New York - January 18, 2010

The Tom Tom Club

Colicchio & Sons Opens

How can you be a trailblazer and a regular dude at the same time?

It helps if you’re Tom Colicchio.

Today, he reopens Craftsteak as Colicchio & Sons — inspired by the composed dishes he did at Tom: Tuesday Dinner and an evolution of the cooking style he pioneered at Gramercy Tavern.

White bean agnolotti with pork belly, octopus, and chorizo vinaigrette; rabbit with Carolina red beans and braised fennel. The Tap Room’s rustic menu is cooked in the massive wood-burning oven — meats, vegetables, whatever’s inspiring.

So it’s back to the future again. Just not back to the kitchen, because he never left it. “It takes twenty days to film Top Chef,” he says. “I work every other day. I’m just not walking around the dining room kissing babies.”

Though he’s doing that at home: His wife just gave birth to his second son. As for what his 16-year-old thinks of the name, Tom laughs.

“He wants business cards.”

Colicchio & Sons, 85 Tenth Avenue, at 15th Street (212-400-6699). The restaurant will offer a 15 percent discount on food during the preview period, which will last at least several weeks.

Photo: Courtesy of Tom Colicchio / Craft

  Artisanal, Celebrity Chef