First, the building: it's a Stanford White small building (1905) off Times Square on 44th st, that has been recently renovated and converted into the small (only 80 rooms) Chatwal Hotel. High quality renovations in a beautiful building. On behalf of all New Yorkers, thank you Mr Chatwal.
Second, the history: this building was the clubhouse of the legendary Lambs Club, a group of theater artists who lived and worked there. A home away from home. The Lambs Club (artists) is still alive and moved 35 years ago to 51st st. The good news, here, is that Mr Chatwal did not dislodge them. They left the building a long time ago.
Third, The Lambs Club, the restaurant in the Chatwal Hotel, has nothing to do with The Lambs Club above. If you are able to wind your way out of Times square, you are in for a real treat!
The restaurant is lovely, fin de siecle-clubby, elegant atmosphere, with red leather booths, fireplace (gas fake - you can't have it all!) and all the trims of the art deco scene. It's that kind of restaurant where you can hear yourself talk. Kenny Cuomo is the brilliant chef and he arrives to The Lambs Club straight from the NYTimes four star Del Posto. Chef Kenny and his team (picture left, in the kitchen) honored us with a preview of their Fall menu: from the apetizers (oysters and tuna sashimi) to the entrees (a wonderful chestnut flour pasta with pork cheeks and a similarly wonderful red snapper) to the dessert, everything was wonderful. Service impeccable.
Matthew and David of the new cool Minerva cafe downtown not only want to learn everything about our products, they came to the warehouse to taste them, too! Here, from left: Martina, David, Matthew, Anne, Stefano and Kunle.
The other day they stopped by at lunch time. We shared our leftovers of what we cooked in our homes the night before: Stefano made his incredible pasta (it was calamari Faella) with anchovies (w/ lemmon zest and capers); Anne made healthy purgatorio beans with tubetti Latini and kale; Martina made pasta with bottarga and Beatrice made black venere nero rice with calamari (not the pasta, the fish).
So, when you next go to Minerva, you know where the inspiration came from. If you like what you eat, ask David for the recipes. Then, because he sells those of our products he uses, you can buy Gustiamo's ingredients on the spot. All the good reasons to go to Cafe' Minerva. Let us know what you think!
Liza Shaw, a partner and the chef of A16 in San Francisco comes to NY and pays Gustiamo a visit. Here, Liza is with Stefano who is leading an olive oil tasting. With so many great Italian olive oils it's difficult to make up your mind. Tasting may be tricky, because after a while, they tend to taste the same [at least to me]. This is not the case with Liza, whose palate is exquisite and endurance to olive oil fatigue remarkable.
A16 restaurant opened in 2004 to rave reviews and takes its name from the old road that links Campania to Puglia. In fact, its food is inspired by the south of Italy. This is why Liza loves and cooks pasta Faella. Reading together the Faella's catalog of shapes, are there any new shapes she would like us to bring in? Yes! Liza likes the Ditali and Tortiglioni. Thank you Liza, they will be in America soon.
As a student at Columbia University's prestigious school of journalism, Yardena Schwartz, pictured here with Martina, chose to cover (journalistiacally speaking) the Bronx as her project for this semester. Yardena and the harsh Bronx: you can figure out by yourself what a contrast this is. Walking the streets and the subways of the Bronx, Yardena fears nobody and nothing deters her. She is writing about the toughest issues: obesity and hunger, illegal work, new law for Latinos' birth certificates. However, she is also covering the bright side of the Bronx: the art for kids at BRAC; the loving care at the Mary Mitchell Center (also for kids); the real artisanal foods at Gustiamo. She was particularly interested in learning how we are involved in our local community and the sessions we had this summer (GUSTiamO) when we taught a bunch of local kids where tomatoes and olive oil come from. Next, is "Urban Harvest", a weekly program for kids this Fall with Slow Food, the School for Wildlife Conservation and Gustiamo. Yardena already signed up for a session, the Teen Iron Chef! She will be a judge and the official reporter. And the Bronx kids will become famous! Grazie Yardena!
