"The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 1

[Special Ed]

Oh Gideon, you poor, poor little man.  I just got off the floor from laughing my ass off!  I am sorry this was your home run, your big break.  What now?  Oh, Lordy. Lordy, Lordy!!! Wouldn't want to F&*%$K with NBC????  LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope your "website" gets lots of hits, LOLOLOLOLOL.  I don't give a flying F*&%k what NBC does to anyone!  You fail to realize that the COOKs were actually there to COOK!!!!! Jackass....LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.  you crack me up, thanks for that.             

This was the single most annoying post I've read on eGullet. Is it common for you to laugh at yourself, use excessive punctuation, and generally act like a chimp? If you're going to participate in a debate, try and actually make a valid point once in a while. And as Tommy said, try not to play both sides; or even with your extraordinary grasp on the English language, you won't be taken seriously.

LOLOLOLOL! OMG WTF!!1

[sammy]

The review talked of the food's style and restaurant decor and (purposefully, I believe) avoided much discussion of the food's taste.

That's because the restaurant wasn't reviewed, it was just profiled in Friday's restaurant spot which I believe is known as Dining Out.

[sarapi55]

To all - I'm sorry if I should already know this, but what is thought to be an acceptable amount of time to wait before a serious review should take place? How long should it take for a kitchen to find it's legs? If I am not mistaken, Rocco's has been open for just about eight weeks now. I'm not being snarky, I don't what the norm is. Thank you.

~Tad

I've read Dining Out, and most of the reviewers in there claimed to have waited anywhere from 6 weeks to a few months for the first meal at a new restaurant. Plus, there would be multiple meals before any review was published or stars were awarded.

For those of you in the business, does this sound pretty accurate?

[alanamoana]

most restaurants get reviewed by the third month that they are open. the reviewer can come in any time once the doors are open. they usually do eat there two to three times before writing the review. they hope to catch the chef "out" (coming in on a sunday at least once). this makes opening a restaurant particularly painful. while waiting for the review, employees (particularly management) rarely get a day off until the review is in the paper. i worked at a restaurant with a total of four days off the first two and a half months we were open until the review was written!

[Lreda]

Hey, I love Page 6 in the Post, along with the sports section. Steve Cuozzo is actually a decent food reviewer, I find his reviews on Weds pretty much on the spot. Yeah, The Post is a tabloid, but it's mine since i was 5.

Edited August 6, 2003 by Lreda (log)

[Bothameboutasteak?]

Oh Gideon, you poor, poor little man.  I just got off the floor from laughing my ass off!  I am sorry this was your home run, your big break.  What now?  Oh, Lordy. Lordy, Lordy!!! Wouldn't want to F&*%$K with NBC????  LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope your "website" gets lots of hits, LOLOLOLOLOL.  I don't give a flying F*&%k what NBC does to anyone!  You fail to realize that the COOKs were actually there to COOK!!!!! Jackass....LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.  you crack me up, thanks for that.             

This was the single most annoying post I've read on eGullet. Is it common for you to laugh at yourself, use excessive punctuation, and generally act like a chimp? If you're going to participate in a debate, try and actually make a valid point once in a while. And as Tommy said, try not to play both sides; or even with your extraordinary grasp on the English language, you won't be taken seriously.

LOLOLOLOL! OMG WTF!!1

Thanks for the compliment!

If you paid attention, I commented on his reputation. His reputation. NOT his cooking demonstrated at UP. This reputation is made up of several components, not just his abilities at the stove.

[MatthewB]

Gosh, cynicism is so appealing!

[MsRamsey]

As if you needed another article, here's one from zap2it.com:

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/...1|,00.html

"That's all he said, as he then opted out of continuing the conversation by putting this reporter on hold and then never returning to the phone."

[bilrus]

That was actually a pretty revealing article.

It answers a question I had raised earlier as to whether Rocco knew what was coming. It sounds like he is genuinely pissed off at how he is being portrayed and that even Burnett is helping with his damage control.

Plus, it is a little un-Burnett like to reveal the arc of the story like that.

[Jinmyo]

Here's an interesting article about Rocco from a year or so ago.  Makes him sound like a completely different person than the one portrayed in The Restaurant.

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/food/i.../features/5155/

Actually, it provides a good background to how and why he has made the decisions he has made.

[jhlurie]

Actually, it provides a good background to how and why he has made the decisions he has made.

Yes, 'tis true. It simultaneously induces both admiration and cringes in different parts of me. This is very much the Rocco I see doing the current show--ambituous, desiring of fame, somewhat ruthless under the nice (that's not necessarily a bad thing by itself), having real talent underneath but perhaps not willing to face the cost of his rise to fame. He's like a Greek tragedy waiting to happen, except he's Italian.

