Up to code: Joe Kaminski, construction; Matthew Sudock, interior design

Art Culinaire, Fall, 2004 by Carol M. Newman

But that's not uncommon--it happens all the time. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong! When you tell someone, 'Be careful with that pipe, they put a screw right through it!'

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

How about another horror story?

Oh, I've got hundreds of those! Well, one of the challenges was the dining room. The fireplace was in good shape, but the wood was really old and was painted three thousand times, so we stripped it down, reconditioned and refinished it. We installed the two cabinets (only a few weeks ago) because David asked if we could get more shelving in here. We knew the back wall had 14 or 15 inches behind it that we could get to. So we built the cabinets outside the shop. Then, since this restaurant is open most of the time, we came in at 3 o'clock in the morning to install them. You always have to hope what you think is back there--is! Well, when we were doing this, we found there were more headers and pipes in the way than we imagined. The cabinets didn't fit. So we had to change everything! We took down and cut in the wall near the fireplace, removed and redid the plumbing, reframed everything, redid the fabric, then sunk the cabinets in. And when the restaurant opened, it looked like they had been there forever.

How does a restaurant in a mixed-zoned neighborhood maintain diplomatic relations with the tenants?

Well, obviously this is Manhattan and everyone has something to say! So fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, when a dynamite restaurant like this one comes along, it's bound to create a lot of interest and traffic. And some people tend to frown on that. There have been some people who've lived on this block for 30 or 40 years, and they feel like they own it--and rightfully so! So you always have this interesting cache to tangle with. The initial build up and production work, though, is so exciting because it does generate curiosity. And I found most people who would come by were supportive. But when summer hits, and the doors are open, and the energy from outside comes inside, the restaurant will be completely different. 1,000 people walk by here everyday, and once the doors and windows are open, even more people will be pulled in. Light, glass and air are magnets.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

... so too is David Burke.

davidburke & donatella was spearheaded by Joe and Matthew.

Matthew works with M Design in New York City. He's worked on Acqua Pazza with owner, Umberto Arpaia, Donatella's husband.

Joe grew up always fixing things. It must be in his blood, his parents were superin-tendents of several hotels. Embarking on a similar course, Joe managed the Delmonico Hotel for twenty years (now Trump Park Avenue) on Park Avenue and 59th Street. He helped on the conversion to condominium apartments in 2003. He went on to redo the Gramercy Park Hotel. Construction for Joe, is like "being a kid again--building a model airplane, watching it fly away and then building another one."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]