Union Pacific (Closed)

[HOOLIGAN]

Maybe he should speak with Danny Myers about opening a Mama's Meatball Cart on the sidewalk.

Edited September 29, 2004 by HOOLIGAN (log)

[Holly Moore]

Rocco did not comport himself very admirably on The Restaurant - or at least he was edited to appear as such. I have had a hard time accepting that someone with so little regard for his employees could have been so successful at Union Pacific.

I am wondering if someone who knows both Rocco's Rocco and Union Pacific Rocco could compare and contrast. Was it the celebrity that changed the man, or is that who he has been all along?

[emilymarie]

Perhaps this is obvious to everyone else, but I am wondering--is this whole downfall all a result of Rocco's brief but humiliating stint as a reality television star on the restaurant? It seems that after the show started, any credibility he had disappeared. Did he ever have any credibility? I thought so. Maybe this was also encouraged by the fact that, it appeared he spent very little time at his actual restaurants.

I had a memorable meal at Union Pacific about 4 years ago, complete with a delicious skate with brown butter and squab with sweetbreads. Dessert was awful, but I found the whole experience very satisfying. I hadn't been back since then, but some reviews would suggest that it's gone down hill.

I find this all very interesting. Why do you toil so hard in a kitchen for all of those years? So you can be a chef, own your own place. But, it seems that all that comes along with running your own place and becoming famous takes you farther out of the kitchen. Or at least it can. I guess how far removed you become depends on how far you take this whole fame thing (read: never sign up to star in your own reality show). Anyway, my two, jumbled, cents.

[TrishCT]

I don't know Rocco (he refused all my attempts to interview him), but those I did interview spoke of him as being very driven with his new found celebrity from The Restaurant. If you catch an old re-run of Melting Pot on The Food Network you'll see a thoughtful, insightful young chef honing his craft with sincerity and creativity.

Once Mark Burnett's cameras hit him he decidedly took another path. He became Rocco the TV STAR. And he sacrificed his ethics and reputation as a serious chef (firing chef Tony on-air, not paying employees on time, giving a Vespa to an employee on-air then taking it back because it was never his to begin with).

Alhough he didn't sacrifice his mother, he used her, while she showed up to work every day he was galavanting about, and he shamelessly dragged her onto talk shows to hawk his cookware. I can only imagine what the past several months were like for Mama at Rocco's 22nd, working with people openly hostile to Rocco and having to defend him ad nauseum.

I mentioned in another thread yesterday that Vegas is the next logical place for him.

A shame really, and a waste.

Edited September 29, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[Raynickben]

A few weeks ago I saw Rocco on the "Ali and Jack Show" (I swear I was on the treadmill at the gym and completely held captive by the screen in front of me) and from what I read on the captions, Rocco is developing his own talk show with cooking segments etc. His being relieved of his cooking duties was probably in the plan.

The funniest part of his appearence was when he walked out on stage he heard a female audience member say "he's not that cute in person" and he called her on it. What an EGO!

[oakapple]

Perhaps this is obvious to everyone else, but I am wondering--is this whole downfall all a result of Rocco's brief but humiliating stint as a reality television star on the restaurant? It seems that after the show started, any credibility he had disappeared. Did he ever have any credibility? I thought so. Maybe this was also encouraged by the fact that, it appeared he spent very little time at his actual restaurants.

←

He certainly had credibility. Union Pacific was a serious restaurant, and he was behind it.

But as a restaurant empire expands, a different management style is required, else quality will suffer. Some restauranteurs have succeeded at this (e.g., Mario Batali, Jean-Georges Vongerichten). Others have not. Rocco did not. I'd say the reality show was a symptom of this problem, rather than being the problem itself.

[SethG]

Perhaps this is a sign that the New York Times restaurant critic-- permanent or interim-- retains more power than many of us have posited here?

I think this is very sad. My wife and I had several wonderful meals at Union Pacific, all of them pre-TV Rocco. I'm sorry to see him brought so low by his ambitions, if that is indeed what's happened. He's a very talented chef, and I hope that despite his stated intentions he'll end up back in a kitchen in NYC sometime soon.

[oakapple]

Perhaps this is a sign that the New York Times restaurant critic-- permanent or interim-- retains more power than many of us have posited here?

