"The Restaurant" Reality Show Season 2

[ExtraMSG]

Does anyone else watch The Restaurant and say, "Man, I never want to be a Manhattanite"? So much posturing, so much playing to the cameras, so many prima donnas, so many chefs in the kitchen, both literally and figuratively. It's the same reaction I have every time I visit LA.

[hannnah]

That sacrificing yourself thing got old as soon as Bruce Willis did it in Armageddon, so it was annoying when FEMA head guy did it.

Y'know, that was what I kept thinking for the brief amount of 10.5 I watched:

"Low budget made-for-TV Armageddon."

Bring back Rocco - same amount of melodrama, slightly less overacting.

[tryska]

Bad enough that he's looking pretty tired and bloated...a decent pair of slacks and a sweater would have helped.......

i'm glad i wasn't the only one that noticed that. rocco's looking a little rough around the edges tho.

Love that Tony got a KC shoutout fromt hat one waiter. that was hilarious.

I just saw the rerun of epi 1 last night - didn't stay up to see epi 2.

[mags]

Does anyone else watch The Restaurant and say, "Man, I never want to be a Manhattanite"? So much posturing, so much playing to the cameras, so many prima donnas, so many chefs in the kitchen, both literally and figuratively. It's the same reaction I have every time I visit LA.

[blink] Why on earth would you think that "The Restaurant" -- never mind playing to the cameras -- has much to do with Manhattan, or is any way exclusive to Manhattan?

[pidge]

Does anyone else watch The Restaurant and say, "Man, I never want to be a Manhattanite"? So much posturing, so much playing to the cameras, so many prima donnas, so many chefs in the kitchen, both literally and figuratively.  It's the same reaction I have every time I visit LA.

[blink] Why on earth would you think that "The Restaurant" -- never mind playing to the cameras -- has much to do with Manhattan, or is any way exclusive to Manhattan?

i'm a manhattanite.....those people, btw, are not. we call them bridge and tunnel. and, honestly, having seen a little of both places, i would say the posturing is way more l.a., possibly having to do with the fact that it is, after all, television show. i have been (gasp) to "the restaurant" with out of town friends, and i can assure you that it is quite unlike any other place on our little island, with the possible exception of perhaps a few gentleman's clubs and times square hotel bars.

[Mabelline]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

Edited May 4, 2004 by Mabelline (log)

[Comfort Me]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

I have to admit, I heard the douchebag reference, but it took me a while to convince myself that that was what I heard.

I wanted to see him get hit by a car by the time Jeffrey gave him the boot.

What is really funny is that everybody I know is well aware of why they have such troubles.

The bar gets backed up because they serve eleventy-three froo-froo drinks with 37 ingredients each.

THe food is cold because the kitchen is a quarter mile from the table.

Rocco is never there because he's going through an intensive de-homosexualization process. (Anybody who has seen "Sordid Lives" is laughing right now.)

And the entire staff is comprised of whining, back-stabbing slackers becasue they only follow the pretty, skill-free slackers they hired 'cuz they look good, not because they give good service.

The staff don't know what kind of restaurant they are working in because they can't answer the most important question: "Am I an actor? Or am I a waiter? Waiter? Actor?"

Oi!

Edited May 4, 2004 by Comfort Me (log)

[tryska]

in reviewing this thread, seems like i should have kept the tv on a little longer last night. *sigh*

mondays at 10pm are just not good for me. does anyone know if bravo will keep airing reruns?

[herbacidal]

The bar gets backed up because they serve eleventy-three froo-froo drinks with 37 ingredients each.

THe food is cold because the kitchen is a quarter mile from the table.

Rocco is never there because he's going through an intensive de-homosexualization process. (Anybody who has seen "Sordid Lives" is laughing right now.)

And the entire staff is comprised of whining, back-stabbing slackers becasue they only follow the pretty, skill-free slackers they hired 'cuz they look good, not because they give good service.

The staff don't know what kind of restaurant they are working in because they can't answer the most important question: "Am I an actor? Or am I a waiter? Waiter? Actor?"

Oi!

'Nuff said.

[jess mebane]

mondays at 10pm are just not good for me. does anyone know if bravo will keep airing reruns?

oh, but hell yes. Brava's lineup consists mainly of paid prospamming, occasionally interspersed with NBC retreads and Columbo reruns. And Rocco's getting edited a la Real World crazy roommate-style.

