Maialino opens tomorrow

November 10

Danny Meyer's much-anticipated Roman trattoria at Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel opens tomorrow, according to a press release that landed in my e-mail box at 2:40 p.m. Reservations (212-777-2410) will be limited, initially, though walk-ins are welcome. The restaurant will only be serving dinner for the next couple of weeks, but management plans to start serving breakfast in December, and lunch in January.

But of course it all depends. Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group is perhaps the most respected restaurant company in New York — possibly even in the country — but I don't know of any opening it's had without a glitch or two. The genius of the company is that it sees the hiccups and fixes them in short order.

The chef is Nick Anderer, a veteran of Danny Meyer's organization, having most recently cooked at Gramercy Tavern (for the past six years). Before that he worked in Milan at San Giorgio et il Drago, and before that he was at Mario Batali's flagship, Babbo (and made it into Heat, Bill Buford’s book about cooking there). He also worked under local-seasonal pioneer Larry Forgione.

General manager Terry Coughlin most recently was GM at another Danny Meyer place, Tabla.

I bet there will be much talk of the restaurant tomorrow night at 11 Madison Park, Meyer's four-star restaurant, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary with what I assume will be a blow-out party. I know I’m looking forward to it.