Joey Campanaro
Joey Campanaro was raised in an Italian-American household in Philadelphia, where the food of his childhood inspired him to make cooking his vocation. With a culinary approach firmly rooted in his Italian grandmother’s kitchen and honed in a range of America’s top restaurants, Joey brings a lifelong affinity for Mediterranean cuisine to every dish he creates.
Joey’s culinary pursuits have taken him to restaurants in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, where he has worked alongside chefs Neil Murphy, Joachim Splichal, Jimmy Bradley, and Jonathan Waxman. In 2001, restaurateurs Bradley and Danny Abrams asked Joey to move back to New York to open The Harrison. As executive chef, Joey’s devotion to the kitchen won the hearts of New York diners and, in December 2001, a two-star review from The New York Times. Joey moved on to become the executive chef of Pace, an Italian restaurant in Tribeca. His next step was to reopen his catering business and then finally open the restaurant he had always dreamed of—The Little Owl, which has since received wide acclaim from critics and guests alike.
Most recently, Joey collaborated with partners Nur Khan (Rose Bar at Gramercy Park Hotel) and Paul Sevigny (Beatrice Inn) on Kenmare. The NoLita restaurant features a contemporary Mediterranean-American menu with a seasonal focus and uses a selection of fresh local ingredients and imported specialty items. Joey’s menu of refined comfort foods at Kenmare features dishes like his signature gravy meatball sliders, but with new dishes exclusively for Kenmare, including basil gnocchi with short rib ragout and freshly made pasta; sea scallops with spinach strawberry salad and buerre noisette vinaigrette; crunchy veal cutlet with salsa verde and ricotta salata; and crispy halibut with chive-mashed stroganoff.
Nothing goes better with rising temperatures than an icy cocktail—and this is the perfect concoction to help kick off summer.
I love a good Caipirinha. I’m really into rum and mint; it’s so refreshing and I’m ready to knock back a few outdoors!
Near and far, these two amazing dining destinations will never leave you unsatisfied.
I always crave going to Soto in New York. It’s big money but I just love it there. Also, when I’m in Spain I go to this place Casa Pepico. Great wine and seasonal menu—they have amazing spring onions there, and the restaurant is on chufas fields.
Penned by Bobby Flay’s mentor, this book is your one-stop shop for some of the most notorious dishes around.
A Great American Cook: Recipes From the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Chefs by Jonathan Waxman. He’s my favorite chef, and the recipes are sensible, delicious, and actually famous. I can’t wait for second book to come to out—uh oh, spoiler alert!
Destination
Grab some sangria and sunblock and head to Spain, where a relaxing getaway with an exciting culinary scene is calling your name.
Spain—I try to go at least three times a year. The food there is amazing, and the country is covered in blooming citrus trees. The smell is comforting and exotic at the same time.
