It was truly a blast to have Danny Meyer in the studio. Danny is a great spokesperson for the restaurant industry and a hell of a storyteller. In today’s episode, we focus on his most near and dear restaurant, New York’s Union Square Cafe, which turns 40 this year. We talk about the early years, the legendary customers, and what it was like to pack everything up and move a couple of blocks over in 2016. What a great conversation.
Also on the show, I have a great talk with Lena Ciardullo, the current executive chef of Union Square Cafe. We talk about what it’s like to shepherd this iconic restaurant, and we get into her own personal style and tastes.
Matt Rodbard is the editor in chief of TASTE and the author of Koreaworld: A Cookbook, Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, and Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller and winner of a 2023 IACP Cookbook Award (Food Issues & Matters)