[BuzzDraft]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

Do you suppose the snot-nosed intern was involved in the "Shoving incident" referred to in the press (musta been off camera)? As badly as Dispirito is coming off on this series, kicking the arse of that kid would be very rehabilitative to his image in my book.

Edited May 5, 2004 by BuzzDraft (log)

[herbacidal]

mondays at 10pm are just not good for me.  does anyone know if bravo will keep airing reruns?

oh, but hell yes. Brava's lineup consists mainly of paid prospamming, occasionally interspersed with NBC retreads and Columbo reruns. And Rocco's getting edited a la Real World crazy roommate-style.

Yea, not suprisingly, they're running a lot of their shows multiple times.

The Restaurant not as much as some of the others though.

[uzayt]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

I have to admit, I heard the douchebag reference, but it took me a while to convince myself that that was what I heard.

I wanted to see him get hit by a car by the time Jeffrey gave him the boot.

What is really funny is that everybody I know is well aware of why they have such troubles.

The bar gets backed up because they serve eleventy-three froo-froo drinks with 37 ingredients each.

THe food is cold because the kitchen is a quarter mile from the table.

Rocco is never there because he's going through an intensive de-homosexualization process. (Anybody who has seen "Sordid Lives" is laughing right now.)

And the entire staff is comprised of whining, back-stabbing slackers becasue they only follow the pretty, skill-free slackers they hired 'cuz they look good, not because they give good service.

The staff don't know what kind of restaurant they are working in because they can't answer the most important question: "Am I an actor? Or am I a waiter? Waiter? Actor?"

Oi!

I have to say that you make quite a statement here. I would love for you to come in and try to wok a Friday and and Saturday night at Rocco's. The food is not cold, the service is great, the bar gets the drinks out. I am really suprised, because most of the people on egullet are really smart, that you don't understand the difference between TV and the real thing. There are no producers or editors involved in a 550 cover night. I would love to see you try to do what we do every night. For your information, I am an actor and a waiter, have been both for 12 years, and I am in great company. About 80% of waiters in NYC are actor or, musicans or comedians. Be sure you know what you are talking about before you open your trap. Sorry to the rest of egullet for being so angry. I work too hard to be brought down in this manner.

[Comfort Me]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

I have to admit, I heard the douchebag reference, but it took me a while to convince myself that that was what I heard.

I wanted to see him get hit by a car by the time Jeffrey gave him the boot.

What is really funny is that everybody I know is well aware of why they have such troubles.

The bar gets backed up because they serve eleventy-three froo-froo drinks with 37 ingredients each.

THe food is cold because the kitchen is a quarter mile from the table.

Rocco is never there because he's going through an intensive de-homosexualization process. (Anybody who has seen "Sordid Lives" is laughing right now.)

And the entire staff is comprised of whining, back-stabbing slackers becasue they only follow the pretty, skill-free slackers they hired 'cuz they look good, not because they give good service.

The staff don't know what kind of restaurant they are working in because they can't answer the most important question: "Am I an actor? Or am I a waiter? Waiter? Actor?"

Oi!

I have to say that you make quite a statement here. I would love for you to come in and try to wok a Friday and and Saturday night at Rocco's. The food is not cold, the service is great, the bar gets the drinks out. I am really suprised, because most of the people on egullet are really smart, that you don't understand the difference between TV and the real thing. There are no producers or editors involved in a 550 cover night. I would love to see you try to do what we do every night. For your information, I am an actor and a waiter, have been both for 12 years, and I am in great company. About 80% of waiters in NYC are actor or, musicans or comedians. Be sure you know what you are talking about before you open your trap. Sorry to the rest of egullet for being so angry. I work too hard to be brought down in this manner.

So tell us then, Uzay -- if the whining slacker image isn't accurate -- is it scripted? Is it contrived? Because frankly, I'm not the only person who came away with that impression. I'd very much like a straight answer to my question -- is it "reality" tv, or it it theatre.

You don't think people are whiners? Watch the show again. You got a problem with the rep you come away with from your involvement in this show, you shouldn't have signed release to begin with. One lesson you might want to come away with: Don't shit where you eat.

