tan319

Seems there was some confusion. It was the shlub in the green shirt who went out for the wine. That guy needed to be chewed out AND sent walking. I wonder if Laurant(GM) will get his butt chewed on for not taking Gideon seriously. I've worked in a few places in NYC and elsewhere where you went to the hospital,on restaurant orders, for anything that they thought was serious,knifecuts,burns,etc. Whether you thought it was serious or not. This episode kind of bummed me out. It had more kitchen drama but made me feel weird about Rocco. This guy is a great chef, has a great restaurant,(which,BTW, I would have serious doubts about the possibility of being franchised or being incorporated,say, like Roy Yamaguichis place) in Union Pacific, and God, why do this spaghetti and meatballs shit on East 22nd? I understand the possibility of having Roccos red sauce everywhere being enticing financially but damn, the Olive Garden diss fell hard, don't you think? And one shouldn't forget, those diners in that place are New Yorkers. With the exception of Johnny Wiseguy, I would be willing to bet that most of those people have pretty decent palates. Hell, even he probably does, at least for Italian food. I just hope this doesn't turn on him.

Soba, There's a pretty cool shown that reruns all the time on Discovery, I think, called 'Chefs School'. Takes place at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Some choice stuff takes place at Gordon Ramsey's place that makes it worth a watch!

Maybe check out Chef2Chef.com? They might have some stuff there to look at. Hope it works out for you!

Only place I know that might have it is Made in France, I think they have an SF location, maybe LA though. Ok. Here's the site address: www.madeinfrance.net They are in SF. Hope this helps.

Nice post, Holly. Will you tell me when this show airs? Sounds interesting!

Last Friday at dinner time the sign in the window read "closed." I never see anyone in this place. Uh-ohh... Edit: Busheye; don't miss Union Pacific. It's a great place and you'll have a great meal. Savuer Chef: I'm with you. Why everyone is getting this wound up over Rocco doing this is a bit of a mystery. It's not like he pulled an Emeril and it's a show with him and his mom in a rowhouse in Queens arguing about "why you wannaa do-a that-a fusion-a food, Rocco?". It's a bold move, one I don't know if I would have had the balls to do but I'm waiting for the rest of it. Re: David Ruggerio: will that show feature some 'Law & Order' elements to it?

Was Sissy dressed up like a ring girl?

Amen, Maggie.

Sorry 'bout that.

That building is a serious pain in the ass. I looked at an apartment there once and that was even a hassle. I wonder if the BM had anything to do with former tenents closing up shop? Oh, there's a lot of noise hassle there too. I believe there used to be signs posted to keep it down when leaving in an former incarnation. Dug the show, even if the good stuff,like chewing on peoples butts isn't coming till next week. Should be good. Question: In one of the Amex spots, Rocco said he already has 2 restaurants.What's the other one besides UP and Roccos? Edit: concerning rats. Many places there have tremendous problems with them The place I worked in spent 4 months trying everything to get rid of them, which cme about eventually. Sometimes you have to excavate around the building and put a plastic shield to encase the foundation to keep them out. There were a few times when I saw something flash across the floor though!

I was just checking the schedule here in NM and it doesn't appear to be on tonight. What time is it on there? Thanks! Edit: the website schedule says saturday, the 19th. My cable listed a japanese IC. Bummer!

Thank you for the look inside the lab. It's an incredible place. It's a fantastic post! In answer to your question, I always am attracted to a cookbook with wonderful photography. It inspires me, gives me ideas for presentation,etc. And I wish restauranters/owners in the mid level places would give chefs a bit more of a budget to play with for settings, plates,etc..

Fatguy: I think I see where you're going with this. If you go to Peter Lugars, you know you're going to get the most gigantic food ever. But somehow, it seems different then the places that are being discussed. For one thing, it's hard to afford to go to a place like Lugars regularly.It's a pretty heavy hit. Also, that much meat all the time would mess you up after awhile. I think most indie places would give you a 6 to 8 oz. portion of fish or meat,unless you were getting a NYstrip or a chop , which would probably weigh in at 12 to 14 oz. Desserts are usually based around the main component being around a 4 oz.serving, with maybe a 1 or 2 oz. scoop of ice cream and some fruit or a tuile and a few squiggles of sauce,etc. I think places like Daniel serve pretty clean food, not oversauced and probably less heavy sauces then say, when he was at Le Cirque, don't you think? He must keep things on the lighter but robust side these days .

