Big Love Cooking | Joey Campanaro
Big Love Cooking
By Joey Campanaro
Intro: Welcome to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York City sitting at her dining room table. My name is Joey Campanaro executive chef and owner of The Little Owl restaurant. And I'm a partner at Market Table and The Clam with Chef Mike Price. And I'm an author. My newest cookbook is called Big Love Cooking
Suzy Chase: For more Cookery by the Book, you can follow me on Instagram. If you enjoy this podcast, please be sure to share it with a friend. I'm always looking for new people to enjoy cookery by the book now on with the show. So coming from South Philly, did you think it was inevitable that you would get into cooking?
Joey Campanaro : It was absolutely inevitable to get into cooking and being in South Philly. It's one of our jokes like you've worked in a restaurant at some point. If you're from South Philly, the restaurant business in Philly is just, it's a part of culture and a part of life. And it's like that everywhere, I think, but so much so in Philly that it's all interconnected as well. So some people that I work with now, you still work at the same restaurant that I worked at in Philly. And we didn't even know each other
Suzy Chase: In 2006, you opened your dream restaurant, Little Owl. And my son who started high school this week used to go to PS 3 and we walked by Little Owl every day to and from school. So tell us the story of the space. And can you describe the iconic building and your darling 10 table restaurant?
Joey Campanaro : I'd love to. So I was working at a restaurant called Pace down in Tribeca and the owners of the restaurant decided to close. And so I was going to be out of a job and my wife at the time, Paula had a friend who lived around the corner from where we are on, on Bedford and Grove. And she was walking by and she saw that there was a for rent sign and I had just lost my job. And so I was kind of in a depression and she was adamant that I would call this number. And even if it was 11 o'clock at night, she was like call the number. I called the number. And so I did, and that was pretty much how I found this place. I had no idea that it was the Friend's Building (TV Show). I didn't know that a 10 table restaurant would be able to change my life and touch so many people's lives in such a positive way. It's a magic place. And I just really love to be here and how wonderful it is to celebrate it in this book. Couldn't think of another title that would be more perfect to describe how it feels at this restaurant. And now that the restaurant is upside down, it's the entire thing is it's inside out. And you, you, you get to a place where, you know, been here for 14 years and I've never seen it like this, and it's actually more special.
Suzy Chase: Well, you know, I've been in the West Village since 1996, and I can't honestly remember any of the restaurants that were before Little Owl and Calvin Trillin wrote basically the same thing in the forward. The Little Owl is so iconic in the neighborhood.
Joey Campanaro : It's also an homage to the neighborhood. It's called the Little Owl because of the little owl that's on the roof, across the street from the restaurant.
Suzy Chase: So we need to talk about that house. 17 Grove is for sale right now and they just reduced it to over $8 million and the taxes are $54,000 a year. Isn't that crazy? And I never noticed that little owl until the other night. So tell me the story of how it caught your eye.
Joey Campanaro : I always thought I would be an architect. It just never panned out that way. I get to draw the interior and I get to design my restaurants, but I don't do it like an architect would, but it's really fun to be able to express my vision on paper in the language that the person that's going to see it all the way through understands and actually appreciates. And I think that also inspires really great work. And I think it has to do with, you know, paying attention and keeping your eyes open to create something that is timeless and that makes it more special. You know, it's a 350 square foot dining room that feels like you're on a movie screen. It's really about celebrating the space and the location.
Suzy Chase: I think since you're a neighborhood person, you really knew what we needed in terms of restaurant and cuisine. It's a really interesting demographic that I think you only understand if you live here.
Joey Campanaro : It's also so great to visit because when you get to feel like you're a part of it and it creates this crave, right? Like for now, for instance, we're doing a happy hour at the little owl for the first time in the history of the restaurant. And it's a Spanish tapas theme. And so it's 2 for 1 wines and $1 tapas and getting to meet people that I would never meet before to see how, after 14 years, how this is a brand new restaurant, it's magic to, to be a part of that Suzy. And to see how it's a new beginning, it's a new birth. You know what the restaurant is to somebody at nine o'clock on a Friday night can be the exact same thing to somebody else at 3:00 PM on a Tuesday, the restaurant businesses is old school. It has been around, you know, it's one of the first businesses that ever existed. So that's an addiction to me. I just, it drives me and to be surrounded with people that feel the same
Suzy Chase: So Monday night, my husband and I went to your restaurant for our anniversary and had your famous meatball sliders, the other addiction. So in case people don't know you are the meatball King, can you describe your meatballs and what makes them so special? And they're in the cookbook.
Joey Campanaro : Yes, they're in the cookbook. So the first time we made this dish was I was actually at Pace, which is now Mr. Chow down in Tribeca and put them on a bar menu and no one would order them. So the staff ended up eating them each night. And then that restaurant closed and the owner, Jimmy Bradley when he sent me out on my own, he basically said, whatever you do, put those, put those meatballs on your menu. And so I did. And the next thing I know, they were on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine. Oh yeah. And I was like, okay, well, you know, this is the intention is to create a place where people can feel comfortable eating with their hands, right? So it's a little slider and there's no bun that you can buy to replicate the dish. So we make the buns, it's a pizza dough recipe mixed with roasted garlic and pecorino, romano cheese. And I really love the salty sharpness of the cheese. So it's a blend of beef, pork, and veal. And I use panko breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and the secret ingredient. And this is a tip from my grandmother. Her name was Rosie Bova. And Rosie would say, you want to know why my meatballs are so moist Joe? And I would say, why mama? And she said, cause I put water in. And that's the secret ingredient is adding H2O to the mix when you're mixing the meat and the eggs and the cheese and the breadcrumbs and the parsley, and you season it with salt and pepper and that pecorino romano, and then add cold water to the mix. And the meat has to be cold. The water has to be cold. So we're moving this meat really fast. It's cold. It's, there's fat, there's water, there's stuff to hold onto. And then we form them into golf ball size meatballs, put them on a tray and stick them in the refrigerator and get them even more cold. Then we get a hot pan and we individually fry each meatball after they're fried, they come out. We strain that oil that we use to fry when you're left with a lot of brown bits. So then we fry the meatball. We strain it. We get those brown bits now starts a whole new process in the same dirty pan. We add olive oil, garlic, onion, fennel seeds, and chili flakes.
