LE CIRQUE (New York) Reviewed in The Virtual Gourmet

By: John Mariani


Seven years into its fourth decade, Le Cirque has seen the American dining landscape change, shake,  rock, roll, slide, soar, and come back to the need for a sense of refinement that the restaurant has always represented under the Maccioni family (below), which includes paterfamilias Sirio, his wife Egi, and their sons  Mario (far left, who runs the Maccioni restaurants in Las Vegas), Marco, and Mauro, whom I have literally watched grow up and become various reflections of their parents while having each his own style and distinct degree of savoir-faire. Le Cirque–the circus–is still a daily draw for international celebrities, winemakers, Hollywood stars, even royalty, as it has been from the start. Continue reading “LE CIRQUE (New York) Reviewed in The Virtual Gourmet”

A Good Book Needs a Good Calzone and Downtown Needs a SETTEBELLO

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John Mariani’s new book: How Italian Food Conquered the World (2011 Palgrave MacMillan) is an essential read for anyone (and everyone) who loves Italian food, Italian restaurants, Italy (or IT-ly as my dear, departed dad called it) or any and all things Italian…which is to say, pretty much all of us. It chronicles the success story of this immigrant cuisine — from the 19th Century splash the Del-Monico brothers made among New York society to the mystique of Rao’s to the world-wide rise of Super Tuscan wines out of the ashes of Dago red — and is so fascinating, we hardly wanted to finish it.

Continue reading “A Good Book Needs a Good Calzone and Downtown Needs a SETTEBELLO”

ESQUIRE’S Best New Restaurants of 2010

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS OF 2010

By John Mariani




For the 26th year, I’ve been compiling Esquire‘s “Best New Restaurants of the Year,” and the competition only gets better, my narrowing down of choices tougher and tougher. Here are this year’s picks, which appear in the November issue, followed by a “Man About Town” report on the gala awards party in NYC. Continue reading “ESQUIRE’S Best New Restaurants of 2010”