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Archive through April 19, 2004

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows: Archives for 2004-1: The Restaurant II: ARCHIVES: Archive through April 19, 2004 users admin

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Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 1:22 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
'Restaurant' Serves Up New Episodes in April
(Thursday, March 18 03:00 PM)

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Last summer Mark Burnett's reality series "The Restaurant" served up piping hot plates of ratings for NBC. This spring, the network is looking for an early seating at Rocco DiSpirito's restaurant, launching the new season of the series on Monday, April 19.

Season two of "The Restaurant" will slide into the 10 p.m. ET slot after "Las Vegas," taking over when the limited run of "Average Joe: Adam Returns."

In the first season, viewers got to watch celebrity chef Rocco start a new restaurant from scratch. There were problems with the setting, with the staff and with the food, but viewers seemed to enjoy the chaos. "The Restaurant" drew 7.8 million viewers per episode, solid numbers for the summer months.

This time around, much of the drama will come from the conflict between Rocco and his financier Geoffrey Chodorow over the operation of Rocco's on 22nd. The New York papers were full of scandalous descriptions of Chodorow taking over the restaurant and charging Rocco with mismanagement. That will play out over the course of the six hour-long episodes.

"This show and its star Rocco were clearly one of NBC's break-out hits this past season," says Jeff Gaspin, executive vice president, alternative series, specials, longform and program strategy, NBC Entertainment. "We feel our viewers are hungry to find out what has happened to Rocco, his beloved Mama and their colorful staff."

Returning "characters" on "The Restaurant" will include Mama DiSpirito, General Manager Laurent, Captains Uzay and Emily, Waiter's Carrie and Al and Chef Tony.

***

I refuse to be the only person who watches this! You guys better be tuned in on the 14th! :-)

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 1:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
scorpiohoney, i LOVVVVVVVE this show! i never missed an episode! i will be watching it on the 14th also!

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 2:19 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yay! Thanks Landi! Now I feel much better. :-)

Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 3:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I've recently seen some of Rocco from a few years ago on the Food Network. He was on From Martha's Kitchen, which is just repackaged stuff from her daily show (RIP) and he was on a show called Melting Pot, which is American ethnic cooking, with two chefs from similar backgrounds doing their ethnic couisine. Rocco was on with some woman and they made Italian food; on Martha, he did something nondescript, but Martha was nice to him (hell, she was even nice to Bobby Flay, and I don't know whether *I* could do that!).

Anyhow, Rocco was once really cute. I'm sure I'll watch this show and hate myself for it. I still get annoyed with the overzealous product placements from the first series, from the "story lines" that didn't work out, and from the overacting customers. It will have to be my guilty displeasure.

Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 4:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I watched it last time I got more annoyed each week as it seemed so scripted and the product placement was rampant......yeah, I will watch again LOL

Jhezzie
Member

07-05-2001

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 5:47 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yup, I'm sure I'll watch it while enjoying a cold Coors Light.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 7:19 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
don't forget to be holding your american express card!

Fabnsab
Member

08-07-2000

Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 2:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I'll be driving my Vespa home just in time to catch this season!

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 1:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yikes! Check this out:

From NY Post Page Six:

March 25, 2004 -- THE power struggle at Rocco's 22nd Street is getting physical. Chef Rocco DiSpirito, who's embroiled in a court battle with partner Jeffrey Chodorow, recently got rough with the eatery's general manager, prompting a visit by police. Witnesses tell The Post's Braden Keil that DiSpirito threatened Ed Rosenthal after he refused to deliver food to the chef's apartment. DiSpirito stormed over to the restaurant, where a shoving match ensued. "He had a wild look in his eye," said one observer of DiSpirito - who could not be reached for comment. No arrests were made.



Lori
Member

04-18-2003

Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 2:31 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Rocco is on QVC today with his line of cook ware. I also noticed you can purchase Mama's meatballs from QVC as well.

Gemma120in2002
Member

07-05-2003

Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 2:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wonder if QVC keeps the meatballs next to the Richard Simmons' Deal-a-meal.

Jblaca
Member

02-26-2004

Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 3:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I saw Rocco on Oprah and must say he is perhaps the whitest person I've ever seen, short of an actual albino.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 6:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Jblaca-have you ever seen a real redhead?

Weinermr
Member

08-18-2001

Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 9:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Mama's meatball recipe was published in TV Guide a while back. I didn't write it down.

Melfie1222
Member

07-29-2002

Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 11:16 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I will watch.

and Jblaca, I have noticed that also, when I've seen him on other shows. He has no color to his face whatsoever, and he has very dark hair.

