Haute Eating: Q & A with Restaurateur Marisa May

HL: What’s your favorite NYC neighborhood?

MM: I have fallen in love with Madison Square Park. The park is so pretty and charming.  All of our neighbors both in and out of the culinary community are so warm and supportive. The neighborhood has completely embraced me, my father and our restaurant.  We can’t say enough how thankful we are to have been welcomed to our new home with open arms!

HL: Where did you grow up?

MM: I was born and raised in NYC. I am a real Italian-American New Yorker! I went to grammar school in the city and attended college at NYU.  I went to Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT, for high school and spent my summers in Italy with my family.  I loved growing up in New York City and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else—except Italy of course!

HL: What are five favorite ingredients?

MM: Peperoncino. Rosemary. Pancetta. Tomato. Basil.

HL: Your favorite vacation destination?

MM: The island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. My father is from Naples, Italy, and my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins live all live in Naples, where I have spent every summer since I was born. The island of Capri and the Amalfi coast is the closest summer vacation and weekend spot for the “Napolitani,” so that is why I have vacationed there every summer.

HL: What’s your most memorable meal?

MM: I have three in three different restaurants in the world: Massimo Bottura’s L’Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, Ferran Adria’s El Bullli in the south of Spain & Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo.

Visit Tracey’s blog, The Busy Hedonist, for more of her food adventures.