If there's one thing Josh Ozersky doesn't do, it's mince words. As a Time food columnist and author, he's sparked debates about everything from eating horse meat to chain restaurants and diners' rights. But whether you agree with Josh on any given subject or not, it's hard to deny his passion for food or his highly entertaining writing style. 

But Josh, also known as "Mr. Cutlets," managed to surprise us with his strikingly candid answers during a recent interview.  What first inspired his fascination with food?   "Even from my earliest boyhood, I was obsessed with food, which mitigated my loneliness, succored my depression and filled the long hours of boredom," he explains.  "I could kill an hour just deciding what topping I would have on my pizza..."

Ironically, Josh recently married a woman who he says, "hardly eats at all.  She makes me take the skin off her chicken."  Speaking of which, he's over the mediocre fried chicken trend and happens to think KFC is the best,   though he does have a book coming out, called "Colonel Sanders and The American Dream." As for his dreams for the future, a TV show of his own and Meatopia events around the world.

Single/married/divorced?
Divorced, then single, now married.

Once upon the time, you were quite the bachelor, loyal only to food. What inspired you to give up your single ways?  Is she a good eater?
My single ways had little to hold me, offering as they did mostly solitude and celibacy. I was an inept, though ardent, womanizer, and my late-night trysts were generally with sandwiches. That said, I did like playing poker at the Genoa club, running after fast women, drinking far into the night, and playing video games. [My wife] Danit is not a very good eater. She hardly eats at all, in fact, and she doesn't like Chinese food. She makes me take the skin off her chicken. But I love her anyway and she has made me the happiest I've ever been.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer / pundit / professional smart person, like our family friend Neil Postman. He was my role model.

How did your father, a painter and a stagehand, inspire and influence your passion for food?
It's funny you ask that; I'm working on a piece for Saveur about him. My father was a neurotic who was almost completely unable to talk about anything other than movies and food. I know we talked about other things, but honestly I can't really remember when. He was fascinated by chefs and restaurants and did a series of paintings of them. He was often sad, but food raised his spirits and that lesson was not wasted on me.

More specifically, what inspired your carnivorous dining habits?  Was there a defining bite, meal or burger?
There were many. One that comes to mind was a hamburger I had the morning after my mother's unexpected death. It was the first of many hamburger-shaped mood elevators I would take over the years.  But even from my earliest boyhood, I was obsessed with food, which mitigated my loneliness, succored my depression and filled the long hours of boredom. I could kill an hour just deciding what topping I would have on my pizza, on the off-chance I could talk my parents into ordering one.

If you had to pick between pork or beef, which would you choose (and yes, you have to choose)?
It's a good question. Beef is the noblest, most delicious, and most fortifying of all meats; but that said, I would choose pork, for the following reasons: One, because the fat of pork, fragrant and delicious, is a universal perfume and solvent, which can impart an ineffable mouthfeel and peerless to taste to any food lucky enough to bathe in it; Two, because pigs, adventurous and mirthful, are a superior animal to their dull-witted, sedate bovine cousins; Three, because beef jerky is not as good as ham, and bacon doesn't come from steers; Four, because there are something like nine different food groups found in the pig, including ribs, bacon, salumi, guanciale, pigs ears, pulled shoulders, crown roasts, pernil, braised pork belly, and sausages; Five, when you eat a steak or a short rib you are generally satisfied, but after a pork chop or hamsteak you generally want another one. On the other hand, without beef there are no hamburgers. So maybe it is beef, after all.

What was it like growing up in Atlantic City and what were some of your favorite restaurants there that are still around?  When was the last time you went back to Atlantic City?
I go back a few times a year. Growing up in Atlantic City was a strange and formative experience; I would direct the reader to my piece on the subject I wrote a few years ago; it can be found in The Best Food Writing 2009. I think. My favorite Atlantic City restaurant is certainly Tony's Baltimore Grill, a tiny bar where they served pan pizzas with big, chunky globs of bulk Italian butcher sausage made a few blocks away, and big open roast beef sandwiches on white bread. I am also a great admirer of Fornoletto, Steve Kalt's wonderful Italian restaurant at the Borgata. I want to see what Marc Forgione's steakhouse is like too.

