“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
“I think that, by comparison with $2,000 bottles of grand cru Burgundies, first-rate barolos, which sell for under $100, are undervalued ten-fold.” ThinkingFirstsTenSellsRateComparisonBottlesFoldsUndervaluedBurgundy 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
“At Babbo, each dish grew out of a conversation, trying to put something forth that was new and different. It was a combination of culinary adventurism and the dining-room experience with respect for the classic but with an eye toward innovation. And it was about eating locally, whether produce or fish or meat.” TryingDifferentEyeRoomsProduceGrewConversationEatingInnovationFishesCombinationMeatClassicCulinaryDishesDiningDining Rooms Author:Joe Bastianich
“In fact, allowing immigrants to have licenses actually improves homeland security by allowing our government to track who is in our borders.” FactsGovernmentSecurityTrackBordersImmigrantsAllowingLicenseHomelandHomeland SecurityLicensesBorder Security Author:Joe Baca
“Finding specialty food items was a bit of a challenge in Asia in the early days of getting the Mozza's up and running. Everything is built on relationships, and when you start somewhere new, it takes time to develop that. Staffing can also present challenges.” RunningBitsChallengesFindingsBuiltTake TimeAsiaItemsIt Takes TimeSpecialtyStaffing 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
“'MasterChef' is the search for America's culinary amateur talent, so this is a search for the best home cook in America, and it's our job to figure out who that is.” HomeJobsAmericaTalentFiguresCooksCulinaryMasterchef Author:Joe Bastianich