14 Below: Please Pack Your Knives and Geek Out

Keeping with the family and Top Chef motif, we decided to relocate for dessert and after dinner drinks to Tom Colicchio's recently opened Colicchio & Sons. Although the former Craftsteak space is technically one block north of 14th street, we had too great of an experience for me to not share.

I heard sightings of the head Top Chef judge at the restaurant, so I walked in with high hopes and wide open eyes to search for him and BAM! right as we walked in, I saw the back of his famous bald head sitting at a table and immediately knew it was him. The restaurant is divided into two sections: the tap room, home to a more informal menu and stretch of taps of dozens of domestic and international beers, and the main dining room, which only serves the tasting menu.

Massive two story wine wall dividing the tap room and the main dining room

Back to Tom: we sat in the tap room, just a few tables over from the spotted Tom, and I was GEEKING. OUT. I know it's weird to some that I would freak out about seeing a chef in person, but chefs are the celebrities of New York! Now, would I actually get to speak to him? Here comes the advantage of having a shameless woman from Texas as your mother. "We would like to speak to Tom, please" my mom said to the waiter. Halfway through eating our sweet desserts and tasty cocktails, sure enough the Exec Chef Colicchio shows up to our table to shake each of our hands. I can only imagine how wide the grin was on my face as I spoke, "Yeah, we just ate at Barbuto for dinner...oh it's right by where you live? Oh really? Me too - yeah, I live on 8th street" - you know, just casually chatting with fellow New York resident and neighbor, TOM COLICCHIO! We chatted about the Craft in Dallas, what his sons like to order when eating there, and his favorite beers, then the proud mom took it too far by talking about my blog. (She also did this to the waiter - but thanks Chris for reading!) But Tom could not have been nicer. Yeah, I just called him by his first name only.