Joe Bastianich abandoned Wall Street for Italy’s vineyards and restaurants, before pairing with Chef Mario Batali to open Babbo Ristorante Enoteca — the beginning of a restaurant streak that’s included Lupa, Esca, and Del Posto.

Drew Nieporent has started more top-shelf restaurants than most people have fingers — among them Nobu, Tribeca Grill (with business partner Robert De Niro), Rubicon, Centrico, and even, for stogie-lovers, the now-shuttered City Wine & Cigar. In between expanding their food empires and popping up on TV, they met at Del Posto to talk fine cigars and even finer dining.

Bastianich: I don’t really love wine and cigar pairings, but I’m a big fan of cigar and spirits pairings. Cigars and rum pair really well, particularly Cuban rum, following the premise that “if it grows together, it goes together.” I also like smoking a cigar while sipping on a cognac or an armegnac — the assertive flavors of each component really enhance one another.

Nieporent: I’m not big on pairings myself, but I do believe that cigars aid digestion. And I find it very calming and focused to enjoy a cigar at the end of a meal. Cognac or an after-dinner drink is part of that ritual. I started smoking cigars with my father, a cigar and pipe smoker. He always kept smoking paraphernalia around the house, and I guess I just picked it up.

Bastianich: I started smoking cigars with people in the industry when I began operating restaurants back in 1991. My favorites are aged Cuban cigars. I love Partagas Lusitanias, Partagas D4s and Montecristo Edmundos.

Smoking a cigar is fundamentally about measuring time — time to activate your palate, to enjoy a sensory experience. And a cigar, much like wine, is an agricultural product — a natural product that exhibits terroir.

Nieporent: I like a well-made cigar, usually something long or fat. NYC’s smoking ban? Ha.

Bastianich: The patio at Esca is cigar friendly, and the terrazzo we are planning on opening at Del Posto will certainly allow cigars.

Nieporent: I’m investing a space heater so I can smoke outside in the winter.

Bastianich: You know, I think it’s actually a blessing in disguise. It forces you to plan the time you spend in the company of friends with whom you most enjoy sharing a smoke.

Best. Cigar bars. Ever.

Bastianich: I don’t really have a favorite, but I think Las Vegas is by and large a haven for cigar smoking. Playing craps and puffing on a cigar is a great way to pass an evening.

Nieporent: Grand Havana Room is a great venue; so are Club Macanudo and the Carnegie Club. It comes down to an appropriate space, good ventilation and having comfortable seating.

City Wine & Cigar was very successful for a couple years, but then our partners decided to change direction. It’s not what I would have done, but I had no choice. I do believe cigar bars can be economically successful in this day and age.

If you could open your own cigar club…

Bastianich: London and Paris are both great cities for smokers. They’re the great cigar capitals of the world. You have to set the bar very high these days, and every time you assess how you’re doing you wind up setting it higher. That makes it more challenging to compete.

Nieporent: I’d open in Manhattan. While negativity toward smokers is on the rise, the overall attitude is still relatively tolerant. The first cigars I’d stock? Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona and Montecristo A. But I love to smoke Padrón, Onyx, CAO and any cigars made by Arturo Fuente, which are truly my favorite of all.

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