Acclaimed New York City chef Jonathan Waxman will open the first part of a massive Italian restaurant and cafe in Ghirardelli Square on Tuesday.
Called Waxman's, the full-service restaurant side of the operation opens this week, followed by an adjacent cafe; each space holds 120 seats. Both will utilize a wood-burning oven and wood-burning grill, with a large menu of pizzas, pastas, grilled meats and the like.
Waxman originally hails from Berkeley, and was a chef at Chez Panisse before opening restaurants in Santa Monica, Napa, New York, Nashville and Atlanta. He also appears as one of the judges on "Recipe for Deception," a Bravo cooking competition involving contestants lying to each other.
Waxman told Bravo that he'd like to help Ghirardelli Square become more of a local's dining destination, as it was when he was growing up. "It was really a place you wanted to go," he said. "Now, it changed direction a bit, but hopefully I can right the ship a little and turn it around."
