Gothamist: Between a Rocco and a Hard Place

Ojukwu Osita Emmanuel

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 23:18:42 -0500

Hello Mr.Rocco's, Thanks to your resturant and have not been there but i love the resturant. i base in china and china is highest country in the world that consume a lot of food. And in china food is more important than money and the love food and it gives them joy. and the most important point is that with the chinese population the never cook at home,mother,father and children eat in resturant and the eat day and night. And the funny thing is that without food the can not work, and some factory in china keep works give them food and the will be working and the labor is so cheap and the work's very hard. i tell you the brazil resturant china are making good money in china and in one year the have open in one city 4 branches and all are doing so good and i beleive your restrant will also do very good and i will help to get at list african's customers. if you are intrested you can contact me on phone or mail : 0086-13724880789 0r 0086-13798016043. then i will tell more about food in china.

sherry kunce

Thu, 27 May 2004 20:17:01 -0500

hi when are you going to air "the resturant" on t.v. I miss you guys espically mama please let me know I turn (Iowa channel) 7 and no Rocco's on so what's going on??? thanks please let me know I get bummed out when your not on a concerned viewer from cedar rapids, Iowa sherry kunce

sherry kunce

Thu, 27 May 2004 20:16:58 -0500

sherry kunce

Thu, 27 May 2004 20:16:39 -0500

OLGA

Sat, 01 May 2004 08:26:19 -0500

MR. ROCCO I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO YOUR RESTAURANT BUT I AM SURE THAT IT IS A GREAT PLACE. I AM AVON LADY AND MY POINT TO THIS IS THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR BUSSINESS GREAT AND WONDERFULL MAKE SURE THAT GOD IS IN FRONT OF IT. IT WOULD BE A GREAT PLEASURE TO MEET YOU ONE DAY. YOUR FRIEND OLGA

greg

Sat, 24 Apr 2004 12:31:44 -0500

TV producers are very smart. America is board. If you don't think they are making millions on advertisement. Then keep watching.The more crazy the show the more we watch.

Lanie

Tue, 20 Apr 2004 07:22:18 -0500

Why is it that so many people are shocked at the bad atmosphere and/or service at Rocco's? It's in New York afterall. Rocco's is just trying to live up to other reputations.

Paul Bass

Sun, 07 Mar 2004 20:54:45 -0500

We just visited NY City for the first time this past weekend myself , wife, and my daughter. We really enjoyed our visit to the city. The worst experience of the whole trip was to? you guessed it ROCCO'S sum it up IT SUCKED , BAD FOOD , OVERPRICED. We had two orders of spaghetti and meatballs and one order of spaghettini which came to lets see 17+17+13= $47 for some of the sorriest spaghetti and bread I've ever eaten but when they brought the bill I thought well that won't be too bad they really wanted to eat there because of the TV show and all but then to my surprise was the bill 50 no 60 no but get this over 70 dollars approx. $75 you do the math. We had iced tea to drink? surprise $21.00 for Tea needless to say I was Not Happy so if you read this take some advice save your money it won't be hard to find a better place to eat. We are from Virginia and to make a comparison our fast food Italian Fazollis is 100% better. Aldos In Va. Beach is 200% better so Rocco should take a Vacation sometime and eat some real Italian Food .

ayan

Mon, 17 Nov 2003 18:03:25 -0500

I don�t know what to say about the food in that plate but one thing I�ve learned from watchin the show is they know nothing about food presentation.

anonymous

Thu, 04 Sep 2003 15:17:23 -0500

Just a note to everyone.... remember that whomever was hired for the show had to sign a waiver that they could not speak of or interview with anyone while filming was taking place and before the shows actually aired...... the good news is ...... now anyone can talk about it and its not a pretty picture....... I had someone near and dear to me who was selected to be on the show and they didn't show her but a few flash seconds during the entire 6 weeks..... she was not one of the main people because she was in the kitchen and very serious about her "JOB" of cooking and took alot of heat from people barking orders........ theres more where that came from and if anyone ever wanted an interview, boy could she give one..... if she didn't I certainly would... let's just say, I was totally disappointed with everything that happened...... No, she was not fired.... she waited and hung in there until it was all over and even a few weeks past the airing then quit because of the lack of professionalism that went on........ should we say disgusted ....... talk back....

JessiePink

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 14:40:37 -0500

What gets me is the time when the staffs paychecks were delayed and Rocco came up with a brilliant idea,"Hey, let's use our Amex small business credit and pay our employees!" You�re telling me that with all this backing, product placement, overpriced food and packed very night evenings you can�t pay your staff?! Rocco is a sell out! I would never grace that place even for curiosity!

Mike

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:38:12 -0500

I wish I had started a log of product placements from the first episode. It's hilarious. And, I believe the line was "Rocco's MITSUBISHI is being towed." Also, I wish I had started a log of the "oh, the camera just happened to be in this person's apartment when the phone rings" moments. If these were drinking games, the audience would be in a product-placed, poorly scripted stupor.

Vincent

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 14:55:35 -0500

I think Rocco is kinda a perv

Southern Sue

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 23:51:56 -0500

I have had nightmares after watching the last 2 episodes of The Restaurant. I dreamed we sat there 3 hours, only had a salad and then received a bill for $427 to which the waiter said that the minimum for coming in the joint was $50. After reading the reviews of Rocco's on the internet, maybe it's a premonition. What do you think?

