Director Andrew Rossi’s Page One: Inside the New York Times was tremendously well received, lauded for providing a snapshot of both “the Grey Lady” specifically and a newspaper industry teetering on the edge of (ir)relevance in a digital age. Eat This New York, from First Run Features, is another geographically specific subcultural nonfiction curio from Rossi that will receive wider embrace amongst so-called foodies.

The rise in profile of the Food Network, along with all sorts of cooking and baking cable shows on other channels, has created a burgeoning interest in high-class cuisine, and food trends and even chefs in cities we may not inhabit. (Though it’s merely anecdotal, for evidentiary purposes I offer up my sisters, who lives in Washington, D.C., but knows the restaurants in at least five other cities of her favorite Spanish chef.) Featuring culinary luminaries like Daniel Boulud, Sirio Maccioni, Keith McNally, Drew Nieporent, Danny Meyer and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Eat This New York tells the story of two friends, Billy Phelps and John McCormick, struggling to try to open a new restaurant in the food capital of the world — where there are over 18,000 eateries, and four-fifths of the 1,000 new ones that open each 12 months go out of business in the first five years.

Rossi’s tack is relaxed and inviting, and it certainly helps that he’s chosen two sympathetic figures for his chief subjects. But one of the more heartening things about the movie, despite the appetites it raises, is that it’s not merely a tunnel-vision portrait of dreamy aspirations. Rossi lends voice to these kitchen artisans, heretofore so frequently banished to back rooms, and their insights are interesting, as they often reflect eloquently and offer up not just ideas about what tastes good but also the many other elements that go into creating a dining atmosphere that can capture the imagination and survive beyond the hype associated with an opening rush. Rossi’s film is slim (about 85 minutes), and doesn’t overstay its welcome, but is more filling than a simple appetizer.

Eat This New York comes to DVD housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, and is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen. Its bonus roster is meaty, too — over two hours of extended interviews with some of the country’s top restaurateurs. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. B (Movie) B+ (Disc)