583696 Mon Dec 29 17:29:26 -0800 2008 11 33 Food Media and News 0 4281416 Looks like there is an interesting documentary about Le Cirque now showing on HBO. Can't say how good it is but as I am recording it. Mon Dec 29 17:29:27 -0800 2008 23758 Withnail42 1 4282046 I thought it was very interesting. It mostly dealt with the time between the closing of the restaurant in the Palace in 2004 and the reopening in 2006. Quite difficult family dynamics between Sirio and his three sons. One criticism is that I would have liked more information about the changes made between the disappointing yet - according to one of the sons, deserved - two-star review after the reopening and the subsequent three-star review more than a year later. This part was completely glossed over, and given Sirio's apparent reluctance to change, I was left wondering how he was convinced to make certain adjustments. Mon Dec 29 22:41:10 -0800 2008 4281416 10274 Debbie W 2 4282971 yes! I was not surprised that they bounced the chef. I felt really sorry for him, but when they showed his food it looked like something I would have been happy to serve at home, but not something I expect in a high-end restaurant. And when they had the pre-opening tasting, no one was happy. I'm surprised they didn't axe him then. The food shown after the chef-change had much more visual appeal. I was also surprised at how little mention was made of Daniel Boulud. I was under the impression he was a great part of the success of Le Cirque. It was a very entertaining 2 hours. My husband watched the whole thing with me. He's a food lover, but not obsessed like i am ;-) Tue Dec 30 09:41:45 -0800 2008 4282046 10471 danna 1 4283189 There's an article in the NY Times about the documentary. Originially they were going to be done after the initial review, the later bits were added on as an update, that may be why there are less details. Tue Dec 30 10:54:23 -0800 2008 4281416 11634 saeyedoc 1 4283475 My take away from this film is that Le Cirque is Sirio's clubhouse, and that Sirio is having an understandably difficult time letting go of the old ways. He comes across as a master at schmoozing the rich and famous, but as his sons tried to point out, that will not be enough to survive today. He is a gentleman and a legend, but time marches on. Tue Dec 30 12:33:39 -0800 2008 4281416 10059 ChinoWayne 2 4283685 He is a gentleman to the rich and famous. The rest of us he merely tolerates. Tue Dec 30 13:38:10 -0800 2008 4283475 23758 Withnail42 3 4284830 When he insisted men wear jackets and ties, or even seemed to back down to jackets, he ruled me out from ever patronizing the joint. My fine dining attire is black slacks, black socks, black penny loafers and a black polo shirt, all craftily chosen to disguise the food I will ultimately end up wearing. How'd you like Kissinger, he looked like an old hollow shell of a has been power broker while he allowed Sirio to fawn all over him. Tue Dec 30 22:18:59 -0800 2008 4283685 10059 ChinoWayne 1 4284956 My wife and I were cracking up at his cynical and pleasingly slightly vulgar style. He was not sugar coating it for the cameras. What a character! Like Danna, my wife is not food obsessed like me, but is the one who heard about the show in the first place, asked me to TIVO it, and lasted thru the whole thing and liked it. Too bad about the dichotomy between swells and the rest. Signs of his true self showed when he got giddy about advice from friggin Kissinger, WTF does he know about restaurants or real estate? That could have been edited out IMHO. I think Henry swallowed a frog at Le Cirque 40 years ago and that's why his voice is that way. Never could stand that man or his voice, had to vent !!! Wed Dec 31 01:19:25 -0800 2008 4281416 11737 NoeMan 2 4285535 The editing was funny, in regard to Kissinger choosing the Bloomberg building and the next thing you see is a newspaper article saying that Le Cirque would be opening in the Bloomberg building. Like Kissinger's advice was the deciding factor. The way Sirio dealt with his sons reminded me of the way my stepdad dealt with me, my brother, his own three kids, my mom, and pretty much everyone else he ever came into contact with from when my mom met him in 1972 until when he died in 2005. Except my stepdad didn't have a lick of business sense although he thought he did. It's not that fun to be around someone who's always right, especially when you're growing up and don't have any power. It was pretty clear that Sirio's sons were swallowing a lot. His wife seemed pretty cool though. Wed Dec 31 08:38:50 -0800 2008 4284956 10274 Debbie W 3 4286048 That old school style of parenting is no fun. Those guys were cringing. Wed Dec 31 11:48:28 -0800 2008 4285535 11737 NoeMan 1 4286377 What struck me was that the three sons all went into the family business (and stayed there), even though they seem to lose every battle about how to run it. I really enjoyed the documentary, but the attempt to create a narrative sort of failed: 1. There's this old school restaurant. 2. Its prospects dim, because times change but the restaurant doesn't. 3. Its prospects improve a bit, because the restaurant improves a bit. I needed a little more drama! And a lot more about the actual food. Wed Dec 31 13:57:45 -0800 2008 4281416 13722 small h 2 4286386 Yep. Wed Dec 31 14:01:37 -0800 2008 4286377 10059 ChinoWayne