MICHAEL WHITE: Did I hear you wanted to do
something with octopus?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: We'll make a little ragu.
It smells just like the sea.
But this is the whole edible part of the octopi.
We can use all of this.
We'll break it for a bit and then we'll grill it.
When we're doing the octopus with bone marrow, instead of
putting olive oil in, we put the piped bone marrow.
This is what we put inside the fusilli with bone marrow when
we toss it with tomato sauce, and the braising liquid of
octopus and red wine, until that unctuous, really
delicate, rich flavor comes out.
This dish is like, you know Jimmy Buffett has to sing
"Cheeseburger in Paradise" at every concert?
This is the equivalent.
But that's a good thing to have.
People use the word "chef" very, very lightly.
When people come up to me and say, you know my husband he's
a great chef.
I say, really?
I said, where does he work?
No, no, no, he's in finance, but he's a great chef.
So he's probably a great home cook and I'd love to go eat
dinner with him, but he's not a chef.
I'll let you know what a chef is.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: My name is Chef Michael White, and I'm the
chef-owner of Marea in Columbus Circle
here in New York City.
Marea is known for Italian cooking.
Marea had become synonymous for a couple of dishes.
Whether it's a sea urchin crostini with lardo, actually
the grilled octopus with the salsa tonnata.
Italy is surrounded by the Mediterranean and the Adriatic
Sea and the Ionian Sea, so we do lots of fish here.
It also has quite a few pastas.
Italian restaurants are judged upon pastas.
You could cook the greatest veal chop in the world, but
people come here for pasta.
I got interested in Italian cooking because Italian food
in the Midwest, where I grew up, was the
ethnic food of choice.
It was usually going to Domenico's, which was a local
Italian restaurant in the city, Beloit, Wisconsin.
So that's kind of how I caught the bug.
And I had a football injury.
In rehab I was watching a bit of TV and "Great Chefs" was on
the Discovery Channel back in the day, those first shows.
And I knew that was what I wanted to do.
The camaraderie in working with all the people in the
kitchen, it really drives you every day.
It's a ginormous team that's always working together.
There's 138 people that work at Marea.
We have wonderful line cooks, garde manger people.
It's really all those people working together that watch
this organized chaos come to the pass every night.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: We probably, at Marea, turn away probably 300
people per day.
We're very fortunate to be a popular restaurant here.
I'm dealing with very, very high end people that make the
world go round, whether it's dignitaries,
whether it's the Clintons.
At the same time, I get young people that are in the
restaurant business.
That's one of the great parts about being a chef is that you
get to see these people and they're eating your food.
JOSH OZERSKY: This rigatoni is incredible.
I think it's one of your best.
MICHAEL WHITE: Meeting Josh--
Josh is a blogger--
Josh is like my brother, we were separated at birth.
JOSH OZERSKY: You know what I would like?
I'll tell you what I would like.
I would like a little bit of grappa.
JOSH CAPON: Yeah?
JOSH OZERSKY: Yeah.
JOSH CAPON: Is it that grappa's a digestive?
Isn't that something you finish your meal with?
MICHAEL WHITE: I met Josh Capon because he has a
fantastic restaurant called Burger & Barrel.
We all used to dine once or twice a week.
It's one of the highlights of it.
We'll all at least get out to go have a drink
and shoot the shit.
All right, let's go.
OLIVIA YOUNG: What is that?
JOSH OZERSKY: What?
MICHAEL WHITE: Shit on your back.
A bird shit on your back.
JOSH OZERSKY: When?
Just now?
JOSH CAPON: Yeah.
JOSH OZERSKY: Shut up.
JOSH CAPON: I think the bird shit on you before
you got in the car.
I think that if I got my $232 million I would get a neck
transplant.
I would get neck liposuction.
So where are we going may I ask?
MICHAEL WHITE: This is called SriPraPhai.
You know, all you New Yorkers haven't been there.
JOSH OZERSKY: Are you fucking kidding me?
MICHAEL WHITE: Have you been to SriPraPhai?
JOSH OZERSKY: Do you know who I am?
SriPraPhai was the seminal Thai restaurant in New York
that made the city's gastronomes and food writers
aware of the possibilities of Thai food.
MICHAEL WHITE: I am a fanatic about Asian food.
Last night when we were going to Queens, I think I made
mention in the car, that in that area, whether it's
Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai--
there's so many great places to eat.