What were the state of food blogs when you first started at Grub Street in 2006 and did you ever expect them to play such a prominent part of the restaurant and media industries?   
Honestly, Eater had already redefined the food media even before I started Grub Street for New York. But Grub Street brought New York's authority to food bloggery, and for a stretch there we seemed to have total hegemony over the news, including the print media. (This was before the Times started Diner's Journal to avoid being scooped by Eater and Grub Street.) I had been involved in the web for many years, having written for Suck.com, Feed, Business 2.0 and so on, so I knew that the second the food media encountered the Internet it was over. But I was surprised at the hunger for constant news that came. I thought it would be more like the kind of essayistic, evergreen stuff I had written at Slashfood, and which you still see a lot of at Serious Eats.

You've worked everywhere from to New York Magazine to CitySearch to Time Magazine and Esquire. What is (or was) your favorite gig?
I have a soft spot for the Feedbag, which is what Grub Street would have been like if I had had total control over it. On the other hand, I have never had quite the same juice as when I was writing Grub Street. I think my favorite gig is right now, writing a weekly column on food and culture for Time, and being read by a very wide non-foodie audience. I also like not having vile, malevolent trolls attack me six times a day. I'm very proud of the work I've done for Rachael Ray.com and Ehow too. But The Feedbag was a special time. It helps that I'm happily married now, and not writhing with unrequited love.

Do you think food writing has evolved or devolved over the last five years?
I'm a big believer in what historians sometimes call the Whig Theory of History, which basically amounts to everything getting better and better every year. Food writing has evolved enormously. MFK Fisher, I frankly find unreadable: her passionless droning is like being stuck on a bus next to somebody's grandmother. My hero Liebling was at his best writing about boxing and politics. Too many great gastronomes, from Brillat Savarin to Liebling to Jim Harrison, have a self-satisfied swagger that I find unattractive, not least because I have been guilty of it myself. To me, the best writing about food I know has been in the last few years: Tom Junod's pieces in Esquire; Alan Richman and Jeff Steingarten's work in GQ and Vogue; Kenny Shopsin's Eat Me, the most honest book I've ever read about food; Oliver Strand's work on coffee; and so on. I think that Adam Platt and Frank Bruni wrote the best restaurant criticism, purely in terms of prose, that anyone has done. Just compare Bruni's prose with Craig Claiborne or Ruth Reichl; it's like night and day. But "food writing" won't really reach its maturity until it becomes simply writing, and is no longer primarily aimed at instructing home cooks or hipping trendy foodies to the last hot spot.

You've written your fair share of clever and notably controversial columns. Which ones have sparked the greatest debates? Do you regret anything you have written, eaten or done?
I had hoped that my recent piece in Gastronomica would be more polarizing than it was; I put a lot into it, and there was a dark, Swiftian element that I thought more people would miss. I liked debating with Mark Bittman about the value of chain restaurants earlier this year. My position on meat-eating, which is more nuanced than I am generally given credit for, is an ongoing subject of debate with vegetarians. I regret most meals, many actions, and more than a few pieces of writing. Much of my stuff was written in haste, and regretted a long time indeed.

You recently mentioned in your Time column that you've taken to intermittent fasting instead of committing to a diet to lose weight. How's that going for you?  Do you think that's really a wise idea considering you're a food writer? (Just sayin'.)
How fat do you want me to be, Danyelle? I can't diet. I like food too much to eat salad. Like Johnson, I can be abstemious but not moderate. I know it's not a wise idea. But it works. And that's really all that matters. I'm still too fat. I want to take diet pills, like the ones they gave Judy Garland. Although apparently there is a shortage of them now, I'm told.

Have you gotten any feedback from chefs and restaurant owners about the "Diners' Rights" column you wrote last June? How did they respond?
Many responded, both in print and privately, and overwhelmingly they were against it. But not a single diner wrote in to say a word against it. It really didn't demand much for the diner. I wish it would be reprinted on all place mats, the way the passengers' rights are put in taxicabs.