Suzy Chase: Fennel seeds! Yeah.
Joey Campanaro : I'm going to get into the fennel seeds in a minute. This is called like the us, it's a sofrito, right? So it's very aromatic and the onions are cooking and the garlic is cooking and the fennel seeds are toasting. At that point. That's when we add in the tomato, we use a San Marzano, whole peeled tomatoes. We rinse the can out with water and then pour that water in. And this comes to a boil and we really make this intense tomato sauce after about an hour of simmering. That's when we put it through a food mill to remove all the seeds and that crushes any of the onion. That's when we add in the fresh herbs, parsley and basil. And so it releases all of their aromas into the tomato sauce, which is about to be called gravy when we're through with the process. So after it goes through the food mill, that's when we add the meatballs back into it, and then it just continues to bubble and percolate until it's concentrated and rich and delicious. So the fennel seeds is because one time my grandmother, Rosie Bova was making her Sunday gravy and sausage store in Philadelphia, which was called Fiorellas. Fiorellas was closed and she wasn't going to have one of the main ingredients in her gravy. And so she thoughtfully replaced the Italian sausage with fennel seeds. And I was like, that's brilliant. She wanted to achieve the flavor that she would get for her typical Sunday gravy from the sausage, but she couldn't get the sausage. Right. So she rolled with the punches and added a little bit of fennel seeds to the gravy. And it was so unique and defining for me because I don't ever see people putting fennel seeds and tomato sauce or gravy that thoughtful move on her part was something that was very inspiring to me.
Suzy Chase: So I've heard you say that you plan your menus around women. Is that right?
Joey Campanaro : It's true. Yes. A hundred percent.
Suzy Chase: How come?
Joey Campanaro : I think women pay attention. So what they're eating, there are things that are more important to their experience than it is for men. I think men do appreciate texture and thought in final dishes, but I think women notice it. So I actually find gratitude when someone notices something unique, whether it be texture, flavor, temperature, timing, it's all very important.
Suzy Chase: This cookbook made me so happy. Just seeing people in the restaurant gathering, eating, and laughing. It felt like it was like a lifetime ago. How are your restaurants in the neighborhood doing
Joey Campanaro : Businesses is swift. It's very dependent on so many things. And the major thing that it's dependent on is something that none of us can actually control just the weather. So the spirit of this neighborhood in the city is evident.
Suzy Chase: I counted and I think if I'm right, you have more tables outside than you had inside.
Joey Campanaro : Yes.
Suzy Chase: I feel like you guys are. I hate to say killing it right now during COVID, but you know, I went by The Clam mid pandemic and there was a line outside and I think you're doing the best you can.
Joey Campanaro : Yes, absolutely. And you know, there's consistency. And in our effort, we're building this team right now with people that want to work and they're doing what they want to be doing, then there's a focus to it, which are just celebrate every day.
Suzy Chase: Well, I have to tell you our waiter the other night his name was Jordan and he said, you're a big hearted guy.
Joey Campanaro : Well, that's nice that he said that he's been such a wonderful addition to the team. And, and, you know, he came on board after the shutdown. It was like opening a business with somebody that I didn't know. He didn't know me and we connected on so many levels. Like when you work with somebody and you don't bump into each other, it's kind of like not stepping on toes on the dance floor adds synergy to the work it's electric, it makes the hours go by a lot quicker too. Cause it's fun
Suzy Chase: Now to my segment, this season called last night's dinner where I ask you what you ate last night for dinner.
Joey Campanaro : I had a Bacon Cheeseburger at The Little Owl.
Suzy Chase: Did you have fries?
Joey Campanaro : I didn't get fries with my burger, when I order a burger they know how I order it. I don't get all this stuff. I just get the bread, the meat bacon and the cheese, and then I'll put hot sauce on it. Or sometimes some sliced jalapenos. Cause I like it spicy. So I got my burger and I was actually talking to a guest at the time and the server said your burger's ready. And then I asked the guest, if I could sit and eat my burger with him, Patrick with his two, two little dogs they're adorable. And so he was gracious enough to let me sit at his table and I ate my burger there. But at the same time, there was another table, two girls behind me and they had French fries. And so I was walking by their table and I looked at their French fries and they were kind of like looking at me in an inviting way. And I said, can I have some of your French fries? It was like, I had a burger at one table and I had French fries at another.
Suzy Chase: That's big love right there!
Joey Campanaro : That's right.
Suzy Chase: So where can we find you on the web social media and in the West Village?
Joey Campanaro : Yes. In the West Village at the corner of Bedford and Grove, sometimes I'll mosey down to Hudson and Leroy and hang out at the best seafood restaurant in Manhattan, The Clam or I'll run down to Market Table right on Bedford and Carmine. Bedford Street is my lifeline and then online, JoeCampanaro on Instagram, LittleOwlNYC, BigLoveCookingBook, you're going to want to cook things online right from the book, share the results on this page. And it's gonna be a lot of fun.
Suzy Chase: So much for sharing your big love. And thanks for coming on Cookery by the Book podcast.
Joey Campanaro : Thanks for having me Suzy, please say hi next time you're at The Little Owl.
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