Queens is a melting pot--
it's a fucking fool's paradise of food.
Love this place.
[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: When people ask me where I like to eat, that's
what I like to eat.
There are fantastic restaurants here in New York
City, but when you go there, it's a whole different story.
I mean, it's pretty fucking amazing.
I mean you close your eyes, all of a sudden you think
you're like [ASIAN RIFF]
I should be there, that's how good it is.
Okay, so this is what you do-- we build it now.
OK?
We had the crispy watercress salad with pulled chicken,
calamari, chilies, and then they ask you how
hot do you want it?
JOSH CAPON: I'm going to need a pitcher
of ice water, please.
WAITRESS: OK, sure.
[LAUGHTER]
OLIVIA YOUNG: And some beer.
We need the beer.
JOSH CAPON: I'm going to be all over you.
MICHAEL WHITE: Capon started just pounding the water-- that
really just makes it worse because all the oils that are
coming from the chilies and then you're drinking water?
You're just dispersing it all over your whole mouth.
JOSH CAPON: Woo!
I'm starting to sweat.
MICHAEL WHITE: Is this not off the hook?
Right?
JOSH CAPON: Good times.
JOSH OZERSKY: You know, this to me, is literally what
food's all about.
[INAUDIBLE].
MICHAEL WHITE: I just wanted you to taste, I
mean this is like--
look at the thickness on these satays.
These satays are no joke.
JOSH OZERSKY: What meat is that?
JOSH CAPON: Pork.
JOSH OZERSKY: It's unreal.
OLIVIA YOUNG: Oh my god, the peanut sauce is so good.
JOSH OZERSKY: Oh my god.
Holy shit.
MICHAEL WHITE: Chefs, I like to think that
we have palate fatigue.
I don't know if I demonstrated that last night.
But palate fatigue, it's kind of like writer's block,
though, I would say like in the same thing.
You think about what you're going to eat
before you taste it.
I'm at my point right now where I really like impact
flavor whether it's soy, wasabi, the lemongrass and the
chili, and the different flavors.
The salty, sweet, fish sauce, sugar.
It's amazing.
And I passed it last night.
It's like welcome to flavor country,
here it is on a plate.
It's no bullshit.
JOSH CAPON: Did you want to try some of the Pad Thai?
MICHAEL WHITE: Yes, I do.
This is phenomenal Pad Thai.
Look at how it's glazed.
I mean, I'm a pasta guy, I know, but--
but look at how it's just perfect.
JOSH OZERSKY: It's amazing.
It's the sweetness and the heat [INAUDIBLE].
And [INAUDIBLE].
Everything's at 11.
This kind of food has so much soul.
Every bite pops.
It pops like Michael's--
when you eat Michael's food.
Every bite pops.
OLIVIA YOUNG: Right.
JOSH OZERSKY: You know what I mean?
OLIVIA YOUNG: Yeah.
JOSH OZERSKY: It's so in harmony.
It's a high wire act.
If you go a little bit too much in one
direction, it's ludicrous.
MICHAEL WHITE: We were on our 12th dish at SriPraPhai, and
there was some pre-talk about eating some lamb kebabs.
I'm really glad we went to the pudding place.
JOSH OZERSKY: I can't eat hot food in the outdoors.
JOSH CAPON: I am praying to God I'll be able to make it to
the pudding place.
MICHAEL WHITE: What's the worst that can happen?
You're just going to pass out.
Wake you up.
OLIVIA YOUNG: Have an accident.
JOSH CAPON: I might have an accident.
MICHAEL WHITE: OK, listen.
Let's talk about pudding because
pudding is our next stop.
JOSH CAPON: Have you been there?
JOSH OZERSKY: No, I fucking read about it in a book once.
No of course, it's a block from my house.
JOSH CAPON: So the question is--
JOSH OZERSKY: Do you know who I am?
MICHAEL WHITE: Hey this is a serious decision.
JOSH OZERSKY: Don't take this lightly.
JOSH CAPON: A regular chocolate, a regular vanilla,
a regular banana, a regular butterscotch--
JOSH OZERSKY: And how about a small lemon?
JOSH CAPON: A small lemon.
OLIVIA YOUNG: And can we get salted caramel
sauce on the side?
JOSH OZERSKY: Why don't you get chicken one of those?
MICHAEL WHITE: Aaahhh!
JOSH CAPON: Oh, I'm sorry.
Wait a minute.
