Jonathan Waxman’s Barbuto Lives On | The New Yorker

"With the original Barbuto, Jonathan Waxman nailed the formula for a great neighborhood restaurant: a cool West Village corner spot (below Fabrizio Ferri’s Industria studio) with garage doors that rolled up in good weather, a tiny open chef’s table, and a calm, genial Waxman at a Nobile Attie double-decker oven turning the traditional cuisine of the Italian Riviera into something fresh and unpretentious. After the building was sold and the May 2019 closure, he reopened a couple of blocks away in a gargantuan room lined with arched, brick-framed windows while keeping the shaggy-dog “barbuto” logo; Attie built an even bigger oven to handle all the chickens Waxman serves. The Pollo al Forno is a standout: a half bird grilled and drizzled with a salsa verde of anchovies, capers, garlic, olive oil, parsley and other herbs, seasoned only with sea salt and fresh pepper, basted in its own juices and rested for at least half an hour. At brunch I had fluffy focaccia, an ideally lemony, garlicky bitter‑lettuce salad with fried calamari, a creamy bucatini carbonara, and a chewy‑crusted smoked‑salmon pizza with avocado crème fraîche and smoked trout roe (a nod to Wolfgang Puck); service felt easygoing—the waiter even brought free champagne. Signature items carry a JW insignia but almost every dish feels iconic, and Waxman’s crispy rosemary potatoes are gold (dishes $5–$39)." - Shauna Lyon