Fort Ann couple sets ‘Bastard Restobar’ at 72 South St.; was Dizzy Chicken

CHRONICLE SCOOP • Staff Writer Ben Westcott writes: Philip Hume and Shannon Hart-Hume of Fort Ann plan a restaurant/bar called Bastard Restobar at 72 South St. where Dizzy Chicken used to be.

They’re shooting for a soft opening the weekend after Thanksgiving.

“We’re doing multiple cuisines, but the main focus is going to be Korean, Italian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern,” Mrs. Hart-Hume told The Chronicle.

“And then we’ll pull from Burmese and Thai and different regions in China.”

Why the name Bastard Restobar?

“We’re doing very authentic cuisine from different parts of the world, but being that we’re not from those parts of the world, we can’t naturally say that we’re masters at it,” Mrs. Hart-Hume explained.

“We are incredibly capable, but what we are doing, essentially, as Americans, is bastardizing it. And that’s where the name comes from.”

Mr. Hume says, “My wife and I have both been cooking for a really long time, and have gotten the opportunity to eat in a lot of amazing places in different parts of the country and the world.

“These are just kind of our favorites. The idea is, this is all our favorite things to eat.”

“I love to cook,” Mrs. Hart-Hume said. “I’ve never wanted to do anything else. It’s my passion…

“We’re trying to do something really different with all of this. I think this is going to be pretty progressive for Glens Falls. The cuisine is really different from anything anyone else out here is doing.

“We figure the main menu will have about 10 to 15 items, and then a rotation of like five specials that are constantly coming and going,” she said.

“And then that menu will change at least four times a year depending on what we can get locally. Being across the street from the farmer’s market, we’re hoping to tap into some local ingredients and build some relationships from there as well.”

“Everything is handmade,” Mrs. Hart-Hume added. “Handmade dumplings, couscous, pasta, bread, everything soup to nuts….

“We’re doing kind of small and large on everything, so that it kind of meets price points for everybody. If you just want to kind of snack on one thing, you can, and if not, you can have a bigger entree.”

She said that on Sundays they’ll serve “homemade pasta, spaghetti and meatball, family style meals.”

Artisanal cocktails, local beer, seltzer, ciders and “one kind of white wine and a red wine that speak broadly, and then maybe four bottles of a really nice selection of wine” will also be featured.

Mr. Hume said he grew up locally, graduating from Hudson Falls High School in 2000. He worked at The Log Jam Restaurant in Lake George for 14 years. He met Mrs. Hart-Hume, who grew up in New Jersey, while both attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

While this is their first foray into owning a restaurant, the couple said they previously managed Gadaleto’s in New Paltz and Aurelia in Millbrook. Mrs. Hart-Hume said she also worked at Restaurant August in Louisiana with celebrity chef John Besh, and ran the culinary program at Bard College as senior executive chef in Red Hook from 2017 to 2020.

Noah Eiler will be Bastard Restobar’s chef de cuisine. He previously worked at Morgan & Co in Glens Falls for seven years. He met Mrs. Hart-Hume while working for Battle Hill Brewing Company in Fort Ann, where she was helping the brewery transition with new owners.

“I see this as a fantastic opportunity to learn more, to learn different cuisines,” Mr. Eiler said.

The Denver native said he has lived in New York longer than Colorado. “I like to say that I was born in the Rockies, but I was born to be in the Adirondacks.”

Mrs. Hart-Hume said the restaurant’s food will have a “lot of local inflection.”

“Obviously seasonality — we’re going to try to work with local farmers to see what we can get as far as our proteins. We’re actually pulling from our own farm for eggs and honey products and stuff like that.”

The couple settled on 72 South Street  after looking at several locations.

“I think this particular location spoke to us because it feels like us in the sense that it’s kind of up and coming, and change, you know what I mean?” Mrs. Hart-Hume said.

“We’re not trying to be high-end, and we’re not trying to be casual either. So the place kind of feels as interesting as we do.”

Mrs. Hart-Hume said of the space, “From nose to tail, essentially, we’re trying to redo it.”

Their site plan review application to the Glens Falls Planning Board estimated $100,000 will be put into improvements.

Mrs. Hart-Hume said they’ll be “removing an entire wall and exposing the entire building to be on display,” installing all new granite, “painting it inside and out,” and “bringing warmth and life to it.”

She said they’ll redo the outside area in back with “a beautiful summer setup so we can accommodate a bigger audience.”

Bastard Restobar plans to serve lunch and dinner Monday and Thursday through Saturday, plus Sunday noon to 6.

The  Planning Board will do site plan review at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5.