What can we expect from Meatopia 2012? Have you started planning it yet?
Not only have I started planning it, but it's almost all laid out! It's going to be on September 8 on Randall's Island, on a huge green field next to the river. You can take a boat there or drive, or take the bus. I'm going to have more food, another whole 900 pound steer, more music, and just a cooler experience all around. I'm bringing back the core of Team Meatopia: Seamus Mullen, Michael Psilakis, the LaFriedas, and so forth, but I'm trying to make this year a platform for a global super group of meat chefs: Adam Perry Lang, John Besh, the Joe Beef guys from Montreal, and more. I'm even talking to the Hong Kong Tourism Board about getting a Chinese char siu master to do Cantonese barbecue. It's really somewhat surreal, but we are almost there.  I am trying to do Meatopias in Texas, LA, and Portland, too. I am so into Meatopia.

As a meat, and even more specifically, a burger authority, what do you think is the best burger in New York right now?  And just as importantly, which ones have fallen from grace of late?  We'd also like to pick your brain on your favorite bbq joint and one that's fallen from grace.  (Much obliged!)
I have to say that I was blown away by the Fatty Johnson burger. The flavors, the looseness, the luxury of it it are simply extraordinary. And we've seen, for the first time ever, some really definitive classical, no-frills, orthodox hamburgers of the kind I so admire, thanks to the debut of Steak n Shake and Smashburger. Burger Club in Astoria is really, really good; nobody knows about it but it's awesome. The new Schnippers on 23rd street is wonderful. So those five are the best additions. None of the major burgers have gotten worse: The Little Owl, The Spotted Pig, Txikito, Minetta Tavern -- they're all still great.
As for BBQ, Blue Smoke has gotten better, and both RUB and Hill Country are still at the top of their form. Wildwood is one of the best commercial barbecue restaurants in the country, and I am not just saying that because I'm friends with Steve [Hanson].  Those four are the best, in my professional opinion. Fatty Cue has not been the same, BBQ-wise, since they moved to the West Village, I'm afraid. BBQ needs to be cooked on-site and served fresh; a lot of their stuff is reheated, and while it's still good it's just not the same.

What's your favorite restaurant in your neighborhood?
I have three favorite restaurants in my home base of Alphabet City. Number one is Hearth, criminally underrated, especially by Mr. Adam Platt. I would put Marco's pastas up against anybody's. I like Barbone, on Avenue B, for the baby chicken, the wine, and the eggplant parmigiana. His pastas are first-class too. And then for pizza, I will take Federico's work at Gnocco over Motorino, Keste, or anybody else you can name.

Do you ever cook at home?
I cook at home two or three nights a week, and chronicle the ups and downs of it in my cooking column at Rachael Ray.com. If you want to emulate my oafish-yet-masterful efforts, check out my videos on Ehow Food.

What dining trend do you wish would just die already?
There's a lot of mediocre salumi and charcuterie programs out there. I love the great ones, like Bar Boulud or Il Buco Alimentaria e Vinerio, but some of the other ones are strictly from hunger. I'm also sick of mediocre fried chicken in New York, deep fried and served without any kind of gravy.  Almost none of them are as good as KFC. If only KFC would use good chickens, the world would be a better place.

What dining trends would you like to see more of in New York?
I want someone to do a meat-and-three in New York. I have told Harold Moore this over and over. He's the guy to do it. Him or Robert Newton from Seersucker.  Two proteins, five sides, some biscuits and pudding, and communal seating. Everyone sits down when the want, gets up when they want, eats as much as they want, and everyone pays the same price. This needs to happen, as Bill Simmons says.

Make a case for our readers for why New York is the best restaurant city in the country.
I don't need to make a case. The other cities do it for me. Go find better barbecue in Memphis. Get more great hamburgers in Dallas. Go find a better steak in Chicago. San Francisco has better produce, but who cares about produce? It's like asking who the best hockey player of the 1980s is, or choosing the best looking Kardashian sister.

Is there a new book in the works?
Yes. I have a book coming out in March called "Colonel Sanders and the American Dream." It's a cultural history of the man in the white suit, his chicken and his legacy. It's an interesting story. The book is a small one, more of an extended essay than a history per se, but I think every American should read it. It amazes and depresses me to think that so many Americans think Colonel Sanders was a manufactured icon, like Uncle Ben or somebody.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In my more hopeful moments, I would hope to have a good TV show, a book every two years, and Meatopia events around the world. And to still be married to Danit, and relatively healthy. I would like to have a nice car, a house upstate with a big smoker, and a lot of cash and weapons stowed away in various safe houses both here and abroad.

