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The Restaurant -
Not A Great Dish, Served Hot or Cold
By CaliGirl
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Season One - A Brief Reminder
Having viewed two seasons of "The Restaurant" and recapping the first season while making commentaries on the second one, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in what could have been a fascinating show, but missed the mark by miles.
Actually, the first season, with its chaotic beginnings showed sparks of what might have been a good show. Jeffrey and Rocco, starting out as friends and partners, scouting for locations while each had a dream in his head was heady and exciting. Rocco wanted to recapture his lost youth and Italian traditions, and Jeffrey wanted to make money.
The interviewing process began with often hilarious results, much like the American Idol auditions. There was an unusual mix of people, those that wanted to be on camera, and then there were those that wanted to be on camera. You get what I'm saying, don't you?
The construction of Rocco's took longer than anticipated and time was money. Just ask Jeffrey. Rocco was growing nervous but seemed very dedicated to doing his best and making a success of it.
Unfortunately, quite a few of the staff had their minds on other things and once opening night came, stage fright and mishaps took center stage. For instance, one waiter took it upon himself to run through the streets of New York in the dark of night to find a couple of bottles of red wine because the bar had run out. The customer had handed him an American Express card to seal the deal. He didn't ask. He didn't tell. Very unprofessional. However, this guy wanted to be a stand up comic, so who can blame him for taking the least practical route to get some wine for the customers? Later on, we see his tasteless and abysmal performance at a club where he was practically booed off stage and so comedy wasn't in his future either.
The rest of the waiters and waitresses weren't much better. Orders were brought to the tables cold and the customers had to wait for hours to be seated, and even longer to get their food served.
The Cast Of Characters
It was a comedy of errors to be sure, but at the same time, rather entertaining. Like the time Fran Drescher shows up and a loudmouth a couple of tables away yells over to her to come to his mother's house for dinner because her meatballs are superior to Mama DiSpirito's.
Speaking of Mama, she was the Rock. And I'm not talking about the dude with the arched eyebrow although God knows they could have used him to restore some order in the place.
She got up early, made hundreds of her famous meatballs and had time to schmooze with the public. Everybody loved the old lady. She was feisty. Like a mama lion she defended her baby Rocco with all the fierceness of a jungle animal.
Now we come to Rocco. Charming, attractive and fond of the ladies. What a great opportunity. He may even have been a talented chef, but who really knew? He was too busy squeezing thighs and posing for pictures. He certainly didn't know how to hold meetings with his staff which he should have done on a daily basis. When he did call everyone together it was usually to berate them or to make empty promises. There was Lolabelle who was promised a red Vespa if she would come back to work for him and at the end, she never even got the scooter. Rocco didn't know how to manage people and it showed.
The kitchen was in utter turmoil. The chefs were at odds with each other and the dishes suffered as a result. No, let me put it another way, the customers suffered.
When one of the waiters slipped and fell fracturing his elbow or a similar body part, Rocco was not too sympathetic. When the poor schnook wanted to come back to work because he needed his paycheck, Rocco kept sending him home. It was pathetic. Incidentally, the staging of this dramatic event had to be recreated for the viewing audience.
With good leadership qualities, Rocco could have made the place a success. Instead, there was a lot of traffic because of his star power, but it was mostly to catch a glimpse of him. I'm not sure what he learned at the CIA, but it certainly didn't include good management. If it did, Rocco must have slept through that class.
The finale of Season One was a rather charming one. Rocco and the gang all went out for a party at the beach somewhere in the Hamptons. Things were very harmonious for the most part and even though one of the girls - Heather - had it in for another one - Lauren - (Read my fabulous recaps in the archives of Fans of Reality TV), and a good time was had by all.
By that time, I had decided to leave the site behind for many good reasons.
What Were They Thinking?
When it was announced that there was to be a second season, my immediate reaction was, "Why?"
Now I realize that it was going to be "The Restaurant - Cinema Noir." How things had changed. Many of the show biz hungry staff had left, and that was a good thing. However, the situation got increasingly out of control.
Jeffrey became the heavy. He realized that after six months in business, Rocco's was $600,000 in debt. How could that be? The place was mobbed. People were clamoring to get in. Reservations were difficult to obtain.
Well, for one thing, if you have people waiting too long for their meals and there is dissatisfaction, then you're not turning over tables fast enough. The bar was run like a three ring circus with April, an aggressive resentful bartender giving gum-chewing Matt, a chick magnet, a seriously hard time.
The Chodorow Armada was sailing full steam ahead antagonizing everyone and telling the staff that the now heavy-bearded Jeffrey (perfect for a villain) was fully in charge. While Jeffrey was outrightly aggressive, Rocco was passive-aggressive. He stayed away from the restaurant because he claimed to have felt uncomfortable there. In reality, he was just a big baby.
Things deteriorated rapidly after that. It became a tug of war between former buddies Jeffrey and Rocco. Whatever one of them said, the other negated. The staff was totally confused and it certainly didn't help that bigmouth Carrie was getting great pleasure out of spreading gossip and false news around. That woman should have been fired on Day One of Season One. Since no one but the cameras were there to record her backstabbing ways, she was free to carry on her nasty work which she obviously enjoyed.
Jeff got worse as he got increasingly worried about the loss of income. How many times did we have to hear that out of his 22 restaurants, Rocco's was the only one not turning a profit? He'd come in glowering and his henchmen and henchwomen were there to carry out his bidding.
Time Out, Everybody!
We were now reduced to watching an Elementary School playground fight. Whatever Jeffrey did without Rocco's knowledge or approval, Rocco retaliated with in kind. He fired Tony, he told his remaining staff that he was going to be there to set things right because he was the boss and equal partner, but nothing ever became of it. Rocco was aghast when bar stools were ordered surreptitiously, while his beloved silverware was taken away. He fired the dreadful intern Drew who really believed that he was important in his role of making the restaurant work.
By the time we got to the last show, things got even nastier and uglier. Even though three shrinks tried to resolve the problems between Rocco and Jeffrey, the mood was bitter. Jeffrey auditioned chefs and moaned in ecstasy over their food. He even went so far as to go to Miami to recruit someone who made Jeffrey (kids close your eyes) orgasmic. But, Jeffrey is as much of a drama queen as is Rocco. Neither one was giving in.
At the end, Jeffrey gives Rocco an ultimatum. With check in hand, Jeffrey offers to buy him out because they can't work together and suggests opening a Brazilian restaurant. That is the actual ending of the show.
However, since that time, we have since read in the news, that Jeffrey is suing Rocco and Rocco is counter suing. Wow, I wish I was a lawyer.
Bottom Line
This second series definitely did not deliver. I think NBC saw it in advance but was hoping for the best. Even wunderkind Mark Burnett could not save it from going up in flames, literally and figuratively. He admitted in an interview that he gave to The Hollywood Reporter that it was a very tough show to produce.
Burnett is now entrusting a bigger version of "The Restaurant" called "The Casino," to FOX. Let's hope that this one fares better. It was painful to watch Rocco's fizzle. I, for one, am glad that it's over. Live and learn.
CaliGirl loves the Ocean, granola and winemaking. When not busy with that, writing is her biggest thrill, well almost. She can be reached at california_girl100@yahoo.com
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