“I’m still trying to get my daughters tickets to Taylor Swift.” It’s a Friday afternoon and Chef Stephen Lewandowski and I are sitting in his restaurant lamenting over the crazed rush (and our subsequent letdown) of The Eras Tour ticket madness. I was waitlisted, I say. “I called everyone,” he admits. And if there’s anyone that knows everyone, it’s him.
Stephen landed his first post-culinary school role as Tournant Chef for Gotham Bar & Grill in Manhattan, working 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, because “that’s how it is,” he says. “It taught me to cook for 500 people every single night.” I tell him that I can’t even keep 15 plates hot at the same time on Thanksgiving, and he laughs. “It’s a learned skill,” he says. Stephen’s culinary career quickly took off after Gotham, and at just the right time, Stephen got the call that changed his life. Michel Nischan, a celebrity chef and co-owner of Dressing Room in Westport, Connecticut with late actor Paul Newman, was the acting chef at Tribeca Grill, Robert DeNiro and Drew Neiporent’s iconic restaurant. He was transitioning to a new establishment and Myriad Restaurant Group offered 27-year old Stephen the role of Executive Chef. He accepted; then September 11th happened.
“We shut down for two months but I was back at work the next day,” remembers Stephen, the mood now somber. “We fed the first responders for 45 days.” The memories come flooding back and Stephen starts talking quickly from there. He tells me that a former celebrity chef and former U.S. President were the first two customers at the grill once it reopened, each bringing with them a group of 25. “They wanted to support downtown,” he says. “We also put on a fundraiser called Windows of Hope, named after the restaurant that was at the top of the World Trade Center.” Stephen worked alongside top chefs from all over Manhattan to pull in food and drink vendors. “We reached out to a ton of wineries in California, and only one declined to donate,” he says. “I’ve never carried their wine in any of my restaurants since, and neither have any of the other chefs that coordinated that event.” Robert Parker, a famous wine critic, was the emcee, auctioning off items like a dinner with himself and Daniel Boulud for 6 in the winning bidders home; it went for $65,000 - twice. “We raised a million dollars that night.”
Stephen also has a million great stories, and we talk for hours about the ones that I can’t include in this piece. We’re both having a ball. Coolest person he’s cooked for? “Nelson Mandela,” he says. He’s cooked for legendary celebrities including Oprah, Bono, Leonardo DeCaprio, President Clinton, Muhammed Ali, Desmond Tutu, and Paul McCartney, to name a few. “I like being involved in creative things, and that’s what I loved about Tribeca,” he says, noting he was there for 12 years and there was “always something happening.” He tells me about the time that he cooked for Harvey Keitel’s wedding, held in DeNiro’s apartment, and the apartment didn’t have a commercial kitchen. “So Bob brought me into his weight room, and I wasn’t sure it would work - we gotta move everything and bring in tables, hot boxes, staff - so he offered his bedroom. I chose the weight room,” laughs Stephen. They pulled it off. “We stuffed the vents in the room so that there was no cold air, we’re plating 140 dishes…..” Stephen trails off. “I love that feeling.”
The same need for excitement and creative freedom led Stephen and Tribeca Grill’s partner, Drew Neiporent, when creating The Daily Burger at Madison Square Garden (MSG). The duo conceptualized The Daily Burger, from the bun to the leak-free wrapper. Stephen and Drew worked backwards from what they hated about arena burgers to build one that they loved. “We ate so many burgers trying to make the best burger we could,” says Stephen. The Daily Burger became famous, selling up to 4,000 units each game.
It’s clear from speaking to him that Stephen loves food but moreso, loves what it represents: togetherness and creating experiences. Stephen muses about his admiration for Chef Daniel Boulud, who he calls the ultimate chef and nicest person. “He’s true to who he is and I love what he’s done,” says Stephen. “No matter who’s in the kitchen with Daniel - Charlie Palmer, Daniel Humm, whoever - we all have so much respect for him.”
I ask Stephen if he ever caves in and eats fast food, perhaps on a road trip, and he shakes his head no. “I pack sandwiches,” he says, “and haven’t had fast food in at least 25 years.” Even his kids don’t like fast food, with the exception of one local fast-Mexican chain called Salsa Fresca. “My wife picks it up about every ten days and they love it,” he says. “It’s the only fast-style food we’ll have.”
We’re back on the subject of Tribeca Grill, mostly because it was a huge part of Stephen’s career, but also because I’m a longtime DeNiro fan and have more questions. “Bob is a sweet guy,” smiles Stephen. “He had so many famous friends coming into the restaurant - Michael Imperioli, James Gandolfini, Chazz Palminteri - all of those guys who you’d expect to be like their wise guy characters were so kind and great to everyone in the restaurant.”
To this day, Tribeca Grill has no computer for reservations. “You call and you’re gonna speak to Marty, he’s been there like, 40 years, and he’s gonna pencil you in,” laughs Stephen with a nod of appreciation. He looks beyond me, as if seeing his past in a new light. “I’m a suburbs guy now but I’ll always be a New York City chef.” @chefstephenlewandowski