Menu Talk with Pat and Bret is a collaboration between Restaurant Business senior menu editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.
Menu Talk: Pat and Bret chat about the latest food and drink trends and share an interview with Anthony Amoroso, the new VP of innovation and growth at Maggiano’s Little Italy
On this week’s podcast, Pat Cobe, senior menu editor of Restaurant Business, and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, discuss recent tasting adventures, starting with more of a smelling experience.
Bret was invited by Via Carota, a gem of an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village, to try their new bottled cocktails. But the event was held at a perfume shop that crafted personal scents for the attendees while they sipped on espresso martinis, spritzes and white negronis. Bret left with samples of both bottled cocktails and his custom scent.
Pat visited Jones Wood Foundry, a British-style pub with an impressive draft beer selection. Between the Scotch eggs, Yorkshire pudding with blue cheese lemon dip, curried chicken pot pie and toffee pudding, she could have been in London rather than a few blocks from her Manhattan apartment.
Michael’s, a power lunch spot that introduced California cuisine to New Yorkers 35 years ago, held a party to celebrate its anniversary and longevity. Bret attended and ran into a couple of luminaries, including owner Michael McCarty and Martha Stewart. But he had to cut his stay short and head downtown to Leitao, a Portuguese restaurant that was hosting a Fado celebration with food, wine and music. Bret dined on garlicky black tiger shrimp, lamb ribs with Calabrian chilies and pickled cucumbers, duck confit and fresh cheese with chimichurri while listening to the soulful musical performance.
Pat was a guest at Rocco Steakhouse, the second location of this popular restaurant. Chef Dominick Pepe gave the group a tour of the dry aging room, where rib eyes, porterhouse steaks and tomahawks were developing flavor before hitting the grill. Rocco does all the classics items well, including seafood towers, sides like lobster mac & cheese, creamed spinach and crispy potatoes, and Martinis, but also serves Italian specialties like baked clams and chicken Parmigiana — a differentiator for a steakhouse.
Speaking of Italian food, we shared an interview with Anthony Amoroso, the new vice president of innovation and growth at Maggiano’s Little Italy. Amoroso has helmed the kitchen in several famous independent and Michelin-starred restaurants, and now welcomes this opportunity to return to his Italian-American roots and work with the chefs across Maggiano’s 50 locations.
He talks about how he is elevating the dining experience with top-quality ingredients and presentations while retaining the menu’s well-loved favorites and Maggiano’s tradition. Amoroso also works closely with the beverage director and sommelier, and new cocktails and wine selections now complement the food. And he describes what’s next in terms of the Dallas-based chain’s menu, restaurant design and growth.
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