"bastianich" news and stories

Mario Batali. Photo: Bauer-Griffin.

Mario Batali's on the hook for some back rent. According to a suit filed Sept. 4, the celebrity chef and his business partner Joseph Bastianich, owe $75,000 for their now defunct seafood restaurant, the John Dory.

"It's going to be settled," Bastianich told the New York Daily News on Wednesday. "We've returned the space back to the landlord, and the rent is going to be paid today or tomorrow."

The pair were guarantors of the failed restaurant, the Daily News reports.

For those of you keeping tabs on the ongoing legal troubles of Mario Batali and Joseph and Lidia Bastianich, owners of Del Posto,  the New York Observer has a very detailed summary of the goings on. For those unaware, the short end of it is this: Batali and company are in the middle of dispute with the new landlords of their opulent stab at four-star restaurant glory (Mr. Bruni recently awarded Del Posto three stars). The NYO article does a smart job of sorting out the tangled story of eviction notices, utility interruptions and other landlord-tenant brouhaha. The whole deal will supposedly go to court this week.

[Via The Food Section: Appetizers]