St. Louis long has taken pride in the accomplishments--and the meals--of restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose Union Square Cafe blazed a trail that has led his Union Square Hospitality Group to create many of the most important dining sites in New York. He's now the subject of a documentary film, The Restaurateur, to be released nationally on DVD next week (March 29). The film, written and directed by Roger M. Sherman, has won awards at festivals in the Big Apple and in Sonoma County, CA (the Big Grape?).
Filmed primarily during an 11-month period while he was preparing to open Eleven Madison Park and Tabla, two top-of-the-line but different restaurants in the same building, and later during major changes in the former establishment, the film shows the commitment and style Meyer outlined in Setting the Table, a book many restaurateurs cite as a major influence on their careers.
Meyer's most recent restaurant, Untitled, is scheduled to open any day in the Whitney Museum; his group also operates Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, and Maialino, plus several restaurants in the Museum of Modern Art and a number of Shake Shack 's, burger and custard joints with apparent ties to St. Louis.
The DVD is available here, or through Netflix and other outlets.
by Joe and Ann Pollack
