Chronicle Books, thank you for believing in this book and bringing big love cooking to the world. Camaren Subhiyah, my editor, you have my sincere gratitude for your tremendous support and vision. My book designer, Lizzie Vaughan, you were instrumental in bringing this book to life and an absolute pleasure to work with. And to Sarah Billingsley and Claire Gilhuly, for carrying us to the finish line!
Janis Donnaud, you are not only my agent but also my treasured neighbor for more than a decade. Thank you so much for your support. Theresa Gambacorta, you are onto something and I want to write more beautiful books with you. Thank you! Calvin Trillin, you keep the bohemian spirit of the Village alive and always give all of us at Little Owl a giggle. You’re so witty and funny and I thank you for your wonderful foreword. Con Poulos, thank you for capturing the spirit of these dishes, my food, my family, the Little Owl, and this book with your stunning photographs, and Paul Grimes, thank you for making my food look as good as I know it tastes! Together you were my dream team. Thank you to my family: my sister, Michele, for your support; my brother Lou, for getting me my first job in New York City; and my brother Michael, for saving my life at the House of Industry (and being my fishing partner!). And thank you to my cousin Thomas Campanaro, for being the fourth brother on the third floor. Thank you, executive chef of The Clam, Mike Price, with whom I have worked since 1994. You’re my culinary brother! Jimmy Bradley, you took a chance on me and gave me my first executive chef job in New York City. Thank you. And Jonathan Waxman, thank you for your friendship, guidance, and making me ask myself, “Do you love it?”
Thank you to my chef de cuisine “Gustavo” Miguel Angelo Machuca Pena, “I love to cook, but not like this.” I love to cook with you. And my big love to the Little Owl Squad, front of the house and back of the house, for continuing to make Little Owl the most special corner in the neighborhood. Thanks to Fred Rudd and The Rudd Family for sharing your space with us. I wouldn’t want my restaurant in any other building in NYC. I have tremendous gratitude for Maggie Baisch Hollingsworth and all of my business partners who make coming to work every day not just a reality but also a pleasure! And thank you to the Little Owl Events Team at Little Owl the Venue and Little Owl the Townhouse for the use of your spaces and being so great at what you do! Thank you, Robert Crosson, for being the skipper of Little Owl the Venue. Thank you, Jessica Rayfield, for your perfect rum cake, and Amy Donato, for your amazing snickerdoodle cookies. Thank you, Amy Tucker, for living. And for diligently testing every recipe in this book. My sincerest thanks to the recipe-testing support team of Austin Cook, my best good buddy August Goulet, and Racielle Cuervas, for always being at the ready to help. Thank you, Eric Tevrow and Angelo Ruvio of Early Morning Seafood, for providing me with the best fish available in New York City. And Pat LaFreida, for providing me with the best meat since 2001. Special thank-you to my neighborhood butcher, Joe Ottomanelli and his family at O. Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market—it’s where you go to get your meat in Greenwich Village. A tremendous thank-you to all of my Little Owl friends and neighbors, especially Richard Eric Weigle, the president of the Grove Street Block Association, for your birdhouse vision, and to our treasured customers. You know where to eat and I love to feed you! Thank you to the legendary Mimi Sheraton, for generously lending me her timeless and unique tableware to adorn Con’s amazing photos, and Julie at Fishs Eddy in Manhattan, for loaning our team props and plates. Thank you, too, Claire Torino and David “Bear” Boland, for your treasured platters. And thank you to the customers who made the fun drawings you see when you open this book. Our favorite is the raindrops drawn by legendary artist David Byrne.