pneumatic lift which fits perfectly within the original art-deco staircase, as well as hidden speakeasy with vintage trap and bar and original iron and draylon bar stools. Additional quirky design elements which also play to that romantic art-deco era include carefully curated tiles and mosaic in all bathrooms, restored ironwork and beautiful hand-crafted wooden doors.

As Georgia puts it so well, “Le Lustre is a puzzle of extremes to make a truly inspirational and beautiful property”. “It is very much not ‘alpine-style’ design and this is what makes it so individual and special, coupled with 360 degree views of the Mont-Blanc skyline and Chamonix Valley”. “Le Lustre pays homage to the past and to the present”.

With nostalgia comes romance of the mountains as so well documented by numerous poets, one being Percy Bysshe Shelley who composed Mont Blanc in 1816 ……“Mont Blanc yet gleams on high – the power is there”. As it was then, so it continues today – a breath of fresh air considering the year we have all been through.

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