The Bear Season 1-2 Talk

[aghst]

Quote

A young chef from the fine dining world comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he's used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing realities of small business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother's suicide. As Carmy fights to transform both the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges kitchen crew that ultimately reveals itself as his chosen family.

Starring Jeremy Allen White (Lip from Shameless).

Few reviews but all positive so far.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s01/reviews?type=top_critics

OK it's an FX show but it's available only on Hulu.  Instead of airing on FX channels, they are dropping all 8 episodes on Hulu.  Weird.

Kind of like the reverse of season 1 on The Chi, where Brandon aspires to be a chef but has to go out to a food truck.  This guy has made it in the fine dining world but goes back to help his family run a sandwich shop?

[pasdetrois]

I like a lot of it (binged some of it last night) but it's very intense - perhaps not for late night viewing.

I like seeing the reality of running a post-pandemic small family restaurant. I like the fleshed-out characters, although Richie is too over-the-top. All that screaming takes me out of the scenes. I love the sous chef's portrayal as a smart, ambitious, level-headed leader.

I shall try to implement a french brigade system in my household. We'll be lucky if I can get someone to help chop the veggies.

[yourmomiseasy]

I think I might need to watch the last part of the last episode again because I must have missed something.  I don't get why the brother did what he did (trying not to spoil) unless it was just junkie logic.

[sadie]

I’m really enjoying this. The characters are all interesting and believable. I hope more people catch onto it.

[Mr. R0b0t]

Through 4 eps and I flove it.  Takes me into a world I once worked in and to a city I've only visited with unique, believable characters.

[Kiddvideo]

Spoilers….I was enjoying it well enough until the pre-order fiasco: Richie and Sydney when she had nothing except the condescending personal attacks like “oh, we’re just going to name professions? Because I can do that” and the “you’re a worthless loser and everyone knows it including your daughter and to top it off I’m going to pull a knife on you.” Richie’s an  ass who someone needed to tell to lower his temper, and he didn’t help the situation, but he was blaming her for the orders and questioning her motives for the ribs not trying to destroy her humanity. Marcus ignoring the tickets and working on his donut while trying to get facetime with Carmy rang false. (Yeah, I see the parallels between Carmy’s and Richie’s abusive family dynamics and the restaurant’s abusive “family” dynamics, but I felt it went too far for anyone to forgive and forget.)

Also? Turn off the damn pre-order option when you realize what’s going on.

Can someone explain the ending to me like I’m 5? I get the symbolism that by finally following Mikey’s “Family Recipe” Carmy was able to save the restaurant, but did Mikey know the money was in there and that’s really why he was buying the smaller cans? Which means someone at the tomato canning plant was running money through Mikey? Or did they just happen to get delivered some drug lord’s stash? And was it tied into the KSL (or whatever) payments Mikey made every month, and the money in the cans should’ve been paid to Jimmie? Which means Carmy is going to be even further in hoc to Jimmy when he spends the money on the new restaurant? But why wasn’t Jimmie demanding the tomato money if it were his? And if Mikey knew the money was in the cans but it wasn’t Jimmy’s, why couldn’t they afford napkins? Also, how much money is the staff going to extort regardless of its source?

I don’t quite believe the premise that a struggling sandwich shop in what looked like a sparsely populated warehouse district could sustain itself long-term as a 5 star dining experience. Go once to check out the buzz and go again on your birthday. The residents aren’t going to be able to support it, but whatever, sometimes you just have to go with it.

[mspaul]

16 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Spoilers….I was enjoying it well enough until the pre-order fiasco: Richie and Sydney when she had nothing except the condescending personal attacks like “oh, we’re just going to name professions? Because I can do that” and the “you’re a worthless loser and everyone knows it including your daughter and to top it off I’m going to pull a knife on you.” Richie’s an  ass who someone needed to tell to lower his temper, and he didn’t help the situation, but he was blaming her for the orders and questioning her motives for the ribs not trying to destroy her humanity. Marcus ignoring the tickets and working on his donut while trying to get facetime with Carmy rang false. (Yeah, I see the parallels between Carmy’s and Richie’s abusive family dynamics and the restaurant’s abusive “family” dynamics, but I felt it went too far for anyone to forgive and forget.)

