[1] He is the founder and CEO of Mercer Street Hospitality, and co-founder of Tasting Table Media.
McDonald began his career in nightlife with MercBar and went on to open restaurants including Canteen,[2] Lever House,[3] Lure Fishbar,[4] Bowery Meat Company,[5][6] El Toro Blanco,[7][8] Burger & Barrel[9] and Chinatown Brasserie.
[12] Prior to founding Tasting Table, a culinary lifestyle publication, he started a niche magazine title, CITY, acting as both Editorial Director and Publisher from 1999 to 2008.
[14] He closed the magazine in 2008 and started Tasting Table with Bob Pittman.
[17] McDonald was the first American restaurateur to bring the design work of Marc Newson to New York with the 1999 project Canteen and then again together developed the Lever House Restaurant inside the modernist landmark Lever House.