![\"Emilio](\"https:\/\/robbreport.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-robbreport-2017-v2\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n\n\tAt Emilio\u2019s Ballato, fame can get you a table, but it might not get you into the back room. Entry is granted personally by Emilio Vitolo, the actor and restaurateur who presides over the downtown New York institution. Inside, celebrities, artists, and politicians mix with neighborhood regulars around tables laden with red-sauce classics served family style. The only qualification? \u201cI gotta like you,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tVitolo joined the family business in 2008, almost 20 years after his father took over the restaurant that first opened on Houston Street in 1956. It feels appropriate that his personal style belongs to an earlier era: He mostly wears bespoke suits and cap-toe shoes.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe most modern thing about him is his watch collection\u2014and his attitude toward it. When he acquired his ultrarare Patek Philippe \u201cAmerican Beauties\u201d Calatrava, one of only 15 in existence, his 1-year-old daughter promptly put it in her mouth. He considers that patina. \u201cHopefully she holds on to it and can tell the story I just told you,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the beautiful thing about watch collecting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat have you done recently for the first time?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI opened up a production company. I have about 14 artists who perform in and out of the streets\u2014mostly jazz musicians with a little R&B as well.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhich apps do you use the most?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019m really not an app guy, to be honest. I try to stay off my phone as much as possible. The only things I look at frequently are email and, obviously, text messages.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is the first thing you do in the morning?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI hang out with my daughter. We have breakfast, do puzzles, and she likes to play \u201ccoffee shop\u201d in the house. When the weather is nice, we\u2019ll go in the pool.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tVitolo in the dining room of his Long Island mansion, built in 1906.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWeston Wells<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat in your wardrobe do you wear most often?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMy suspenders. I have all different colors.<\/p>\n
\t\tDo you have a uniform for certain occasions?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI try to dress up every day: nice button-up, dress pants, suspenders, a watch, sometimes a tie. When it\u2019s cooler out, I\u2019ll be wearing a full suit every day.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat do you crave most at the end of the day?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tA drink.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is your favorite cocktail, and how do you make it?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019m a bourbon guy, neat. Willett Pot Still Reserve is one of my favorites, but my doctor told me to stay away from bourbon because of the sugar. They told me that if I\u2019m going to drink, I should drink something lighter, so I try to stick with tequila.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\tHow do you find calm?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI find calm when I throw my phone away and hang out with my kid. That\u2019s calming for me.<\/p>\n
\t\tWho is your guru?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI would have to say my father. He and I never had that good of a relationship growing up because he was always working and never around, which I didn\u2019t understand until later in life. Once I got into the business and had my own child, he basically said, \u201cYou know, I would have loved to be home with you guys all the fucking time, but\u2026 I had to do what I had to do as a man and provide for you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is the most recent thing you\u2019ve added to your collection?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tA Patek Philippe Ref. 5089G-149 from the American Beauties collection. It\u2019s a solid-gold Calatrava with a hand-painted enamel dial, one of 15 in the world. It\u2019s a beautiful fucking piece.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is the most recent thing you regret not buying?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe anniversary Nautilus with the Tiffany stamp.<\/p>\n
\t\tWho is your dealer?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tLondon Jewelers. Scott takes care of me over there.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tFrom left: His collection of Patek Philippe watches; the colorful suspenders he wears every day.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWeston Wells<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is the most impressive dish you cook?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMy favorite is seafood, so I\u2019d have to go with linguine alle vongole. I can make that dish in my sleep.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is your exercise routine?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019d much rather work on my house\u2014cut the lawn, cut down trees and branches, and do all the gardening. I have four and a half acres of property, so it\u2019s a lot of work. Just imagine one person doing all that work by himself. I think that\u2019s better than the gym.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat does success look like to you?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tSuccess for me is just knowing that my fianc\u00e9e and my kid have everything they need\u2014clothes on their backs and food to eat. As long as we have that, I think we\u2019re successful.<\/p>\n
\t\tIf you could learn a new skill, what would it be?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tProbably coding. It\u2019s very complex.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is your definition of luxury?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tHaving a happy and healthy family.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhere do you get your clothes?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI partnered up with a buddy of mine from Salerno, Italy. His family had a suit company that they opened up in 1986\u2026. He and I have been working together on suits and shirts and stuff like that. But if I don\u2019t wear my own stuff, I can walk into Hugo Boss, buy a 38R suit right off the rack, and leave with no alterations.<\/p>\n
\t\tHow would you describe your style?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tOld-school\u2014that\u2019s all I\u2019ve got to say. I feel like I should have been born in the \u201920s or \u201930s because I love dressing up.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat advice do you wish you had followed?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNot going out every night and partying. I wasted so much money.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tVitolo, who\u2019d rather drive than be driven, behind the wheel of his 1967 Volvo P1800.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWeston Wells<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is the last piece of advice you gave?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tBe passionate about what you do, because if you do it with passion, failure is not an option. The drive is completely different than doing something just for money.<\/p>\n
\t\tDrive or be driven?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tDrive.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat\u2019s your favorite hotel?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019m not really a vacation guy, but I went to Greece and stayed at the Four Seasons Astir Palace. They have their own little private island area over there that used to be an old military base. It was magical.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat is always in your carry-on luggage?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYou\u2019re going to think I\u2019m crazy for this, but I normally don\u2019t like traveling with bags. I\u2019ll just get on the flight because I don\u2019t like carrying shit, and I\u2019ll buy a bunch of clothes wherever I\u2019m going.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat car are you most attached to?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI was in line to get a Ferrari 360. One of my favorite Ferraris is a 360 Spider, manual gated.\u00a0 But I put everything on hold the second I bought the house and had to play it chill in regards to buying toys.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tHis 1950s MG TD roadster.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWeston Wells<\/p>\n
\t\tDo you still write letters?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI wrote a letter probably about a month ago to a friend named Michael. I had an artist friend make him a portrait, and I wrote a letter on the back of it about how grateful I am for him and everything he\u2019s done for my family, and that I love him very much.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat kind of music makes you happy?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tClassical music. It\u2019s very calming and relaxing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tAuthors<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9ae54020b036203f91bbedf9a64f55b38a0ec2e38a89350f969538915b51439e.jpeg\"){kind=avatar}
<\/p>\n
\n\t\tTaylor Stoddard\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Taylor Stoddard is a freelance journalist covering the intersections of luxury and culture from haute horology to hidden-gem hotels, and celebrity interviews on the passions that define them\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tRead More\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At Emilio\u2019s Ballato, fame can get you a table, but it might not get you into the back room. Entry is granted personally by Emilio Vitolo, the actor and restaurateur who presides over the downtown New York institution. Inside, celebrities, artists, and politicians mix with neighborhood regulars around tables laden with red-sauce classics served family<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5,306,6377,6378,1928,523,6379,6380],"class_list":["post-5906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chefs","tag-chef","tag-dining","tag-ferrari","tag-hugo-boss","tag-magazine","tag-new-york-city","tag-patek-philippe","tag-the-answers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117219132942477804","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}