G-Ram tells Joe that he needs to rest, and can't work as much as he does. Joe says that Sam can't run the restaurant, and he has to be there every day. I'm not sure at this point which is more true--that Sam is a fuck-up, or that Joe is a control freak. G-Ram can't either (kindred spirits, obviously), and decides to have a cook-off between father and son to determine who is most capable of producing a delicious dish. The house staff will judge, and the winner's dish will be the special for the evening.
G-Ram presents them with fresh ingredients (holy crap, novel idea!) and they both get to work. Everybody tastes both dishes and Joe's porkchop wins over Sam's salmon. Sam says that he was disappointed, but at the same time, he wanted his father to win because he needs someone to look up to, so his father has to be better than him. G-Ram says that he thinks both the dishes are good enough to be on the menu tonight, and they are both going to be specials. Joe says he wishes Sam had won because his dish looked really good. Everybody cries and braids each other's hair and talks about cute boys.
G-Ram sits Kathy down and tells her to write a letter to both Sam and Joe, telling them what she really wants to say, but not to show either of them the letter. G-Ram pulls Sam aside and asks him to write the same letter about Joe, and Joe about Sam. Ten bucks says we're in for a tearjerker ending on this one, folks.
Second dinner service, including the new specials! The servers are told to talk up the new specials, and the actors/patrons all obey without question like normal actors/patrons would. Joe and Sam continue to fight in the kitchen over a piece of overdone meat. Come on kids, now what did I say about there being enough for everyone?! Seriously, I will TURN this car AROUND!
Now that they are cooking fresh food, the dishes are taking ten times as long and people are getting hungry and impatient. Joe's blood sugar is low and he's having difficulty keeping up. Sam wants to pull Joe off the line because he's not able to produce, and G-Ram tells him to go ahead and boot the fucker.
Joe leaves, and Kathy tells him that he needs to let him stand alone and fail sometimes or else he'll never stand alone at all. Love Kathy. After the service is over, G-Ram says that they should go home and get some rest while he works through the night. Joe asks G-Ram "so, you're gonna work for a change, huh?" G-Ram resists the urge to slap an old man and calls him a rottweiler instead.
PLAY?!?!?
The next morning, G-Ram reveals the new Giuseppi's, and it's beautiful. It's all modern chairs and tables with white linens and low candlelit centerpieces. The bar is especially beautiful. G-Ram also steps into his therapist role and puts up black and white family photos in black frames on the wall. Tears all around.
G-Ram also lets them know that they are going to host a bowl-a-thon for Giuseppi's and the American Diabetes Association, which brings about even MORE tears and hugs. I'm going to need another Mt. Gay and diet to deal with this.
The bowl-a-thon is pretty much just a bunch of people bowling, drinking, stuffing ones into a plastic cup, and Joe serving homemade soup. Looks like fun, but bowling kind of intimidates me ever since my finger got stuck in the ball and I went halfway down the lane with it.
Back at the restaurant, G-Ram presents the new menu made of fresh foods and classic Italian dishes. Sam is thrilled that no microwaves will be involved. Joe says he's so excited, he feels like he's eighteen again. Then he and Kathy quietly duck into the meat freezer for a quickie.
Time for the relaunch! G-Ram tells Sam that he should be running the line, and Joe is there to "expedite." (see: microwave dinners.) After 30 minutes of service, Joe butts into the line and Sam tries to kick him off of it. Every dish seems like it's coming up raw or cold. Sam said it's because Joe is trying to rush everything. He keeps trying to kick Joe off the line, and finally G-Ram intervenes and kicks Joe out. For two seconds. Then Joe is back. The dude is like the worst kind of rash in the worst kind of place.
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Comments (5)
OK, the Wilfrid Brimley cat cracked me up!!! Classic!
Great recap! Gordon is becoming quite the therapist this season. Still I was hoping he'd smack that chef Brian for blaming the sucky dinner service on him!
I've also been watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on the Food Network(?)..he always changes his shirt on that one and NO bleeps! :) But maybe you knew that....
Looking forward to 2 hours of G-Ram this week!
1 of 5 | Posted by jojobear | Posted on September 23, 2008 10:00 AM
Great recap -- yes to the missing beefcake/cabana boy poolside scene.
Clearly an egregious oversight.
2 of 5 | Posted by Donna Martin Graduates! | Posted on September 23, 2008 5:18 PM
Oooh, yes! That poolside scene would have been great.
3 of 5 | Posted by Jude C | Posted on September 23, 2008 7:07 PM
AuJew, you are soooo right, this was a weird episode with all the touchy-feely heartsy-wartsy in it... I'm not used to seeing G-Ram in this way. I like him better a-cussin' an'a-fightin'!
Great recap, you're doing an awesomely fun job as always...
love, J-Mo :)
P.S. Oprah still sucks :)
4 of 5 | Posted by J-Mo | Posted on September 24, 2008 5:37 PM
jojobear: i did not...there is another kitchen nightmares on food network where he changes his shirt a lot?? maybe they could just put that on a loop or something and make a p-in-p for the regular version.
Donna Martin Graduates and Jude C: maybe we should start a petition...no more weepy episodes unless they are interspersed with g-ram poolside scenes. and not so much a speedo, but maybe those little swim trunks that are a bit tight.
j-mo: awww sweetie thank you. what IS with the sobfests on tv these days? everything is about tugging at the heartstrings. is this about the economy? i blame W. xoxox see my further comments on your latest recap :o)
5 of 5 | Posted by AuJew | Posted on September 25, 2008 8:03 AM