Serious Eats: New York
Why Mario's Closing the Enoteca at Del Posto
[Photo: Robyn Lee]
Yesterday, Mario Batali announced that he'd be doing away with the enoteca portion of Del Posto, extending the fine dining menu to the full space. Ed has always been of the opinion that the more relaxed, reasonably priced part of the dining room was the way to experience Del Posto. What prompted Batali's decision?
"We're going to get our second Michelin star and a four-star New York Times review this year, and this is how we're going to do it," Mario tells The Feed. In other words, for the critics—not the diners.
What do you think? Has the enoteca held him back from higher acclaim? (For the record, Bruni's 2006 review didn't even mention it.) Or is Batali cutting out the restaurant's biggest asset?