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I suspect the three-to-two demotion merely made public what had already been happening. The Burros review appeared on February 11, 2004. I don't think the Times can tank a restaurant that quickly. UP that had been open for several years, and was not dependent on a favorable Times review to bring in business.

[fyfas]

Maybe he should speak with Danny Myers about opening a Mama's Meatball Cart on the sidewalk.

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That's really funny.

As to Union Pacific, a couple of meals there about a year before the whole Restaurant debacle had me simply scratching my head. Things were good; maybe very good but not quite as good as what I expected and the overall attitude of everyone non-kitchen was simply excessive and annoying.

Edited September 30, 2004 by fyfas (log)

[tommy]

i'm looking forward to rocco rising from the ashes of the public stoning and opening a place that blows the pants off of the people...who actually have the opportunity to eat there. :rollseyes:

i'm confident that it will happen, given my experiences, and those of other diners whose opinions i respect, at UP over the last 8 or so years. yes, i look forward to it indeed.

[Pan]

I wouldn't be surprised if Tommy proves to be a prophet. The food I had at UP wasn't good purely by accident; there was clear evidence of a sound concept involved. I have to think that something other than a shoddy concept of cuisine has reduced Chef DiSpirito to this low ebb.

[KatieLoeb]

I have to think that something other than a shoddy concept of cuisine has reduced Chef DiSpirito to this low ebb.

Did you catch any of the episodes of The Restaurant??

Seems obvious what the "problem" is. Whether Chef Rocco can dig himself out of the hole he's dug himself with a backhoe remains to be seen. Regardless of his previous credibility and obvious talent, he's proven himself a public spectacle of ego and irresponsiblilty and cesspool of ethics and the poster boy for selfishness. I don't think there's a potential backer left that would want to have to babysit Rocco and his enormous ego through any type of business deal, or at least any one that Rocco would sign on for that didn't hem him in so tight he couldn't scratch an itch when he had one.

Of course if he makes enough money selling sausages and cookware on QVC he won't need the next Jeffrey Chowderow to back his next ego project and can go it alone. That might be the best thing for all concerned anyway, if the last project was any indication.

[tommy]

katie, it was a TV show.

i'd be interested in hearing the opinions of the folks who worked with rocco at UP for all of those years, rather than the opinions of those who watched the TV show for those 2 seasons.

i really can't get over what i perceive as misguided hatred of a man who was, by many accounts, very important to the NYC dining scene, by people who likely know little more about him than his business ventures and TV show. granted, we can all sit here and say that all of the peripherals effected UP, but i think that's just conjecture. unless someone here is truly in the know. anyone? didn't think so.

Edited September 30, 2004 by tommy (log)

[KatieLoeb]

katie, it was a TV show.

i'd be interested in hearing the opinions of the folks who worked with rocco at UP for all of those years, rather than the opinions of those who watched the TV show for those 2 seasons.

i really can't get over what i perceive as misguided hatred of a man who was, by many accounts, very important to the NYC dining scene, by people who likely know little more about him than his business ventures and TV show.  granted, we can all sit here and say that all of the peripherals effected UP, but i think that's just conjecture.  unless someone here is truly in the know.  anyone?  didn't think so.

←

Tommy:

I get what you're saying, and I'm certainly grasping that it's TV, but I still think you can't possibly edit enough to make someone look that egotistical and irredeemable without their assistance. Even if he were a stand-up guy and a pleasure to work with in the past, it still doesn't discredit his own actions and preposterous posturing once the cameras started rolling. I'm not saying that Rocco is the anti-Christ, I'm just saying that it's within the realm of possibility that his desire for fame and celebrity got the best of him (and that seems pretty obvious I think) and he's evolved into a jackass. I think he has/had enormous talent - that's clear from his rise to respected and "important" chef in the highly competitive NYC restaurant scene at such a young age. No one can take that away from him. But his desire to spend his time on self-promotion rather than on the nuts and bolts of running a high level restaurant kitchen speaks for itself, TV show or not. His ability to use his poor long suffering mother for his own selfish purposes is reprehensible, no matter what business he's in. His complete inability to accept any responsibilty for the failure of Rocco's all along that painful path does not speak well of him in the present tense. Your reputation is what others think of you. Your character is far more important and what you'll be remembered for long after your reputation fades.

[Pan]

Did you catch any of the episodes of The Restaurant?? 

