Sparkitus

I would never call you a dirty name, but hell yes they do it for Parker (and the rest of them, too)! Did anyone see the NY Times Magazine articles three weeks back about an outfit called Enologix? This is a consulting company (with a rather surprising client base) that has come up with a matrix for winemaking that will result in 90+ scores for wines and they guarantee it. I'm not sure if they have any European clients but the Americans are lining up to get in on this. They recommend practices that are used quite commonly, but with the goal of producing "award-winning" wines. The controversy is over whether or not their advice is really making better wines, or just better-scoring wines. True, it's not based just on Parker; they actually have a computer model that incorporates many different critical scores (including Parker) and then "dials" up a profile for a wine based on its type and region. If you're a winemaker and you want to score well (90+ guaranteed, remember), you will pay these people to tell you to lower acidity or micro-oxygenate or slather on the wood according to their own chemical analyses of your wines compared with their matrix. And then you send your samples off to Robert Parker. Lord, I need a glass of falanghina!

Well, if you really want to get all geeky and geologic about it, I found this really great book called "Great Wine Terroirs" translated from French, by Jacques Franet (spelling?) from UCal Press. Literally dissects the great vineyards and shows how their soils. subsoils and situations evolved over time through the movement of land mass and other forces. It almost makes me want to be a soil geek! Check it out.

I'm not convinced of that "fact." I had such disinterested service at l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon last April (on my birthday, no less) that I was outraged. For the last half of my really expensive lunch ($176 for me alone), my so-called waiter was out in front of the restaurant smoking a cigarette and chatting up a girl. In general, the service elsewhere was about on par or worse than what I experience here in the states - and I saw a LOT of understaffing everywhere, surprising considering their "system."

Amen. And while we're at it, in what other business can you demand something for free for a little inconvenience? Ten minutes in the bar and no free drink? Grow up. More than that, different answer. True story: I had a table of four having a wonderful time, loved the food (they shared two entrees, btw) and the wine and the restaurant. Check time comes and they're outraged that the wrong bottle of wine is on the check (they have not paid yet, mind you), so I correct the check and return it to them, apologizing for the mistake. They demanded I take 30% off the bill (where that number came from I have NO clue)! I apologized again and again and emphasized that we weren't ripping them off, it was a minor, careless error that we corrected immediately at no cost to them. I also made a point of telling them that I had no intention of adjusting their check on demand, again with an apology. Their response was that the waiter was "going to have to take a hit." and they stiffed him. I have no idea what that brings to the discussion, but I feel better now.

I think it's a bit ridiculous to "pour first, ask questions later." The point of asking at all is to provide service by making a guest know they have options. And, yes, bottled water comes with an added cost, but not to offer for fear of making someone uncomfortable can also have the added affect of being insulting (assuming someone can't/won't pay for water). Perhaps it's the tone of the server who offers bottled water, not the offer itself, that makes people uncomfortable...

The explanation is that NBC insisted that most of those people be there 6 nights a week for filming. It's TV, remember? NBC brought in the bimbos and the duffuses and imposed them upon the restaurant, including the male bimbo bartender. They were not hired by the restaurant, but the restaurant had to pay them, and they diluted the tip pool in a ridiculous way. And for the record, the place was mad busy before the cameras came, the team was working pretty well and most of the service and food problems were ironed out. For 3 weeks, NBC threw a spanner in the works and it became a retarded zoo again. Damn shame.

That would be Carrie. Who is actually very nice, but man once the cameras start to roll she turns into Shirley Temple and hams it up. Did whatever the producers wanted her to do. She's actually really funny and quite smart, but you probably won't see that on TV. Same for you, Uzay :) Cheers

Just a little Primer for those who need the bullet points: in no particular order. Regarding liquor licenses, they opened with Catering licenses which had to be issued weekly for several months until their "real" one came through. the show was not "directed" per se, but it was "produced" and those involved were often asked to re-create moments that the cameras missed Chodorow has admitted that he let Rocco lose money to make a point, so that was not calculated for the cameras, it was a fuck you to Rocco set up to make him look like an idiot (as if the help were required) Drew was 20, not 19 or 17. And he gets his ass handed to him on the next episode how do you lose money when you're doing 500 covers a night? Pay the hostess $60k salary, spend $4000 a month on flowers, order Laguiole steak knives and don't use them, spend another $15k a year on pink paper for menus, spend... oh never mind Bourdain (along with Meatball Guy, Eric Ripert, the staff et al) do not get paid and are not required to because the show is produced by the NEWS department of NBC; everyone signs a release so that NBC can use the footage to whatever end they like ad infinitum without incurring costs like residuals or the like Please do not call me a "Roccette" for god's sake!!

