When we opened Babbo, we were an indie band. Now we're kinda Apple. We have 19 restaurants and 2,800 employees, we are no longer perceived as the indie band although we think of ourselves as the indie band, and we operate our restaurants as individual indie bands.

I don't think fine dining is dying, but I think those rare occasions when you really want the fanciness are diminishing ... I think a lot of people are going to find simpler, more casual ways to enjoy an experience.

I think in times of bizarre strangeness, what you can and should do is spend time with your family eating lunch or dinner. And if you can do that, you will restore us to the peace.

I can teach a chimp how to make linguini and clams. I can't teach a chimp to dream about it and think about how great it is.

Passion is what adds so much value to life. And if you think about the things that you do, there's so much juice potential for them if you do it.