Photo by Katie Sokoler/Gothamist
On Sunday night Do Or Dine's Justin Warner (the "Rebel with a Culinary Cause") took home the big prize and became the next Food Network Star (thanks in part to his many fans who voted for him). After Warner's win, Food Network's senior VP said, "Justin is a rule breaker in the best possible sense, much like his mentor Alton Brown. He approaches food with a quirky sense of joy that made him stand out from the very beginning of the season."
The 27-year-old's Bed-Stuy joint only opened a little over a year ago, and has already become successful without the help of national fame—so will any of us ever be able to get a seat there again? Warner—who will now go into production for his own Food Network show—answered some of our more pressing questions this morning:
What's the next step for you now that you've won? I'm going to respond to a lot of emails. I just took a tour of the Food Network offices, hung out on the set of Iron Chef. We (the Network and I) have a lot to discuss.
Will you get to film your show in NYC? It's still TBD. Alton Brown has a studio and production company in Atlanta, so that's also a possibility.
Will "we" ever be able to get a seat at Do Or Dine again? Oh yeah, we are rarely busy until 8 p.m. or so. The best time to come is around 6, when we open. If the weather is nice, we have additional seating on the patio.
Can you give us a simple recipe (a summery dinner?) that people can cook in their cramped NYC kitchens? Miso paste + butter + corn + grill. Bangin'.*
*If you don't have a grill in your kitchen (the FDNY definitely frowns upon that), then just do your corn up on a skillet.
