RESTAURANTS: Star search

WHITE AND RED BRIGADE Del Posto diners will have 50,000 bottles to choose from to complement the alta cucina classica of chef Ladner.

Photo: Steven Freeman

Babbo didn't get one. Neither did Il Mulino, San Domenico, Felidia, Scalini Fedeli nor Alto. In fact, no Italian restaurant has ever received a four-star rating from The New York Times. At this point, the oversight has become a cultural affront. In the next few months, however, one establishment will attempt to right that wrong and prove that a great Italian meal belongs right up there with those at Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin, Masa and Jean Georges. The restaurant is Del Posto, a Meatpacking District behemoth headed by a team of industry superheroes—Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Joe Bastianich—who are putting their faith in one mild-mannered, behind-the-scenes chef named Mark Ladner. Mark who?

Think of Ladner as the anti-Batali: a tall, thin, stylish executive chef who purposely avoids the limelight. He's also developed into a strong leader with 20-plus years in the food biz. At 35, Ladner has a résumé studded with destination spots and celebrity chefs: He worked with Todd English at Olives and Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Jean Georges (when it got four stars), and helped Batali open Babbo in 1998. He became a made man in 1999, when he officially partnered with Batali and the Bastianiches to launch Lupa. Four years later, he opened Otto.

But to the public, Ladner has been nearly invisible, a chef's chef who has always stood behind Molto Mario—literally, as his sous chef on the Food Network's Iron Chef America. Now he's being asked to wow a notoriously fickle, skeptical dining public—with the city's most overrepresented cuisine, in a neighborhood not exactly known for haute dining. "We hope to redefine what the top end of fine dining can be," says Joe Bastianich, Lidia's son and the business brains behind the team. "Not by borrowing from the French or from the Per Se experience, but by reinterpreting the history of Italian cuisine." While no chef in his right mind would admit that he's gunning for four stars, Ladner (and even Lidia Bastianich) admits that the rating isn't out of the question. "A lot of stars would have to align for that to happen," Ladner says. "It is potentially possible, yes," Bastianich adds. "But I don't want to be presumptuous in any way: We have to earn it and we are working hard to do so."

Del Posto has been an unscratchable itch in the Batali-Bastianich empire for years. And something of an obsession: Joe was working on the real-estate deal four years ago. The menu has been in the works for two years. And no expense has been spared. "The price is twice what we originally planned," says Mama Bastianich. Set in a giant three-level former Nabisco factory on the northwest corner of 16th Street and Tenth Avenue, the restaurant is 24,000 square feet. There's a basement for private banquets, a wine cellar and storage; a main floor with a 90-seat dining room; and a mezzanine that features opera house-like balcony tables. Joe Bastianich expects the 50,000-bottle cellar to be the basis for the most comprehensive Italian wine list in the country. Servers will wear uniforms custom-made by celebrity designer Narciso Rodriguez.

Unlike Babbo, Batali's take on Italian cuisine by way of Spain and California, Del Posto will focus on alta cucina classica—high-end classic Italian cuisine. "It's very much driven and influenced by the home and the mother," Ladner explains, "whereas French cuisine is mostly driven by haute cuisine and chefs. This will be the food of the wealthy people in their homes—but urban, and not country."

If all goes as planned, the grand theatricality of the place will come to life as servers dash from one diner to the next offering tableside carving. Lidia rattles off the proteins she loves: lamb, venison, suckling pig, halibut, pheasant. Ladner's cooks will also bake their own bread and make their own pasta and salumi. (Batali is famous for his dried meats.) For dessert, they'll serve tarts and strudels, perhaps with a little schlag (whipped cream) on the side.

Before Ladner worries about execut-ing recipes, he has another tough job: hiring the right people. His core team already includes chef de cuisine Kevin Garcia and kitchen manager Dana Pellicano, both of whom worked at Lupa. Morgan Rich, who ran the wine program at Otto, will be the sommelier. "Right now we have almost 20 of my favorite cooks, managers, administrators, friends—people I have worked with over the past ten years—opening with us," Ladner says. That's great, but some critics worry that Del Posto might sap the best talent from Otto, Lupa, Esca and Babbo. Batali's followers will be eager to see how it all plays out.

Though the restaurant won't open to the public until late October at the earliest, Ladner has begun test--cooking for Batali and the Bastianiches. This is clearly the biggest career move of his life: "I could potentially retire after this place. I could be here for 30 years." He also realizes that a few well-earned stars could make him a star, too. But he refuses to play that role. "I'm just not that guy," he says. "Part of the reason I align myself with Mario is so I don't have to be Mario. I don't want to be a celebrity. Fortunately, I am in a position where I can just do what I do." 

Del Posto (85 Tenth Ave between 15th and 16th Sts) is scheduled to open in late October.

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