Small Bites

Daout Celestin, who has been maitre d’ and manager at Xaviars at Piermont for the past 18 years, is opening a French bistro at the former Sidewalk Cafe in Piermont — hopefully by the end of May. “Hopefully by the end of May,” he says. “We’ll try to do some magic to open by May.”

The restaurant — which will be called Sidewalk Bistro — will serve classic bistro dishes like steak frites and frisee aux lardons prepared by his partner, chef-owner Alain Eigenman, who was formerly at Provence in Manhattan.

One thing Daout told me about opening a French bistro? “The county needs one.”

I’ll report back later with more details.