Also? Turn off the damn pre-order option when you realize what’s going on.

Can someone explain the ending to me like I’m 5? I get the symbolism that by finally following Mikey’s “Family Recipe” Carmy was able to save the restaurant, but did Mikey know the money was in there and that’s really why he was buying the smaller cans? Which means someone at the tomato canning plant was running money through Mikey? Or did they just happen to get delivered some drug lord’s stash? And was it tied into the KSL (or whatever) payments Mikey made every month, and the money in the cans should’ve been paid to Jimmie? Which means Carmy is going to be even further in hoc to Jimmy when he spends the money on the new restaurant? But why wasn’t Jimmie demanding the tomato money if it were his? And if Mikey knew the money was in the cans but it wasn’t Jimmy’s, why couldn’t they afford napkins? Also, how much money is the staff going to extort regardless of its source?

I don’t quite believe the premise that a struggling sandwich shop in what looked like a sparsely populated warehouse district could sustain itself long-term as a 5 star dining experience. Go once to check out the buzz and go again on your birthday. The residents aren’t going to be able to support it, but whatever, sometimes you just have to go with it.

I know they made it look like a gritty neighborhood, but it’s actually pretty pricey full of restaurants and bars. The bar next door that they said had closed is actually one of Chicago’s oldest and most historic bars that was a speakeasy during Prohibition. But also to your point, fine dining actually turned a sparsely populated warehouse district into one of the hottest and most popular neighborhoods in Chicago for restaurants and hotels. It just takes one successful place to bring more in.

The thing I really don’t understand is the money in the cans. Why borrow from Jimmy (the nickname Cicero means he’s most definitely mobbed up) and put it cans? Was he pushing Carmy to turn the beef place into a fine dining restaurant, because he knew he would never try to get the money to open one one his own? Even if that’s the case, Carmy still ends up owing a mob boss $300k. A benevolent one, but still. I’m interested to see where that goes in the (hopefully already greenlit) second season.

[Mr. R0b0t]

My theory coming out of the finale and I may be misreading things, but I feel like

Spoiler

Mikey borrowed the money, then paid it back denoting it as KBL on the ledger. Cicero lied to Carmy so that he could collect on the debt twice.

  Of course I cannot quite discern what Mikey actually spent the money on...operating costs? The plot device of the

Spoiler

cans coming full circle was a stroke of genius.  As for where they came from, or if Mikey sealed the money in there himself whets the appetite for season 2 for sure.

I feel compelled to say I absolutely loved this show immensely.  

Edited June 26, 2022 by Mr. R0b0t

[hatchetgirl]

19 hours ago, Mr. R0b0t said:

My theory coming out of the finale and I may be misreading things, but I feel like

I like your theory!  For sure.  I can see Cicero trying to collect twice.  

It definitely cemented the family aspect with everyone opening together because - they are family and trusted.  

I sure hope we get a 2nd season.

[Irlandesa]

I finished the two episodes of Only Murders In The Building and this was the next show Hulu recommended for me.  I had never heard of it which is strange since I feel like I tend to stay on top of new shows coming out in case I'd be interested in them.  I looked it up anyway, saw it had good reviews and dove in.

I just finished all 8 episodes and count me as a fan.  I hope for a second season. 

Richie's yelling did get to be a bit much.  It upped the tension but I also just wanted to breathe every now and again.  And while Carmine was a jerk when the preorders started coming in and they were already behind, I was upset that in the final episodes it doesn't sound like Marcus or Sydney owned up to their part in that disaster--especially Marcus.  He spent so much time on those donuts, which weren't a menu item, he was so far behind on the chocolate cake which was a menu item.  (An aside:  The best chocolate cake I ever had was in Chicago.)

And that was largely Sydney's problem too.  She loved Carmine's cooking so she wanted to work for him but constantly tried to direct the sandwich shop away from what it was.  She's smart and it might end up being the right call but it's not her family's legacy on the line or money invested.

One thing I did like is how often Carmine would apologize when he was out of line.

