Jason Perlow
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***
Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as
gold, that shorts are acceptable attire for every season,
and that food, like most things, is best when left to its
own simple beauty. To that end, Mario creates simple magic
night after night in Manhattan's West Village and Theater
District, dividing his time between his many Italian
hotspots, the flagship of which, Babbo Ristorante e
Enoteca, an upscale dining room where Batali has seamlessly
combined traditional principles with intelligent culinary
adventure since June 1998.
Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni at the New York Times hailed
Babbo with three stars, and the James Beard Foundation
honored it with "The Best New Restaurant of 1998" award.
Mario and his team also own a Roman-style trattoria called
Lupa (170 Thompson Street) with Jason Denton, as well as a
wine shop-just off Union Square- called Italian Wine
Merchants, at 108 East 16th Street. Esca, a southern Italian
seafood trattoria, opened near the Theater District in April
of 2000. In January of 2003, Batali and partner Joseph
Bastianich opened another downtown eatery, Otto Enoteca
Pizzeria, located just a few blocks from both Babbo and
Lupa. In January 2004, Mario and Joseph opened two Barcelona
inspired eateries- Casa Mono, a sit down serving classic
Catalonian cooking and Bar Jamon, a stand up tapas bar
serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Mario, whose original career path had him studying the
golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, took
his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in
London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a
"lack of interest." An apprenticeship with London's
legendary Marco Pierre White and three years cooking and
learning in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne,
population 100, gave him what he needed to return to his
native US and plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the
behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant
establishment. Among his many culinary accolades, Mario was
named "Man of the Year" in the Chef category by GQ Magazine
in 1999, and in 2002 won the James Beard Foundation's Best
Chef: New York City award.
In addition to steering his businesses through their
successes, Mario Batali hosts his own programs, "Molto
Mario" and "Mario Eats Italy" on the Television Food
Network. His new series "Ciao America" premiered in October
2003. He has authored Simple Italian Food (Clarkson Potter
1998), as well as Mario Batali Holiday Food (Clarkson Potter
2000); his third book, The Babbo Cookbook, was released in
2002. Batali lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn,
of the Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons, Benno and
Leo. Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001
D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in American,
a prestigious lifetime achievement award.
***
participate in the Q&A.
http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?act=Reg&CODE=00
(Registration Link)
http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showforum=153 (Batali
Forum Link)
***
Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as
gold, that shorts are acceptable attire for every season,
and that food, like most things, is best when left to its
own simple beauty. To that end, Mario creates simple magic
night after night in Manhattan's West Village and Theater
District, dividing his time between his many Italian
hotspots, the flagship of which, Babbo Ristorante e
Enoteca, an upscale dining room where Batali has seamlessly
combined traditional principles with intelligent culinary
adventure since June 1998.
Ruth Reichl and Frank Bruni at the New York Times hailed
Babbo with three stars, and the James Beard Foundation
honored it with "The Best New Restaurant of 1998" award.
Mario and his team also own a Roman-style trattoria called
Lupa (170 Thompson Street) with Jason Denton, as well as a
wine shop-just off Union Square- called Italian Wine
Merchants, at 108 East 16th Street. Esca, a southern Italian
seafood trattoria, opened near the Theater District in April
of 2000. In January of 2003, Batali and partner Joseph
Bastianich opened another downtown eatery, Otto Enoteca
Pizzeria, located just a few blocks from both Babbo and
Lupa. In January 2004, Mario and Joseph opened two Barcelona
inspired eateries- Casa Mono, a sit down serving classic
Catalonian cooking and Bar Jamon, a stand up tapas bar
serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Mario, whose original career path had him studying the
golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University, took
his first bite of culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in
London, from which he withdrew almost immediately due to a
"lack of interest." An apprenticeship with London's
legendary Marco Pierre White and three years cooking and
learning in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne,
population 100, gave him what he needed to return to his
native US and plant his orange-clogged foot firmly in the
behinds of the checkered tablecloth-Italian restaurant
establishment. Among his many culinary accolades, Mario was
named "Man of the Year" in the Chef category by GQ Magazine
in 1999, and in 2002 won the James Beard Foundation's Best
Chef: New York City award.
In addition to steering his businesses through their
successes, Mario Batali hosts his own programs, "Molto
Mario" and "Mario Eats Italy" on the Television Food
Network. His new series "Ciao America" premiered in October
2003. He has authored Simple Italian Food (Clarkson Potter
1998), as well as Mario Batali Holiday Food (Clarkson Potter
2000); his third book, The Babbo Cookbook, was released in
2002. Batali lives in New York City with his wife Susi Cahn,
of the Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons, Benno and
Leo. Mario is also one of the recipients of the 2001
D'Artagnan Cervena Who's Who of Food & Beverage in American,
a prestigious lifetime achievement award.
***
