“Aside from hospitality and delicious food, our [restaurateurs'] job is to entertain people. Restaurants should make people feel special, excited and fulfilled.” PeopleFeelsShouldJobsSpecialExcitedRestaurantsFulfilledDeliciousHospitalityDelicious Food Author:Joe Bastianich
“Restaurant Man is kind of the story, an unabridged story of what happened in my life, the good bad and ugly. Some people might glean some life lessons. It is honest, not written as a press release.” PeopleMenKindStoriesMightWrittenHappenedHonestLessonsPressesUglyReleaseRestaurantsLife LessonPress Release Author:Joe Bastianich
“Frankly, Milan kind of sucks as a restaurant city. Its so fashion-obsessed that people dont pay that much attention to the food.” PeopleKindPayCitiesAttentionFashionObsessedRestaurantsMilan Author:Joe Bastianich
“He brought a sensibility and a hard-edged reasonableness to operating restaurants that had a lasting impact on me and still affects how I run all our restaurants today. The passing of 'Restaurant Man' - the original gangsta 'Restaurant Man,' my father - was the passing of an era. No one can replace him.” MenStillsHardRunningTodayFatherOriginalsImpactPassingPassingsErasRestaurantsLastingSensibilityGangstaReasonablenessLasting Impact Author:Joe Bastianich
“There are many things I'm looking forward to in 2013, both personally and professionally. Plans for new restaurants in the U.S., including Eataly Chicago, are underway, and I'm gearing up for the 2013 Ironman world championships in Hawaii - if I'm lucky enough to get a spot!” IfsWorldEnoughPlansLuckyIncludingSpotsRestaurantsChicagoChampionshipHawaiiLooking ForwardIronmanGearing Up Author:Joe Bastianich
“Being frugal, conscious of making money, is not a negative thing. That sensibility of creating value and finding value and reinvesting in those customers is what separates great restaurants from the average ones.” ValuesFindingsCreatingConsciousNegativeAverageCustomersMaking MoneyRestaurantsSensibilityFrugalCreating ValueGreat Restaurants Author:Joe Bastianich
“Working in a restaurant means being part of a family, albeit usually a slightly dysfunctional one. Nothing is accomplished independently.” MeanRestaurantsAccomplished Author:Joe Bastianich
“I think a lot of people overlook the importance of the menu as a marketing tool and a way of communicating to the customer what the ambition of their restaurant is. Not only the typeface and the design, but what is it printed on? Is it cheap-looking? Is it the right kind of paper for that restaurant?” PeopleThinkingWayKindDesignPaperAmbitionToolsImportanceMarketingCommunicateCustomersRestaurantsPrintedMenusTypefaces Author:Joe Bastianich
“My grandparents in Istria had a frasca, which is about the most basic kind of grocery/restaurant. They sold wine from their own vineyard. I took control of the vineyard, hired a local winemaker, and bought another winery in 1996. We had our first commercial vintage in 1998.” FirstsKindWineLocalsRestaurantsGrandparentGroceriesVintageVineyards Author:Joe Bastianich
“It's one thing to execute dishes on your own time for family and friends, but quite another to perform and be judged in a competition. And that's what cooking in a high profile restaurant is. It's a competition. You're up against every other three-star restaurant in your city, and if you want to stay in business, you'd better deliver.” IfsWantThreeStarsCitiesOne ThingCookingCompetitionRestaurantsJudgedDishesFamily And FriendsProfileHigh Profile Author:Joe Bastianich
“Every time I open a new restaurant, I wake up in the middle of the night moaning about bread and water. I dream I am in the middle of the dining room, and I am panicked.” DreamNightWaterRoomsMiddleWake UpBreadRestaurantsMiddle Of The NightDiningMoaningDining Rooms Author:Joe Bastianich
“I was raised in restaurants. My parents opened their first restaurant, Buonavia, in Queens when I was just 3. This business has always been my way of life. As a kid, home was reserved only for sleeping. After school, you could find my sister and I helping out at the family restaurant.” WayFirstsHelpingHomeKidsSchoolParentSleepRaisedMy WayQueensRestaurantsMy SisterReservedAfter School Author:Joe Bastianich
“Maitre d's are at the financial spigot of the restaurant, meaning they control who gets in and who doesn't, but aside from that, they don't do anything. And yet they get paid as much as the highest-paid people in the place.” PeopleHighestPaidFinancialRestaurants Author:Joe Bastianich
“There are certain things that make restaurants work and a certain kind of DNA that people who excel in restaurants need. But it's a lot like life, in the sense that you get out of it what you put into it.” PeopleNeedsKindCertainRestaurantsDna Author:Joe Bastianich
“Most people who open restaurants will fail, because they lack the fundamental understanding of restaurant math. Either they think they're superstar cooks or they think they're superstar hosts.” PeopleThinkingUnderstandingFailingFundamentalsMathCooksRestaurantsHostSuperstar Author:Joe Bastianich
“With four-appetizer, four-entree menus, it's like, give me a break. That's not a restaurant, that's a dinner party.” GivingPartyBreakFourGive MeDinnerRestaurantsMenusDinner PartyAppetizersEntrees Author:Joe Bastianich
“Being general manager is like being the de facto owner. It's like wearing the crown of 'Restaurant Man' without being 'Restaurant Man.' You're trying to run the business, but you're running the ranch without riding the big horse.” MenTryingBigsRunningHorseManagersRestaurantsOwnersRidingCrownsGeneral Manager Author:Joe Bastianich
