Restaurant Man - Hardcover

Bastianich, Joe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670023523 ISBN 13: 9780670023523

Publisher: Viking Pr, 2012

Synopsis

How does a nice Italian boy from Queens turn his passion for food and wine into an empire?

In his winning memoir, "Restaurant Man," Joe Bastianich charts his culinary journey from working in his parents red-sauce joint to becoming one of the country s most successful restaurateurs. Joe first learned the ropes from his father, Felice Bastianich, the ultrapragmatic, self-proclaimed restaurant man. After college and a year on Wall Street, Joe bought a one-way ticket to Italy and worked in restaurants and vineyards. Upon his return to New York, he partnered with his mother, Lidia, and soon joined forces with Mario Batali, establishing one superlative Italian restaurant after another.

Writing vividly in an authentic New York style that is equal parts rock n roll and hard-ass, bottom-line business reality, Joe explains: how Babbo changed the way people think of Italian restaurants; how Lupa and Esca were born of hedonistic, boondoggle R&D trips through Italy; and how Del Posto managed to overcome a menu that was so ambitious that at first it could not even be executed and became the first four-star Italian restaurant in America. He lays the smackdown on the wine industry, explaining that no bottle of wine costs more than five dollars to make.

Joe speaks frankly about friends and foes, but at the heart of the book is the mythical hero Restaurant Man, the old-school, bluecollar guy from Queens who once upon a time learned to sweat it out and make his money through hard work. Throughout he stays true to the real secret of his success watching costs but being ferociously dedicated to exceeding the customer s expectations on every level and delivering the best dining experience in the world."

About this title

Review:

"Joe Bastianich tells it like it is...."Restaurant Man" is a brutally honest account of his rise from self-proclaimed Queens "punk" to a James Beard-winning restaurateur....["Restaurant Man"] serves as an education--and a warning--to anyone who is thinking of entering the restaurant business."
-- "The New York Daily News"

"In "Restaurant Man"...Joe Bastianich has served up a very smart insider's take on the New York City culinary scene as only and erudite and successful member of the secret society can do. The subtext of this love letter to the memory of his father is in itself a magnificent stand-alone dissertation. Joe pulls no punches and tells it exactly like it is in a way that punctuates the many oddities with brilliant black humor and scene-of-the-crime, matter-of-fact perspective. "Restaurant Man "will resonate with anyone who has come in contact with the world of food, entertainment, and wine or the cottage industry of scripted reality television it has spawned."
--Mario Batali

"[A] darkly humorous and gossipy memoir...[Joe Bastianich's writing style] is reminiscent of Anthony Bourdain ("Kitchen Confidential; Medium Raw") and covers some of the same territory."
-- "Library Journal"

"[Joe Bastianich's] easygoing voice and substantial knowledge of real Italian food (not the spaghetti-and-meatballs kind) will lure booklovers and food lovers alike.... Engrossing details of being the front man in a variety of thriving restaurants."
-- "Kirkus"

"["Restaurant Man "is] a wild ride that ends with a richer, happier, healthier man amazed at his survival, emotionally reconciled with his past and committed to nurturing his family and his culinary legacy."
-- "Wine Spectator"

"["Restaurant Man" is a] salty, rollicking memoir....[Joe Bastianich's] forthrightness about the business nitty-gritty and his own failures and mistakes are bonus takeaways along the utterly readable way."
-- "Publishers Weekly"

"["Restaurant Man"] is a raw, throbbing nerve of a biography: if [Joe] Bastianich has any intellectual filters, he checks them at the door here, and "Restaurant Man" is the beter for it....This is the "Some Girls" of restaurant memoirs."
-- "WashingtonPost.com"

"Compulsory reading for anyone who dreams of someday opening an eatery....The lessons [Joe] Bastianich has to offer are important and fundamental."
--Russ Parsons, "LATimes.com"

"["Restaurant Man"] is a combination of homage to food and wine, and tutelage on owning and managing restaurants...."Restaurant Man "serves as an education to anyone wanting to enter the restaurant business"
-- "PortlandFoodandDrink.com"

"["Restaurant Man"] is full of frank, personal revelations...but it's also an eye-popping industry expose."
-- "LoHud.com"

About the Author:

Joe Bastianich opened his first restaurant, Becco, with his mother, Lidia, in 1993. He and partner Mario Batali have since established some of New York s most celebrated restaurants, including Babbo, Del Posto, Lupa, Esca, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, and Eataly, as well as restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He also appears as a judge on Fox TV s "Master Chef.""

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Pr
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0670023523
• ISBN 13: 9780670023523
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 275