How do you think food journalism will change 10 years from now?
I think most of the remaining firewalls between writers and chefs will fall away. Even now they're only propped up precariously by a few print establishments. There will be more non-anonymous restaurant critics like you, and food writers who are openly friends with chefs, like me. Transparency and accuracy, rather than an illusory objectivity, will be what writers are judged by, and rightly so.

You're on your deathbed...Sex or dinner?
Sex, always sex. I only became a gastronome because I was a washout as a libertine.

2011 was a big year for Geoffrey Zakarian. The industry veteran opened his third restaurant in the span of two years -- Tudor House in Miami -- and managed to defeat nine culinary stars to win the Food Network's Next Iron Chef. 

"I treated [the competition] like a game of golf," Zakarian said. "If I had a bad hole, I'd just forget about it and go on to the next one."

It's his "one battle at a time" mentality that enabled Zakarian to open three, successful restaurants, which also includes both The Lambs Club and The National in Manhattan.  Of course, Zakarian didn't appear on the dining scene out of nowhere. He's had a 20-year, storied career that began in the kitchen at Le Cirque. He then went on to work at the 21 Club, 44, Patroon and Country.

Other chefs might take a cue from Zakarian's preparation for Next Iron Chef.  "I knew it would be physically grueling, so I hit the gym everyday for a month before I went on the show," Zakarian tells us.

Single/Married/Divorced?  
Married to a dreamy girl.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A golf pro or classical pianist.

What was your first job in food and what did you learn?
I was a fry cook at Lum's restaurant.

Congratulations on winning The Next Iron Chef! Did you have a particular strategy that carried you through the competition?
I treated it like a game of golf, as in if I had a bad hole, I'd just forget about it and go to the next one. It's one battle at a time. You can't think of any more than one battle at a time.

Did you do any special training before going on the show, like working the line at one of your restaurants?  
No, not at all. But actually, I knew the competition would be physically grueling so I hit the gym every day for a month before I went on the show.

What was the toughest challenge on the show?
Definitely the [seafood challenge] in Montauk, but I ended up winning that challenge.

You have been a judge on TV cooking competitions, including Iron Chef, so how did it feel to be a competitor? Do you think you'll be a more sympathetic judge in the future?  
No, not really. I am generally sympathetic but serious, since we give away 10,000. And it's not about the [competing chefs'] stories, but rather the food on the plate

Whom did you consider your toughest competitor on the show?
Myself. I am either ready or not.

Whom would you like to battle in Kitchen Stadium?
It does not matter to me, because I don't do the choosing!

You have worked in acclaimed restaurants all over America and Europe, but what has been your most rewarding restaurant job? What about the most challenging?
Cooking for my two little daughters.

What is the most difficult part about opening a restaurant?
The physicality of being there all the time in the beginning. It's very difficult.

How do you think the New York restaurant scene has changed since you opened your first restaurant, Town, 10 years ago?
Oh dear god, yes, we have 500 more amazing restaurants and so many more diverse cuisines. Even in 10 short years, it has been remarkable to see.

Describe your ideal meal at The Lambs Club. What about The National?
Bottle of good burgundy, snails, and a wonderful bowl of fresh pasta.

What neighborhood do you live in and what are your favorite places to dine there?  
I live near Sutton Place and love going to Felidia and the Café at Le Cirque.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you plan on opening additional restaurants in Miami, or another city other than New York?
I certainly hope to have several more restaurants in New York as well as Miami.

Lambs Club
Address: 130 West 44th Street, btwn. 5th & 6th Aves.
Phone: (212)764-6200
Website: thelambsclub.com

Daniel Humm just made one of the most exciting restaurant industry deals this year, purchasing Eleven Madison Park from Danny Meyer with his partner Will Guidara. That's just the beginning for the budding entrepreneurs, who will be running the food program at the new NoMad Hotel.  While it was a shock to much of the New York dining scene, it was part of Humm's longtime goal to start his own company with Guidara.