Let's change the banana coconut--
MICHAEL WHITE: Listen, Josh was fucking crazy last night.
Josh went crazy in there, seeing as
though he has no neck.
I mean, like now we know why.
JOSH CAPON: It's not pie.
OLIVIA YOUNG: What?
JOSH OZERSKY: Are you out of your mind?
Are you on peyote or something?
[LAUGHTER]
MICHAEL WHITE: Time out!
Out of control.
Out of control!
JOSH OZERSKY: He's lost it.
Someone's gonna pull your card, my friend.
Someone's gonna pull your card.
MICHAEL WHITE: The pudding that we had was
off the hook, though.
You know how when your mom used to make pudding and that
scum went across the top and you knew that
it was cooked pudding?
JOSH OZERSKY: That's really good.
That's fantastic.
MICHAEL WHITE: Which one is this?
This looks like tiramisu.
The chocolate was great the way it was, but then when you
put that little bit of whipped cream on the top, and they
happen to be using Battenkill Farms milk
from Salem, New York.
JOSH OZERSKY: You're not going to believe this shit.
You know why it's so good?
MICHAEL WHITE: Why?
JOSH OZERSKY: You know what the milk they use?
From "Bambi".
MICHAEL WHITE: Yes!
I knew it!
JOSH OZERSKY: From Battenkill, Battenkill.
MICHAEL WHITE: Is this Battenkill milk?
JOSH OZERSKY: It's Battenkill milk!
That's what Michael always had his cream sauces with the
incredible yellow cream from Battenkill Farms.
Sick.
JOSH CAPON: The vanilla is the best.
SERVERS: Thank you!
MICHAEL WHITE: Take care.
OLIVIA YOUNG: [INAUDIBLE].
JOSH OZERSKY: Please tell me you can get back in the car.
JOSH CAPON: [SINGING].
JOSH OZERSKY: Why do you keep singing these strange songs?
He's not annoying enough.
I need him to be more annoying.
JOSH CAPON: Why do you have to be a self-loathing fat man?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: We're here.
And then the munchies food frenzy
started at Osteria Morini.
One of the great parts about going to your own restaurants
is you're there with your people.
I text them and they were in the area so that's really how
it happens a lot.
We-- it's very hard to organize in the chef world.
This is a pu pu platter.
This is a Swiss chard and pancetta cake
with parmigiano perma.
We hit it pretty hard in the restaurant, so munchies
happens like from the time we start to the time we end.
It was loaded, loaded.
But I would say our go-to food would be pizza.
Pizza's a big deal.
Did you guys know you were eating Nicoletta pizza
tonight?
-Nicoletta pizza!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL WHITE: I'm doing a Josh Ozersky
special right now.
It's going to be a meat-lover's.
This is all wild fennel from Italy.
And then we're going to put some of
this thick-cut pepperoni.
Because it has collagen casings, natural,
and they cup up.
I think pizza is probably the most satisfying thing.
-We got a pizza!
MICHAEL WHITE: This--
there my friend, that's-- you're the first
person having Nicoletta.
I'm so excited about Nicoletta Pizzeria-- that's the new
place I'm doing, and then to eat with those guys, because
they're going to be tough on me, too.
They're not going to hold back.
JOSH OZERSKY: It's great!
It's great!
It's so good!
It even has--
it's got a little dom, it's got a little dom in it.
MICHAEL WHITE: Josh kind of gave his this is good, this is
better than I thought it was going to be.
Which is kind of like a backhanded compliment, but I
would expect nothing less from him.
JOSH OZERSKY: This is great.
Can I have some olive oil?
MICHAEL WHITE: Oh shit.
We got a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do.
JOSH OZERSKY: I'm done.
MICHAEL WHITE: I'm done-- that was an hour ago he was done.
Is that it?
Are you tapping out?
JOSH OZERSKY: The time has come, the walrus said.
MICHAEL WHITE: Josh has a poker face
when he eats, though.
He says, that's it, that's--
I'm tapping out.
That's it.
I can tell there becomes a glaze on the face and he has
to go out and get what we've coined as the "air bath, which
means you have to go outside and like, air it out a second.
JOSH CAPON: Don't forget [INAUDIBLE]
Thai food.
-I want nothing right now.
Nothing.
-You can have any item in the universe.
[INAUDIBLE].
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
-Leave us alone.
-I don't want to eat anything.
-There's no one item.
-Just enjoy yourself.