Gemma120in2002
Member

07-05-2003

Wednesday, April 07, 2004 - 12:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I just got this update from The Smoking Gun. Looks like Rocco and his business partners are going to court. The complaint Rocco filed explains a lot of the problems they were having last year, like not paying the employees, etc.

It looks like this season is going to be pretty ugly. It should be interesting to watch! As a culinary arts student, it's definately an education!

OK, it would help if I posted the link!
www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0406041rocco1.html



Jblaca
Member

02-26-2004

Sunday, April 11, 2004 - 9:14 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Rocco is white in a different way than say John from AI. When I saw him on Oprah he was just pale like a ghost, like he had no blood in his face. Maybe it was the lawsuit problems.

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Monday, April 12, 2004 - 2:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Don't forget: the new six-part season starts tonight.

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Monday, April 12, 2004 - 11:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ok, so I got the dates mixed up. Sorry about that.

Onward...

And not a day goes by that Roco isn't mentioned on Page Six:

MORE trouble for celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito. He's been ditched by his hot Italian girlfriend Yvonne Scio, who finally got fed up with the meatball-munching mama's boy's canoodling with C-list model types. DiSpirito has been spotted getting cozy with leggy lovelies at hot spots such as Bungalow 8 and Marquee in recent weeks. Meanwhile, New York magazine's Beth Landman is putting the finishing touches on an expose of the conflict between DiSpirito and his business partner Jeffrey Chodorow, who are battling it out in court over who is responsible for the disaster that their money-losing restaurant, Rocco's on 22nd, has become. "After dating for almost a year and a half, Yvonne and I have decided to go our separate ways," DiSpirito said in a statement. "We remain good friends. Yvonne is a smart, sweet, wonderful girl and a talented actress. I will miss her very much." His reality show "The Restaurant" returns to NBC on Monday.

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 9:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
And yet Page Six mention:

FOODIE financier Jeffrey Chodorow takes the stuffing out of Rocco DiSpirito over their failing venture, Rocco's, in the next New York magazine. "This guy insisted on fresh firewood, and I had to hire a fire marshal 24 hours a day to make sure the restaurant didn't burn down," Chodorow tells Beth Landman. "We are serving calamari in cardboard cups, and he insists on sterling silverware. This is my only restaurant that is losing money . . . My manager caught one of his people taking pasta out of the restaurant, which we know he was sending over to Union Pacific, and we were paying for the labor." DiSpirito counters: "He said that? I hope you print that."

Watching2
Member

07-07-2001

Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 9:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
OY! I caught a good part of the "Restaurant marathon" on Bravo today. I never really got into this series the first time and only saw it a couple of times, but darn it all, I've gotten hooked into more shows from those weekend days when there's nothing else on and they play a marathon. I think I know what I'll be watching Mon. night. LOL I just set my VCR to catch the new show on A&E re: the mortuary, and I bet I'm going to be adding in the Restuarant too. :-)

After watching today, I now get the the humor and disguest about the product placement, esp, the stupid scene of an American Express card in a glass. LOL

Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Monday, April 19, 2004 - 1:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
This is hysterical! Rocco is mentioning on Page Six AGAIN!:

April 19, 2004 -- ROCCO DiSpirito didn't look too broken-hearted at the "Apprentice" after-party Thursday having split with gorgeous Italian actress Yvonne Scio. The randy restaurateur was with knockout Nikki Nez, whom he met on the runway at a "Dressed to Kilt" fashion show a week earlier. "We were both wearing dresses," Rocco deadpanned. In her profile on an Internet model database, Nikki entered "Native American" for her "ethnicity." Under "General Information," she wrote, "To save us both time, I do not model nude, so please don't ask."



Scorpiomoon
Member

06-06-2002

Monday, April 19, 2004 - 8:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL! This show is as absurd as I thought it would be!

Rocco is SHAMELESS! Rather than American Express we get shots of Rocco's book and Rocco's cookware. Geez.

This is just too freakin' funny. On the one hand you have Rocco who totally loves himself. And on the other hand, you have everyone else who hates him.

As I knew it would, this show sucks so bad you can't but watch.

Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Monday, April 19, 2004 - 8:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I forgot this was on!! Thx Scoprio!

Lurknomore
Member

07-07-2001

Monday, April 19, 2004 - 9:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I forgot it was on ACK...well??? Did I miss anything worth seeing? Didn't like Rocco or the show too much the first time around and here I am worrying what I missed. I'm not a reality junkie I'm not. OUCH my nose just hit the screen LOLOL