"The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 1

[NeroW]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

What I did like was the line cooks sitting around the bar, after their shift, with *no* drinks.

[bloviatrix]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

I keep thinking that Rocco and Jimmy Fallon (of SNL) are separated at birth.

[NeroW]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

I keep thinking that Rocco and Jimmy Fallon (of SNL) are separated at birth.

That's scary.

[Bothameboutasteak?]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

What I did like was the line cooks sitting around the bar, after their shift, with *no* drinks.

Those weren't cooks, they were waitstaff. And no drinks is ludicrous....they drank nonstop!

[zenial]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

What I did like was the line cooks sitting around the bar, after their shift, with *no* drinks.

Those weren't cooks, they were waitstaff. And no drinks is ludicrous....they drank nonstop!

I must agree, we pretty much drank non-stop after the shift.

[Bothameboutasteak?]

EPISODE 105 Stage fright The staff is angry that their paychecks haven't arrived - some of them can't even pay the rent. Rocco's overworked Mom gets sick. Then three of his cooks can't come to work because they got in a bloody bar fight, and Rocco wonders if the bad news will ever end. Bringing food to his sick Mom, Rocco realizes he has been pushing everyone too hard. He decides to work as a server and demonstrate he's part of the team. That night he works with Uzay. Struggling to keep up, Rocco earns the staff's grudging admiration. He also gains a new appreciation for how difficult their jobs are. TV-PG

And the fun begins.......

[TuWanda]

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

It's not just you. Only - it's not his face that makes him unattractive. It's the slime and teen-age anti-charm he starts exhibiting whenever he's in the vicinity of someone with breasts. Blech -

Edited August 4, 2003 by TuWanda (log)

[rappy]

First post - please be kind.

What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.

I'm sorry, I don't buy this line for one second. I watch a lot of reality tv, and while editing can often concentrate on just one side of a person's personality, it cannot put words in your mouth, nor can it fabricate your actions. This is a Mark Burnett show. The man has made the editing of reality shows into an art form, and the truth is that his editors are rarely off the mark.

As an avid reality show junkie, I have rather mixed feelings about the show. Most people here ripped the premiere apart, but I truly enjoyed it. I found it very entertaining, and frankly, I don't expect much in the form of "reality" from reality television, and the reason I generally tune in is to mock, rather than to follow blindly. I'm also entirely too accustomed to product placement in reality shows, so in truth, I probably missed half of the rather blatant commercialism.

The second episode made me a little uncomfortable. Perhaps because the first one painted Rocco as less of a tool than I expected. His behaviour was annoying, but not yet reprehensible. I found the wait staff absolutely laughable. I can't really comment as to which of the staff were actors, and which were experienced waiters, but what I saw was a joke, and the comments by some of the waitstaff in this thread didn't do much to sway my opinion. Whether they received a month of training or a day of training, professionalism isn't something that can be taught in that time frame. You either are or you aren't, and for the most part, there was no professionalism at all, and I'm not only talking about the waitstaff. It is entirely uncool to have arguments on the floor. For anyone.

The third episode made my stomache turn. Rocco was shown to be an unmitigated and unprofessional ass. Starting with his inability to be straight with any of his staff, and primarily with Gideon and the annoying Brazillian chick. I think the wait staff hit the nail on the head when they pointed out the identity crisis of the restaurant. Either it's a chow house, or an upscale restaurant, but those are two extremes that can't mix. You can't be replacing cutlery with every course, while expecting people to eat out of disposable dishes. Furthermore, the way Rocco reacted to criticism was absurd.

I especially disliked the part where he apologized to Topher's friends by saying "what can i say, he's a fuck-up." Who knows what really happened, but in any case, i can't imagine circumstances under which you would say that sentence to guests.

No joke. I don't care if there was a dialogue that wasn't shown, but the man has absolutely no ability to read people. Those were not people with a sense of humour. They were angry, and when you deal with angry people, you kiss their ass and comp them. Furthermore, a business owner, and I don't care how casual a business (and if he's changing cutlery with every course - it's hardly supposed to be a casual place), should never swear in front of customers. Ever.

His behaviour with Linda Stasi was also pathetic. Granted, the woman is hardly a food critic, but she's a critic nonetheless, and acting like and ass and then not even caring if she got her food? If I were in his position, I'd be down there cooking the food myself. Absurd.

I'll keep watching, because I enjoy the fall from grace of reality "stars", but I am unimpressed to say the least.

[tommy]

and the truth is that his editors are rarely off the mark.

how do you know this to be a "truth"?

it's pretty clear that it's easy to show people in whatever light you want when you have hundreds of hours of tape of them.

[mags]

What I can't understand is, does Rocco not have ANY competent PR people? Sure, the show is doing nicely for NBC (I guess), and the huddled masses will probably flock to the restaurant for a few months, just on the strength of having seen it on TV. But IMO, Rocco comes across like a shallow, utterly self-absorbed frat-boy with zero management skills and a repellent confidence in his own tinny charm. (He was feeling up that critic's thighs, fer chrissake!) Real simply, the show doesn't make him look good, and I'm stunned that he didn't have a PR staff smart enough to demand edit-approval. Of course, the alternative is that he DID have edit-approval, and somehow imagines that he comes across as A) appealing, and B) someone you would want to hire to run your restaurant. And that notion is even more horrifying.

