Ditch Plains $$$$$

 

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ditch plains is owner and Executive Chef Marc Murphy’s ode to the sea. Inspired by his Long Island surfing days, Murphy and his wife, Pamela Schein Murphy, opened this New York-style oyster bar and fish shack in Manhattan’s West Village in May of 2006.

Their goal was to create a simple, casual, and comfortable take on the classic fish shack. As Murphy states “A fish shack shouldn’t be overly complicated—it’s simple, accessible, nostalgic food and I want my customers to feel as through this is the kind of place they can stop into for a dozen oysters and a beer if that’s what they want.”

The anvils tucked into wall recesses, the shining beer tap centered on the bar top, the aquatic-themed films that play on the flat screen TVs banked above the bar, and the rusted rebar door-pulls and coat racks all serve to reiterate Murphy’s simple yet sophisticated take on an old favorite. ditch plains’ emphasis on simplicity mixed with originality extends to its wine list, which offers bottles from a range of international regions. The collection features thirty selections available in split, half and full bottles only. Just as he did at his popular Tribeca bistro, landmarc, Murphy continues to blaze a new trail for wine connoisseurs and amateurs alike, providing fantastic wines at reasonable prices, making the entire list accessible to their diverse clientele.

Murphy has updated the seafood standard, the Lobster roll, making it with aioli rather than the standard mayonnaise, and serving it on a potato roll with a helping of sweet potato chips. Mussels are not only offered with the classic sauce of shallots, parsley & white wine, but with choices of curry, chorizo & red onion, or rosemary & bacon as well. Breakfast consists of a selection of baked goods and a choose-your-own menu of hash, grits, and eggs that can be prepared with anything from blood sausage and chorizo, to oysters and lobster. Best of all, the entire menu is available from 7AM to 2AM, so whether you’re craving clams at 8 AM or macaroni and cheese at midnight, ditch plains can satisfy your need. It's no wonder that ditch plains is the newest neighborhood favorite.

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Host your next cocktail party at ditch plains. Though they are a walk-in restaurant only, they would love to accommodate your private party or special event. Please call for availability.

You can also enjoy the laid-back fare of ditch plains at your next offsite event with ditch plains catering.

Marc Murphy, Executive Chef and Owner

Ask Chef Marc Murphy where he grew up and he’ll fire off a list of cosmopolitan destinations – Milan, Paris, Villefranche, Washington, D.C., Rome and Genoa – “and that’s before I turned twelve” he’ll explain. For some, growing up the son of a globetrotting diplomat might have been stressful, yet for Murphy, this dizzying list of hometowns served as an excellent education in French and Italian cuisine. Indeed the menu at his first restaurant, landmarc, is a delicious culinary ride through France and Italy the way Murphy has experienced these countries: at a leisurely pace, with whimsical excursions onto enticing side roads. Now, having launched a successful first restaurant, Murphy feels prepared to embrace an Americana theme and offer New Yorkers a second culinary venture: ditch plains, a New York-style oyster bar & fish shack located in the West Village.

As Murphy tells it, he started cooking because he didn’t have the funds to become a professional racecar driver. Thus, he followed his brother to Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, now known as the Institute of Culinary Education. After a brief stint in Europe where he apprenticed in restaurants in France and Italy, he returned to New York and landed a job as a line cook at Terrance Brennan’s Prix Fixe. He stayed for almost two years, working his way through every station in the kitchen and forging a professional bond with Brennan’s sous chefs Joseph Fortunato and David Pasternak.

Eager to return to Europe, Murphy bought a plane ticket and a copy of the Michelin Red Guide, and upon landing, began knocking on the doors of some of Paris’ most notable restaurants. He finally got a position at the one-star Le Miraville, where he stayed for one and a half years. Afterwards, he staged at the famed Louis XV in Monte Carlo, where Executive Chef Alain Ducasse was so impressed with Murphy’s skills that he personally made arrangements for him to work with Sylvain Portay at Le Cirque once he returned to the U.S. Murphy still considers Portay to be his greatest teacher. “Sylvain was above all concerned with coaxing out the most vibrant, interesting flavors any ingredient had to offer, yet he insisted on minimal manipulation,” he recalls.

