The NYT reviews Giada's new Vegas resto

[Jenise]

And they weren't impressed. By Pete Wells:

LAS VEGAS — Guiding a table of first-time diners through the menu, a server said, “The idea of the restaurant is that Giada wants you to feel like you’re in her home.”

Not many homes have seating for 260 or wraparound views of the synchronized emissions from the Bellagio’s fountains. But if domestic intimacy is rare at Giada, the restaurant that the Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis opened in June inside the Cromwell Las Vegas hotel, there is little doubt whose place it is. Ms. De Laurentiis is invoked so often that it can seem she wants you to feel as if you’re in her museum.

The board of flatbread and grissini is announced as “Giada’s bread selection,” and the plate of thumbprint and “mega-chip” cookies is “Giada’s cookie selection.” “Giada” is stenciled on a large pink canvas that hangs on a wall. Her words, familiar to her television audience, are even repeated in six chandeliers around the dining room, cut out in silhouette so that light beams from behind: “I eat a little bit of Everything and not a lot of Anything.”

As a quotation for posterity, this is not exactly “Et tu, Brute?” But it may describe Ms. De Laurentiis’s philosophy for the food at Giada. All of it is in a relaxed, approachable California-Italian mode, and none of it is very hard to leave on the plate.

A medium-size twirl of flaccid bucatini in bland fresh tomato sauce ($24) made the case against the common view that simple food is the best. The margherita pizzette ($10), soft as a Parker House roll and covered with mozzarella that had the pale-yellow color and elusive flavor of processed cheese, might have come from the children’s menu of any restaurant in America except an Italian one.

Sold as “Giada’s signature dish,” the chicken cacciatore for two ($55) was a puzzle whose pieces didn’t fit. First, a server brought out a pan with a trussed and roasted chicken, colorful peppers, cipollini onions and mushrooms. This was taken away. What was served sometime later was a stack of browned, dry chicken pieces that seemed to have no relationship to the original bird, along with a dish of tomato sauce made from some vegetables, but not (as far as I could tell) the ones I had seen earlier. Something was missing here — maybe the commercial that on television would have run between the first chicken and the second.

In May, two weeks before Giada was scheduled to serve its first meal, Ms. De Laurentiis fired her executive chef. She has been looking for a permanent replacement ever since, but the restaurant stays open. The ideal candidate should have experience with pizza and pasta.

Ouch! Quite a review there.

That said, the constant invocation of Giada would make me ill, whatever the food was like.

[Jenise]

Delightfully low-key wicked, that one. And I have to admit, I wasn't sorry to read it--just a little surprised that the restaurant is such a temple to herself. On the other hand, this is Vegas, so maybe I shouldn't be.

That's worth a couple giggles!

Scary how far out of touch one can get.

I haven't seen her show in years but when it first started I remember thinking that she had pretty good taste and was one of the more sympathetic chefs left on the Food Network (because even in her early years the channel was 99% crap, if I remember correctly). Of course that doesn't mean she knows how to run a restaurant.

Is cleavage required in the restaurant?

Rename it "Jiggly Boobs" and specialize in milkshakes?

Quite funny! The epic Guy Fieri restaurant takedown was even better, though !

[Jenise]

Just took a quick gander at reviews on Trip Advisor. 143 so far, with 97 excellent's, 13 terrible's and the rest in between. Not that people who would actually seek out her restaurant can be trusted, but.... Much praise for the bacon-wrapped dates. Now I don't mean to sound like a hater, but bacon wrapped dates? First place I ever had those was attending a cooking demonstration with my grandmother at her nursing home where only the beeps of the microwave kept the crowd awake. I cannot think of this as restaurant food. Most other things sounded better. My favorite of the reports came from a woman staying at the hotel on business who had lunch there, since it was handy, and was told upon arrival that they couldn't waste a two-top on a single so she would have to sit at the bar, even though she could eyeball a lot of empty two-tops and protested that she was a non-drinker and wouldn't feel comfortable in the bar. They did not relent. So she went to the bar anyway and ordered two appetizers to be followed by a bowl of soup. They slammed her: the soup, pasta y fagioli, arrived five minutes after the (hot) appetizers--and then the soup had raw beans in it--she was careful to explain "no, not undercooked--UNCOOKED." Bad from start to finish.

