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Great write-up Thomas_traveler...

Donnamarie... by the way... Rocco was on Food Network long before the current Food Network personalities were ever on there.

Anyhow- you'd be surprised by how much time your favorite chefs actually do spend in the kitchen. A chef that actually has the personality to talk to their guests, should.

I saw him on The Restaurant--I had never heard of him before, actually. Watching him simper for the ladies while his staff was in the weeds made me hate him. What kind of chef opens a restaurant and spends no time in the kitchen? What kind of MAN has his poor old mama making meatballs for the restaurant? Give me a break! I always get the impression that he's waiting to be given a job on the Food Network--like it's his God-given right as a "celebrity chef" and if he can only put his face out there enough, FN will come knocking on his door. I hope that never happens.

I understand he is not a management person. So with all his assets and connections why not haul his happy ass back to Restaurant management school and get some education. Get a mentor. Do something other than piss and moan about how it is everyone else's fault.
I saw him on Mike and Juliet in the morning with his mother again this week. I am sure she is proud of him but holy shit stop turning your mother out for TV. There she was hawking his new book and her son. He wonders why people are passing rumors about his sexuality could it be because his mother accompanies him everyplace.
My advise is for him to go back to his roots and cook some great food maybe with an organization that can babysit him. Or go back to school and learn how to turn a profit. It is not a hard formula to learn. Take the talent add the method and turn it around. Stop being a damn whiner.

ed, i have to say i had the same issue with the times article... its as if they didn't do any research on his actual career pre-reality show. he's never lived up to his hype and has always been a petulant, fame-hungry chef.

that said, i had one of the best meals in my jaded life at union pacific in the early days. he had talent. its a shame he took the "star" route.

ccbweb, You may be right. LOL

Yes, I also don't understand why he doesn't get back in the kitchen. In the article he points out he can still cook, but he's apparently completely unwilling to find respectable work again (I don't consider becoming a human ad respectable). He knows he has, or had, the talent, but it's his choice to squander it. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to eat in UP, but watching The Restaurant did make me never want to work in one.

"he's trying to fight his way back to being a respected chef"

He is? How so? Is he cooking?

As somebody who didn't live in NYC during Rocco's critical heyday it doesn't really bother me. He is what he is. Can't fault the guy for making the easy money. Being a chef in a kitchen is an extremely hard, and low paying job compared to the money he can make shilling for Bertolli. Not to mention, the same people who lament his departure from cooking would probably be the first in line to tear him apart if he was to ever open another restaurant again. Why bother putting yourself through that.

That being said, if David Chang ever ended up following the "Rocco" path I would be super disappointed and really critical. So I can see how Union Pacific fans feel the way they do...

I do not agree with the three stars. Two months ago I had a pate there which would have been laughable in Paris where I spend a fair amount of time. The accompaying relish also lacked any finesse. A three star restaurant needs to be consistently good; the French style dishes were not one star.

Regina

I think the 3 stars make sense. It's loud and cramped, but it really is joyous to eat there. The service is casual, but it is very polished in its own way. But the main reason I think it merits 3 stars is that it is not just a place that makes a certain genre of food exceptionally. It is re-making and re-creating the genre of American food exceptionally. And it does so consistently with many of their dishes. Their pork buns are a take on an old Korean-Chinese dish, but they make it perfect and they make it new. The fried brussels sprouts uses a classic Vietnamese sauce as its base and then, well, adds fried brussels sprouts (that one might just speak for itself). The fried lamb belly, which I'm not sure is still on their menu, is a take on breast of lamb St. Menehould, but again, they make it new and make it their own. And it all tastes delicious. The restaurant is a convergence of tradition and creativity, intelligence and down-to-earth comfort. It is exciting.

I like the 3 star rating....

Although I hate this term, I think that more than any restaurant I've been to in NY Ssam has the power to turn anyone into a "foodie". Sure, the food is delicious, but anyone who visits can easily get excited about the quality of the ingredients, the innovation of the recipes, and the dedication of the chefs and servers -- without thinking too much about it.

Its' like the Beatles of dining out in NY.