"Will, Danny and I began to have conversations about how Will and I wanted to start our own company," Humm says. "Those conversations lasted two years and included lots of different ideas on how we could achieve that dream without having to leave Eleven Madison Park. Ultimately, we all came to the same place." 

So they revamped the seating and implemented a unique, new tasting menu that lists only ingredients, not dishes, encouraging conversation and spontaneity in the kitchen. Since Humm took over,  EMP has been so successful that he and Guidara are releasing a restaurant cookbook next month.  On his nights off, Humm heads to Torrisi and Franny's in Brooklyn.  Even great chefs have kitchen disasters. He botched a roast chicken on his first date with his wife.  "Needless to say, we went out for Chinese food that night," Humm tells us.

Single/Married/Divorced?
Married.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I was torn between being a competitive cyclist and a chef.

What were some of your favorite things to eat as a child growing up in Switzerland? 
My favorite childhood food memories are of tasting fresh produce at the height of their ripeness at the local market with my mother. Very simple, but these memories have lasted me a lifetime.

Where do you go for great Swiss cooking in New York? 
My home. I love recreating dishes from my childhood for my family.  For me, this is the best way to teach them about true Swiss cuisine.

What was your first job in food and what did you learn? 
When I was eight, I began spending my summers helping out around the local markets.  The following year, I was lucky enough to work on a few farms, picking cherries, strawberries, apples and walnuts. 

What's the biggest mistake you've ever made in the kitchen? 
When my wife and I were first dating, I invited her over to my apartment to cook dinner for her for the first time.  I had planned a very simple dinner, though I was still very nervous. The chicken was nearly done roasting when she arrived and we started to drink wine. And then I smelled the burning skin.  Needless to say, we ended up going out for Chinese food that night.

You began your first culinary apprenticeship at only 14-years-old. Was it difficult taking on all that responsibility at such a young age? 
The most important thing about a career is loving what you do, so of course it was difficult and there were challenges involved, but I loved every moment of it.

What were some of the most important things that you learned from your mentor, Chef Rabaey, at the three- Michelin star Restaurant, Pont de Brent?
Re-inventing the wheel is not necessary. Tomatoes and basil, rabbit and mustard, spring peas and pork, white truffles and chestnuts, pecorino and pears - these flavors will forever be delicious.

You were also the executive chef at the extremely successful Campton Place in San Francisco. Do you miss the San Francisco dining scene? 
San Francisco was the first city I visited in America and it's the city that made me fall in love with the United States. It's the city where I learned English and the city where I first tasted sea urchin.  San Francisco will always have a special place in my heart.

Eleven Madison Park had been going strong for eight years when you and Will Guidara, EMP's general manager, came into the picture.  You decided to make significant changes, like seating fewer guests and doing away with a la carte dining. Why rethink an already successful restaurant concept and why do you think it's earned such acclaim since you've been in the kitchen? 
Danny [Meyer] brought both Will and I on to work at Eleven Madison Park because he felt that this restaurant had the bones to something much bigger, something much grander than he had originally planned.  We've been successful because we've been fortunate enough to put together a team of people who are passionate, who are driven and who believe in the spirit of our endeavor.

What inspired the most recent change, that being the daily changing menu? How's the response been and how has it been challenging as well as rewarding for you as a chef? 
The most recent change was inspired by our effort to find balance between the classic prix fixe menu and the chef's tasting menu offered at so many restaurants of our caliber. The former gives the guest control, while the latter brings with it a sense of surprise. We love that we've created an experience that offers both. We also wanted to create more dialogue between the guest and our service staff, and create an environment in the kitchen that's more creative and fun. There are some restaurants out there that make a point of saying "no substitutions," we are trying to do just the opposite.

And you did all of this in let's face it, not the best of economic times (to say the least!).  Yet, it's so successful, so what would you say to those critics who have declared that fine dining is dead? 
There will always be a need for luxury, for the people that can afford to experience it all the time, and for those that save up their money so that they be pampered every so often. I don't believe fine dining will ever die, so long as it evolves with the times. At Eleven Madison Park, we are striving to be the modern four star restaurant. It's been an amazing journey.

Describe your ideal meal this fall at Eleven Madison Park. 
I have so many ideas for the fall; It's hard to choose one.  But of course, fall brings the first of the truffle season, which is always so exciting.

