This past Memorial Day weekend, Armin & Judy brought a new concept to their beloved Bridgehampton-based eatery, but not inside their elegant restaurant, inside the space that houses their on-site bakery, behind the restaurant, instead.
With chef Melissa O’Donnell at the helm, the bakery will be serving way more than its legendary baguettes and patisserie program.
“We’re focusing on activating the picnic tables outside of the bakery,” O’Donnell says, who in recent years served as executive chef at Duryea’s in Montauk, a brand ambassador for Fresh Direct’s Southampton outpost, and a consulting chef at Elaia Estiatorio in Bridgehampton. The boulangerie’s prepared foods items are slated to include four handmade dips (think herbed labneh, pureed white beans, muhammara) vichyssoise, crudité, shrimp cocktail, a trio of salads, tallow-fried french fries, Napa cabbage cole slaw, a couple different kinds of quiche, lobster rolls, myriad sandwiches and buckets of fried chicken.
Chef Melissa O’Donnell brings her Mediterranean fare to the space that houses the bakery at Armin and Judy in Bridgehampton. (Left photo by Emily Toy; right photo by Doug Young)
All items will be formatted and packaged to go and in addition to the sweet and savory food options, there will be a small wine and beer list, featuring local picks from Channing Daughters, Wölffer Estate Vineyards and Kidd Squid Brewing Co., served in a hybrid style where diners will order at the counter, sit at one of the 14 available picnic tables and staff members will bring the food and drinks to the table.
“As we get that going in the next couple of weeks, we’re going to start to open the restaurant,” O’Donnell says, “but I feel like there aren’t a lot of places where you don’t have to commit to a full meal or a full on dining experience or making a reservation. It’s fun. It’s sort of picnic-y and fun and it’s stuff that people can actually grab and go. I’m really excited. I love the space and I think it’s just got so much potential.”
The bakery will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily. Armin & Judy is located at 1970 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton.