←

Nope. But I did have a meal at UP. It doesn't sound like you think a shoddy concept of cuisine is what has brought him to this low ebb either, though.

[tommy]

His ability to use his poor long suffering mother for his own selfish purposes is reprehensible, no matter what business he's in.

←

what do you know about his mom, their relationship, and her willingness in that venture? or are those comments again based on supposition.

[Kevin72]

Didn't you mean "Did The Restaurant turn people OFF to Union Pacific"??

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Sure did.

[Toliver]

Anyone catch Rocco on QVC yesterday hawking his 10-piece line of cookware & Mama's meatballs? Yes, Mama was there, too, eventually.

"Rocco Items on QVC"

His cookware is oven-safe to only 400°f.

He mentioned that he had personally autographed QVC's entire supply of his cookbook (he said a couple thousand or so).

[tommy]

He mentioned that he had personally autographed QVC's entire supply of his cookbook (he said a couple thousand or so). 

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is this out-of-the-ordinary?

i'd melt his cookware. that wouldn't be good.

[Toliver]

is this out-of-the-ordinary?

←

No, I don't believe so. I wouldn't be surprised if QVC makes it part of their sales-agreement with some of their celebrity shills. I remember seeing a brief segment on "Entertainment Tonight" (all their sgements are "brief" ) about a NASCAR driver who was signing a room full of model cars modelled after his own car to be sold on QVC.

I think Rocco commented to:

1) make him look like he cared about the people who would end up buying the book. He said something to the effect of "I wanted to make sure that if you were going to buy my book, you were going to get an autographed copy. So I personally autographed two thousand copies of my cookbook."

2) make it look like it was his idea.

[simdelish]

He mentioned that he had personally autographed QVC's entire supply of his cookbook (he said a couple thousand or so). 

←

Yes, don't you all remember that scene in "The Restaurant" ? That was one of the things that was so outrageous! He didn't have time to be in the kitchen, because he had 2000 cookbooks to sign! That was the very scene when he fired his chef, Tony... Rocco gave him the heave-ho while he was signing books!

[KatieLoeb]

Yes, don't you all remember that scene in "The Restaurant" ?  That was one of the things that was so outrageous!  He didn't have time to be in the kitchen, because he had 2000 cookbooks to sign!  That was the very scene when he fired his chef, Tony... Rocco gave him the heave-ho while he was signing books!

←

Precisely my point. He's happy to go off and self promote while the restaurant collapses into rubble around him. Happy to fire the guy that's covering HIS ass while he's off self-promoting, and then can't seem to grasp why his investor might be a bit peeved that there's no "EXECUTIVE CHEF" oversight going on while the numbers spin wildly out of control. The job title comes with certain responsibilities. He ignored them. It came back and bit him on the ass. Pretty straightforward and utterly predictable sequence of events from where I'm sitting.

[Mabelline]

Although I had not had the privilege of seeing Rocco on QVC previously, I did catch him yesterday on "Rocco's Kitchen". 29.78 for three #s of mama's meatballs, plus 10.72 sh. & handling. I don't care if Moses made those meatballs, mine are damn good. They are made with basically the same ingredients, and no, Mama, I don't stretch them out with breadcrumbs. That was for when I was a poor kid.

Rocco is his own worst enemy. He couldn't open his own pots, claimed he'd been cooking for 25 years(his co-host tickled me when he says-yeah-he started when he was 7) and I was just waiting for him to put pizza dough on his head.

Tommy, you may be right. I kinda hope you are. But if he is actually a nice guy, why does he make such a great act of being poco loco?

Damn! I knew I'd forget somethin'. The signed cookbooks hit me exactly the same as Katie. I'd say he probably has a bunch left from the time spent neglecting his duties to be a celeb.

We are not making up crap about the guy...he's doing it to his own self quite well.

Edited September 30, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

[Ocean_islands]

I have to say that I feel vindicated about my review of 'The Restaurant' on realitynewsonline.com when it originally opened (at Realty News Online) -- I predicted he would end up hawking cookware in infomercials.

But really, if you have a low-brow food concept and try to charge high-brow prices, something is rotten in Denmark. I never ate there but never felt the need to.

Edited October 6, 2004 by Ocean_islands (log)

[pogophiles]

Heh heh...signed copies can't be returned to the publisher for credit!