Ft. Lauderdale's Cafe Martorano and its owner Steve Martorano exert the media-industry equivalent of gravitational pull. He and his restaurant attract attention. Da guy's a star yaknowwhadamean? He's got his landmark South Florida headquarters, a joint in Vegas, national tv spots cookin meatballs, Gail Shepherd's writin' about him, face on the gravy jar, diners taking cell phone videos while they eat, who's he think he is, Steve Buscemi? Nah, he's Steve Martorano and he's in business. Here's a
Photos by C. StilesIt's crazy that I've eaten my way through Fort Lauderdale on dates for nearly a half decade and never tried Café Martorano. That is, until a few weeks ago. But hey -- it's not easy to sucker many guys into shelling out a few pretty pennies for a meal far away from the Atlantic Avenue/Las Olas scene. So when I found my perfect pawn, an Italian boy who had just moved from Chicago and drives a Saab, I knew exactly where we were headed.But when he realized the resto was located i
Martorano: The man has balls.It was a balls-to-balls battle, with Joey "Jaws" Chestnut squeezing out a victory over Pat "Deep Dish" Berletti at Sunday night's Masters Meatball Eating Championship in Las Vegas. The competitive-eating marathon was sanctioned by Major League Eating and hosted by Broward restaurateur Steve Martorano, the tattooed hulk we recently profiled here.Martorano, whose celeb-heavy Fort Lauderdale Cafe Martorano was named "Best Restaurant in Broward" by New Times this year