I guess it's a shortbread cookie. I actually cheated and looked the word up in an Italian dictionary. It means "sandy." Shortbread in French is "sable" which also means sand. I suspected an Italian sabbiosa was similar to a French sable. Yep, that's the same thing I googled up, the 'sandy' description. I was wondering if it was more of a cake-ish thing though. Like the 'sableuse' out of the Jean George cookbook. Although I guess that's more of a poundcake thing. I'm serving a shortbreadish cookie with a berry gratin I'm doing at one of my place's.

I went looking on the website. The dessert menu looks really interesting. Heather C. doesn't get namechecked, as far as I could tell. Which is kind of annoying. Scott get's credited in a review or two for dessert ideas. Coughy: Could you describe the peach gratin? I noticed that a sabbiosa was part of the plate. I did a google search on sabbiosa and from what I gather it's a cookie-ish type of thing? Steve? Have you had a sabbiosa? As always, thanks!

I wonder how many of us that go to these over portioned joints, really eat all of what we order? I know when I went to a Pappadeux', I couldn't eat all of my food and I'm not a big fan of Microwaved leftovers, unles it's Chinese or Thai. Likewise, I don't believe that people that are eating at the higher priced OP places like CF and the like are cleaning those plates up.

are you telling me that i shouldn't post on this subject? you are a phreak!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, Michael. Not much shown about the pastry dept. unfortunately. Except for showing the massive amount of stuff on the buffet and talking about how many brulees get sold a day, it was pretty much ignored. Swoodywhite: Know what you mean about the show being about volume and stuff, but I think we're getting closer. I think Campinile and Trio are going to be interesting shows. I think it's the best new show on FTV, which I hardly watch, anymore.

we should all *always* be concerned about offending people. hobbes should start a new thread on what i think is a valid and interesting topic. i'd like to get back to talking about Hooter's and strip clubs. or is this the wrong thread. Just to clarify, folks. I meant don't worry about offending people about this particular subject, since everyone has been so easily offended anyways. Hopefully hobbes understood.Sorry if anyone took it the wrong way. Sincerely, tan319

Hobbes, you should let it rip regardless. Don't worry about offending anyone,especially on this thread. Everyone here seems to be getting wounded! In light of the over portioning discussion, I heard something on the radio today about a wave of litigation being expected to come soon over people suing companies for gaining weight. America get's stranger by the minute.

Then get it! You can probably put everything from that machine in the dishwasher, so cleanup is no big deal. And making the base is just like any other cooking -- might use any number of pots, bowls, and implements -- so that's not really a consideration. Get it and have fun!!! DON'T put the freezing canister in the dishwasher!!! I've already had a couple ruined this way Just wash it by hand and it will be ok. I have a cuisineart one and it's goodbut... if you REALLY like to make ice cream and such, spend a bit more and buy one of those Delonghi machines with the self contained freezer units. A lot more fun.

Tonights episode featuring the Bellagio was really interesting. A lot more 'real' action. Julian Seranno's 'Piccaso' looked good. Ditto Le Cirque. Made working at a hotel almost look cool. BTW, does anyone have an idea how much line cooks make at a Vegas restaurant? The likes of an 'Piccaso,etc.? Think it would be more then average?

Hobbes, Congrats on your new gig! Hope you have a great time Hi Kate! glad to see you're enjoying yourself . Cheers

Me too! me 3!

I walk by it everyday on my way home from the office. Maybe you'll see me walking by, I'm the one with the WTF is going on here look on his face. It's where Commune was. Between B'way and Park Avenue South. Big yellow awning that says Rocco's and a banner that says "the cameras have left the restaurant". I'll have to check and see if anyone's in there eating since the opportunity to see Tony having a crisis of conscience over Mama's Meatballs has passed. Commune did always seem to be full of people, so I don't know why it went out. Thanks,Abby! I'm no longer living in NYC (DAMNIT!!!) but that's another story. Somehow I knew that's where it was I wonder what happened to Commune? Any poop on that? I hope Rocco has better luck there then everyone else has. There used to be some frat house type bar there called Rascals, that would have been around '95, then a pretty cool upscale place not unlike Union Pacific, that was helmed by a Canadian chef. I remember having some sort of lobster club sandwich there once for lunch. Pretty good but expensive. It's a kind of cursed location but if anyone could break the spell, I suppose Rocco could. Thanks again for the info.