Thrilled to announce that I will be managing TasteTalks.com Q&A series, Talking Taste, where I’ll be chatting with tastemakers weekly about food, music and whatever else drives them to be so dope. This week, I interviewed dear friend, Antica Pesa proprietor, Francesco Panella. A man after my heart, Francesco is as charming as he is good looking and he owns one of my favorite restaurant companies in the world. That’s right, I said the world; they have restaurants in Williamsburg, Rome, Doha and Corsica (seasonal). I first fell in love with Antica Pesa at it’s original outpost in Rome, that the family has owned for generations. When they opened in Williamsburg years ago, I had the pleasure of by chance meeting and getting to know Francesco and his wonderful brothers. Well, I walked in the restaurant and he stopped chatting with my friend and said, “Who is that?!”

We all know how much I believe in juju and from Frances Ford Coppola saying it was his favorite restaurant in the world, to Ben Affleck insisting that eating there before the Oscars brings you good luck, celebs flock to Antica Pesa for it’s delicious eats and great vibes. Check out my interview with Francesco on TasteTalks.com and below, now who’s meeting me at Antica Pesa in Corsica?

featured image illustration by Paige Vickers