THE Q&A: SHANE MCBRIDE, CHEF

Tom Colicchio has had a stream of success in New York's restaurant business. The chef perhaps now best known as a judge in "Top Chef", a hit Bravo television series, made his name in the kitchen of Gramercy Tavern and then branched out with a successful series of Craft restaurants. Now in the cavernous Meatpacking space that once housed his Craftsteak outpost is Colicchio & Sons, a critically acclaimed restaurant that opened in January. Sam Sifton at the New York Times swiftly anointed the place with three stars (describing the food as leaping into the realm of "spooky perfection"), and the James Beard Foundation rushed in to grant Colicchio another best-chef award (his fourth), the country's most prestigious honour for chefs.

Things are good in the Colicchio camp, in other words. More Intelligent Life got a glimpse of the action by way of a conversation with Shane McBride, the chef de cuisine of Colicchio & Sons, who was kept on in a similar role from his time at Craftsteak. We asked him to fill us in on his off-day eating habits, favourite summer vegetables and his antipathy for eggplants.

More Intelligent Life: Given that you spend most of the day around food, what do you like to eat on your days off?

Shane McBride: I usually go out to eat on my days off. I like finding small, out-of-the-way places, like taco joints in Queens or new ramen places. I'm also a cheesesteak junkie but I think I've exhausted those options. I would say that on the whole, I eat food that is not really good for you on my days off.

MIL: Do you prefer your cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia-style—that is, made
with Cheez Whiz?

SM: Cheez Whiz is illegal in my food world, as it should be everywhere.

MIL: You've worked in restaurants in West Palm Beach, New Orleans, Cape Cod and now, New York. Is New York different? How so?

SM: Each place has its merits. New York is the clear winner, though, and I really can't imagine living anywhere else right now. Where else can you get such a wide selection of foods to eat? Or find all the tools and equipment we have here? It's even got all the things that I went to New Orleans and Cape Cod to learn how to cook.

MIL: Any favourite summer vegetables?

SM: My favourite summer vegetables could fill the page. Late spring/early summer brings in spring garlic, some early wild greens like lambs quarters and dandelions, and the beginning of cherries. Then we move into snap peas and green beans. When it gets hotter, tomatoes start popping up. Then come melons, apricots, corn and peaches. Concord grapes signal to me that fall is on its way. But there is so much more to eat in the summer—I love going to the green market just to browse, even if I don't need anything for the restaurant.

MIL: What are your least favourite ingredients to work with?

SM: Eggplant. It just wasn't something I grew up with.

MIL Finally, do you have any tattoos?

SM: Yes! One is a shamrock (I'm Irish), one is a Grateful Dead dancing bear, and one is a diagram of how to butcher a pig.

Colicchio & Sons is at 85 Tenth Avenue (15th Street), Chelsea; Tel: +1 (212) 400-6699

~ MOLLY YOUNG