Dan's Papers - July 25, 2008 - The New Old Stove

Steak aficionados remember well the heyday of the Old Stove Pub Restaurant during the 1950s and 1960s, when a parade of dignitaries could be seen dining there regularly. They included Barbara Walters, Liz Smith, Rudy Giuliani and even Marilyn Monroe, when she was married to playwright Henry Miller.

Back in 1969, and into the next few decades, this famous Greek restaurant, located in the farm fields of Bridgehampton, served some of the best steaks, lamb chops and veal chops around, as well as their old-fashioned family recipe favorites of moussaka, pastitsio and shrimp tourkolimano. But after the deaths of several members of the Johnides family, with only the former owner Coula Johnides remaining, this restaurant has been closed to the public for the past several years.

Now, a family friend and local chef, Colin Ambrose of East Hampton, is bringing this long-lost tradition back to the public "in its fullest form," utilizing all the wonderful recipes, menu items and hospitality that people had come to expect at this establishment that dates back to 1794.

"We will go up against any steakhouse out here," said Ambrose, a sous chef at the Bridge Golf Course and owner of Estia's Kitchen in Sag Harbor for 10 years. "We're buying from the same people that the Johnides family bought from in the 1970s, and our customers respond."

Ambrose, who will act as consulting chef at the new Old Stove Pub, explained that the Johnides family purchased this restaurant in 1969, from the former owner who had called it, "The 19th Hole." Coula Johnides and her brothers, Stephen and Gus, ran it with their mother, using her popular Greek family recipes, and they all lived upstairs in the big farm-style house. The restaurant building itself was warm and charming, with its wide wrap-around porch that seats about 75 people. Inside is a small, cozy bar, and a dining room that seats about 50 people.

"Stephen Johnides was the impresario, who made contacts and made this place famous for its steaks, because he'd go to the meatpacking district in New York City to get them," said Ambrose. Referring to his archives of old menus, he added, "Back in 1969, a steak cost only $16.95, and in the early 1970s, it cost $21.50. Today, our Sunset Steak costs $58.00, and is 28-30 ounces of dry, aged beef, with the bone in, that's two and a half inches thick. It's enough for one or two, depending on the person."

Ambrose said in recent years he also helped Mike Gluckman open another steakhouse, The Lodge Restaurant in East Hampton, and all this while he had his eye on the 12-acre property of the Old Stove Pub, which borders the Wolffer Estate Vineyards.

"I really like the steakhouse idea, and opening restaurants is what I do," he said. "Then a customer of mine, Brian Murray, became a conduit between myself and the Old Stove Pub reopening. He sought me out to bring back this great restaurant to its fullest and best use."

Ambrose feels he's qualified to do this since he has taken existing restaurants and improved them. "In Amagansett, I bought Estia and transformed it into Estia Cantina, over 15 years," he said. "The Greek thing is what I've done. The Old Stove Pub is a steakhouse take on Greek food. I've also been to Greece."

Ambrose recalled how food critics Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey, who were friends of the Johnides family, once came into the Old Stove Pub and ordered moussaka. They featured it their column for The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Taking out his new menu for the Old Stove Pub, which reopened only a few weeks ago, Ambrose showed how he has kept all the same dishes, from the Feta Cheese and Greek Olives appetizers to the Greek Salad, the moussaka and pastitsio, to the pita bread and the famous original Cold Fudge Sundae for dessert. The only thing that's changed is the wine list, which now features wines from the neighboring Wolffer Estate Vineyards. And Ambrose plans to grow his vegetables on the premises, which he has also done in the past.

Touring the charming, two-story restaurant, which feels more like someone's private house, Ambrose pointed out the photo collection of famous stars on the dining room walls.

"Stephen Johnides had worked for Warner Brothers, in public relations, and he had files of old Hollywood and Broadway stars," Ambrose explained. "We've kept that tradition of hanging these photos in our Broadway Room and our Hollywood Room." He has also renamed his world-class, 24-ounce rib-eye steak, Broadway Steak, and there is also the Sagaponack Steak, consisting of an organic skirt steak and fries. There is an addition of Colorado Lamb Chops (two for $38).

"There's good value here, because this quality meat is superb," said Ambrose. As the Old Stove Pub gets into full swing, it will be open Sunday through Thursday.