Joe and Jada - Fat Joe & Jadakiss break bread with Mario Carbone & talk food, hip hop & Jada's Italian heritage

We bum-rushed the Carbone kitchen like kids in a candy store—Mario, we’re in your house now—and for the record, I love branzino and that infamous spicy, even if I can’t make toast.

Grab an apron—I’ll run you through some seafood hits like linguine with clams, Dover sole, and yes, our take on spicy rigatoni, so next time you can jump in even if I’m not here.

What I love is you keep it upscale but old-school—no fire gimmicks, just real Italian‑American plates—and everybody’s chasing that spicy.

Vodka sauce is a New York thing; I nudge it sweeter with onion, give it cream, then finish with heat, and the whole philosophy is simple classics done so well there’s nowhere to hide.

Talk to me about the clams and why Japan’s sushi just hits different.

Cold water makes shellfish cleaner and sweeter, and in Japan the edge is discipline—years of apprenticeship before you even touch the knife.

Wildest nights in this room?

Derek Jeter came straight from his final game and the room rose; another night the President slipped in unannounced, phones went dark, agents everywhere, and later Hov and Musk playfully wrestled over the check.

Meet Ricky, the face of our floor—he’s been filleting Dover sole and branzino here since day one and makes it look easy.

And yeah, every Italian loves Sinatra—feels like it’s a law.

We’re living the lifestyle today, so I brought my tailor from Milan to fit you both for custom suits before lunch.

This used to be Rocco’s from the nineteen twenties on a Genovese block with a secret door; I worked across the street at nineteen, grew up in Queens, did lousy at school, and found my lane in kitchens and family tables.

I ride for the classics—Il Mulino, Il Gabbiano, Park Side—and I love testing no‑reservation swagger even at Rao’s; your ZZ’s club is a move, and maybe we all celebrated the Knicks a bit too hard.

ZZ’s started in Miami to give our top people a home base, then we built one by the Garden; we expanded to London, Dubai, and another Vegas with Sadelle’s in the mix, and now we’re eyeing hotels and residences.

The rule is don’t chase the money—make choices like it’s your first restaurant and ask if the team will be fired up to do it.

Service is cinema to me—every guest should feel like Henry Hill gliding into the Copa with music, aroma, and a warm ‘we got you’ from door to table.

Your crews live that—wherever I go, people treat everyone like a regular, and that feeling is the secret sauce.

Story time—Joe Pesci ordered a martini ‘shaken more than you think,’ crushed it, then had me lose the jacket and dance; nights like that keep this room electric.

I once whipped up a lasagna on the fly for Mr. Scorsese, and early on Frank Pellegrino from Rao’s strode into the kitchen, looked around, told me it looked great, and walked out—I’ll never forget it.

Favorite hip‑hop cuts?

De‑Evils is up there, and I still remember hearing Biggie for the first time in the back of a baby‑blue Lincoln; in my head, Frank hands the chairman vibe to Jay, and I’ve always loved LL’s smooth records.

Drop those jars—I’m taking Carbone sauce home, and when those Miami condos hit, I want the friends‑and‑family; also, Katz’s will forever be a New York classic.

We put our sauce in tens of thousands of stores so you can cook Carbone at home, and yes—Katz’s is still my pick for best in New York.

Legendary day—custom suits, perfect branzino, and rainbow cookies stacked high; Mario, appreciate you, and from the back of Carbone we’re signing off—this ain’t that and that ain’t this.