Twenty young women from Bari flew to NY to learn about exporting food and fashion to America. Where is their first appointment? Gustiamo's warehouse. Why? We have the best coffee and cookies! We spent a wonderful morning with our new friends. As you can see, the weather, helped, too.
This is a program organized by a company called AIM and financed by the European Community, the Provincia di Bari and the Regione Puglia. The best public money ever spent! The workshop was created by Franca Foligatti, a longtime friend and fan of Gustiamo's. She LOVES pasta Latini.
It was a very active session. The girls' desire to learn was inspiring; their questions were all clever and interesting. We think they loved our business and how we do it. Anna Maria said she was impressed by Gustiamo's philosophy and mission; Maria Cristina by the quality of the products we represent in America; Mirella by our attention to detail. The young women were escorted by Rosa Maria Todaro, the CEO of AIM and by Giovanna Damolin, Professor at the University of Bari. We loved to meet them all! Thank you all for coming to Gustiamo.
Good food helps grow beautiful body and minds: the School for Wildlife Conservation (WLC), Slow Food and Gustiamo come together in a partnership to bring good food education in a Bronx public school. A year long program of hands-on fun in the kitchen for teams of budding chefs who will prepare, cook, taste-test, discover foods and bring their new skills home.
From left: Beatrice, Alex Rodriguez, Martina and Lily Ng. Alex and Lily are from the School for Wildlife Conservation (WLC), in the Bronx, which falls under the umbrella of Urban Assembly, a group of 20 small public schools in the NY metropolitan area which are financed by the Melinda and Bill Gates and other foundations.
Lily is one of the administrators and the partnership coordinator of the school. Thanks to her dedication, this program saw the light. It is called Harvest Time and will see 12 kids from WLC learn and play with foods. It's a partnership among the school, Slow Food and Gustiamo.
Alex is a Science teacher at WLC, specialized in climate change issues. Alex loves dancing (techno music) and martial arts (he told us that anything that moves is martial art, including tai chi); he is vegetarian and wants to start his own bee hive on his terrace in the Bronx. He is excited to be the leader of the Harvest Time program which will also include the Teen Iron Chef competition. Alex can't wait for Harvest Time to start. Neither can we! Thank you all! Let's the fun begin!!!
Alessandro Cappelletti of La Valletta farm lives where he grows his grains and legumes: in Colfiorito, a village of 300 people on the hills of Umbria, near Foligno. He came to NYC, the other day and paid Gustiamo a visit. WOW, from Colfiorito to New York! He loved every minute of it, his enthusiasm was catching. He never stopped. Did he ever sleep? He is adorable in this video where he speaks English in our warehouse. Brilliant. In the video (click on the arrow, above), he tells us about his land and why it is so fertile and perfect to grow his farro, lentils, purgatory beans and cicerchie. Off the camera, Alessandro gave us the recipe his mother, mamma Adriana, uses to make the zuppa minestrone. Click here for the recipe and enjoy.
Grazie Alessandro, thank you for your visit and for your hard work!
Auguri to Minerva! What a great name our friend Matthew, owner of Ducale restaurant on the Upper West Side, gave to his new venture in the West Village. Here is Matthew and Stefano outside Minerva; inside, waving hello, is Francesca, the restaurant manager who also speaks Italian. Minerva is open from 7 in the morning since they also serve a delicious breakfast. Hot spot in all senses: bring your laptop.
David Pegoli is the chef at both restarants. Young but with a remarkable pedigree. His latest jobs were at Alto and Marea.
Matthew and David's commitment to great foods is remarkable. They always look for the best. They always want to learn where our products come from, who makes them, how they can best shine in the Italian kitchen. Matthew and David deserve all the best luck! Go to Ducale and Minerva and tell us what you think!
