Every morning for the last two weeks, the same question has come up at both Daily Candy and Juli B (don't click it; just don't): Do we run the Del Posto story tomorrow? Since Molto Mario won't say when he's opening, much less publish a phone number, he's got Pavia & Jeralyn and Juli & Meredith, respectively, guessing.
Careful readers of these E-mailers will note that both publications have shown restraint thus far, knowing full well how impossible it is to bag a Batali opening date. This despite their desires to be first out of the gate with the story. At Juli B, however, today they went for it. Here is their 126-word story:
you know it. any mention of mario batali gives you pause. babbo (pause). lupa (pause). the list goes on. and a two-floored, meatpacking district del posto with valet parking opening this week? well, it cometh. (onset of palpitations.)Bravo, Juli. You win. But wait: Didn't we see all of this, picture included, last week? Is this a story, or just a reference to Bruni's Notebook? Which begs a final question: did Juli get into Del Posto before she wrote this, or just close her eyes and hop aboard the train? Hard to say.
and what's up mario's orange clogs now? answer: mrs. bastianich for one (lidia of uptown felidia), and mark radner for two (of lupa and otto fame). the posto motto: bigger is better. as in dining room (seats 200), menu (antis, pastas, pigs, ducks, and a partridge, hold the pear tree), and il conto (the check). as for décor? think more palazzo than pizza, more rich than rustic. but just because there are white tablecloths doesn't mean batali's gone schmancy.but he has gone posto.
and so will you.
· Posto Service [Juli B]
UPDATE: We were going to stop there, but by overwhelming majority you'd like us to mention one other item of business: it's LADNER, not RADNER. Sorry, Juli. We have no choice but to deduct another half-point from your total.