Actually, the quote I heard is: Season 1 was the Stupid Season; Season 2 is going to be the Ugly Season. Should be fun.

Actually, I've seen this approach, exactly as you've described. It was a husband and wife team and it didn't work any better at all. They wrote with one voice and were, frankly, more catty and nasty than just about any other reviewer I've read since. By the way, this was the 80's in Hartford and their names were Jane and Michael Stern, writing for the Courant. They gave one restaurant such a hideous review that it closed 6 months later and the outcry was such that they soon after stopped reviewing for the Courant altogether.

The difference is that liquors are, for the vast majority, *intended* to be mixed.

Well, maybe not for the entire movie, but in the beginning of "Once Upon a Time in America" there is the most beautiful scene of a kid bringing a confection to a girl and he has to wait in the stairwell until she is ready to come out. Leone spends an entire 5-minute single-edit with this kid as he unwraps the dessert and slowly proceeds to devour the thing. Really beautiful cinematography.

Monterey and Santa Barbara are not quite as built for tourism as Napa, but I think that's an attraction. You should know, however, that many of these wineries are rather small and a call ahead is a smart move, or even essential. Some have open tasting rooms (Fess Parker among them) you can just walk in to. SLO (San Luis Obispo) is a charming town to visit, and there are some great restaurants in the area. Check out The Wine Cask in Santa Barbara and order a bottle of Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir (the logo was inspired by the ceiling in the restaurant). Also, I don't know if it's on your itinerary, but the Highlands Inn in Carmel has spectacular views of the Pacific, great food, and an impressive wine program. Monterey has an aquarium that's worth a detour.

If you want something more in-depth, look up the courses at the French Culinary Institute or International Wine Center (I believe that's what it's called). They have professional and semi-professional introductory courses that will be much more involved than a one-day session with Mr. Zraly. As with Mr. Zraly's classes, these are also rather expensive, but well worth it. I don't know if Andera Immer is still conducting courses at the FCI, but last I heard she was the director of wine curriculum there. Also, there is the former Kump's school (I.C.E. is what it's called now I think) which conducts consumer-oriented courses on an ongoing basis. So there are a lot of other resources for you, those are just a few. Cheers

You don't have enough bandwidth for all the poop! I'd hate to spoil Season 2 for you, but, yeah, Jeffrey and Rocco go at it in front of guests, waiters, and cameras several times. It makes for a nerve-wracking work environment to say the least. I don't think either of them is going to come off very well when this airs. Stay tuned... Lord, I think that was our staff trying to get snow off the awning. Did you catch Rocco dancing around in the falling snow, too?

Someone once told me something very valuable about the restaurant business: "sometimes, it's important for the restaurant to be right." This was because a guest complained there were "worms" in his dish of olives, when in fact they were fennel seeds. It is never done to embarass or humiliate a guest, but I think it is certainly appropriate to gently correct someone who makes a mistaken assumption that could result in a damaged reputation. It is done in the spirit of educating (not condescending to) a guest about the preparation or quality of your food.

This is a really great thread! Enough with the bitching about restaurants. A few experiences stick out for me: Aqua in SF circa 1992. I had my chef at the time make the reservation for me, so they knew I was in the business, and I remember every single dish served that night and the sense of every person on staff making a point of making us feel welcomed. Still the standard-bearer for me. A birthday at Gramercy Tavern (where I have celebrated every birthday since), served by one of the best, Christopher Russell, who took personal interest in our selections and wine choices and made it so memorable. And a lunch in Boston at Brasserie Jo, sitting alone outside, extremely depressed during a pending breakup. I ordered a cheap glass of red wine with my steak frites. The waiter must have known how low I was feeling, he brought over a decent bottle of Bordeaux despite what I'd ordered and poured it. You know, wine isn't really the answer for your problems, but that gesture sure as hell made me feel like I wasn't so alone and bad off. Kudos to whoever that was.

Dear me! Do we have a burgeoning Bourdain on our hands?? You are a really good writer, keep it up. But don't give up the prep shifts :)

I have just lived through three weeks of taping at Rocco's and I'm spent. I can't even tell my friends about it anymore because they think I'm making this shit up. Now I'm sorry I deleted all those spam emails about cheap prescription drugs over the internet! The real problem with the show past and present is that the people taping it don't work in the business and don't know where to look for the drama. They think it's all about whining waiters and cheap, drunken guests. There is so much more going on under the surface than their cameras could ever snag on tape. And a lot more entertaining, too.

