Game time
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WORK • Tuesday Routine
Been a hoot
JOSEPH CAMPANARO • CEO, Blackfoot Hospitality & executive chef/owner, The Little Owl
Neighborhood you work in: Greenwich Village
Neighborhood you live in: Soho
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
If Tuesday was an ingredient, it’d be mustard — not too flashy, but it hits. The office at Little Owl is full of characters. Jack Dewey Goodman is running payroll like air traffic control. There is an ongoing race to get in first. I usually win, but Allysa has been making it competitive, which I respect. Terrell strolls in slaying fashion vibes swagger, he runs the office.
I DJ, which is a privilege the team tolerates. I’m in and out a lot, but when I come back and the Joey Campanaro station is still playing, I feel like I earned something. I try to grab a coffee at Bedford Studio on the way in when they’re not hosting one of their many pop-ups. I think they rotate brands eight times a week. Respect. You have to survive on Bedford Street.
From there, I check in with my sous chefs, talk through menus and events, then head down into the Little Owl basement which is part kitchen, part maze. I check the physical plant and dig through the walk-in looking for inspiration for a special. Richie is holding court on Bedford and Grove like always. We talk about flower boxes, last night’s game, or something from 1994. Same energy. He’s part of the fabric.
Our events meeting @littleowlthetownhouse is in the afternoon. We review our events for the week, crossing Ts and dotting Is, being each other’s support system. The townhouse business is an interesting blend of corporate and social events and the art form is such a temporary medium. The party lasts a few hours, but you plan for it all your life, so we truly measure three times, but cut once.
Then, it’s back to Little Owl for the daily lineup meeting with the staff — a strict 15 minutes — and we eat before everyone breaks out to get back, to make sure we’re ready to receive our guests 15 minutes before the door opens. Those in the know come in to The Little Owl early, pick the best seat in the house, and get extra special attention and a calm before the storm, the front row seat to the storied corner we’ve been calling home for two decades.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m working on updating the menu at Market Table on Bedford and Carmine. Today’s focus is a dish I want to really get right. Chicken tinga flautas. Dylan Rhyder is our new general manager there, and he’s a delight to work with along with chef de cuisine Dana Denniston. I like to downplay dishes, then quietly make them great. That’s the move. I’m serving a new pork porterhouse and my partner chef Mike Price’s signature beef carpaccio with French fry salad has made its glorious return to this menu. The flautas come from my wife Leah who’s from El Paso. She swears Chico’s Tacos makes the best flautas, and she can eat fourteen in one sitting, which got my attention.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
On my list right now are The 86, Bar Tizio, and Chateau Royale. I’m selfish with shellfish. I want a good raw bar situation whenever possible. Penny does it right, but The Clam is still my jam. Chef Mike and I are working on a new dish there with a leche de tigre situation that’s going to hit.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
Leah and I are going to see Kenrex at Lucille Lortel. She loves crime stuff, I heard it’s a great show! This summer is going to be wild. 250 years of independence, World Cup energy in the city, and Little Owl turns 20. We’re working on a block party. It’s going to feel like the neighborhood again.
What’s a recent big ticket purchase you love?
We just moved, and our one-year anniversary is this month, so we’re building out the apartment. Arhaus, Restoration Hardware, all of it. We got a chandelier I’m weirdly proud of. Leah found a Jonathan Adler armoire that makes it look like we have our life together.
What NYC store or service do you always recommend?
I recommend Sandwell by Healthyish, which has locations in Gramercy and on the Upper West Side. Andy Gottlieb hit a vein with this one. These sandwiches will knock your socks off. The meatball is a full meal, no notes. The sandwich trap is real. You find your thing and suddenly it is the only thing you ever order. What I respect about Sandwell is they break that cycle. They stay inventive and seasonal, always giving you a reason to come back.
Right now they’re deep in ramp season. Wild ramp chimichurri, garlic ramp aioli, all of it. They are running a limited Chicken Rampant sandwich that only shows up for a few weeks a year. No fake limited drop, real seasonality.
Where are you donating your time or money?
Working on raising money for a few local spots: Bedford Block Association, Grove Street Block Association, St. Luke’s, PS 3, Greenwich House. I also regularly support autism and childhood cancer research and No Kid Hungry. I do try to keep it local, so the neighborhood stays in the neighborhood.
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RESTAURANTS • First Person
Monster mash
Chef Hasung Lee, who ran the kitchen at Atomix and is also known for his star turn as “Culinary Monster” on the Korean cooking show Culinary Class Wars, struck out on his own earlier this month and opened Oyatte in a Murray Hill townhouse. Over a series of preview dinners and the real deal, FOUND team members Kat Odell, Lee Pitofsky, and Lockhart Steele each dined there. Today, they come together to share their experiences.