Since opening on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 2007, Felice has brought Tuscan cooking and Italian wine to neighborhoods across New York. Its new Flatiron flagship overlooks Madison Square Park, giving the restaurant group its most ambitious setting yet. Italian culinary director Iacopo Falai oversees the food behind the Felice name. For our latest Chef’s Day Off, we asked him to take us along for a weekend in Brooklyn and share how he spends his time away from the restaurants.
A weekend in his own words
Weekends start slow. No alarm. I usually wake around 11, which feels like an indulgence after 7:45 a.m. wakeups all week. The first order of business is always a glass of water, then flip-flops on and out the door for coffee at Bittersweet in Fort Greene. It's become a ritual: the short walk there is my quiet time before the day gets going.
From there, I like to move: two loops around the park to wake the body up, then straight to the farmers market. This is where the weekend really begins for me. I'm not just shopping for dinner; I'm looking for inspiration. Whatever is in season dictates what I'll cook for my partner and me, and more often than not, it sparks ideas I bring back to the restaurants. I do this both Saturday and Sunday, it's less a chore than a source of creative fuel.
Somewhere in there, I call my parents, my uncle and my sister. Family stays close even on the busiest days.
I try to fit in 15 minutes of exercise: jumping jacks and planks. Nothing fancy. No music, just quiet focus.
I'm not really a TV person. Even when my girlfriend has something on, I'll usually have my laptop open beside her, scrolling real estate listings in Italy, mostly daydreaming.
Afternoons vary: sometimes a museum, sometimes friends pulling me into a rave or an afternoon party. Brooklyn keeps things unpredictable that way.
For dinner, I go early, and it's almost always Thai or Mexican, my two weaknesses. Ice cream after is non-negotiable. And depending on who I'm with, a drink or two finds its way in along the way.
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