TV Dinners

Chef Anne Burrell has a solid résumé, with time spent in the kitchens of Felidia, Savoy, Italian Wine Merchants, and a stint as an instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education. If her name isn’t familiar, however, you might recognize her shock of white-blond hair as belonging to one of Mario Batali’s sous chefs on the television show “Iron Chef.”Now Ms. Burrell is opening her first restaurant, Centro Vinoteca (74 Seventh Ave. South, 212-376-7470). “The show helped me get the job, and I’m happy to take that,” she said recently. “It will get people in the door, but it’s my responsibility to keep them there.” The restaurant, which she hopes will be open at the end of June, is owned by restaurateur Sasha Muniak, who also owns the popular Greenwich Village spots Gusto and Mangia.A young chef opening a first restaurant always garners some attention, particularly if the chef comes from a good pedigree. But Ms. Burrell’s television celebrity means she is being watched even more carefully.She might want to get advice from Harold Dieterle, the winner of the first installment of the cooking reality show “Top Chef.” As a sous chef at the Harrison, Mr. Dieterle had hoped to open a small restaurant where he could cook his brand of American cuisine with a little Asian flair. He said he participated in “Top Chef ” to give himself an advantage. “The p.r. power of chefs like Bobby [Flay], Tom [Colicchio], and Mario [Batali] is amazing. They’re talented, and as soon as they open it’s a zoo,” he said while filleting fish on a recent afternoon in the kitchen of his new restaurant, Perilla (9 Jones St., 212-929-6868).The power of the “Iron Chef” has made Ms. Burrell’s Centro Vinoteca a subject of restaurantworld speculation since last year. The opening has been delayed about six months because of a misplaced Consolidated Edison transformer and the difficulty of dealing with construction in a landmarked space. In the meantime, she has been cooking at home with her sous chef, perfecting her “creative authentic Italian” menu, which includes dishes such as ricotta sformato with raw artichoke and Parmigiano salad, and lamb Bolognese with crispy gnocchi and fried onions. The Italian wine menu will offer more than 200 labels affordably priced, featuring boutique producers, and more than 25 wines by quartino. The kitchen will serve dinner seven nights a week, with the goal of eventually opening at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and closing at 2 a.m.The two-story, 90-seat space has been designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen with large windows and hardwood floors. At night the white brick walls will reflect light from1960s glass chandeliers and sconces. “It’s Italian,” Ms. Burrell said, “but it’s toned down on the rustic, and toned down on the super-style.” She said she will cook in the open kitchen. “I love talking to people, I’m very social, and I’ve always worked in front of people.”At Perilla, “Top Chef” fans may be disappointed that Mr. Dieterle is not in the dining room posing for pictures, but in the kitchen cooking up spicy duck meatballs with Okinawa yam gnocchi and panroasted New Zealand langoustines. He said he emerges once in a while for children. “Sometimes they send me notes and I’ve got to go out. I’ve got a soft spot for kids.”Perilla opened last month to an instant full house, though Mr. Dieterle intentionally stayed away from the tabloid and entertainment press. “I did work it on TV, but now that’s not what I’m about,” he said. “It is important to me to be considered a serious restaurateur.” Ms. Burrell echoed the sentiment, saying, “I want to be respected, to get in the kitchen, and cook good food.”Mr. Dieterle said he has no future plans to work in television again, though he will be maintaining a BravoTV.com blog for season three of “Top Chef” when it begins next week. Ms. Burrell will continue on Mr. Batali’s “Iron Chef ” team and has tapings scheduled for the next season. But for both chefs, the most important press attention to come is the reviews. Both aspire to have a “destination neighborhood restaurant,” a category that is increasingly popular in Manhattan. Ms. Burrell hopes “to have buzz, but not hype,” she said, because “the higher the expectations, the more people are disappointed.”

TV Dinners

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