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GotChianti?

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  1. GotChianti?

    Doggie... bottle?

    Legal in NJ, not legal to have an open container in the car. A friend of mine owns a BYO Itlalian restaurant in the suburbs. As a courtesy to his guests, he had stickers printed with his logo on them. When a customer takes home a partial bottle, the servers recork as fully as possible, then place the sticker over the top of the bottle(much like a tax sticker on a liquor bottle, or Italian wine bottle). Legally the bottle is not considered sealed, but it lets the police know that it is not being drunk in the vehicle.
  2. Old Grandad is a mass-produced bourbon that falls into the value- priced category. It's fairly harsh and astringent and, in my opininion, lacks any unique qualities. Generally I find it's ordered as a shot. Those that order it on the rocks or in a cocktail are usually throwbacks, the bourbon equivalent to Cutty Sark drinkers. Grandad also makes a 100 proof whiskey and a higher end 114 proof version. Admittedly I haven't tasted the 114, so I know nothing of the quality. Addendum to favorites: In the rye category, Fritz Maytag's Old Potrero Single Barrel. Handmade in small batches, 124 proof, knocks the proverbial socks off.
  3. Katie, you beat me to the punch, but kudos for tipping a nod to the Evan Williams Single Barrel. Scrolling these posts, I was aghast not to see it listed as a value-conscious favorite. Nice body, vanilla and spicy tobacco notes, well-balanced, for about $25 a bottle. A great gift to coax those JW Black/rx die-hards back to our shores. Neat, give me Woodford or Basil or Van Winkle 12. Couple of rocks and I'll take Booker's(also quite handy for flambeing bananas). Maker's for a killer perfect Manhattan up(don't chill the glass). Sazerac and soda is a beautiful thing. Wild Turkey 101 for caramelized peaches with creme anglaise. Bourbon and jazz bring out the patriot in me.
  4. I'm not sure about the "SAG" Cards. If I'm not mistaken some people seem to feel thats a prerequisite for many Front of the House Employees at many NYC Restaurants. I remember hiring many aspiring entertainers, who were concerned about being provided the opportunity to go to auditions who were very competent wait persons, but had priorities to the arts. Often they did excellent jobs, were reliable and very professional and appreciated employers being considerate. I'm sure that there are many working at almost every upscale Restaurant in NYC and LA who hold "SAG" Cards. Don't forget "Reality Shows" are somehow classified as News or something else ridiculous, like Gold Mines so the cards aren't applicable. Irwin
  5. God Bless Mama, I say. La regina de la cucina. She is the embodiment of everything Rocco told us that his restaurant would represent; old-world charm, tradition and values. She was unrattled when confronted by the decidedly unorganic Linda Chodorow, beating back the collagen by offering, "we don't need. We better off ourselves". It's cosa nostra. We started it. If there's a problem we'll fix it. If we can't fix it, then we'll work harder, if we still can't fix it, then we learned a lesson. Having Jeffrey the Chodorow and his crew swoop in to sweep up is about as foreign a concept to her as marriage counseling. Call it blind faith, call it blissful ignorance, call it whatever that is that lets a mother beam with pride while little Billy pounds out his excruciating rendition of "Greensleeves" at his first piano recital. And Linda Chodorow as henchperson. Here's my take on how that went down: "Oh Jefffeeee. Remember last time you said this time you would put me on the sho-wee wo-wee." "Not now dear. I'm going over the proposal for this new space station caviar bar". "But I'll play paddycakey with Mr. Winky." "I told you not to call it that. His name is Vince." "But isn't Mr. Vincey wonewy?" "Alright. Alright. I'll get you on the show."
  6. Shamrock, I don't think you'd remember me as THE can't pay the rent guy. I was just ONE of the can't pay the rent guys. I think I might have misrepresented myself by saying I was in the trenches with Perry, although I was. Where he was on the line of fire, I was just in the line of fire. Mutual commiseration. I was a salaried FOH employee, but I actually did learn a bit about cooking old-school Southern Italian food, from Rocco's mom.
  7. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match... Song's stuck in my head for some reason. Great musical that "Fiddler on the Roof". Shamrock, as regards your question about the romantical thing, I really have no idea as to the reality of it. Find me a find, catch me a catch... Damnit, there it is again. I can tell you, however, that Perry's angst was very real. Talented kid, I believe he came from Bouley. They worked the hell out of him, always seemed to be prepping something or other. On several occasions, I'd pop my head out of my foxhole after a shelling, scanning for casualties, I'd catch his eyes in the tracer light and we'd give each other the nod. You hit? Naw, I'm good. You? No. Still here. As regards the paychecks, we were definitely not in on it, whatever it actually was. I came in early on the Tuesday after the Friday after the Friday we were to be paid so as to get my check and hightail it to the bank in order to pay my rent, which was nigh on two weeks late(can you say run on?) I went to Laurent, who said "zey are not here. Sawee. I seenk tomahwo". The blank expression on my face said I give up, his bespoke don't kill the messenger. I informed him that I had to pay my rent and that I could go pick up a couple of shifts for cash at my old joint. He paused, thought and simply said "go". I turned to leave, and he said "wait. Ow mush you nid?" "Alot", I said. "Ow mush?" I told him, he put his hand in his pocket, took out a stack of cash, and folded what I needed into my hand. My GM pulled money from his own pocket to help me pay my rent. Reality TV.
