Andrew Carmellini is the wondrously pedigreed chef-owner of Locanda Verde. Prior to opening Locanda's humongous space in the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, he cheffed A Voce, Lespinasse, and Café Boulud and wielded some of the most respected French technique in the business. Thankfully he got bored of all that, headed downtown, and now makes simple and perfect Italian foodstuffs. Last night he was acknowledged for the move, earning a James Beard Award nomination for best new restaurant, but then was totally screwed out of winning the actual award. Still, we're obviously very excited about featuring him on our ramshackle little chef show.