Other than Eleven Madison Park, what are some of your favorite spots to eat on your days off? 
I am huge fan of Torrisi - I love what they are doing over there.  I also love Franny's in Brooklyn. And for an elegant night out, I think Daniel continues to be one of the best places in town. Other than that, with a new baby at home, we find ourselves cooking more than ever.

How did you get involved in your most recent project overseeing the eateries at the NoMad Hotel?
Both Will and I have wanted to be entrepreneurs for a long time. With the NoMad Hotel project came the opportunity to do something that was rooted in the values of Eleven Madison Park but that was a little more laid back

What are your plans for the menu both in the restaurant and the lounge at NoMad? We heard it's focused on "local favorites with French roots." 
We'll have a hearth there where we'll make a lot of rustic dishes, and we're looking forward to the encouraging guests to share a lot of different dishes and have an experience that's very communal.

The biggest news to date is that you and Will Guidara will be buying Eleven Madison Park from Danny Meyer.  How exactly did that come about?
About a year before we received our fourth star, Will, Danny and I began to have conversations about how Will and I wanted to start our own company. Those conversations lasted two years and included lots of different ideas on how we could achieve that dream without having to leave Eleven Madison Park. Ultimately, we all came to the same place.  

We read that you told Danny over dinner at EMP that you wanted to open your restaurant.  Was it your idea or did he propose the move?
Will and I knew we wanted to be restaurateurs, and Danny, having opened Union Square Café when he was very young, was incredibly supportive of that desire from the moment we first approached him about it. 

Danny Meyer's a veteran on the New York dining scene.  Are you nervous about taking over a New York institution like EMP? 
Danny has been such an important part of what we've been able to do here. His support over the years has been amazing, and he has always empowered us to do what we thought was best for Eleven Madison Park. In that sense, he has set us up for success. He is our role model and has been a father figure to us, and we want nothing else but to make him proud.  We have learned a lot from Danny, and from each other, and we feel confident that we have what it takes to succeed in our new roles.

Any more changes when it becomes official? 
The nature of Eleven Madison is to continue to reinvent itself, to stay fresh, to continue changing. That being said, there will be no changes spurred on by the change in ownership. We have been given the autonomy to build this restaurant over the last five years and it is exactly what we want it to be.

Photo Credit: Francesco Tonelli

Eleven Madison Park
Address: 11 Madison Ave. nr. E. 24th St.
Phone: (212) 889-0905

How do you keep your reservation book full for over a decade? Ask Jonathan Waxman.  He's managed to turn his West Village restaurant, Barbuto, into a vibrant New York staple.  An outstanding roast chicken might have a lot to do with all of the success.  Ironically, that's the one dish he'd like to take off the menu, but it's just too popular.  The California-raised chef worked in the illustrious kitchens of Chez Panisse and Michael's in California before moving to New York to revolutionize the food scene with his seasonal American cooking.

Waxman's written two cookbooks and was also a contestant on Top Chef Masters season two. Not bad for a former busboy who dreamed of hitting it big as a funk-rock musician.  More importantly, he's one of the few chefs that's managed to do it all.  When you run a successful restaurant, something's gotta give and that's often family.  Yet, Jonathan's happily married with three kids and even finds time to cook at home.  He'd love to have a cooking show and open another restaurant, but he seems content with his current success.  In his free time, he devotes himself to charities like Citymeals on Wheels and Alex's Lemonade Stand, raising money to cure childhood cancer.   Where does he eat when he's not at Barbuto?  En Japanese Brasserie, Little Owl, Perry Street and Red Cat to name a few.

Single/Married/Divorced?
Married

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A Rock and Roll bass player in a major band.

What was your first job in food and what did you learn?
I was playing in a funk-rock band in Hawaii and the band broke up. So I became a busboy at the Rusty Harpoon in Kaanapali Beach, Maui. I learned how to filet Mahi Mahi, cut steaks, wash dishes and tend bar.

You worked at the legendary Chez Panisse in the 1970s, serving seasonal and local food far before it became fashionable. Why do you think it's been so influential?
The model is all about Alice [Waters]. She is truly a genius, capable of influencing not only the food world, but the world at large.