Just took a quick gander at reviews on Trip Advisor. 143 so far, with 97 excellent's, 13 terrible's and the rest in between. Not that people who would actually seek out her restaurant can be trusted, but.... Much praise for the bacon-wrapped dates. Now I don't mean to sound like a hater, but bacon wrapped dates? First place I ever had those was attending a cooking demonstration with my grandmother at her nursing home where only the beeps of the microwave kept the crowd awake. I cannot think of this as restaurant food. Most other things sounded better. My favorite of the reports came from a woman staying at the hotel on business who had lunch there, since it was handy, and was told upon arrival that they couldn't waste a two-top on a single so she would have to sit at the bar, even though she could eyeball a lot of empty two-tops and protested that she was a non-drinker and wouldn't feel comfortable in the bar. They did not relent. So she went to the bar anyway and ordered two appetizers to be followed by a bowl of soup. They slammed her: the soup, pasta y fagioli, arrived five minutes after the (hot) appetizers--and then the soup had raw beans in it--she was careful to explain "no, not undercooked--UNCOOKED." Bad from start to finish.

If alone, I prefer the bar even when not drinking. If I'm alone I fell less alone at the bar.

What does "they slammed her" mean?

I guess Giada bashing is fun. I thought about trying her new place out a couple of weeks ago while we were in Vegas, but it didn't happen.

I don't think she is a sophisticated, top-level chef. And I wouldn't expect to find that in her restaurant, if it is to be true to her. But, as a teacher of how to cook, I think she is pretty good. She really does SHOW, for example, how to make a soup...any soup.. by chopping the celery, the carrots, the onion... and you watch her (yes, and her cleavage.. I'm not immune!!) do it, and if you are a beginning cook without a lot of skills, you can learn to do this on your own and invent. Maybe for a more experienced cook, there is less to learn. But she took a lot of the mystery out of cooking for me when I did start to care about cooking. I now didn't need a recipe for a whole range of dishes I might imagine and want to make.. just apply the basics, season well, use great ingredients. I learned a lot about simple techniques from her that demystified cooking (now, baking, that is different). She gives you confidence about how to make tasty meals, mostly Italian, but a few other things, too, on your own.

I feel the same way about Jacques Pepin. I can't tell you how many simple dishes he has shown being made (and he messes up at times, like we all do, and doesn't try to hide it) that I have added to my limited repertoire. But, again, he teaches HOW to make dishes, and by not making it recipe driven, one learns how to cook using intuition based on the basics.

I have learned zero from Iron Chef, or Ina Garten (who I like, sorry Jenise), or any other number of chefs who I may admire for their skills. I mean, if I could have a meal made by Morimoto, that would be amazing, but have I learned anything that I can apply from him? Little.

So, maybe she won't have the most cutting-edge restaurant. But I don't expect Le Cirque from her. But I do think she may have done more for folks learning to cook than 10 other cooking shows combined.. And that seems worth something.

Now, Guy Fieri, that's a whole different story. Very little, if any, value added there.

Just took a quick gander at reviews on Trip Advisor. 143 so far, with 97 excellent's, 13 terrible's and the rest in between. Not that people who would actually seek out her restaurant can be trusted, but.... Much praise for the bacon-wrapped dates. Now I don't mean to sound like a hater, but bacon wrapped dates? First place I ever had those was attending a cooking demonstration with my grandmother at her nursing home where only the beeps of the microwave kept the crowd awake. I cannot think of this as restaurant food. Most other things sounded better. My favorite of the reports came from a woman staying at the hotel on business who had lunch there, since it was handy, and was told upon arrival that they couldn't waste a two-top on a single so she would have to sit at the bar, even though she could eyeball a lot of empty two-tops and protested that she was a non-drinker and wouldn't feel comfortable in the bar. They did not relent. So she went to the bar anyway and ordered two appetizers to be followed by a bowl of soup. They slammed her: the soup, pasta y fagioli, arrived five minutes after the (hot) appetizers--and then the soup had raw beans in it--she was careful to explain "no, not undercooked--UNCOOKED." Bad from start to finish.

If alone, I prefer the bar even when not drinking. If I'm alone I fell less alone at the bar.

What does "they slammed her" mean?

I think she means that everything came out at once.

I also generally enjoy sitting at bars when I'm dining alone but apparently this woman did not. It's interesting how unhappy people get when they believe they're being unnecessarily seated somewhere that's not their preference. One of our neighbors runs a really nice restaurant on the Sacramento River, with very good food and a nice outdoor dining area. The worst review I've seen of his place (on Yelp) was from someone who wanted to sit outside and was told he couldn't. That guy was absolutely furious, to the point of getting nasty about my friend's appearance and such.

[Jenise]

If alone, I prefer the bar even when not drinking. If I'm alone I fell less alone at the bar.

What does "they slammed her" mean?