On 6/25/2022 at 6:59 PM, Kiddvideo said:

I don’t quite believe the premise that a struggling sandwich shop in what looked like a sparsely populated warehouse district could sustain itself long-term as a 5 star dining experience. Go once to check out the buzz and go again on your birthday. The residents aren’t going to be able to support it, but whatever, sometimes you just have to go with it.

I believe Sydney pointed out that dinner time was an issue for them.  It doesn't sound like they're going full 5 star dining like Carmine used to do but definitely serve food they can charge more for.  It's still pretty casual in that they're going to do family style and will have a window where people can still order sandwiches. 

My guess is that people will grab sandwiches at lunch but the area demands something more substantial for dinner so they'll target families or people leaving work who want to eat before commuting home.

On 6/26/2022 at 11:59 AM, mspaul said:

The thing I really don’t understand is the money in the cans. Why borrow from Jimmy (the nickname Cicero means he’s most definitely mobbed up) and put it cans?

I don't get it either.  The only thing I'm sure of is that the dead brother put the money in the cans and must have re-sealed them somehow.  I don't know why or how or when but I don't think it was done at the canning place.

ETA:  Here are filming locations for the show. 

https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-the-bear-filmed/

Edited June 30, 2022 by Irlandesa

[MaggieG]

I finished all the episodes and I liked it a lot too. I also agree there was a lot of yelling. I loved seeing Jon Bernthal pop up as Mikey. I wasn't expecting that. 

Episode 7 that was filmed to look like one long uncut take was a good one. 

[rlc]

Enjoyed the show and the authentic chefy touches- the quick shot of Carmy shoving a PB&J in his mouth at home was on the money. Most chefs I know keep almost no food at home. When I was working many moons ago, my fridge had been broken for a few months, but I wasn’t too concerned because the freezer was cool enough to hold limes and tequila.

[backhometome]

Just finished watching it. I enjoyed it.

The acting was really good. JAW was good as always. Though at times it did just feel like Lip from Shameless as a chef. He is good at the angsty stuff.

Loved Sydney even though she could be pushy.

Richie was annoying but by the end I came around to him. Him saying Carmy was the only person he had left was sad. Though it did annoy me how often they said cousin to each other. 

Marcus was also a fav. 

[SoMuchTV]

I really wish there were episode threads for this, because there were so many questions I had that were probably trivial in the grand scheme of things, but would have liked to discuss at the time. Like, why were they paring and chopping so many carrots, for a sandwich restaurant?  Even in their dinner offerings, I still didn’t see carrots. And what were all those prescription bottles in Sydney’s medicine cabinet?!?  I was expecting some kind of follow up on that. 

All that aside, I really liked this and would definitely watch another season. 

[Whimsy]

On 7/4/2022 at 7:53 AM, rlc said:

Enjoyed the show and the authentic chefy touches- the quick shot of Carmy shoving a PB&J in his mouth at home was on the money. Most chefs I know keep almost no food at home. When I was working many moons ago, my fridge had been broken for a few months, but I wasn’t too concerned because the freezer was cool enough to hold limes and tequila.

I can attest to this from experience with my daughter. She has pretty much no food at home. 

I was pretty much all-in with this show until the last episode (which I’m still watching but felt the need to comment half-way through). Sydney’s story was weird. First, yes, we always felt weird talking to non-restaurant people saying CIA, but then clarifying we didn’t mean the actual C.I.A.  But, the person she was taking to was a fellow chef. Even though he didn’t go to culinary school, he’d know what the CIA is. Second, her story of saying she spent all her money buying a ticket and eating in NYC.  That was… weird to me.  While CIA is not IN NYC, it’s still in NY state. The kids from CIA go into the city all the time. There’s a train station not far from the school and it’s not that expensive to go into the city. My daughter and her friends went into the city frequently and enjoyed lots of good food. She also worked at a very nice restaurant in Rhineback and got to enjoy their food. Also, going to CIA automatically opens doors for chefs. I find it hard to believe any CIA grad is just zesting. Up until then I thought they got the chef-stuff right and my daughter said they definitely had a consultant. I guess the consultant didn’t actually go to the CIA. 

[Pepper Mostly]

I loved this show, even the bits that were a little off center. For me, it was easy to overlook them because on the whole they really got it right. The acting was stellar, as was the writing. I spent years in the industry and my son's a chef (he went to Johnson and Wales. Don't get the JWU folks started on CIA!) He also has no food at home.  

