Pete Peterman’s Peanches is now open, but only for dinner
Chef Ray “Pete” Peterman has never chosen traditional names for his restaurants. His first venue, north of the river, was called the Sour Octopus, and he sort of riffed on that name with his second bistro, S.O. Redux, in Columbus Park. For his latest restaurant, Peterman chose a family nickname: “My mother loved peaches, but she called them peanches,” he says. It’s unusual enough that it’s already caused a buzz on Facebook and in the restaurant community. “Is it called Pinches?” a local restaurant manager asked me. “Does it mean a pinch of this and pinch of that?”
Uh, no. The name, like the one-week-old restaurant at 900 West 39th Street, is an homage to Peterman’s late mother, Barbara Gustin, who passed away in January.