You have a rather elevated concept of the New York palate I can't tell you how many times I still get requests for mint jelly with lamb chops, completely regardless of their preparation. Mint Jelly? Wasn't that outlawed in like 1964? But seriously, New York is the land of the subsitution, and these so-called palates have no trouble at all rearranging dishes into an unrecognizable mess, which no one in their right mind would put together, and then tell their friends afterwards how the food is so-so or not all that great. I think they should be forced to wear their bill around their neck (laminated) every time they want to play critic, just out of a sense of disclosure. Well, that and so that the world can see the tip they left. Just a thought.

Ah, there it is! The editing. I watched a half hour of the second episode and all I could think of was how shitty they made EVERYONE look: the customers, the waiters, the managers and Rocco. They did a total hatchet job on everyone through very selective editing. I think it's a set up for something down the road, some kind of restaurant redemption scene. What truly disappointed me was the lack of those moments of restaurant heroism that occur every night in a restaurant, when someone pulls a rabbit out of the hat and makes someone else's night in the midst of chaos. Well, there's always the next episode I guess.

I use the clear sticky label removers in my restaurant and when you paste them into a nice folding card (with logo, of course) and commemorate the occasion, people go nuts over the gesture. They are not terribly expensive adn you can get them from the IWA catalog - they also advertise a lot in wine magazines like the Spectator. Here's the link: International Wine Accessories Cheers!

I guess my own bottom line is that this type of discussion, while quite lively and stimulating, is pointless in the end, so I agree with that asessment. Otherwise, I would just add that the Spanish wines that are *widely* available are not always the most interesting ones, and I will include Conde de Valdemar which I've enjoyed many times in the past but gave up on because they were boring, not bad. Like any country in a similar position internationally (Greece comes readily to mind), they have to do first battle with the impression that shitty wines of the past have made on the world market. In Greece's case it's Retsina. In the case of Spain it used to be dirty faded Riojas, and now it's just bland Rioja. So it makes it hard for those willing to experiment to return to such wines while they're missing some real (and afforable as someone mentioned) gems. But I guess going from dirty to bland is a sort of improvement nonetheless, isn't it?

Oh. Organized? Um. Oh.

This is a good one. First of all, you were in Galicia. Did you drink any Albarino (white)? It is not a red wine area, really, but the whites can be good to really good, depending on the producer. There is also a white wine called Godello which is quite good drinking, and a fantastic albeit rare little item called Txakoli de Gueteria from the Basque region. You were eating in what sounds like neighborhood joints and little village restaurants (unless I'm wrong), so these places are not likely to carry, much less be concerned with, wines from outside their region (generally speaking). So the Riojas you drank were probably whatever they could lay their hands on. Don't write off Spain until you've eaten and drank wine (grammar check?) in Barcelona, Madrid or the wonderful tapas bars of Haro in the heart of Rioja country. Personally, I think Spain is far and away the more exciting choice - as an emerging region for wine, that is. Things are happening in Priorat (just granted the second DOC in Spain I believe, the first and only one being Rioja for the longest time), in Ribera del Duero (home of Pesquera and Vega Sicilia), and a number of other regions (like Navarra) that are very high-quality and yet remain relative bargains. Italy is pretty well-established by now, although most consumers only think of Chianti or Pinot Grigio. And even though there is some pretty exciting experimentation going on in Tuscany (the Maremma coast, especially) and on the Adriatic coast as well as in Sicily and the south, that experimentation is more like just riffing on what has gone on before, adding international varietals to the native grapes or "rediscovering" old heirloom grapes from days gone by that make great wine. In Spain, the industry is wakening from a very long, stuporous sleep adn the influx of talent from Bordeaux and elsewhere is going to erupt in the next five to ten years - and the prices will still be far below the super-Tuscans or super-Umbrians. Spain doesn't have the international reputation that Italy does, nor the comfort factor. It's their own fault because their marketing just sucks. I would close (and I'm sure you're grateful for that at this point) by saying forget your vacation experience (the wine part) and hunt out wines from an importer I trust very much, Fine Estates from Spain based out of Boston. These wines are hand-picked by Jorge Ordonez and while he represents a few very traditional and sturdy houses, the "new" Spanish wines he brings in are nothing short of brilliant, including one I think will turn out to be the Grange Hermitage of Spain (Finca Allende's Calvario). Rinse out your glass and give Spain another shot! Cheers!