Though he was a semifinalist, Carlo Mirarchi won’t be in the final running for a Beard Foundation Award when they’re doled out on Monday (Maison Premiere and Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery ended up being the only North Brooklynites in the mix). But the esteemed chef-owner at Roberta’s and Blanca has something better coming his way: a new car!
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carlo mirarchi
Daniel Delaney, Andrew Tarlow, Amanda Cohen and More Are Up For Beard Awards
Amanda Cohen (Courtesy of Dirt Candy)
Foodies’ll be in a tizzy today, as the James Beard Awards have announced their semifinalists. As per usj, downtown Manhattan restaurants are representing — and this year, North Brooklyn is, too! You’ll find many of the usual suspects in the list of nominees below, but you’ll also find fresh faces like Daniel Delaney of BrisketTown, Amanda Coen of Dirt Candy (who’s been a critic of the dude-centric awards in the past), Fredrik Berselius of Aska, Eli Sussman of Mile End, Carlo Mirarchi of Roberta’s, and Jennifer Yee of Lafayette. Here’s the list with NYC chefs and restaurants bolded and those from Bedford + Bowery’s neighborhoods linked — in case you want to maybe eat at a Beard contender before seeing an Oscar-nominated movie. Finalists will be named March 18 and the winners will claim their medals May 5.
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Carlo Mirarchi On the Roberta’s Cookbook and Bushwick’s Neighborhoodization
In 2007, Bushwick favorite Roberta’s was an empty cinderblock bunker rented from an Orthodox Jewish couple, pleased that the space was being leased for a pizza place. Five years later, the bunker is an eatery with a rooftop garden, named one of Bon Appétit’s 20 Most Important Restaurants in America, with a name synonymous with a certain brand of Bushwick. Now, the guys behind Roberta’s have a cookbook, full of recipes for their pizzas, pastas, meats, and desserts, punctuated with photos and stories from the early days when chef Carlo Mirarchi cooked with a toaster oven and a butane burner. We spoke with Mirarchi about the new cookbook (in stores October 29), the restaurant’s fast ascension, and the past five years in Bushwick.
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