Del Posto’s Victory Brings Heritage Burger No CloserWhen news came over the AP wire earlier today that Del Posto was free of its legal hassles at last, as a result of its landlord having sold the building, we checked in with Joe Bastianich, the restaurant’s co-owner with Mario Batali. Did this free up some plans that might have been put on hold? Such as, say, the ambitious Heritage Burger Bastianich told us about last year? “No, we’re still applying for nonprofit status,” the restaurateur said. “Until we get that, that project is dead in the water.” But, he reminded us, the new Spotted Pig sequel, to be called The Striped Marlin, is well on its way and “will be something like an English oyster bar meets a fine-dining restaurant.” And it will have a secure lease, too, which is always good.
Earlier: Joe Bastianich Has a Hamburger Dream
Wish There Were Another Spotted Pig and Another Casa Mono? Guess What.
Del Posto restaurant remains open after acrid dispute [Newsday]
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Bobby Flay Has a Burger Up His Sleeve
Christmas was bittersweet this year: We asked for an end to gourmet-burger franchises (among other things), but our wish has not been granted. Word is that Bobby Flay is looking to enter the burger derby alongside Rachael Ray and Joe Bastianich (whose plans for a restaurant called Heritage Burger were recently reported here). Flay’s reps won’t give us the where and when (though they admit that the telegenic grill man is giving the idea some thought). Our source, however, tells us the place will be called Bobby’s Burgers and that you’ll be able to find it in one of the big Vegas casinos.
Earlier: Two More on the Burger Bandwagon; Hardly Any Space for Buns
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Joe Bastianich Has a Hamburger DreamJoe Bastianich, Mario Batali’s partner in Babbo, Del Posto, and so many other elite restaurants, has dreamed up a radical new project: a fast-food joint, tentatively called Heritage Burger, run as a nonprofit serving sustainable food. His goals are lofty: “We can capitalize on the burger craze a little bit. We’ll pay the employees more and give them better benefits.” Although the venture is still in the planning stages, Bastianich is already arranging for small farmers to sell the non-steak-and-roast parts of their cows to him, rather than unloading them onto the industrial bulk market. That’s all fine and good, but it all comes down to the burgers. “Eating the product will get the message across more powerfully than any marketing campaign could,” the restaurateur promises. “You know how it is with food — when it hits you, it’s like you never saw light before.”