The Original Celebrity Butcher, Italy's Dario Cecchini, to Cook at Del Posto

dariocecchini.blogspot.com

The Meat Michelango himself.

With the 2009 explosion of the "rock star butcher," New York was actually a little late to the party. Tuscany had already long treated its meat carvers like celebrities. Take Dario Cecchini of Panzano in Chianti, immortalized in Bill Buford's Heat, whose carnivorous fans come from far and wide to witness him hack up carcasses. Next Monday, January 24, the man dubbed the Michelangelo of Meat will cook a special meal at Del Posto for a ballsy $200 a head. The fleshy five-course meal will include "Sushi del Chianti" (beef tartare), Medici-inspired baked jumbo meatball served in a spicy pepper sauce, and Florentine roast beef. Whether Dante will be quoted or impassioned, profanity-laden lamentations over the poor state of beef in this country will be expressed remains to be seen.

Have a restaurant tip or other food news? Send it to fork@villagevoice.com.