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\n Danny Meyer is arguably the most successful restaurateur in American history.
\n Illustration: Adam Mazur\n <\/p>\n
The last time Danny Meyer shared<\/a> his Grub Street Diet with us, it was 2008 and the world was a very different place. The iPhone was less than a year old. Barack Obama hadn\u2019t yet been elected president. And there was only one Shake Shack. Now, of course, Meyer\u2019s Madison Square Park burger stand has spawned 700-plus locations around the world; his other chain, Daily Provisions<\/a>, continues to expand; and his 2008 book about \u201cthe transforming power of hospitality in business,\u201d Setting the Table, is canon among the C-suite set. He\u2019s followed it up with What Could Possibly Go Right?<\/a>, which applies the lessons he\u2019s learned \u2014 and, yes, setbacks he\u2019s suffered \u2014 over the last 20 years of explosive growth. \u201cRestaurants are the laboratory for what I write about, and they are very relatable to a lot of people because everyone has either worked in one or eaten in one,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re not the only organizations that have employees and customers and suppliers and investors \u2014 somehow you\u2019ve got to make all of those coalesce in an uplifting way, no matter what business you\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuesday, September 8 At 8 a.m. I jump on a prep call for my upcoming appearance at the New York Times\u2019 DealBook Summit. Lunch is in my office, and we bring in Cava, as my meeting is with the chain\u2019s chairman, Ron Shaich, who has become a friend. My go-to is a salad with supergreens, half falafel and chicken, tomato\/cucumber, \u201ccrazy feta,\u201d hummus, harissa, and green vinaigrette. I eat exactly two Hubs peanuts between meetings.<\/p>\n Dinner is in Ci Siamo<\/a>\u2019s private dining room, where there\u2019s a surprise 60th-birthday party for a good friend. It\u2019s a gorgeous evening, and while awaiting the birthday girl\u2019s arrival, we begin on the outdoor terrace with spiced potato chips and almonds.<\/p>\n Then it\u2019s on to some of chef Hillary Sterling\u2019s greatest hits: focaccia with tomato conserva, tuna tonnato, platters of salumi, cavatelli allo scoglio with crab, orecchiette with pork ragu, wood-grilled bistecca alla Fiorentina, crispy potatoes with whipped Pecorino, and braised shell beans. I call it a night after a few bites of chocolate sorbet.<\/p>\n Wednesday, September 9 I have no time for lunch today, as my day is packed with unusual plans: a clock winding at Bogardus Plaza, a planning session for my upcoming book party, and a prep call for a talk I\u2019ll be giving at Manhatta<\/a> for retail influencer CEOs. In the afternoon, I take a walk to the East Village to meet my friend Marco Canora at Hearth<\/a> and Brodo<\/a>. Marco began his career at Gramercy Tavern<\/a>, and we\u2019ve known each other for nearly 30 years. He has invited me to create a custom brodo flavor that will be available in a few weeks. I suggest we try cacio e pepe. Marco nails it, and I down the most satisfying cup.<\/p>\n From Brodo, I head up to the Modern<\/a> to check in with our team as they prepare for two big events: one for Fashion Week and the other for the U.S. Open. Whenever I\u2019m in one of our restaurants, it\u2019s 95 percent spending time with our team and 5 percent with our guests. I love doing it, but every one of our restaurants would be absolutely fine if I were in Timbuktu tomorrow. I will say I spend a lot less time going table to table. In fact, a year ago, when Union Square Cafe turned 40, we had a big event in the restaurant and I spoke to every single table. I realized I had not done that for many years, and that\u2019s all I used to do.<\/p>\n Next stop, Gramercy Tavern, where I\u2019m able to say hello to Victoria Espinel and John Stubbs, who are in town from New Orleans to bring a taste of their restaurant and bar, Jewel of the South<\/a>, to Gramercy. Chef Mike Anthony and the team are running some fun NOLA-inspired specials for the evening, and while standing at the Tavern grill, I taste a mini heirloom-tomato tart with Cajun spices as well as an ethereal crab \u00e9touff\u00e9e.<\/p>\n I head home, but not before grabbing a roast chicken dinner. Yes, I realize this makes for two Daily Provisions stops in one day. We should have named it Twice Daily Provisions.<\/p>\n Thursday, September 10 On the walk to the subway, on 54th Street, I spot a relic of old New York, Myzel\u2019s Chocolate<\/a>. After initially walking by, we circle back and are rewarded with hundreds of different flavors of licorice, truffles, chocolate bark, and more. We order some dark-chocolate-covered peanut-butter cups and pretzels, both excellent, and continue on our way to the subway.<\/p>\n Later that evening, I\u2019m even further downtown, at Manhatta, our restaurant at the very top of 28 Liberty Street, for my second talk of the day. I never eat before speaking, and so afterward, I\u2019m really hungry. I make a spontaneous decision to head over to Wu\u2019s Wonton King<\/a>. There\u2019s only two of us, but we make the most of it: wonton soup, scallion chicken, shrimp with walnuts and broccoli, seafood noodles, and shrimp fried rice. As usual, the restaurant is full of industry folks, one of whom kindly stops by our table to splash us with some Champagne. It\u2019s one of those great New York nights.