Birthplace: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Résumé: The Quilted Giraffe, Gotham Bar and Grill, Rakel, Mondrian, Gramercy Tavern
Current: Craft, Craftbar, and Riverpark, New York; Craft, Los Angeles; Craftsteak and Heritage Steak, Las Vegas; Beachcraft, Miami Beach; the ’Wichcraft brand; and this month, Fowler & Wells at the Beekman, New York
Reality check: Head judge on Top Chef (now in its 13th season); host of Best New Restaurant since 2015.
Activism: In 2012, co-founded Food Policy Action, dedicated to holding legislators accountable for votes on issues of food and farming
Design partners: Bentel & Bentel, Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, Meyer Davis Studio
Focus on design: Since my days at Gramercy Tavern, design has always been important. I had a very clear idea of the kind of food I wanted to serve there. Since it was called a tavern, I based my menu on American cuisine, and [architect] Peter Bentel used iconic American design elements. Functionality in a restaurant has to be a crucial part of the design, too.
Part of the DNA: I’m a visual person, and design is always something I’m aware of, although I didn’t grow up thinking about it—except maybe the look of a certain car or clothing.
Involvement: I was very hands-on with Gramercy and the first Craft, but now I work closely with [managing partner] Katie Grieco. We see eye to eye on things, so I don’t have to worry about every single detail because she’s handling it.
Choosing a designer: We like to use those we can communicate with, who understand our visions. If you can’t communicate that, you don’t get what you want. We’re always looking for images we like. It might be a piece of fabric or a piece of furniture—something that creates a vocabulary of what we want.
Fowler & Wells: It’s in the Beekman hotel, a historic building that was built in the 1880s—New York’s first skyscraper and the first with an elevator. They found an 11-story atrium that was covered in sheetrock. Martin Brudnizki used a lot of visual cues from that era to inform the design. It’s stunning.
