Dine and Dance: FOODANCE Brings a Unique Culinary Mix to Hell’s Kitchen

Cesare Vangeli , an Italian dancer, actor and director, is uniting his two passions — food and dance — in his new Hell’s Kitchen restaurant FOODANCE.

Cesare and his husband, Kevin Batista, first got the idea to open a restaurant two years ago when they began serving food at the Columbus Circle holiday market. “We saw that people like Italian food and also to talk to us,” he said. “And we like interacting with people and making them happy.”

For several years Cesare has also been performing Swinging Tomato , a show in which he and other performers tap dance while they prepare a meal on stage.

FOODANCE soft opened at the end of May at 468 W47th Street (a space previously occupied by Meske Ethiopian Restaurant), and Cesare has been busy auditioning dancers, singers, burlesque and “boylesque” performers and more to curate an original show.

“The ideas come when you see the people, looking at the artists,” Cesare said.

What will the show look like? “That can be a surprise,” he teased. “I like to surprise customers. If I explain everything now they won’t be surprised and they won’t come.” There might be drag, but it will definitely be different from any other show in the neighborhood, Cesare promises.

The restaurant has an elegant, old fashioned feel, and lots of small details, from statuettes and hanging lanterns to rainbow-colored umbrellas complete its ambiance. Large windows face Hell’s Kitchen Park, and from the outside passersby can peer in at FOODANCE’s stage with its grand piano and record player. The logo in the window of Cesare dancing while holding a tray was created by his friend, the Venetian artist Dario Cestaro .

Hidden to the right of the stage is a “speakeasy” room, complete with used furniture and photos of performers, including the famous Italian actor Rudolph Valentino who immigrated to New York in 1913 and became a Hollywood legend. One day, Cesare would like to create his own musical about Valentino’s life.

The menu features lots of dishes from Calabria in Southern Italy, where Cesare is from. Dishes include baccala e petate (bacalao and potatoes), caponata siciliana, and arancini rice balls.

Cooking is personal to Cesare. “I became a chef watching as a child my mother Leda cooking tomato sauce on Sundays,” he said, “cooking it slowly over the fire and adding the whole garlic and then removing it, giving a delicate but not strong taste.”

He will share his love of food even further on Sundays, with weekly gnocchi cooking classes.

Cesare has worked in show business for the past 35 years, and is the artistic director of his own musical institute in Rome, Laboratorio Italiano Musical . He first came to Hell’s Kitchen in the summer of 2000 to attend Steps on Broadway Academy and perfect his tap dancing skills, and has lived in the neighborhood for the past five years. When he moved to New York he also spent time working as a chef in different restaurants.

He’s also a visual artist — Cesare painted the illustration on the wall outside the restaurant.

Cesare met his husband Kevin, an interior designer and former TV presenter from the Dominican Republic, at dinner through mutual friends. Kevin, who has worked as a bartender and waiter, enjoys making cocktails and is looking forward to getting a liquor license soon.

So far, FOODANCE has gotten a warm welcome from the community. “Neighbors have been very nice, they have come in to congratulate us,” Kevin said. Some customers already have their own preferred tables.

FOODANCE is located at 468 W47th Street, close to the corner of 10th Avenue. It opens daily at 5pm.

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