Kristen

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 18:27:55 -0500

Does Rocco have a nose job?

Karru

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 12:10:53 -0500

Thanks for clearing up the confusion about the critic. I didn't watch the show and was going by a Washington Post chat . . .

JessiePink

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 11:10:38 -0500

See what I mean?! Read this Sundays post and see all the other product placement deals Rocco's got.... ones I didnt catch. "Look... Rocco's SUV is being towed" Okay, but I'm still gonna watch tonight :)

jlynn

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 11:38:00 -0500

the NY Post critic wasn't even a food critic; she was a tv critic. real food critics work hard to be incognito and some even wear disguises. she was yet another diner taking advantage of the camera. i hate it when journalists make other journalists look bad.

Giovanni

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 01:41:12 -0500

He's giving us Italians a bad name!

FDL

Fri, 08 Aug 2003 17:46:39 -0500

I hear you JessiePink, I thought it was a commercial when I first turned it on. More ridiculous even than the copious footage of Amex-swipes and Coors being poured was the scene where Rocco is in his office lamenting their financial losses, then suddenly says something very close to "I know what I'll do! I'll have my assistant apply for a line of credit with [whatever the name of Amex's small business program is]!" Hey! Problem solved!

JessiePink

Fri, 08 Aug 2003 14:37:18 -0500

Is it just me or has anyone noticed the constant Coors and Amex mentions in the show? In every episode they fit in both and its not even subtle... totally scripted! Rocco is so fake it kills me.

Tara

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 12:23:37 -0500

The whole critic thing was a debacle. She is the TV critic, not food, and it's pretty certain that Rocco's PR guy twisted himself in a knot getting her there. That in mind, you would think that someone in charge of minding Rocco would have paid better attention. (Or were they secretly hoping he would behave just the way he did?) Thanks for an amazing review!

Edward

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 10:36:24 -0500

Rocco's is perhaps the worst resturant I've been to in the past few years. The food is awful, the crowd is awful, the decor is REALLY awful. I give it another 12 weeks to live.

Jen

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 18:53:22 -0500

T, you're right - Mama was really friendly with you. One possibility is that you reminded her of her own daughter/niece, as you have that ability to look so many different races.

Tamara

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 17:23:04 -0500

Jen - I may be crazy, but I'm pretty sure Mama was hitting on me at dinner. During her elaborate speech on trust/relationships, not only did she have her arm around me, I think I saw her wink once or twice. It looks like the meatball did not roll far from the plate - whatever that means.

Karru

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 16:18:57 -0500

The Washington Post's food critic commented in his on-line chat today that while critics differ in the way they do their jobs, having the NY Post critic person there on the second night, supposedly even identified on television, was just very "bad form." Toward the very end of the chat: http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/03/r_food_sietsema080603.htm

Jen

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:53:01 -0500

I got pun fever and I can't stop! Oy.

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:45:58 -0500

"I know it's cheesy..." Ha! Another pun! I get it!!!

FDL

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:36:45 -0500

I think the dish that's pictured belongs here... http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

Jen

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:14:57 -0500

Well, we had low expectations going in with the Olive Garden...since we had a big group, that was pretty fun. At Rocco's, we're thinking, ah, here's the chef from Union Pacific, he wants to prove his chops with his own Italian place...so it was more of a disappointment. But as I said, the meatballs are great, as are the two desserts I mentioned. If it's not so busy, it's a nice space.

West Coaster

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:10:44 -0500

Remember the cutlery store at the shopping mall on The Simpsons: "It's a Wonderful Knife." Ha! Knife! Life! Pun-tastic!

Gene

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 15:09:24 -0500

Not as cheesy as the mixed parmiagiana. Actually, your pun made me chuckle in anticipation of you trashing Rocco's. You didn't really. I know it's probably mixing apples and oranges (then again, maybe not), but since you mentioned it, how did the whole experience compare to Gothamist's Olive Garden caper???

Jen

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:50:24 -0500

I know it's cheesy, but I thought my pun was funny. Rocco's is an opportunity to see how the other half lives. I don't know what that other half is. All I know is that I hated the crowd there. But then again, I'm picky. And punny.

Karru

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:34:21 -0500

It certainly doesn't look worthy of the probable pain associated with catching a table at the latest upscale tourist haunt

Glenn

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:32:04 -0500

Good grief, Jen. A pun? Between A Rocco And A Hard Place? Yikes. I was reading Time Out recently--which alone merits another posting on another day--and I noticed nearly every article title was a pun, and the majority of those were extremely lame. I wasn't aware Time Out had moved into the realm of the sports page and boutique/specialty stores. (Remember The Lumbar Yard, where Elaine's boyfriend got her a custom mattress, from a Seinfeld episode?) Damn puns!

Reggie Ano

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:08:31 -0500

Funny, maybe it's that I haven't gotten lunch yet, but that pile of slop looks delicious.

Sam

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 14:01:52 -0500

I think there's a veal or chicken under that cheese and sauce but it really does look like something you can get at the corner pizzaria. Maybe it tastes better but I dunno. Sure doesn't look like much.

Todd

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 13:40:23 -0500

The first word that came to mind was "slop".

sophie

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 13:39:35 -0500

what exactly is that a picture of?

Sam

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 13:28:24 -0500

I don't know what that is in the picture, but i doubt it's as good as the "Tour of Italy" I had at the Olive Garden.