Joey Campanaro was raised in an Italian-American household in Philadelphia and now lives and works in New York City. He is the chef/ owner of The Little Owl, The Venue and Market Table restaurants in NYC and Village Belle in Philadelphia.
What would be your last meal on earth?
My last meal on earth would definitely involve a few pastas. My favorite pasta is Bucatini all’amatriciana. I love salad and my favorite salad is iceberg chunks tossed with cucumbers, olives, celery, celery leaves, fresh oregano, olive oil, onions, and a mixture of red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar and Dijon mustard. I also love ziti. One of my favorite dishes my mom used to make was ziti cooked with sausage, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and basil. I’m also a sucker for lasagna cooked with bolognese and béchamel. Egg pasta, spinach pasta, and tomato pasta, that’s one of my favorite pasta dishes to make. I’m a sucker for roasted chicken. I like roasting whole chickens with potatoes in the same pan. Those potatoes that cook in the chicken fat are some of my favorite things on earth. I love bacon cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, and I like simply steamed or roasted broccoli with lemon pepper seasoning on it. My favorite dessert is very simple, vanilla ice cream or bing cherry ice cream, and along those lines, one of my favorite things to do with ice cream is a waffle sandwich, so fresh waffles, then put the ice cream inside and make a sandwich out of it. So you’ve got the hot waffles cold ice cream, and eat it as a sandwich, it’s fantastic.
What would be the setting for the meal?
A mountain in Umbria. The table would be outside, and the meal would start at 3:30, and then as the sun goes down we would light a fire, and I’m sure we’d smoke a joint somewhere along the way.
What would you drink with your meal?
I’d start off the meal with a sparkling rose then move onto verdicchio white wine. I love pinot noir; I love light red wines. An after dinner drink I usually have, it wibbles it wobbles, but it does not fall down, a bottle of Montenegro on the rocks.
Would there be music?
Part of the reason Mike Romeo would be there is because he plays the bongos. At some point in the meal I’d love it to hear some of my favorite groups, and that can span from The Roots to Led Zeppelin. And Mike will always find a way to carry a beat.
Who would be your dining companions?
My best friends, John Zancolli, Mike Romeo, and Paula.
Who would prepare the meal?
My favorite cooks in the world would be there preparing the meal, Mikey Price, Jonathan Waxman, Jimmy Bradley and Rosie Bova.