[Bux]

Bux, you make valid points.  Rocco can cook indeed.  He just doesn't do it at Rocco's.

Apparently not, from what we're shown and from what people say.

[rhubarbd]

This is a terrific thread! What a hoot ...

Quick thing: as a food & restaurant PR person who deals with the NY Post, NY Times, and just about every food writer/critic in NYC, i'd like to make a couple of points:

First, there is tremendous pressure on the part of newspaper critics to be the first to review a restaurant, and what used to be a "gentleman's agreement" not to review a place till it had a chance to shake out exists no longer.

One of our clients was reviewed by The NY Times while we were still in previews and discounting 15% as a courtesy to our guests! I am not exaggerating - the reviewer came in three times in the first two weeks we were open, and the review ran in either week #3 or 4 (i forget which).

RE: the NY Post - hey, the politics of the paper scare me, too - but the bottom line is, it's a very important newspaper with impressive increases in circulation in the last 12 months. And BTW - a huge chunk of the serious dining public reads "Page 6" and Steve Cuozzo's reviews - especially Wall Streeters who are still spending $$$ in NYC restaurants.

Page 6 is such a powerful draw, in fact, that we have clients who say - i'm less interested in being reviewed by Bill Grimes than in being in "Page 6" four times a year!

And finally - The Daily News reviewed Rocco's last week, well before Cuozzo's review came out. Did anyone see it? Their critic found it to be much better than she'd expected.

[Blondie]

RE:  the NY Post - hey, the politics of the paper scare me, too - but the bottom line is, it's a very important newspaper with impressive increases in circulation in the last 12 months.  And BTW - a huge chunk of the serious dining public reads "Page 6" and Steve Cuozzo's reviews - especially Wall Streeters who are still spending $$$ in NYC restaurants.

Wall Streeters may still read the NY Post and spend money in restaurants, but that doesn’t mean they know anything about food. In fact, I’d run the other way from any place Wall Streeters congregate to eat just to avoid tables full of drunk assholes behaving boorishly. I know, I know, they’re not all like that, but I worked in the field for nearly a decade and the business attracts that type of person.

If you go to the Post website you see they are trumpeting “Steve Couzzo’s Zero-Star Review” on the front page of the print edition with a big picture of Rocco. I’m not saying that Cuozzo intentionally panned Rocco’s so the Post could sell more papers, but I wouldn’t put it past a paper that thrives on sensationalism and intellectual dishonesty.

Page 6 is such a powerful draw, in fact, that we have clients who say - i'm less interested in being reviewed by Bill Grimes than in being in "Page 6" four times a year!

Then I hope your clients get the clientele they deserve.

And finally - The Daily News reviewed Rocco's last week, well before Cuozzo's review came out.  Did anyone see it?  Their critic found it to be much better than she'd expected.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the restaurant reviews in the Daily News and Post are rarely mentioned on eGullet, and I think I can safely say we are among the most food-obsessed people in New York. I think that speaks to their relevance to serious food people.

[Jinmyo]

I’m not saying that Cuozzo intentionally panned Rocco’s so the Post could sell more papers...

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.

[rhubarbz]

Blondie, i'm sorry, but i think you're being unnecessarily harsh. Yeah, maybe the Daily News doesn't get mentioned a lot on eGullet - but that's not because their restaurant critic is without merit. In fact, she's a terrific writer (IMHO) with a Beard Award or two under her belt and a recent book on pie that got favorable reviews pretty much everywhere (including several times on NPR). Not that i'm here to defend her ...

And to your comment about hoping the restaurants i consult for get the clientele they deserve from a Page 6 mention ... i guess i don't really know where you're coming from. Are you suggesting that ADNY, Daniel Boulud, and a dozen other first-rate chef-driven restaurants don't also want Page 6 mentions?! The idea here is to stay in business by attracting lots more than just the "serious food people" you speak of so reverentially.

I'm also not here to defend flippin' Page 6 (!!) - i know what it is. All i'm saying is, from a marketing standpoint, it's a brutally competitive industry and all PR agencies looks for as much "serious" food coverage (Food Arts, NPR, The Times, The Washington Post, Gourmet, etc. etc.) as they do off-the-food-page coverage (Page 6, the business sections of local papers, Redbook, Esquire, blah blah blah).

It takes a lot of bodies to fill a restaurant and ya know? we're not so cavalier as to exclude those that read The Post or The Daily News.

[GotChianti?]

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.

[Blondie]

Blondie, i'm sorry, but i think you're being unnecessarily harsh... 

Maybe I am being a bit harsh, but if you’re in PR you should be able to take it

I’m not saying that a restaurateur shouldn’t look to get business any way they can, but if they think a Page Six mention is more important than a Times review then maybe they aren’t so confident about the food.

