Q&A with The Cannibal's Christian Pappanicholas

What do you get when you combine beer, nose-to-tail butchery and bikes? The Cannibal in Murray Hill. In fact, restaurateur Christian Pappanicholas named this new, butcher shop-cum-bar after a famous bicycle dubbed "The Cannibal" because he and his chef, Michael Berardino, are both avid cyclists.  To call it a bar is misleading because the menu's as ambitious as the beer selection, thus the nightly crowds of carnivores dropping in for porchetta spiced pork rinds, a pig's head Cuban, or veal tartare.

Pappanicholas got his start butchering at a very young age.  "Being Greek, we roasted whole pigs, goats and lambs. We, by this I mean my crazy Greek uncles and father, slaughtered them in the garage, sometimes butchered them, sometimes left them whole. It taught me about the different parts of the animals and how they cooked them differently," he explains.  Fast forward to the present where he currently owns to successful, meat-centric restaurants.  Come spring, he'll launch outdoor beer events in The Cannibal's garden where they'll show the French bike races and serve French beer with charcuterie.

Single/Married/Divorced?
Married to a beautiful woman.   

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A professional tennis player.  I'm still trying to be!  

What was your first job in food and what did you learn?  
I was a bus boy and prep cook at my father's restaurant.  I learned that bussing tables during brunch puts lots of money in your pocket for video games at the arcade.  But really, it taught me the value of work and kept me out of too much trouble.    

How did you become passionate about nose-to-tail food? What about Belgian beer?
Being Greek, we roasted whole pigs, goats and lambs. We, by this I mean my crazy Greek uncles and father, slaughtered them in the garage, sometimes butchered them, sometimes left them whole. It taught me about the different parts of the animals and how they cooked them differently.  Wrapping all of the organs in the small intestine and roasting it over the spit, it was my first look at great product utilization. The Belgian beer came later. My friend and roommate from college, Matt Flamant, is Belgian.  He and his entire family are crazy passionate people about their culture and their beer. It became very infectious.   

Whom do you consider your industry mentors?
[Restaurateur] Jason Denton, he was the only guy in this industry I knew I had to work for.   

So what inspired you to open The Cannibal?
The Cannibal started out of necessity.  Resto needed a butcher room where we could break down all of the whole animals we get in every week.  When I found out the space was becoming available, I grabbed it thinking we will open a butcher shop.  From there, as always, the ideas began flowing and I thought we could have a beer and butcher shop.  The name was a funny thing, as [Chef] Michael Berardino and I are both avid cyclists so when I said we can name it after the Merckx brand bicycle "The Cannibal," it seemed sort of perfect.   

What's the most difficult part about opening a restaurant?
Staffing.  

What are some advantages and disadvantages with opening a spin-off restaurant next door to the original restaurant? How do you keep Resto relevant and exciting when The Cannibal is getting so much attention now?   
The advantages are as the team grows and economies of scale are realized.  We try to stay relevant by always pushing, perfecting, creating and trying to make it nice.  In addition, my team is really amazing and they push me to be better.   

What do you look for when hiring a chef? How did you and The Cannibal Chef Michael Berardino meet? 
Eric Kleinman, the chef at Inoteca, introduced us back in 2008.  We talked about cycling right away and did some riding.  We always spoke about working on a project together; I thought it would be Italian since he is a crazy Italianophile.  He, Bobby (our chef at Resto) and I spent two weeks traveling in Southern Italy in 2010.  We went to see [legendary butcher] Dario Cecchini and I think that's when the butcher idea became really interesting to all of us.  When we finalized the idea he and I were talking a lot about it, and he was very excited to be part of the project.   

Describe your ideal meal at The Cannibal.   
I would come in after a ride up to Nyack, NY, sit in the back yard and drink Petrus Aged Pale Ale from 2009.   Then I'd have peanuts from the Men's Methodist Church of North Carolina - I love peanuts - a little country ham, blood sausage, kielbasa, merguez, rabbit terrain and Cote De Boeuf with escarole salad, because a man needs his greens.

And what beers would you drink with that meal? Though we know that may be difficult to choose, with the hundreds of selections available.  
 Other than the Petrus, I would have some two year old Orval I have stashed, Liefmans Gouldenband, and some De Struise Pannepot Reserve.

Where do you guys source most of your meat?
Bev Eggleston and Eco Friendly Farms, Four Story Hill, Ragsdale Family Farm and Pat Lafrieda of course.   

Do you ever have your on-premise beer master, Cory Bonfiglio, collaborate with Michael on the menu or vice versa?   
Absolutely.  When if comes to picking beers, wines, spirits, and food, it is very much a collaborative effort here.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of opening their own restaurant?
Jump on in, the water's warm.   
  

Is there any cut of meat you won't eat?
No.

What has been your biggest mistake in the restaurant industry?
Too many to name.   

Where do you dine in your Flatiron neighborhood?
The Breslin, ABC Kitchen and Hill Country Chicken. My son and I are addicted to their chicken fingers.

What big plans are coming up for Resto? What about for The Cannibal?  
At the Cannibal we are looking forward to the Spring when we can begin a series of group rides and beer drinking events, we will be showing all of the major cycling races and even doing a pairing series, French race, French beer, French charcuterie, etc.  We really want to be the destination for all cyclists in NYC, like The Spoon in Nyack.   And at Resto, we are working on some new large format feast packages, which will involve breed and farm specific dinners.  Lastly we are hard at work planning our farm in Shokan.   We had a small plot of land last year where we grew our own vegetables; this year we will be bringing is some heavy hitters and expanding the plot in order to really up the ante.   

You're on your deathbed...Sex or dinner?  
Sex.

Resto
Address: 111 East 29th St. bet. Lexington and Park
Phone: 212-685-5585

The Cannibal
Address: 113 East 29th St. bet. Lexington and Park
Phone: 212-686-5480