MICHAEL LOMONACO
Porter House New York

Michael Lomonaco currently operates the wildly successful Porter House New York at the Time Warner Center. He has hosted Epicurious and Michael's Place on cable TV and published two books, The '21' Cookbook and Nightly Specials. He is strongly dedicated to community support and charitable causes, co-founding the Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund for restaurant workers' families in the wake of September 11, 2001. In addition, he participates in fundraising and events that benefit worthy causes, including City Harvest and Share Our Strength.

MICHAEL LOMONACO

Porter House New York

MODERN AMERICAN

Recipes

How do you characterize your cuisine?

I cook modern American food with bold flavors, traditional techniques, respect for regional influences.

What region or ethnicity most influences your cooking?

The flavors and techniques of Western Europe are a filter through which my American regional cooking shines best.

What is your signature dish?

Short ribs of beef braised in red wine with chili peppers and finished on an open-fired grill.

What kind of food were you exposed to as a child?

Traditional Sicilian cooking, from seafood to innards, tripe, rabbit, and lambs' brains, all cooked with the great style of Sicily, including the sweet and savory multi-cultural flavors of Greek, Arab, Spanish, and French influences that make Sicilian cooking unique.

Have you ever lived or trained overseas? Where?

I have traveled extensively through France, Italy, and Spain since 1972. And I have cooked with chefs from Italy to Hawaii on my TV show episodes for the Food Network and Discovery and Travel channels over a period of eight years.

Is there an exotic spice or ingredient that you particularly enjoy using?

I am wild about saffron, having developed a love for it as a child.

Does the design and style of your restaurant evoke a particular place? If so, where?

Porter House New York is a classic New York restaurant: luxurious, comfortable, and elegantly casual, with a tribute to American Western elements of design visible in the woodwork.

When you cook for yourself, what do you make?

I cook mostly Italian-influenced dishes, salads, pasta, seafood, and meats.

Tell us about some trips you've taken for inspiration.

I just returned from London for an intensive week of dining to understand Modern British cookery, how careful and delicious the cooking is, with a wonderful and wide variety of ingredients from the British countryside. I have also traveled to Sicily three times for authentic tastes of food and history of my people. And I recently visited Paris and Burgundy for the inspired traditional food found in the finest bistros.

What are your thoughts on global cuisine?

I have always enjoyed the foods found in native ethnic restaurants all over NYC. I am a lover and admirer of family-owned restaurants where they cook the food of their homeland honestly and without editing for the American diner. I love the taste of India, Southeast Asia, and China found in this type of restaurant. That is what I search out for when having dinner out with friends on a night off.