Why a tapas bar?

[Bux]

First, welcome to eGullet. I don't mean to imply that the decision to open Casa Momo was a questionable one. I've really loved what I've had there and enjoyed the opportunity to further explore Spanish wines. It's simply that I'm curious about what led you to open a tapas restaurant, albeit a New York interpretation rather than an imitation of one in Spain and what led you to open a restaurant inspired by Spanish food. Did an interest in Spanish food lead you to think "tapas bar," did an interest in serving tapas style courses lead you to consider Spanish food? I see a progenitor in the Italian tapas, or antipasti, served at Otto. Am I off the mark here? It would have almost seemed a natural to open an Italian snack bar without any particular precedent, so why Spanish food, or at least Spanish food as a starting influence rather than Italian food which might have seemed a safer idea? My interest in Spanish cooking has been rather intense lately and I've been traveling extensively in Spain. While the food at Casa Momo doesn't remind me of any particular restaurant or place in Spain, it's not so far removed that I would be surprised to discover such food in a new restaurant in Madrid.

[Mario Batali]

hey bux both andy nusser the exec chef at babbo from opening till last fall and my self were lucky enough to go to high school in spain, he in barcelona and me in madrid... so we had always discussed the option of a "spanish" place... we took a trip to barcelona last fall as a test drive and fell in love withg cal pep and bar pinoxto in la boqueria... the results are pretty obvious, we ripped them both off completely, but in the same vein we have kind of babbo ized spain in that there are few dishes at casa mono that you might find in spain, and yet the place feels intrinsically spanish hmmmmm go figure, or at least go there and eat mb

[Bux]

I think the reason it feels intrinsically Spanish is that there are so many creative chefs in Spain today who feel the freedom to create and yet are strongly influenced by the traditional food of Spain and the food cooked by the grandmothers. As for going to eat there--whenever we can get a table. Clearly there was an audience ready for this food.