What compelled you to move from California to New York?
I was the chef at Michael's and [owner] Michael McCarty wanted to open a branch in Manhattan. When that did not go through, I decided to make the move myself in 1983 with my partner Melvyn Master.

Were people immediately receptive to your style of cuisine?
It was crazy. It was like no one had heard of seasonal offerings, wood-grilled food, emphasis on a changing menu and chilies. When Andy Warhol and Woody Allen were there three nights a week, something wild was happening.

How do you think the culinary world has changed since you began your career?
When I started out, a chef was like someone who changed the oil in your automobile -- essential, but hardly noteworthy. Now, people think of chefs as cultural icons.

Which emerging chefs are you most excited about?
Oh my God, there are so many. Jonathan Sawyer in Cleveland, Trey Foshee in La Jolla, Jennifer Puccio in San Francisco, Jimmy Bannos Jr. in Chicago, Travis Lett in Venice, Marc Forgione in New York, etc.

Your distinct culinary style focuses on respecting ingredients and simple plating, so what do you think of the modernist cuisine that's become so popular in recent years?
All is good. The philosophy that I adhere to is that passion, intelligence and technique should guide chefs. And if that leads them to paths yet discovered, as long as the intent is pure, who am I to disagree? To do it gratuitously does no one any good.

How do you keep Barbuto relevant in New York's fickle restaurant scene?
I don't consciously follow any trends or compete except to always better my own game. What happens without my walls is of no consequence, I am my own critic.

What's your favorite dish on the menu?
I love 'em all, just like my children.

Is there any dish you wish you could take off the menu, but it's just too damn popular?
Chicken.

What are some of your favorite neighborhood restaurants?
Little Owl, EN Japanese Brasserie, Perry Street, Wallse, Standard Grill, Red Cat.

What do you usually cook at home for your family?
Whatever my beautiful wife Sally buys at the farmers' market. She buys, I cook, she doesn't let me clean.

Have your three children expressed interest in working in the restaurant business?
Alexander, my eleven-year-old, says he is taking over.

We heard you're hosting Alex's Lemonade Stand benefit for childhood cancer cures that you're hosting in December. How did you become involved with this benefit? 
I love this charity. It is an amazing, real charity that I immediately connected with. I cried hearing about Alex Scott's noble cause to eradicate childhood cancer, so I had to volunteer.  I have riffed on the event that Autism Speaks does, one chef per table of ten. However, since this will be a family-style event, only platters of food will be served. We are doing it upstairs at Industria on Greenwich Street and we are having members of New York City Ballet perform. I hope to raise a ton of cash for this very worthy and wonderful cause.

Following your appearance on Top Chef Masters, do you have any interest to return to TV to host a cooking show?
Absolutely!

Going strong for nearly a decade, Barbuto's become a New York staple.  So do you have any plans or aspirations to open additional restaurants?
Sheepishly, yes.

Barbuto
Address: 775 Washington St. between W. 12th and Jane streets
Phone: (212) 924-9700

Watermelon is a quintessential and one of our favorite summer fruits, so we asked Lure's Josh Capon for an inspired recipe to share with readers for your next cookout.  Chef Capon adds a unique twist to a classic watermelon salad with shisito peppers, which turns out to be a terrific combination.

Watermelon Salad with Crumbled Feta Cheese & Shisito Peppers
By Chef Josh Capon  (Lure Fishbar, Burger & Barrel)


(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 4 cups, watermelon, cubed
• 24 whole shisito peppers
• 2 cups of feta cheese
• 8 lime wedges
• 4 tbsp, extra virgin olive oil
  



Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Turn the heat up to high and add the peppers in a single layer (cook in more than one batch if needed, but they need to have space to brown). Once you’ve added the shisito peppers to the pan, do not stir; let them sit in place for about two minutes to allow them to brown and blister. Toss the peppers and then let them sit again for another two minutes. Toss more frequently for one to two minutes after that until the peppers are lightly charred. They should be brown (not black) on the outside and very tender. Cube about four cups of watermelon and add to plate. Then place a few of the peppers over the watermelon. Cube the feta cheese and sprinkle a few pieces over each plate. Serve each plate with 2 lime wedges and enjoy!

Lure Fishbar
Address: 142 Mercer St., at Prince St.
Phone: (212)431-7676