[zenial]

First post - please be kind.

What bothers me is that all the people know what editing can do but will still complain about the incompetant staff.

I'm sorry, I don't buy this line for one second. I watch a lot of reality tv, and while editing can often concentrate on just one side of a person's personality, it cannot put words in your mouth, nor can it fabricate your actions. This is a Mark Burnett show. The man has made the editing of reality shows into an art form, and the truth is that his editors are rarely off the mark.

As an avid reality show junkie, I have rather mixed feelings about the show. Most people here ripped the premiere apart, but I truly enjoyed it. I found it very entertaining, and frankly, I don't expect much in the form of "reality" from reality television, and the reason I generally tune in is to mock, rather than to follow blindly. I'm also entirely too accustomed to product placement in reality shows, so in truth, I probably missed half of the rather blatant commercialism.

The second episode made me a little uncomfortable. Perhaps because the first one painted Rocco as less of a tool than I expected. His behaviour was annoying, but not yet reprehensible. I found the wait staff absolutely laughable. I can't really comment as to which of the staff were actors, and which were experienced waiters, but what I saw was a joke, and the comments by some of the waitstaff in this thread didn't do much to sway my opinion. Whether they received a month of training or a day of training, professionalism isn't something that can be taught in that time frame. You either are or you aren't, and for the most part, there was no professionalism at all, and I'm not only talking about the waitstaff. It is entirely uncool to have arguments on the floor. For anyone.

The third episode made my stomache turn. Rocco was shown to be an unmitigated and unprofessional ass. Starting with his inability to be straight with any of his staff, and primarily with Gideon and the annoying Brazillian chick. I think the wait staff hit the nail on the head when they pointed out the identity crisis of the restaurant. Either it's a chow house, or an upscale restaurant, but those are two extremes that can't mix. You can't be replacing cutlery with every course, while expecting people to eat out of disposable dishes. Furthermore, the way Rocco reacted to criticism was absurd.

I especially disliked the part where he apologized to Topher's friends by saying "what can i say, he's a fuck-up." Who knows what really happened, but in any case, i can't imagine circumstances under which you would say that sentence to guests.

No joke. I don't care if there was a dialogue that wasn't shown, but the man has absolutely no ability to read people. Those were not people with a sense of humour. They were angry, and when you deal with angry people, you kiss their ass and comp them. Furthermore, a business owner, and I don't care how casual a business (and if he's changing cutlery with every course - it's hardly supposed to be a casual place), should never swear in front of customers. Ever.

His behaviour with Linda Stasi was also pathetic. Granted, the woman is hardly a food critic, but she's a critic nonetheless, and acting like and ass and then not even caring if she got her food? If I were in his position, I'd be down there cooking the food myself. Absurd.

I'll keep watching, because I enjoy the fall from grace of reality "stars", but I am unimpressed to say the least.

Well. um. Your wrong I won't go through the whole thing again. But they ACTUALLY DID put words in peoples mouths, thats just the start

[Bothameboutasteak?]

What I can't understand is, does Rocco not have ANY competent PR people?  Sure, the show is doing nicely for NBC (I guess), and the huddled masses will probably flock to the restaurant for a few months, just on the strength of having seen it on TV.  But IMO, Rocco comes across like a shallow, utterly self-absorbed frat-boy with zero management skills and a repellent confidence in his own tinny charm. (He was feeling up that critic's thighs, fer chrissake!) Real simply, the show doesn't make him look good, and I'm stunned that he didn't have a PR staff smart enough to demand edit-approval.  Of course, the alternative is that he DID have edit-approval, and somehow imagines that he comes across as A) appealing, and B) someone you would want to hire to run your restaurant.  And that notion is even more horrifying.

I agree with you in that he is not looking too good at this point. However, I think NBC is going to take this in the other direction in the coming episodes.

[tommy]

(He was feeling up that critic's thighs, fer chrissake!)

did he? or is that just your interpretation based on the frenzy of images and sounds that they put on tv.

[Varmint]

Yeah, it wasn't the critic's thighs, as Rocco would have had to have been on crack to do that! Now the other women with whom everyone was getting way too friendly, that's another story. Of course, I'm sure the film crew didn't egg them on or anything!

[tommy]

Yeah, it wasn't the critic's thighs, as Rocco would have had to have been on crack to do that!

so we can count that as just one more piece of misinformation fueling this mess. thought so.

[Wren]

Yeah, it wasn't the critic's thighs, as Rocco would have had to have been on crack to do that!

so we can count that as just one more piece of misinformation fueling this mess. thought so.

