Cesare Casella of Salumeria Rosi tells The Wall Street Journal that for years he’s wanted to do an Italian-Chinese restaurant: “They are both ingredient-focused cuisines that can be served family-style in somewhat casual settings. I asked myself: Why can’t you do a stir-fry dish with olive oil? And why not make pasta in a wok?” Meanwhile, CNN’s Eatocracy blog sits down with Eddie Huang and his mother, and Huang reveals that although his dad operated an Italian restaurant, he wanted to do a home-style Taiwanese-Chinese joint instead.
The chef doesn’t say anything about his Four Loko problems (on top of everything else, the drink has now fallen into the FDA’s crosshairs), but does discuss the Sifton review, and his mom’s reaction to it. “A third of the menu was, like, knockout,” he says. “And I was like, most restaurants, you get a star for that … You go to a Chinese restaurant, there’s 100 items — I guarantee you 80 of them suck.”
Did Spaghetti Come From China? [Scene Asia/WSJ]
Chef/Owner Eddie Huang Won’t Give Up [Eatocracy/CNN]
