Keeping It in the Family

Laura Maioglio’s parents had no intention of leaving the family restaurant to her. “My father, a very gentle and intellectual person, said there was no way the business could satisfy my intellectual valences—just as it had not satisfied his, I imagine,” she says. That restaurant is Barbetta. At 110, it’s the oldest restaurant in New York still owned by its founding family. 

Barbetta is nearly synonymous with the white truffle, which in its early days on the menu boasted a supply chain that led from a farmer near the family home to a cousin who knew a flight attendant whom he’d meet weekly (in season, of course) at Malpensa Airport for the handoff. With Laura in charge, the restaurant has since garnered many awards and distinctions. 

Laura remembers her Brearley education as “a revelation,” which—along with the roast beef in the lunchroom—satisfied her truest hunger.