Lew Tabackin: On Becoming and Barolo

“You looking for Lew?” a waiter standing outside Gennaro, a homey Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side, asks as I scan the outdoor dining area for a sign of my interview subject for the evening. “He’s inside.” They definitely know him here. Ushered into the dining room, the staff graciously points me towards a table in the back, where Lew Tabackin, comfortably ensconced at a corner table with a promising bottle from his cellar, is ready to for our conversation and cuisine to begin…