No it wasn't the critic's thigh, he was feeling up some anonymous blonde woman's thigh while sitting with her and several other women. He excused himself after declaring he was becoming aroused. I say he's easily aroused, but then I guess most men are.

[EJRothman]

I have to say, it's been entertaining to read everyone's posts here. Although most are complaining, everyone still seems to be watching the show. Many people say that Rocco looks like a fool and this is bad for his career, blah, blah, blah. A few thoughts come to mind.

First of all, there is really no such thing as bad press. Any coverage is good coverage.

Second of all, as another member pointed out (I think it was Varmint), there are six episodes to this show. Being that it is a fictionalized version of reality it has been edited so things go badly, then get better, and Rocco triumphs in the end. Of course, I don't know this will be the case, but I'd be willing to bet on it.

Lastly, and this is sort of the overarching theme, I guess - The field of Political Science teaches (basically) that people are stupid. That's why people don't vote, don't know the issues, and plain don't care. Same holds true for this show. No one will remember the disasters (especially after Rocco's triumphant finale) and even so, no one will care. They will go, they will eat, they will be impressed. There is no way that Rocco's career will be anything but bolstered by this venture, he has exposure and that is all that matters.

-Eric

[bilrus]

Being that it is a fictionalized version of reality it has been edited so things go badly, then get better, and Rocco triumphs in the end.  Of course, I don't know this will be the case, but I'd be willing to bet on it.

Maybe some of our newer members who were on the show can answers this.

What are the chances that he is sitting at home watching this for the first time along with us, smacking himself upside the head and calling to scream at his publicist (who he was complaining to in the first episode), Mark Burnett or his dog?

Has he been out actively promoting this lately?

[d.hawksworth]

Does anyone know how much money they are paying Rocco for this ?

Basically if you cared about what you were doing wouldn't you get your ass into the kitchen and sort that shit out ?

I mean what his he thinking ?

And then going to get the paper and hoping that you get a decent review with out even checking the order or anything ..............

Recipe for disaster

Somebody is smoking something !!

[Bothameboutasteak?]

Being that it is a fictionalized version of reality it has been edited so things go badly, then get better, and Rocco triumphs in the end.  Of course, I don't know this will be the case, but I'd be willing to bet on it.

Maybe some of our newer members who were on the show can answers this.

What are the chances that he is sitting at home watching this for the first time along with us, smacking himself upside the head and calling to scream at his publicist (who he was complaining to in the first episode), Mark Burnett or his dog?

Has he been out actively promoting this lately?

He doesn't have creative control at all. His "publicist" used to work for NBC and now has several high profile clients, Rocco being the least famous of them all. Is he sitting home? I doubt it...He has not been promoting the show as of late, but NBC is thrilled with the ratings and acclaim so far....so they really don't need Rocco to promote it.

[NeroW]

I don't know why Rocco was wearing a cook's jacket. He wasn't cooking.

No, he wasn't.

And is it just me, or . . . is he really not *that* cute?

What I did like was the line cooks sitting around the bar, after their shift, with *no* drinks.

Those weren't cooks, they were waitstaff. And no drinks is ludicrous....they drank nonstop!

I must agree, we pretty much drank non-stop after the shift.

Oh, good. I must have missed that part!

I'm relieved.

[Mark Sommelier]

Just checking. Is everyone familiar with this website?

http://www.bitterwaitress.com

This site was started by dis-affected employees of another well known New York restaurateur.

[mags]

Yeah, it wasn't the critic's thighs, as Rocco would have had to have been on crack to do that!

so we can count that as just one more piece of misinformation fueling this mess. thought so.

I'm not sure it really matters whose thigh he was goosing, Tommy (though it might well have mattered to the critic and/or to the Anonymous Blonde ). My point was that he's on national TV exhibited as a fella who feels up strange women in public. This is not endearing.

[Jinmyo]

Does anyone know how much money they are paying Rocco for this ?

Basically if you cared about what you were doing wouldn't you get your ass into the kitchen and sort that shit out ?

Exactly, David.

[KatieLoeb]

Does anyone know how much money they are paying Rocco for this ?

Obviously enough not to care how he comes across or if the place opens and closes within six months.

Basically if you cared about what you were doing wouldn't you get your ass into the kitchen and sort that shit out ?

I find this particularly ironic given that one of the many Amex ads shows Rocco saying "I've worked hard to get where I am, and here it is - my OWN name is finally on the door!"

I mean what his he thinking ?

I think he's thinking that he's gotten paid enough to gamble that good reputation. (Think Looney Tunes and Daffy Duck jumping up and down yelling "I'm rich! I'm socially secure! Mine, mine mine! Back off!") What's to lose? Whether the place stays open or closes, AMEX and Coors and whomever else, will be footing the bill. The thought that a lot of hard working people might be out of a job probably hasn't crossed his mind, because obviously anyone who's feeling up the female guests in the dining room during service is a little more concerned with his own needs than those of his employees, dontcha think? He'll still be able to take a withdrawl on his fat bank account and open his next restaurant regardless. Or find new investors (NBC perhaps?) Whatever...