After Le Cirque, Fortunato tapped him to work as a sous chef at Layla, Drew Nieporent’s Middle Eastern fantasy in TriBeCa, where Georges Masraff acted as consultant. Then, when Masraff was invited by Joe Baum to help open Cellar in the Sky at Windows on the World, he recruited Murphy to serve as Executive Chef. After receiving critical acclaim, including a two-star review from The New York Times, Murphy headed uptown and back to French cuisine as Executive Chef of La Fourchette.

At landmarc, which Murphy opened with his wife, Pamela Schein Murphy, he has transformed food – turning casual rustic French and Italian dishes, accompanied by great wines, into memorable occasions. He’s applying the same mentality to the fish shack concept with ditch plains, where he hopes guests will view the restaurant as “as an extension of their living rooms,” offering diners meals that evoke feelings of comfort and home.

Frank Proto, Chef de Cuisine

Frank Proto grew up in an Italian family where food was always the central focus. “We ate only fresh food, nothing frozen, and as soon as we’d finish lunch, we’d start talking about what we’d have for dinner,” Proto recalls. He made his cooking debut at age six, preparing the family meal with his sister. While there’s still debate about the success of that fledgling effort, one thing for certain was that Proto was hooked. “From childhood, I knew that I wanted to be a chef. As a kid, the appeal was of working with your hands, and now, it’s the rush of having blazed through two hundred covers in one night, and the great camaraderie in the kitchen. It’s an unbelievable high.”

A graduate of Nassau Community College with a degree in Restaurant Management, Proto then went on to get his degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. After turns at Tribeca Grill and Layla, he landed his first sous chef post at Scarabee, where he met Joseph Fortunato, who would later be a mentor to both Proto and Marc Murphy. After Scarabee, Fortunato opened his own restaurant, Quantum 56, and took Proto with him to serve as opening sous chef. From Fortunato, Proto learned about patience in the kitchen, and about the art of going beyond what you thought was the limit of your talents.

Proto then went on to work as chef de cuisine at Chinoiserie, and served as sous chef at the Tonic, which earned two stars from The New York Times. He was executive chef of Layla, where he reopened the restaurant after it was closed for seven months, setting and meeting new standards for quality.

It was between work at Scarabee and Quantum 56, during a two-month stint at La Fourchette that Proto met Murphy, and then went on to work with him at Chinoiserie two years later. Proto describes their working relationship as “seamless,” particularly when talking about food, as the two have a complementary collaborative style. And, of course, both appreciate a modern dining experience where good wines are affordable, classic dishes get interesting twists, and rules are respected but sometimes broken...basically what landmarc and ditch plains are all about.

At landmarc, Proto has run the kitchen since its March 2004 opening, managing a staff of over forty employees and, with Murphy, has helped to create the menus. He will do the same at ditch plains as well, turning out New York-style fish shack fare — a delicious selection including mussels with assorted sauces, oyster shooters and baked macaroni and cheese.

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Eggs Benedict—Two poached eggs on top of a toasted English muffin with hollandaise and hash browns; choose your own meat.

Ditch Plains Lobster Roll—Poached lobster mixed with aioli, tarragon, parsley, scallions, Old Bay seasoning and celery, served on a Martin’s potato roll grilled and spread with melted butter, alongside sweet potato chips

Spicy Calamari Salad—Deep-fried calamari mixed with chopped romaine, radicchio, and toasted white & black sesame seeds, and spicy Asian inspired vinaigrette

Chicken Pot Pie—Topped with a homemade cream biscuit

Roasted Oysters—Six oysters in the shell, topped with garlic butter, and roasted

Baked Macaroni and Cheese—Elbow macaroni mixed with a cheese sauce topped with shredded gruyere and grated parmesan and baked

Daily Sandwiches, such as Shrimp Po Boy—Breaded fried shrimp, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato on a hot dog bun with Old Bay fries

Daily Dessert Specials—Homemade s'mores and more

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