-Did I -- Did I hear you wanted
to do something with octopus?
We'll make a little ragu.
Smells just like the sea.
But this is the whole
edible part of the octopi.
We can use all this.
We'll braise 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 tight bone marrow.
This is what we put inside --
the fusilli 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.
-Mmm.
-My name is Chef Michael White,
and I am the chef/owner of Marea
in Columbus Circle
here in New York City.
Marea is known
for Italian cooking.
Marea has become synonymous
for a couple of dishes,
whether it's sea urchin crostini
with lardo...
Actually, the grilled octopus
with the salted tonnato.
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 know, 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 Domenicos,
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.
You know, 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 of working with
all the people in the kitchen
really drives you every day.
You know, 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 kind of watch
this organized chaos
come to the pass every night.
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, you know,
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,
is that you get to
see these people,
and they're eating your food.
-This rigatoni's incredible --
one of your best.
-You know, meeting Josh --
Josh is a blogger.
Josh is like my brother.
We were separated, kind of,
at birth.
-You know what I would like?
I'll tell you what I would like.
I would like a little bit
of grappa.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
-Is it that grappa's a digestif?
Isn't that something
to finish your meal?
-Oh, my God.
-I met Josh Capon because he has
a fantastic restaurant
called Burger & Barrel.
We all used to dine, you know,
once or twice a week.
It's one of the highlights.
We'll all at least get out
to go have a drink
and shoot the shit.
-Come on. Let's go.
-What is that?
-What?
-There's shit on your back --
bird shit on your back.
-When? Just now?
Shut up!
-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?
-This is called SriPraPhai.
You know, all you New Yorkers
haven't been there.
I'm -- I'm --
-Are you kidding me?
-Have you been to SriPraPhai?
-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.
-I am a fanatic
about Asian food.
Last night when we were
going to Queens,
I think I made mention
in the car that --
I mean, in that area,
whether it's Indian,
Sri Lankan, Thai --
I mean, there are so many
great places to eat.
Queens is a melting pot.
It's a fucking fool's paradise
for food.
Oh.
Love this place.
♪♪
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.
And it's pretty fucking amazing.
I mean, like,
you close your eyes,
all of a sudden you think --
like, you're, you know,
♪ Da-da-dan-dan-dang ♪
I should be there.
I mean, that's how good it is.
Okay, this is what you do.
So, we build it now, okay?
We had the crispy
watercress salad
with pulled chicken,
calamari, chilies,
and then they ask you,
"How hot do you want it?"
-I'm gonna need a pitcher
of ice water, please.
-Okay, sure.
[ Laughter ]
-And some beer.
We need the beer.
-Capon started 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.
-Whoo!
I am starting to sweat.
-Is this not off the hook?
Right?
-Good times.
-You know, this, to me,
is what food is all about --
three people to try new things.
-I just wanted you to taste.
I mean, this is like...
Look at the thickness
on these satays.
These satays are no joke.
-What meat is that?
-Pork.
It's unreal.
-Oh, my God.
The peanut sauce is so good.
-Oh, my God.
Holy shit.
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 --
you know, the salty-sweet,
fish sauce, sugar.
I mean, 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.
Did you want to try
some of the pad thai?
-Yes.
-This is phenomenal pad thai.
Look at how it's glazed.
I mean, I'm a pasta guy,
I know,
but, like, look at how
it's just perfect.
-It's amazing.
The sweetness and the heat
shine through.
-And the sour.
Everything's an 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.
-Right.
-You know what I mean?
-Yeah.
-It's so in harmony.
It's a high-wire act.
If you go a little too much
in one direction,
it becomes ludicrous.
-We're on our 12th dish
at SriPraPhai,
and there was some pre-talk
about eating some lamb kabobs.
I'm really glad we went
to the pudding place.
I can't eat hot food
in the outdoors.
-I have prayed to God
I'll be able to make it
to the pudding place.
-What's the worst
that can happen?
You're just gonna pass out,
wake you up.
-Have an accident.
-I might have an accident.
-Okay, listen.
Let's talk about Puddin',
'cause Puddin' is our next stop.
-Have you been there?
-No, I fucking read about it
in a book once.
No, of course.
It's a block from my house.
-So the question is --
-Do you know who I am?
-Hey, this is a serious
decision.
Don't take this lightly.
-A regular chocolate.
A regular vanilla.
A regular banana.
A regular butterscotch.
-How about a small lemon?
-A small lemon.
-And can we have salted
caramel sauce on the side?
-Why don't you get shit
in one of those?
-Ohh!
-I'm sorry. Wait a minute.
-What -- What is --
-Let's change the banana
to a Vanilla Cream Dream.
-Listen. Josh was fucking crazy
last night.
Josh went crazy in there.
You see as though
he has no neck.
I mean, like, now we know why.
-And that pie.
-What?
-Are you out of your mind?
Are you on peyote or something?
[ Laughter ]
-Time-out!
Out of control.
-Out of control.
-He's lost it.
-You were the one that --
-Someone's got to
pull your card, my friend.
Someone's gonna pull your card.
-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?
-That's really good.
-That's fantastic.
-Which one is this?
This looks like tiramisu,
though, you know?
-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.
-You're not gonna believe
this shit.
You know why it's so good?
-Why?
-You know what the milk
they use?
From Bambi.
-Yes! I knew it!
-From Battenkill.
Battenkill.
-Is this Battenkill milk?
-It's Battenkill milk.
-Pound it.
-That's what Michael always had.
His cream sauce
is really incredible
yellow cream
from Battenkill Farms.
-Thanks very much.
-Sick.
-The vanilla is the best.
-Thank you!
-Take care.
-Please don't make me get back
in that car.
-Whoo! Wow.
-♪ Mama's little baby
loves shortnin,' shortnin' ♪
♪ Mama's little baby loves... ♪
-Why do you keep singing
these strange songs?
-He's not annoying enough.
I need him to be more annoying.
-Why do you have to be
a self-loathing fat man?
Ugh!
Whitey.
-We're here.
And then the "Munchies"
food frenzy started
at Osteria Morini.
[ Indistinct talking ]
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.
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.
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're eating
Nicoletta Pizza tonight?
-Nicoletta Pizza!
I'm doing a Josh Ozersky
special right now.
It's gonna be a meat-lovers.
This is all wild fennel
from Italy.
I know we're gonna put some
of this thick-cut pepperoni,
you know, 'cause it has
collagen casings natural,
and they cup up.
I think pizza is probably
the most satisfying thing.
-We got a pizza!
-This...
there, my friend.
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 --
they're gonna be
tough on me, too.
They're not gonna hold back.
-It's great!
It's great!
[ Laughter ]
It's so good!
It even has --
it's got a little Dom.
It's got a little Dom in it.
-Josh kind of gave his,
like, "This is good,"
you know, "This is better than
I thought it was gonna be,"
which is kind of like
a backhanded compliment,
but I would expect
nothing less from him.
-This is great.
Can I have some olive oil?
-[ Laughing ]
Oh, shit.
We got a lot of --
a lot of work to do,
a lot of work to do.
-I'm done.
-"I'm done."
That was an hour ago
he was done.
-All right.
-Is that it?
Are you tapping out?
-The time has come,
the walrus said.
-Josh has a poker face
when he eats, though.
He says that, "That's it.
That's it. 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.
-Don't forget your Thai food!
-I want nothing right now --
nothing.
♪♪
♪♪
