Steve Plotnicki

I'm not using chain as in Red Lobster, I am using chain in the sense that his food and staffing costs as a percentage of sales used to be at Maestro, and still will be at Fiamma, governed by people with a chain mentality and they are not going to give him leeway to create a restaurant that is proportionate to his talent. When I went to Maestro it was with Janet Cam and another friend of mine. Fabio knew Janet, and he knew we weren't completely happy with the meal. After the meal he came over and spent a good ten minutes with us, telling how he had to make the menu less adventuorous for the Northern Virginia clientele. He told us to call in advance the next time we were going to be there, and he would prepare a more contemporary menu for us. In that discussion, we talked about the type of restaurant he aspires to run and we spoke of Le Calandre in Italy as a prime example of a successful restaurant in a contemporary Italian style. And I don't undertand why any of this would be confidential. I am sure Fabio would be glad to discuss any of this with anyone who bothered to ask him about it. So with that as a backdrop, I believe he will face the same issues at Fiamma because it's part of a chain. It might be a fairly good chain, but if you look at the other restaurants that Steve Hansen operates B.R. Guest Restaurants, the guy isn't running locations that aspire to multi-star Michelin status, something that Fabio aspires to. So to me, if he is leaving Maestro because he feels stifled creatively, I predict he will face the same limitations at Fiamma and he will not be allowed to create a restaurant that is the equivelent of his ambitions. Of course I could be wrong, but from my perspective and I know a fair amount about dining in NYC, I would bet someone a meal at Fiamma that this turns out to be the case.

Got what from one meal?

You miss my point. I haven't said that Fabio will be forced to cook like a chain restaurant at Fiamma, what I've said is that from experience, Hansen runs a chain of restaurants and that dynamic will hold back Fabio the same way cooking at the Ritz seems to have held him back. In fact more than one person told me that his cooking at Maestro was more adventurous at the beginning. In fact when I was there and he spoke with us, he literally told us as much and he suggested that the next time we were coming we call in advance so he could prepare an off-menu meal for us.

Those of you who have recieved copies, I wouldn't mind a bit of feedback if you have the time. Opinionated About Dining

While I would agree with you that Jean George runs a chain of restaurants, his namesake restaurant is run as a stand alone operation and it's a different type of restaurant than anything Steve Hansen has operated to date. It's JG's flagship, and because he leverages his entire brand around it, he runs a Michelin 3 star and NYT 4 star operation so he can spread the goodwill around to his other locations. That dynamic simply doesn't exist at Hansen's restaurants.

Besides the fact that I didn't love his food at Maestro (I only had one meal), I can't imagine that the environment at Fiamma will be any less stifling for him creatively. It isn't like he is going to an environment where the goal will be to produce cutting edge Italian cuisine. He's just moving from one chain restaurant to another. Maybe this will be a way to set up opening his own restaurants in NYC at some point. Opinionated About Dining

I write this blog Opinionated About Dining and run a discussion forum by the same name.

I have recently started a dining survey and I have published the first set of results in a document titled Opinionated About Dining, 50 Most Recommended Restaurants in North America & Europe. One DC restaurant made the list, and a number of members of this forum particpated in the survey. If you would like a free copy of the download, just click on the link below and leave your details and I will try and send you a copy by the end of the day. Also, if you are interested in particpating in the next version of the survey which should begin in about 3 weeks, and which I hope to publish this fall, there is a box you can check on the download request page. Thanks for your time and thanks to Don for letting me post this. I hope you enjoy reading the 50 Most Recommended. 50 Most Recommended Restaurants in North America & Europe