<\/p>\n Friday, September 11 For lunch, it\u2019s Santo Taco<\/a>, which opened on University Place near our offices a few months ago. It\u2019s become a fast favorite for our home-office team members. My assistant, Jenny, tells me she\u2019s heading over there, so I ask her to pick me up two tacos: one mushroom with crispy onions and also a steak trompo. I happily eat them at my desk.<\/p>\n My office used to be in the basement of Gramercy Tavern, and my lunch every day came from a really good delicatessen on Park Avenue South. My sandwich was called the Big Guy. I\u2019m laughing now because this sandwich was turkey, bologna, avocados, alfalfa sprouts, and mayonnaise on rye bread. Oh, and a big bag of potato chips to go with it.<\/p>\n Now I\u2019m running late for my appointment to have a full-body scan. It takes just one hour from start to finish, and so I\u2019m lucky enough to be able to get out to the U.S. Open in time to take in two men\u2019s semifinal matches.<\/p>\n Trying to stay somewhat healthy, I make a dinner out of shrimp cocktail and then succumb to putting away one chicken nugget, sans caviar, from Coqodaq<\/a>. I also try the Mo\u00ebt Serve, which comes in a clear cylindrical canister and has the effect of cracking open a new can of tennis balls: clever! The Open is one of my absolute favorite sporting events of the year. We head home from Queens happy to have seen great matches.<\/p>\n Saturday, September 12\u00a0 Lunch is homemade chicken salad, made from our leftover roast chicken, and served with some supersweet cantaloupe Audrey has brought home from the Greenmarket. This evening, we\u2019re at the Modern for an exquisite dinner party we are fortunate to host annually in celebration of the U.S. Open.<\/p>\n We enjoy some remarkable canap\u00e9s from chef Tom Allen: caviar soldiers, heirloom tomato soup with Parmesan foam, hiramasa crudo in rice crackers, carrot arancini, and Wagyu beef tartare on potato chips. For dinner, I begin with a seared sea scallop with gnocchi, cauliflower, and Champagne beurre blanc, and follow it with a duo of Wagyu sirloin and short rib. For dessert, a remarkable mango Creamsicle tart.<\/p>\n EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
I almost always wake up at 6:45 or 7 a.m. I get to the office by 7:55 and make myself a cup of tea with honey made by bees from our home in Connecticut. I used to start every day with two tall cups of drip coffee, and I got to a point about three years ago where I said you don\u2019t need to start your day with all that coffee. And then I realized I need caffeine. I found tea was a gentler way to do that. My longtime partner from Union Square Cafe, Michael Romano, starts every morning of his life, forever, with hot tea and oatmeal. I went in one day to Union Square Cafe and asked Michael where we kept the tea. He said, \u201cTea? You don\u2019t drink tea.\u201d And I said, \u201cBut I\u2019m getting a cold.\u201d And he said, \u201cDid you ever stop to think that maybe you wouldn\u2019t get the cold if you just drank tea in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, I head straight to the gym for a workout with my trainer, Andre. I never eat anything before those sessions, but on my walk to the office from the gym, I stop by Daily Provisions on 19th Street to pick up some breakfast for a meeting. Last night\u2019s dinner made me swear off my favorite cinnamon crullers, so at least for today, it\u2019s yogurt, strawberries, and pecan granola for my guests and me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m giving a talk at the Economic Club of New York during lunch today, which marks the beginning of an incredibly busy fall schedule promoting my new book. It\u2019s the first time guests will have received early copies \u2014 another surreal moment. I spend an hour in conversation with my friend and Bloomberg journalist David Westin, before signing books, while everyone else is eating what looks like a good lunch. After almost everyone has departed, I manage to try a few bites of a very good roasted chicken with green beans before heading back downtown.<\/p>\n
I head to the office following my workout, and this morning I down two cups of my usual English Breakfast tea. Yesterday was a long one, and I need the caffeine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wife, Audrey, and I meet two out-of-town friends who are staying downtown for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. That\u2019s early for us on a Saturday, but our friends need to catch a flight and we\u2019re happy to do it. Turns out that not many places serve brunch quite so early, and we meet at Corner Bar<\/a> at the Nine Orchard Hotel, which opens bright and early. I order a cappuccino and then their breakfast sandwich: smoky bacon, eggs, and gobs of cheddar on a brioche bun, served with fris\u00e9e salad. It hits the spot, and we walk up Orchard Street on our way home.<\/p>\n