[Irlandesa]

On 7/4/2022 at 8:08 PM, SoMuchTV said:

Like, why were they paring and chopping so many carrots, for a sandwich restaurant?  Even in their dinner offerings, I still didn’t see carrots. And what were all those prescription bottles in Sydney’s medicine cabinet?!?  I was expecting some kind of follow up on that. 

Regarding the carrots, I imagine they have giardiniera as a complement/condiment for their sandwiches.   Carmy also mentioned getting out the jus which is often made from beef stock.   I'd guess they make their own beef stock which calls for carrots. 

As for the pills, Sydney lives with her dad.  The pills are probably his.

[Tom Holmberg]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Regarding the carrots, I imagine they have giardiniera as a complement/condiment for their sandwiches.   Carmy also mentioned getting out the jus which is often made from beef stock.   I'd guess they make their own beef stock which calls for carrots. 

As for the pills, Sydney lives with her dad.  The pills are probably his.

I was going to suggest they make their own giardiniera, which is big in Chicago and a staple of Italian beef sandwiches.  A good Italian beef place would pride itself on making its own giardiniera.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiniera

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Regarding the carrots, I imagine they have giardiniera as a complement/condiment for their sandwiches.   Carmy also mentioned getting out the jus which is often made from beef stock.   I'd guess they make their own beef stock which calls for carrots. 

3 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I was going to suggest they make their own giardiniera, which is big in Chicago and a staple of Italian beef sandwiches.  A good Italian beef place would pride itself on making its own giardiniera.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiniera

Thanks. Haha, obviously I am neither Chicagoan nor Italian. 

[Tom Holmberg]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Thanks. Haha, obviously I am neither Chicagoan nor Italian. 

If you are lucky, you might find someplace near you that does Chicago-style Italian beef.  I suggest getting the sandwich dipped ("wet") and with sweet peppers and giardiniera.

[sadie]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

As for the pills, Sydney lives with her dad.  The pills are probably his.

I thought her taking the pills implied some type of mental illness. I almost felt like they were foreshadowing that she has bipolar, which would explain some of her professional issues up to this point.

[cpcathy]

I am surprised by how much I like this show. I’ve only seen Jeremy Allen White in one thing, and he has a sort of Robert Mitchum “features sliding down his face” thing going. His cousin is a crack up, as is Oliver Platt.

My father was a chef, it’s a VERY hard business. I am cringing at some scenes, having spent so much time in my father’s kitchens as a kid.

[ichbin]

I really liked this a lot but I have so many questions regarding S01E08!  I hope it comes back and delves into some of that but if it doesn't I suppose the ending works in a fairy tale/happily ever after kind of way.  

Spoiler

Still, though, those cans with all the money just sat there?  There was never the need for those canned tomatoes in any of the cooking? So much confusion over the whole money issue.  Why not pay back Cicero?  It's not like that kind of debt goes away.  If anything it gets worse.  How did the cash get in those cans?  Just so many questions!

[Whimsy]

22 hours ago, ichbin said:

I really liked this a lot but I have so many questions regarding S01E08!  I hope it comes back and delves into some of that but if it doesn't I suppose the ending works in a fairy tale/happily ever after kind of way.  

  Hide contents

Still, though, those cans with all the money just sat there?  There was never the need for those canned tomatoes in any of the cooking? So much confusion over the whole money issue.  Why not pay back Cicero?  It's not like that kind of debt goes away.  If anything it gets worse.  How did the cash get in those cans?  Just so many questions!

In the first episode (I think it was) Carmy took the spaghetti off the menu.  That’s why they never opened the cans until the end. I can’t answer the other questions. 

[Kiddvideo]

48 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

In the first episode (I think it was) Carmy took the spaghetti off the menu.  That’s why they never opened the cans until the end. I can’t answer the other questions. 

At the end of the first episode Carmy almost made some and started opening a can but changed his mind and threw it away. Oops.

[possibilities]

This is hardly the most important thing about the show, but it drove me crazy that Carmy was constantly putting his hands in his hair and he never seemed to wash his hands. Really, everybody had hair all over the place in the kitchen. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't understand about the money in the cans. 

