Station Square, Forest Hills Gardens, New York
There is a sign amidst curling photographs and faded beer labels on the beer cooler—the most prominent feature in Dirty Pierre’s bar and restaurant—that reads, “This is not Burger King. You don’t get it your way. You take it my way or you don’t get the damn thing.”
Dirty Pierre’s, or DP’s as it is referred to by the locals, looks like the antithesis of the Forest Hills Gardens where it is located. The neighborhood boasts credentials like design by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr., (the son of the planner of both Central and Prospect Parks), former home of the U.S. Open, and the site of various film productions, most recently HBO’s treatment of Mildred Pierce. And unapologetically nestled within the Arts and Crafts architecture sits Dirty Pierre’s with its out-of-season Christmas lights, dated fluorescents, and POW MIA insignia in the window.
Christopher Lucien File, Summer 2005
Established by Cordon Bleu Grande Diplome graduate chef Christopher Lucien File, who died tragically during a culinary class demonstration at the Art Institute of NYC, the current menu at DP’s features a respectable variation of gastropub fare, from moule frites to goat cheese and shallot add-ons for what has been called the best burger in Queens. It all started in 1994, when File first started a French catering business in a 600 square foot space at 15 Continental Ave.
“It was fine French cuisine but he didn’t think people in the neighborhood were smart enough to eat his food,” said current owner, and Lucien’s sister, Jamie. Truthfully, the big, loud chef didn’t think much of most people. “There was a lady who came in almost every day to ask, ‘Is that roast beef fresh? It doesn’t look fresh,’ and would order it anyway. Every. Single. Time,” she elaborated. “One day she came in with her kid and Lucien asked, ‘Is your kid retarded? He looks retarded.’”
The sights of Dirty Pierre's
As customer relations were not his forte, Jamie stepped in to help him fund a bar in 1998. Lucien named it Dirty Pierre’s, after an alter ego he created for a 5th grade writing assignment. In his story, Dirty Pierre was a world traveler who ate good food and had a good time which, according to Jamie, was all Lucien ever wanted out of life.
Bar life was suitable for File. Along with Harley runs, Roxy, (his standard French poodle), and running DP’s, Lucien enjoyed teaching across the New York Island at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center), the Art Institute, and the New York Restaurant School until his untimely death in 2007. During a class demonstration, he choked on a lamb chop and, when no one in the class performed the Heimlich, he staggered into the adjoining classroom for help but failed there, too. “No doubt, he was being a smart ass like he always was but he died doing what he loved. It’s terrible,” Jamie said, “but I always say it’s not a bad way to go.”
Not everyone appreciated Lucien’s unconventional manners. From the start, the Board of the Forest Hills Gardens took an instant dislike to Lucien, from the large truck he drove across the brick streets, the loud motorcycles he and his friends rode through the quiet square—even Roxy. Dissension never affected Lucien, though. Eleven years ago, an over-sized terra cotta tile fell from the roof of the bar and nearly smashed into his head. Out of jest, he and a friend went to the nearest store for chalk and drew crude outlines of bodies along the sidewalk, laughing all the way home. Two days after the incident, the Board erected scaffolding to shelter the sidewalk and it has remained ever since.
Jamie has carried her brother’s vision into the 21st century with respectable aplomb, true to the nurturing vision of her brother and Dirty Pierre himself. During our interview, she answered a phone call from a newer, neighboring restaurant, worried about a Board crackdown on al fresco dining. Apparently, Jamie had been through the same predicament before and reassured her business competitor with tough love. “If you have a permit, they have no jurisdiction over you. Do you clean your own sidewalk? Do you take care of your façade? You have a fabulous establishment and are an asset to this neighborhood.”
As time passes at Dirty Pierre’s, the Files persevere. Whatever Jamie decides to do at 15 Continental Ave., one thing will probably remain unchanged: It will never be a Burger King and you won’t get it your way. You’ll take it her way or you won’t get the damn thing.
When pigs fly
Photos by Emily Hooper and Raquel Diaz
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