Bouchon is Now Batonnage Wine Bar Café

which opened in Pleasantville on January 11 of this year, has changed its name to Batonnage Wine Bar Café to avoid a legal entanglement with an establishment called Bouchon.

A similar fate befell Frodo's in 2008 when the publisher of the Lord of the Rings book series asked the restaurant to change its name three years after the restaurant opened—it is now known as Haven.  

Bouchon was not just a name that owner Paul Paljevic wanted to use for his gathering place on Marble Avenue when it opened. He had planned someday to develop and market a wine line bearing the Bouchon label. He still hopes to introduce his own brand, perhaps in two or three years, but it will likely bear the name Batonnage.

Batonnage is the French name for a stirring process that wine undergoes while being aged in barrels. Bouchon means cork in French. 

The name change hasn't affected Paljevic's plans to introduce a happy hour in September, to run from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday. The café will offer a choice of a red wine, a white wine, a martini, a beer and an appetizer at a discount.

The kitchen will also expand its menu in the fall—it currently offers a variety of paninis, salads, a personal-size Margarita pizza, a platter of hot and sweet sopressata salami, mortadella cheese, prosciutto di parma and pecorino cheese with roasted peppers.

Bartender Karl Keuroghlian said the speciality cocktails most popular with customers are "Expresso Martini" with vanilla vodka, kahlua and expresso coffee ($14) and "Red Berry Sangaria" with blueberry, strawberry, apple and orange ($10). He recently created a new drink that combines a liquor, prosecco, ginger and candy ($12). 

More than 25 wines can be purchased by the glass including sauvignon blanc, merlot, chardonnay and pino grigio and torrontes (white) and malbec (red) wines.

Desserts include lemon blueberry cheesecake, chocolate hazelnut cake and apple cake. 

Paljevic is also an interior designer and the owner of EuroSpa Salon & Spa*, located a few doors away at 16 Marble Ave.

Batonnage Wine Bar Café is located at 10 Marble Ave., Pleasantville, 914-769-4040. It is open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Monday through Saturday. it is closed on Sunday.

Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Paljevic is the owner of EuroSpa. We regret the error.