[xaxat]

I put in time both in front of house and back of house in several family restaurants. The Bear is the best depiction of the business that I have seen. Sobriety issues, dealing drugs out the back door, ownership/staff reluctant to change, All of it rings true.

Except the money in Pomodoro tomato cans. I don't know what this is. And I have some knowledge about industrial canning, which makes it even weirder.

[meep.meep]

I don't understand how Mike could have sealed the cans up either.

On 7/6/2022 at 12:19 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

I was going to suggest they make their own giardiniera, which is big in Chicago and a staple of Italian beef sandwiches.  A good Italian beef place would pride itself on making its own giardiniera.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiniera

In the 7th episode, Carm told Richie to start making giardiniera so he took Sydney's carrots.  Which set her off.  I know why Carm forgave her, but the upset was totally her fault.  First she gave away the ribs and risotto to the wrong person, then she set up the tablet system and didn't turn off the pre-order function.  Both examples of being impatient.

I read the critics raving over this and for once they were correct.  Can't wait for season 2.

[Kiddvideo]

In E1 Richie told Carmy that he’d been in charge for two weeks and they’d been having money trouble for two weeks, which was the amount of time Carmy wasn’t getting the money from the cans. So I’m guessing the loan from Cicero was fake, and Mikey was laundering the tomato money through the restaurant. Mikey would get his cut to pay vendors, and the rest would go back to Cicero disguised as a loan payment. Which means Cicero has at least one guy in the canning factory. Maybe all the other tomato clients order the large cans, and the small cans are a custom job which lets them add the money into what would otherwise be an automated process. (I’m trying here.)

I’m still not believing everyone thought it was free money. Cicero is going to come for it and then Carmy will have to take him on as a partner I’m guessing.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Kiddvideo

[cpcathy]

There’s a Vulture interview with Jeremy, he said restaurants have a machine to reseal tin cans. Who knew?

[SnarkAttack]

On 7/9/2022 at 9:52 PM, possibilities said:

This is hardly the most important thing about the show, but it drove me crazy that Carmy was constantly putting his hands in his hair and he never seemed to wash his hands. Really, everybody had hair all over the place in the kitchen. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't understand about the money in the cans. 

Agree about the hair.  Also, the hair hanging over the food with no net, sweating over the food and no gloves also.  Ick.Ick.Ick.

[callie lee 29]

Question. I'm in the middle of watching now and just got through episode 2 and is a "C" bad for a health rating? I've never really lived longterm where they had health ratings in a restaurant so I'm not sure how horrible that is. I'd eat in a C restaurant. Hell I'm pretty sure I've eaten in an F restaurant (if they rated them like that here) and loved it. 

[Irlandesa]

59 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

Question. I'm in the middle of watching now and just got through episode 2 and is a "C" bad for a health rating? I've never really lived longterm where they had health ratings in a restaurant so I'm not sure how horrible that is. I'd eat in a C restaurant. Hell I'm pretty sure I've eaten in an F restaurant (if they rated them like that here) and loved it. 

I think people don't want anything less than an A. Maybe a B+.  An F would get it shut down.  The lower the grade, the riskier it is.

[aghst]

Renewed for season 2.

https://deadline.com/2022/07/the-bear-renewed-for-second-season-by-fx-1235063848/

Kind of strange that two of the most highly lauded shows from FX are only available through Hulu, The Bear and Reservation Dogs.

[Kip Hackman]

I like it, though.

Edited July 14, 2022 by Kip Hackman

[Irlandesa]

I never watched Shameless so I don't see another character when I see him.

Good news though.  It has been renewed!  I'm very happy for a little show that I think has been pretty word-of-mouth.

https://www.thewrap.com/fx-the-bear-season-2-hulu/

[aghst]

Binged it, the episodes reach and sustain a good momentum.  The chaos makes the episodes seem to move fast.

I don't know anything about the restaurant business but some things don't make sense.  Care going back to try to fix that restaurant, I understand he has this emotional thing to try to get his brother's approval but it's like a rocket scientist going to work at a Jiffy Lube.

Then they have another highly trained chef going to work there as well.