Lots of people would--re the bar. But not this woman, and her preference for an actual table should have been honored.

'Slammed' is when the house piles the food up, usually to turn a table faster.

her preference for an actual table should have been honored.

I'll never own a restaurant but I'm not sure I agree. This analogy is horrible but its the only one I can think of at the moment - would you allow one person to have 2 seats in a theater or at a sporting event?

Thanks for the explanation of slammed. I hadn't heard that term used in that context.

On her table request, I think it's hard to say whether the restaurant was being unreasonable or not without hearing their side of the story. They may have had some reason for keeping the tables open (although I can't think of one that makes obvious sense offhand). Doesn't make sense that they'd want to unnecessarily piss off a customer but then again the whole place doesn't really make much sense to me.

[Jenise]

On her table request, I think it's hard to say whether the restaurant was being unreasonable or not without hearing their side of the story. They may have had some reason for keeping the tables open (although I can't think of one that makes obvious sense offhand). Doesn't make sense that they'd want to unnecessarily piss off a customer but then again the whole place doesn't really make much sense to me.

All I can say is, to both you and Tom, it's not hard for me to judge at all. After all, this woman wasn't making up their reason, this is what they told her and there were empty tables of all sizes around the room. They didn't just offer her the bar seat first, they took away all other options. As someone who travelled both on business and for personal reasons alone and therefore often dined alone myself many a time, I've occupied many a two-tops alone. I've never been treated like a lower-caste customer (one wonders if a solo male patron would have been treated identically), and I would not take well to the experience. Dining ISN'T like a sporting event. Empty chairs are just part of the hospitality business because people DO travel in odd numbers, especially in areas where conventioneers are frequent patrons, whether it's one person at a two-top or three people at a four-top and every restaurant has to consider the eventuality part of the challenge they face. It would be especially deplorable to get the "Giada wants you to feel like you're in her home" speech which apparently EVERY guest at Giada hears, and then get relegated to the one corner of the house you wouldn't be comfortable in. That is neither gracious nor hospitable.

[Jenise]

Guess it's fun to bash....So, maybe she won't have the most cutting-edge restaurant. But I don't expect Le Cirque from her. But I do think she may have done more for folks learning to cook than 10 other cooking shows combined.. And that seems worth something.

But the fun part isn't that the restaurant isn't cutting edge. In the case of the review above, the diner was shown one perfect specimen to whet his appetite, then given an apparent substitution that was clearly not the bird he'd been shown. That IS a problem to a serious diner, and not just that they subbed but that they expect you the diner, as they expect viewers on TV, to not smell the rat. And it's the celebrity temple aspect that seems to expect praise and survival based on something other than the quality of the food alone. Btw, the tasting menu comes with an autographed photo of the lady.

On her table request, I think it's hard to say whether the restaurant was being unreasonable or not without hearing their side of the story. They may have had some reason for keeping the tables open (although I can't think of one that makes obvious sense offhand). Doesn't make sense that they'd want to unnecessarily piss off a customer but then again the whole place doesn't really make much sense to me.

All I can say is, to both you and Tom, it's not hard for me to judge at all. After all, this woman wasn't making up their reason, this is what they told her and there were empty tables of all sizes around the room. They didn't just offer her the bar seat first, they took away all other options. As someone who travelled both on business and for personal reasons alone and therefore often dined alone myself many a time, I've occupied many a two-tops alone. I've never been treated like a lower-caste customer (one wonders if a solo male patron would have been treated identically), and I would not take well to the experience. Dining ISN'T like a sporting event. Empty chairs are just part of the hospitality business because people DO travel in odd numbers, especially in areas where conventioneers are frequent patrons, whether it's one person at a two-top or three people at a four-top and every restaurant has to consider the eventuality part of the challenge they face. It would be especially deplorable to get the "Giada wants you to feel like you're in her home" speech which apparently EVERY guest at Giada hears, and then get relegated to the one corner of the house you wouldn't be comfortable in. That is neither gracious nor hospitable.

Yeah, bottom line is they pissed the woman off and you never want to do that to a customer. If they had a reason for not seating her at a two-top, then they should have explained it and offered her something in compensation.

The lady should have 'voted with her feet'. When enough people do that, then Giada will close and someone with more sense can move in.

[Jenise]

Yeah, bottom line is they pissed the woman off and you never want to do that to a customer. If they had a reason for not seating her at a two-top, then they should have explained it and offered her something in compensation.

Their explanation was that they couldn't waste a table for two on one person. They actually said that, though they probably didn't use the word 'waste'--same difference, though.