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Tattoo-covered, with slick haircuts and tight jeans, Michael Chernow and Jamie Bissonnette might, at first glance, appear to be rock stars. And they are — but the urban restaurant scene is their stage, and their fans are their establishments' devoted patrons. Bissonnette is chef/owner of Boston’s Coppa and New York/Boston’s Toro, and Chernow is co-founder of New York mini-chain, The Meatball Shop. The pair, who have known each other through the food scene for some time, met up on a sunny fall morning in the Lower East Side, home to the very first Meatball Shop location. As the two sit at the restaurant’s counter sipping coffee, they catch up and prepare to embark on an epic, epicurean journey to Brooklyn.As they hit the road, they talk about all things industry-related. Bissonnette recounts a key moment in his career -- when business partner Ken Oringer called him to offer him partnership at Toro. "I was like 'Uh, let me think about it,' to keep my poker face. I hung up the phone, did a couple of cartwheels, jumped up and down, called him back and was like, 'Yeah, I would love to.'" Bissonnette had appreciated Toro's aesthetic since he'd first started working alongside Oringer at a more formal eatery. "I wanted to open a restaurant where my friends could afford to come, where line cooks could say 'I'm going to go eat that food,' and still have the same techniques as fine dining. Still do all the same things we do in high-end cuisine, but not have it be so frou-frou," recalls Bissonnette.
This brings the conversation to the state of the New York food scene, what Bissonnette calls "the most dynamic and important restaurant scene in the world." The pair agree that