  8. 2. Soba, thanks for your kind words. and in answer to your query, I will interview anyone. If there is a paper or magazine that will print it, I'll do it. Hey TrishCT, How's about a telling little rant from Rocco's former wine steward, a guy who had high hopes for the restaurant and "The Restaurant" and who is utterly disillusioned and humiliated with the outcome of the latter?
  9. Perhaps Rocco intentionally opened Rocco's so that Cuozzo could pan it so the Post could sell more papers as part of a deal for more Page Six coverage of Rocco.
  10. I agree with Ed. Simplicity. I drink mine on the rocks with a splash of ginger and a squeeze of lime. Bliss. Personally my favorite rum to drink like this is Brugal Anejo from the Dominican Republic. I think it's a classic, and it's pretty available. A lot of finer liquor stores carry it, and it's CHEAP. I get mine for about $11 a bottle. Another one to look out for is a product from Guatemala called Ron Zacapa Centenario. It's barrel-aged up to 23 years, can be drunk neat, and is a knockout. It too is pretty inexpensive, so I mix it up. About $23 I believe. Look for the bottle wrapped in palm leaves.
  11. Ah, but, Bux, you're not paying attention! That wasn't just any waiter. That was GIDEON!!. He was the actor/waiter who was first in line in the first episode with the sign that said "I'm not a bum. I'm first in line". He has his own website now. This is a sad show. Minor correction, sorry Bux, but the waiter who went to get the wine was actually Pete, not Gideon. I know this because I was the guy who stepped in with the red wine to save his ass. I was also the guy who had to deal with the seething management staffs of both Kitchen 22 and Bolo(the two places Pete and the CAMERAS) went in search of vino. They were pissed. Truthfully I was rather surprised that bit made the show due to the illegal nature of the goings-on, but I'm guessing Burnett won't lose sleep if Rocco's gets slapped with a suit. As for who's left in the FOH. A few. Lots of housecleaning. Sorry, I didn't catch Pete's name, but I noted in my follow up post to Mark's post that it wasn't Gideon and he agreed. The correction had already been made online. But tell us how the house managed to run out of red wine and how you managed to step in with the red wine, if the restaurant ran out. So much of this sounds like planned mayhem for the cameras. Bux, I realized, post facto, that the correction was made. Sorry about that. As for the red wine fiasco, we were never in jeopardy of running out. We were well stocked to get through the first three nights. A miscommunication chain? A little dramatic push by the production team? I can't say. I heard that Pete took off on his sojourn, was stunned to say the least and stepped in(fully armed) to quell the situation. Admittedly, as Zenial said, there was no formatted wine list during the soft opening. It was sort of drink this, you'll love it. I can say with a splash of pride that Mr. Amex(who was indeed a jackass) got no Barolo that night.
  12. Ah, but, Bux, you're not paying attention! That wasn't just any waiter. That was GIDEON!!. He was the actor/waiter who was first in line in the first episode with the sign that said "I'm not a bum. I'm first in line". He has his own website now. This is a sad show. Minor correction, sorry Bux, but the waiter who went to get the wine was actually Pete, not Gideon. I know this because I was the guy who stepped in with the red wine to save his ass. I was also the guy who had to deal with the seething management staffs of both Kitchen 22 and Bolo(the two places Pete and the CAMERAS) went in search of vino. They were pissed. Truthfully I was rather surprised that bit made the show due to the illegal nature of the goings-on, but I'm guessing Burnett won't lose sleep if Rocco's gets slapped with a suit. As for who's left in the FOH. A few. Lots of housecleaning.
  13. All of us involved with the show have our own interpretations/opinions as to the way things went down @ Rocco's- some good, some bad, some truly ugly. I think the general sentiment falls squarely between the middle and latter. The one shining beacon of reality and integrity through it all. The one who, for me, helped to daily assuage the feeling of "what the f*** am I doing here" was Nicolina. She's la bomba, an angelic spirit with a heart the size of a hunk of gnocchi dough. I can't speak specifically of her place in the kitchen, but when she was around you felt right, you felt nurtured and you wanted to do a good job. She represents everything that Rocco's is, according to Rocco, supposed to be. When I would come in to work in the morning, there she was in the kitchen, a sola, rolling those damn meatballs. She'd make me eggs, tell me that her ankles were swollen and ask me "Why you no marry?" She really asked me that. I think what was so endearing is her naivete to or ignorance of all the crap. She's there to cook and spread the love, and that's it. A remarkable woman. Unfortunately for me, that aforementioned feeling predominated, and no amount of amore italiana could have reversed it.
  14. Most certainly not. What's the axiom? If you can't laugh at yourself... As long as you promise to laugh with me, not at me.
  15. Hi, My name is GotChianti? and I'm a recovering Rocco's employee. (Chorus: Hi GotChianti) Inadvertantly linked to this thread. Took a look. This seems the place for me. I humbly offer my services as liaison, providing a mostly honest appraisal(insofar as I am able, contractually obliged not to ...etc., etc.) If interest there is, I am here to dispense. If there is none, I'll be here as foodie. This is my hairshirt.
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