I get that all these people are passionate about food, including Michael and everyone in the kitchen, who put up with the emotional and physical exhaustion day to day to deliver quality in what really seems like a high-volume business.  So they're all willing to work hard and do all these labor-intensive things, like braise the beef for hours or make bread from scratch.  

But as Richie says, the OGs or regular clients of what seems like a neighborhood place may appreciate good food, do they necessarily want haute cuisine like risottos which as Carm and Sydney talked about would be a way to raise their prices?

They have people lining up when they open but they order a sandwich to split and get free water so it's high volume but low dollar per meal type of place, at least at lunch time.

Then the to go business, another high-volume strategy but how exactly do to go places work inside a big city?  Will people drive there from other parts of the city to get food to go there?  Is there even parking?  Do people jump on the L to go to another part of Chicago to pick up food and then eat outside or jump back on the L to take it home?

Why wasn't there food delivery drivers coming for all those to go orders?

If they're really going to do high-volume, they'd probably look to outsource more things, like order a lot of Sysco stuff to reduce the need for all this prep.  That means they're not always making spaghetti from scratch, or even have Marcus baking cakes from scratch.  In fact, I get that Carm and Sydney wanted to encourage Marcus, let him work on his aspirations to make bespoke doughnuts which high-end pastry chefs would be proud of.  But obviously it was interfering with his regular duties.

Why wouldn't they just cut a deal with a local or regional doughnut chain to buy some doughnuts wholesale to offer on the menu or buy cakes from local bakeries?  Would seem a lot more efficient to outsource things which are not a part of the core offerings of the restaurant.

It's not just desserts, over the course of the season, they named so many things that it's hard to believe that a little family restaurant would have such a big menu.

Even that kid's birthday party, Carm had prepared so many condiments, again probably from scratch, and he was assembling all the hot dogs himself.  He could have done something more than slap Oscar Mayer wieners on supermarket buns, since he was working off part of his debt for Cicero, but seems like he really went to great lengths when kids probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference or even want all these fancy veggie condiments.

So now all the money lets them do whatever they want and with the name change, I guess Carm and Sydney could indulge their dreams.  However, fancy dishes are generally higher-priced, requiring a more affluent customer base.  So that's why restaurants pay huge rent to flock to well-off or gentrified areas.  It sounded like River North was a working class neighborhood though?

[aghst]

As far as Lip and Carm, I don't think they're alike, though emotionally, they're both prone to screaming and cursing and being drawn to chaos all the time.

But the surface personalities, the way both characters speak, move, yell, may have more to do with the actor than the way the characters are written.

Lip is looking for angles, short cuts, hacks.  Carm is methodical or knows how to be.  He isn't looking to fool people, be the savant who figures out a hack.

Lip self-sabotages and bails on things, like college.  Carm doesn't give up.  He could have taken the easy out, sell the place to Cicero, go back to running fancy restaurants.

Lip just falls into pussy, who are usually played by young and attractive model/actress types.  Carm hasn't been shown with a love interest, he goes to Al Anon meetings or eats PBJ sandwiches and chips with coke in his apt.

[The Solution]

I may have a new favorite show. I watched this over the past week and floved it. It rings true with the stress and the issues and the language and even the brigade system. Some of my uncles had high-end Italian restaurants. At one time, I thought about opening my own high-end restaurant so I took a back-office job for a large higher-end restaurant business (controller) to learn the business aspects. With the stress and the other issues, I lasted for a year before I went back to a cushy finance job in a tech company. But I still love the restaurant world and the food.

Also, I think Sydney had anxiety issues, hence the medication. (Me too, Still.) It broke my heart when Richie said that Carm was basically all he had.

Glad to hear another season is coming.

[Irlandesa]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:35 AM, aghst said:

Why wasn't there food delivery drivers coming for all those to go orders?

Not all restaurants work with delivery services.  Many don't because of the fees.  Plus, it sounds like the night in Ep. 7 was the first time they had a mechanism set up to even take online advance orders.  Before, it had exclusively been a first come, first-served kind of place.

On 7/15/2022 at 10:35 AM, aghst said:

However, fancy dishes are generally higher-priced, requiring a more affluent customer base.  

