given

hey steve! long time no see! hi to everyone else too. its good to know Mix is still breathing, but I guess I have to agree with Fat Guy: Doug was inspiring.. There is just something not very inspiring or artisanal about a "re-launch" approximately nine months after opening to meager reviews in the first place. and steve... there's a difference between being anti-social and being turned off by the idiots who attend "relaunch" press dinners.. you seemed to me to be quiet to those who may not understand what you say, but quite vocal to those that do

Someone has to tell me how to use that cool little enclosed space for quoting other posters. but to answer your question... "Why would Ducasse get MIXed up with Chodorow?" I have to think about this... gimme a few e-moments to myself... ok, im better.. now, where was i... oh yes.. i sorta see ducasse as the scorcese of the food world. its sort of a far-stretched analogy, so ill try to show you what i mean. martin scorcese started with small movies that were almost homages to filmmakers in the past... goddard, etc.... as a lot of people will attest to, his movies are some of the most brutal, romantically violent displays ever to reach american film.. and contain some of the most tragically developed characters ever on 35 mm. only one problem... the average person knows scorcese's name, but can't pop off more than two or three films of his. SO HOW DOES HE MAKE PROFIT? what was he to do when he wanted to make money? considering the fact that with all of his genius, CAPE FEAR was the movie that made the most money by FAR, m.s must have decided to join the big dogs; because his last movie, though containing mindblowing performance by Daniel Day Lewis (No relation to American Idol's John Peter Lewis) :), the movie was a complete buyout for the daddy warbucks over at miramax. i actually liked the movie a lot, but it had too much structure.. leonardo di caprio and cameron diaz? sounds like an independent movie to me!! the point is this.. you can never really know why an artist sells himself or his craft for maximum profit, and in Mix's case, its obvious the numbers were in the red... i believe in mr. ducasse, but ill tell you something.. i believe in doug psaltis much more.. ducasse is almost like the president of some small artisan country now. he doesnt make much decision-making when it comes to day-to-day operations. on the contrary, he has hired a lot of people to make decisions for him that he can turn around and fire whenever they dont turn a profit. on a sidenote, thanks for the warm welcome to the board!

so i guess this is my first post on egullet. yay for me. anyways, i used to work at MiX and i know doug pretty well. he's a superb guy with nothing but the best intentions for anything he involves himself with. he even offered to prepare dinner for my girlfriend and i by ourselves if/when i ever decide to propose to her :) (which will be soon) not that i would ever know how to really take him up on his offer, but i think it shows the graciousness of a truly modest person. my fondest memory of working with doug was when i had a little wine left in a very expensive bottle from upstairs that a guest had asked i give to the chef in return for a great meal. doug told me to give it to the line cooks, because he prefers strawberry boons.. what a cool guy. anyways, i dont work at mix anymore for the very reason im sure doug has now moved on. the fact is, from even day one, there was a recognized split between the BOH (french) and the FOH (US). it was truly ignorant and unhelpful for a restaurant just trying to get into its stride. nonetheless, doug was in the kitchen at six AM and leaving at midnite every day of the week. i just watched an episode of the restaurant a couple nights ago, and while i must say rocco dispirito is a complete dipshit, i think jefferey chodorow's wife characterized his personality the best when she was making small talk with rocco's mom. if you missed the show or simply dont care, it was obvious that "CHINA GRILL" doesn't care about food or service, etc... they are concerned with the green baby. doug only got the best products delivered fresh daily. his cooks were loyal and passionate. however, imho, jefferey probably noticed he wasnt making his 1000% profits like he might make at his shitty other restaurants and, instead of staying the course and concentrating on the good aspects of mix to move forward, he has decided to do a complete rehaul. i find this ignorance truly disheartening in a time when artisans are being recognized for their abilities.... meanwhile, doug is probably hard at work in a kitchen somewhere pushing his craft forward and making people happy with his food... the old fashioned way. i tend to think of doug psaltis as the NOT CRAZY howard dean of the culinary world. grass roots all the way..