[Raynickben]

In reviewing last night, I am still satiated that the intern got collectively butt-kicked. The glasses in ice was too hazardous for words. Captain Douchebag, indeed! He'd have gotten an old-fashioned ass whupping anywhere else.

Rocco is never there because he's going through an intensive de-homosexualization process. (Anybody who has seen "Sordid Lives" is laughing right now.)

That comment is uncalled for and libelous. I'm not laughing.

[uzayt]

OK. lets get a couple of things straight. Yes I am actor, but you never see me or anyone else on the show "acting". We are who we are, not playing any characters. For the show we were chosen because of our varied levels of ability in the restaurant business and personalities. Some of us are more experienced than others, and that is clear, and we are put in a hightened situation. The show is taped over 18 days straight and and we work all 18 of those days without a day off. We are asked to respond and re-act to what is happening in a much more public way than normal, ie in front of a camera. Again, I ask that you put yourself at Rocco's with 12 camera crews, producers, and every jerk who wants to be on TV as customers and try to image what its like for 3 weeks. Than let the producers cut that down to 6 hours!!! They have total control of storyline. I have problem with how I am portrayed and would not trade in this experience for anything. I knew exactly what I was signing up for and chose to stay for a second season. I still work there. It is unlike any restaurant in the world and I have fun. I have worked at 3 star restaurants in NYC and have the resume to get me job anywhere. I enjoy working at Rocco's with or without the cameras.

[mags]

I'd very much like a straight answer to my question -- is it "reality" tv, or it it theatre. 

You don't think people are whiners?  Watch the show again.  You got a problem with the rep you come away with from your involvement in this show, you shouldn't have signed release to begin with.  One lesson you might want to come away with:  Don't shit where you eat.

I think that's pretty harsh, Comfort Me. First, in demanding a "straight answer" to your question, you appear to be suggesting that Uzay, or other staffers at Rocco's, have somehow been prevaricating, that they are somehow responsible for your discomfort with a format that straddles the line between pure documentary and scripted drama. (Of course, even "pure documentary" isn't entirely objective; you're always going to be watching the cut that the director/producer has determined is most illustrative of the point they're trying to make, plus you're always going to have to cope with the fact that the camera's subjects -- assuming they're people and not, say, penguins -- will at least unconciously and most likely consciously alter their behavior somewhat in order to play to the camera. In the case of Uzay and his colleagues -- who are both actors and servers -- that's likely to mean angling for maximum camera-time.) At any rate, why is it Uzay's job to clarify for you the extent to which the show is or isn't scripted?

Second, what's so terrible about being both an actor and a server? Plenty of people -- including both good actors and good servers -- have been both. And throughout history, thousands (maybe millions) of artists of every stripe have held down "day jobs" (or "night jobs," in the case of actors who need their days free for auditions) while trying to make it in their chosen fields. Melville was a customs inspector, for Chrissake. James Joyce was an English teacher. And Whoopi Goldberg, for that matter, worked in a mortuary. Why is this somehow worthy of such contempt?

Finally...well, I'm just mystified as to the source of your unpleasantness. Uzay and his colleagues presumably needed jobs. They were offered jobs that provided not only paychecks but also the opportunity to be seen regularly on network television -- a kind of heaven-sent combo for anyone who is trying simultaneously to pay the rent and attract the attention of casting-directors. Particularly given that A) Rocco had a strong reputation going in, suggesting that the restaurant had a good chance of success, and B) that the tv exposure was likely to increase business at the restaurant, thus increasing its chances of success, they would have been nuts NOT to take the jobs. Why does their having taken the jobs somehow equate with shitting where they eat? At worst, IMO, they may be guilty of a certain naivete, in believing -- perhaps -- that the show's producers would display them in a favorable light. But why does naivete deserve such a scathing attack?

And for what it's worth, I wasn't laughing at the "dehomosexualization" comment either.

Edited May 5, 2004 by mags (log)

[tryska]

mondays at 10pm are just not good for me.  does anyone know if bravo will keep airing reruns?

oh, but hell yes. Brava's lineup consists mainly of paid prospamming, occasionally interspersed with NBC retreads and Columbo reruns. And Rocco's getting edited a la Real World crazy roommate-style.

do you know what times by any chance? i dig the monday 8-10 slot - that's more doable for me.

