L'uomo dietro la pizza

We've spent so much time talking about the pizza, that we've barely given a shout to the man behind Tonda, Bob Giraldi. Bob is the renaissance man of the New York restaurant world. A Pratt graduate, a "Mad Men" ad-exec in the 60's, a professor at SVA, a commercial and music video director (Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battefield" and Michael Jackson's "Beat It", heard of either of those?), and now, one of the most prolific restaurateurs in New York. With Jo-Jo, Jean-Georges, Vong (and its London and Hong Kong outposts), Patria, BREADTribeca and Diablo Royale on his resume, New York just wouldn't taste the same without him. His expansive creativity allows him to not only provide the best food, but the best visuals as well. Bob directed a commercial for Tonda last night himself. Look out for it on NBC LXTV (and a video of it here on the blog). There were over a hundred people there to join the celebration.

Photo by Daniel Krieger