Mark DiGiulo, one of the two owners of Quatorze Bis, greeted me at the door and immediately jumped into sharing the history of his French restaurant. The name comes from its former location on 14th Street ("Quatorze" is "fourteen" in French and "bis" means "again/repeat"). Mark joked that he wanted to call the restaurant "Mark's" and his partner, Peter Meltzer, wanted to call it "Peter's," but they decided to go with a neutral, authentically French name.
The two men met in the 1970's when Peter decided to leave his job at Random House Publishing and begin a career in photography. Mark worked as his assistant, "lugging around the camera equipment," while also bartending on the side. Soon, Peter became interested in food photography and began getting work in France. Thanks to his frequent trips abroad, his love for and knowledge of French food increased. Mark said that the two men have probably visited France "140 times in the past 42 years." Back home in New York, Mark had begun looking for a space where the two men could open a restaurant.
The original Quatorze made its debut in 1984. "At the time, there was nothing like it," Mark explained, referring to a restaurant with very French food but an American attitude. At the time, 14th Street was not a "nice" neighborhood. Quatorze's bright red facade shared the block with prostitutes and drug dealers. They were an immediate success, however, scoring two stars from the New York Times within two months. Though that location closed in 1994, they had added the Upper East Side iteration in 1990, which continues to be a success with locals.
Ambling through the restaurant as diners were finishing up their lunch, Mark pointed out different touches that he or Peter have added over the years. Peter retained a lot of his connections in the publishing world, which is why there are book jackets featured on the walls. The rule is that authors may have their work up on the wall as long as they come and eat at Quatorze at least a few times a year. There is also a fun cartoon of Louis XIV sitting down to eat at Quatorze, which was a commissioned work from Jack Ziegler of the New Yorker, who had done a similar piece for the magazine involving the 14th Street subway station. In another corner, there is a picture of a very young Peter and his brother that Mark insisted on hanging to "embarrass" them. Because Peter could not be on the wall without Mark, there is an artistic shot of Mark's eyes underneath.
Mark boasted that the menu and its design have remained the same since opening day, though the specials rotate and occasionally feature new dishes that are often inspired by a recent visit to France. Every meal has been created and tested by Peter and Mark at home in their kitchens, and the two men are proud to say that they have never been swayed by culinary trends. An example that Mark shared is that rather than transitioning from French bistro to wine-centric enoteca like so many others, he stated that at Quatorze Bis "The wine serves the food. That's why it's on the menu. Period." The two men have also kept their space technology-free. There is no music playing, no televisions, and no Wi-Fi. The restaurant does not even have its own website. The focus is solely on traditional French food. Mark was adamant that Quatorze "does not serve 'confusion' food," his term for cuisine that involved "fusion" or "infusion."
"We are consistent," Mark declared. After over thirty years in business, Mark is most proud that, in his words, "we are still here. That's an enormous thing to say for NYC." He told me tales of watching people whom he had introduced at the bar get married, have children, and have their children get married. As I got ready to leave, Mark concluded our conversation by saying, "We're like a French Island in a sea of Italian restaurants - we're an enclave."