Le Cirque is a Family Affair and There's a New Book To Prove It

[photo: digest ny] sirio maccioni gets a laugh out of danny meyer at le cirque's book launch partyA Table at Le Cirque: Stories and Recipes from New York's Most Legendary Restaurant, authored by Sirio Maccioni and Pamela Fiori (above), is the first ever cookbook about Le Cirque. Published today by Rizzoli, the book showcases the restaurant's nearly 40 year history with New York City via recipes, stories, and candid pictures of Maccioni family members fraternizing with the likes of movie stars, musicians, and presidents. The restaurant hosted a book launch party last night and Digest NY was lucky enough to attend.

Brothers Marco and Mauro Maccioni were shaking hands with the room while Marco's wife sang and provided a soundtrack to the celebration with the support of her band. Danny Meyer showed up. Terrance Brennan was there. So too were Alain Allegretti, Marc Murphy, Jefferey Zakarian, Michael Lomonaco, and Florence Fabricant.

The future of Le Cirque has recently become a topic of much concern after the restaurant received a negative one-star review from Pete Wells. Shortly after the review, Mr. Maccioni was looking for a new chef. In addition to the pending chef shuffle at Le Cirque, the Maccioni family is readying to open Sirio Ristorante November 1st at 795 Fifth Avenue between 60th and 61st. Sirio Ristorante is taking reservations, Le Cirque is taking resumes. 

It's a busy, stressful time for the Maccioni family, but their talent as gracious hosts trumped all concerns last night at the launch party. A Table at Le Cirque solidifies the restaurant's contribution to New York's restaurant and fine dining scene. When Le Cirque opened in 1974 it took a French lean, largely due to the fact that certain ingredients essential to Italian restaurants were unavailable at the time. The French flair is simply a whisper of the operation, and while the new book reveals 38 years of Le Cirque's history, a night amongst the Maccioni's revealed a family tradition shared by generations.