2008.05.06
Mario Batali at Café 34
“…you grill it until the [mortadella] is nice and crispy, and when you put the bundle in your mouth… well, I believe Martha Stewart nearly had an orgasm the other day when I was on her show, and that is a blessed thing.”
“There’s a trend in Italy toward fast food, because teenagers don’t want to have to eat perfect tortellini every day for dinner. What the fuck are they thinking?”
On Iron Chef America: “You don’t have to beat someone all the time, but it’s certainly better than losing to them.”
He was personable, though clearly in a rush. Appreciated his healthy disdain for Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade — he didn’t even bother to get the name of her show correct (making fun of Food Network’s desire to get you to buy Cool Whip & strawberries: “I don’t get that show. Almost Homemade? But she’s very popular.”).
Those orange Crocs did not work at all for me in person. At. All.
He’s still my favorite, though.