Page Six is a gossip column. It reports the comings and goings of celebrities. I would prefer to take my chances on a place Bill Grimes or Eric Asimov likes, rather than where Demi was seen canoodling with Ashton.

I wasn’t trying to imply that the Post or Daily News critic weren’t qualified or good at their jobs, but it seems that if they were influencing eGulleters at all we would be talking about them.

[Blondie]

I’m not saying that Cuozzo intentionally panned Rocco’s so the Post could sell more papers...

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.

That's more like it

[Lreda]

Blondie, i'm sorry, but i think you're being unnecessarily harsh.  Yeah, maybe the Daily News doesn't get mentioned a lot on eGullet - but that's not because their restaurant critic is without merit.  In fact, she's a terrific writer (IMHO) with a Beard Award or two under her belt and a recent book on pie that got favorable reviews pretty much everywhere (including several times on NPR).  Not that i'm here to defend her ...

And to your comment about hoping the restaurants i consult for get the clientele they deserve from a Page 6 mention ... i guess i don't really know where you're coming from.  Are you suggesting that ADNY, Daniel Boulud, and a dozen other first-rate chef-driven restaurants don't also want Page 6 mentions?!  The idea here is to stay in business by attracting lots more than just the "serious food people" you speak of so reverentially.

I'm also not here to defend flippin' Page 6 (!!) - i know what it is.  All i'm saying is, from a marketing standpoint, it's a brutally competitive industry and all PR agencies looks for as much "serious" food coverage (Food Arts, NPR, The Times, The Washington Post, Gourmet, etc. etc.) as they do off-the-food-page coverage (Page 6, the business sections of local papers, Redbook, Esquire, blah blah blah).

It takes a lot of bodies to fill a restaurant and ya know?  we're not so cavalier as to exclude those that read The Post or The Daily News.

Oh boy, you are just winning me over. I happen to agree with you on The Post's influence on the dining public.

Not everyone dines 4 star every night of the week.

Unless you're P. Diddy.....

Edited August 7, 2003 by Lreda (log)

[scoodyboo]

Wow, where to begin? Actually, just a quick thanks to all post-ers, I love you, I need you, I can't live without you. Secondly, (gimme a cigarette- whew!), there is a review of Rocco's in the food/dining section of the latest Village Voice - two stars. Not sure it's online or not, it's just a short blurb. Thirdly, Topher e-mailed me! I like him. He's cool. I'm not a stalker. I swear. Fourthly, the "when is it ok to review a new restaurant" discussion makes me thing of "The Theatre" and previews. It's all so clear over there.

I think that's it. God bless the BOH, the FOH, the valet people and Rocco's mother.

Peace out

Ruthless

[tommy]

i don't think i've ever read the Post in my life. i hear they have good sports coverage though. but i don't like sports.

[tommy]

Not everyone dines 4 star every night of the week.

and others try to dine the best they can...and they don't read the Post for suggestions.

[Mark Sommelier]

Not everyone dines 4 star every night of the week.

and others try to dine the best they can...and they don't read the Post for suggestions.

Tommy,

Steve Cuozzo is a much more entertaining writer than Mr. Grimes is, any day of the week. That guy can write a really mean funny review. The original Ducasse review and the last Russian Tea Room ones were priceless. Maybe the archives still have that. I have to say, I really laughed out loud today when I read his write-up. I can't wait for episode 5 when it becomes Rocco Remdemptio. This is what NBC and these anonymous employees are promising us. From what I've read, Bux will get his Kumbaya in episode 6, also.

[Callipygos]

And everybody here in NYC reads the Post.

(Looking up from her NEW YORK TIMES to blink at you in some disbelief)

Speak for yourself, dude.

Say, another question just occurred to me, one I'd like to address to the Staff Of Rocco's that currently lurk in here. Precisely which entity is paying you -- Rocco's? Or NBC?

Because, to my mind, if NBC is writing your paychecks, then I would understand all of the plot massaging going on. But if it's ROCCO who's writing your paychecks, then I don't understand why he is letting an outside interloper affect what you do and don't do, and what does and doesn't happen in the place. And I KNOW they are. And if they are, in some attempt to affect your work because it makes good drama, I'm curious if anyone has told them to stuff it because ROCCO is your boss, not NBC.

And this is going to sound somewhat cruel -- this is about the runner, whom I have been told was named Brian, who waxed rhapsodic in last week's episode (I believe his exact words were something like, "It's like, you go in and it's a four-star place, but you get served in the paper banana boats and people are like 'what the f*ck is going on' and it's just AWESOME, man!"). ...I have worked with directors like that that got caught up in the concept. I've always secretly believed that they were licking some pretty weird stamps.

Edited August 7, 2003 by Callipygos (log)