[rancho_gordo]

And for what it's worth, I wasn't laughing at the "dehomosexualization" comment either.

If it's possible without starting a war, can someone explain the comment to me? I don't get it.

[jhlurie]

Second, what's so terrible about being both an actor and a server? Plenty of people -- including both good actors and good servers -- have been both

Although some of the other comments (i.e.-"dehomosexualization") puzzled me, this one made sense. The concern about actors on this show has never really been that it's all that unusual to see actors working in a restaurant, but that maybe they were HIRED to look good on TV or act a certain way. I don't even think that it necessarily follows that they'd be reading scripted lines in this theoretical circumstance, just that they'd be "playing" to the cameras. Of course, it winds up that non-actors "play" to the camera too--they're just worse at it.

Uzay, though, has earned my respect because he's stayed with the restaurant (although frankly, if he'd become famous enough from the first show to get some big role somewhere he'd be a fool not to take it). But that doesn't mean that others--particularly others we saw on the first edition of the show--may not have been working in the restaurant purely to be on for those weeks of taping. It's not unusual or atypical that five or six months later so few of the people we saw working in the restaurant in the first season would still be around, because turnover is huge in jobs like that. But it's also not surprising that at least a few people look at that situation and speculate that at least some of those departed people may have only been there in the first place to be on TV.

[TrishCT]

Two steps back, deep breath everyone.

I interviewed several people involved in The Restaurant. They are hard working, ambitious, and yes...aspiring performers.... There is nothing wrong with that.

Sadly, with the animosity and tension between RD and JC, to date the show gives the audience nothing to cheer for.

If there is one positive to be gleaned, perhaps it's that some hard working people are getting opportunities from the media exposure they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I say let them have their moment.

It's a shame really...because this could have been a vision and instead it's a black eye.

[godito]

A lot has been said about comprising 3 weeks of filming to three hours. You can easily portrait a good dedicated waited to look like a slacker, and you can also make a good chef look like somebody that doesn't even care about the business. However, and I understand this is only a TV show (and the reality is very very far away from what we see here), however, then, I think that during those three weeks at least, service was less than efficient. As I also believe that Rocco has proved uncapable of handling the finances at Rocco's (and maybe NBC has something to do with this). However, as much as I want to see Rocco out of the show, I know we won't wee that, maybe not even next season. I'm pretty sure Rocco will never make himself look that bad. Maybe we will see Super Rocco again by the end of this seanon.

[aliwaks]

First of all IT IS A TV SHOW, they set it up so there is tension and a good guy and a bad guy and having strong feelings about Rocco is what makes it entertaining

( I personally think Rocco comes off as a major tool, but it may all be editing he very well might not be as toolish as I percieve him to be, he is incredibly cute, I thought that before the show, used to see him around the neighboorhood and drool)

Uzay, you can't take it so personally, everyone is watching the show which is the point. You want people to get involved with the show talk about it watch it have it go into syndication.

I started watching because Rocco's is on the block I grew up on and was looking to see if I could see my Dad walking the dog during an extertior. Then I got so caught up with the "Drama", I could relate because I had a new restaurant of my own at the time.

Most of us have worked in restaurants no one should be surprised by anything. I've never worked in a place where the waitstaff didn't gossip..please who has ever worked anywhere where there was no gossip and the boss wasn't demonized at some point .

Anyway who would want to watch a perfectly behaved staff work in a restaurant that had no issues and everything was perfect every day there would be no Drama.

Now I am so into it because I had major chef issues at my place and it is one of the reasons I closed besides I have a morbid fascination with Mama I want to see and MTV Death Match btw Mama & Jeffery.

Would I go to dinner at Rocco's? No probably not unless someone asked me to go with them , its just not my kind of place, I would definately pop in for a cocktail just to see the layout (I used to go to Commune, it is so not as big as it looks on TV the kitchen isn't that far away...though the kitchen is damn big) But there are enough people eating at Roccos that they don't need my patronage. For Italian food I'd rather go to Babbo, Mario is my favorite TV chef.

[Rasputin45]

After pre-emption, the show continues with episode three tonight.

[jhlurie]

What did we learn tonight?

That Rocco is so sad when he sees Mama in the window.

Other than that? Not much.