It's The Restaurant -- part of NBC's summer onslaught and, according to Silverman, "the ultimate workplace reality drama."
I can think of, I don't know, about a million reasons why this is a bad idea. How about watching some big-haired Long Island princess vapidly shoving gobs of duck confit into her capped and polished maw? Or six hours of gutting bunnies for the lapin à la moutarde special condensed down into one blood-soaked thirty-second clip sandwiched between shots of the celebrity-heavy dining room and hidden-camera footage of the dishwasher picking his nose while he's polishing the Riedel crystal? I don't know much about how to make a hit show, but I do know what the back of the house looks (and smells) like on a busy Saturday in the middle of August in Manhattan, and I don't think the viewing public is ready for that much "real" in their quote/unquote reality TV.
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It could be enough to drive viewers to drink. And that's where Coors Brewing Company fits in: As the official malt beverage sponsor of The Restaurant, Coors will provide all the beer to fuel this experiment. Advertising during the show will be done by way of product placement -- undoubtedly leading to some rather stilted dialogue along the lines of: "Sir, would you like some HEINZ ketchup (tilt bottle to show label) to go with your delicious HUDSON VALLEY foie gras (pan down to show quivering slip of elegant foie perched delicately on plate) and beef tenderloin, courtesy of the AMERICAN BEEF COUNCIL? And can I get you another ZIMA?" -- and the restaurant itself will supposedly be run as a moneymaking operation.
"The show's about Rocco," Burnett says of the Food Network regular. "There will be other elements, but the drama here will be about the challenges of Rocco opening this restaurant. He's on the line here."
And I, for one, will be watching. Just as long as they don't schedule it opposite Iron Chef.
Leftovers: Eric Roeder put the finishing touches on Bistro Vendome, at 1424 Larimer Street, (named after the Place Vendôme in Paris) in time to open on April 21. Roeder (formerly of Micole, Q's and Lespinasse in New York City) says he'll be "on the hot side of the line," with Griff Sickendick as sous, Steven Flingon pastries, and Mike Peterson working the floor. Vendome is now serving breakfast (how long can that last?), lunch, dinner and weekend brunch off a menu that stretches from the simple (macaroni au gratin, croque-madame, steak frite) to the classically grand, including seared duck breast with cassoulet and caramelized orange sauce, trout with sevruga caviar, and a $49 plateau de fruits de mer royal with lobster, crab, mussels, oysters and shrimp.
Spies operating in the service of the Bite Me HQ espionage wing sampled some of Roeder's fare during the test dinners he ran in mid-April, and they report that while there were some minor glitches that could be attributed to nerves, overall Bistro Vendome's spare preparation and wonderful, rich flavors went a long way toward supporting Roeder's contention that what he wants is a place that evokes the simple, unpretentious and well-loved bistros that ring the center of Paris. As an added bonus, Vendome offers a 65-bottle-strong French wine list, a variety of pastis and royales at the bar, and a selection of gueules de bois -- hangover drinks -- for the morning after.
As for the former occupant of Bistro Vendome's location, the Little Russian Cafe, Bite Me's spies report that according to signs posted in Writer Square, Steve Ryanplans to open Red Square Euro Bistro just a stone's throw from his old restaurant.
There are more restaurant openings and closings to report -- but none will be as sad as the eventual loss of King's Land Seafood (2200 West Alameda Avenue), the most cavernous and colorful of this town's dim sum joints -- and one that still uses the much more frenetic cart method of delivering dumplings to the masses. After a year of controversy and valiantly futile efforts to save the Alameda Square property that's home to King's Land as well as many other Asian businesses, owners Khanh Vu and Hamid Simantob finally agreed to sell the property to Wal-Mart. According to King's Land manager Sufan Siu, there's no date for when the doors will close. "Maybe three months, maybe the end of the year, maybe next year," she says. "The city came to meet with us and told us Wal-Mart hasn't told them anything yet." Also very much up in the air is exactly how much the businesses will be compensated for being booted out of their locations. The only number being tossed around now is $20,000, for unspecified moving expenses.
Definitely gone is Citrus, the upscale eatery/ vodka bar/club in Union Station (1701 Wynkoop Street) that suffered despairingly from nights when the dozen lonely revelers slumped at the bar made the dim interior and dramatic point lighting look like a nicely stage-dressed wake, shut down ten days ago after a two-year run.