I guess we'll see in the second season but they aren't looking to Michelin star the place.  All they want is to offer some higher priced dinner items in the evening because their sandwich service isn't cutting it at that time of day.  Higher priced than a sandwich doesn't have to mean a $50.00 entree.  It can be items that are 10 to 20 dollars more than what a sandwich would cost.  People often do spend more money when they go out to dinner at night than what they'd spend getting a sandwich at lunchtime. There very well might be a similar customer base.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Irlandesa

[Pepper Mostly]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I guess we'll see in the second season but they aren't looking to Michelin star the place.  All they want is to offer some higher priced dinner items in the evening because their sandwich service isn't cutting it at that time of day.  Higher priced than a sandwich doesn't have to mean a $50.00 entree.  It can be items that are 10 to 20 dollars more than what a sandwich would cost.  People often do spend more money when they go out to dinner at night than what they'd spend getting a sandwich at lunchtime. There very well might be a similar customer base.

There were also several allusions to the fact that the neighborhood was changing. Carmy's trying to move with the times and not close his doors as other local spots, who didn't or couldn't adapt, did. He sees it as an opportunity to be there at the beginning in an "emerging" neighborhood. 

I was out with my son, who works in the industry, last week and everyone, EVERYONE we ran into was saying "Have you seen The Bear?" (We live in a pretty touristy town, lots of industry folks about, plus he knows everybody.) Its certainly struck a chord with restaurant folks.

[meep.meep]

Richie's speech to the costumed tournament players way back in Episode 1 is hilarious.  He does have skills.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, Pepper Mostly said:

Carmy's trying to move with the times and not close his doors as other local spots, who didn't or couldn't adapt, did. He sees it as an opportunity to be there at the beginning in an "emerging" neighborhood. 

Yeah. And I didn't mean to sound overly snarky when I said that he doesn't want to Michelin star the place.  I think it's confusing because we see flashbacks of him working in very high end restaurants, we know Sydney is well trained and we've seen them try to instill a more formal hierarchy in the restaurant.  It makes sense to think they may be inclined to recreate that environment.  But I didn't get that sense based on the type of place they were describing--family style. 

Another thing to consider is that I watch a lot of The Food Network including Diners, Driveins and Dives at times.  There are a lot of chefs featured on that show who used to work in high end restaurants but decided to open their own, more casual places. 

[howiveaddict]

The episode where the gangster like guys were hanging out outside.  Then they were arguing with another guy.   What was that all about.  I missed it.

[ProudMary]

Just binged this. Fantastic show. I'm all in. Delighted to see it's being given a second season.

On 7/6/2022 at 3:43 PM, sadie said:

I thought her taking the pills implied some type of mental illness. I almost felt like they were foreshadowing that she has bipolar, which would explain some of her professional issues up to this point.

On 7/15/2022 at 8:45 PM, The Solution said:

Also, I think Sydney had anxiety issues, hence the medication. (Me too, Still.) 

The prescription bottle read Omeprazole, which is the generic version of Prilosec. Sydney has an ulcer, or at least the beginnings of one. Probably everyone else in the kitchen too.

[Whimsy]

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Just binged this. Fantastic show. I'm all in. Delighted to see it's being given a second season.

The prescription bottle read Omeprazole, which is the generic version of Prilosec. Sydney has an ulcer, or at least the beginnings of one. Probably everyone else in the kitchen too.

I take that but I only have acid reflux, not an actual ulcer lol.  Glad you cleared that up, though, there's no way my eyes could see that label. 

[jabRI]

Confusing scene to me was the guy delivering pork, which Carmen didn't need, and the guy said 'ask Lu'.  Then he went to the cooler and looked at an empty tray of meat?  I didn't get the implication?

[aghst]

Yeah I didn't get the pork scene either.

Who at The Original Beef ordered so much pork?

Maybe they offered a pork sandwich or dish but all the work they do to make the beef sandwiches, you'd think it might be difficult to have a big menu.

But Carm at one point rolled a burrito or wrap of some kind.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of menu they offer at the renamed restaurant.

These days, you can't even get a fast casual meal for less than $10 any more as you could before the pandemic and the inflation.  Add in tip, maybe a side and a drink and you're around $15-20.

Maybe the neighborhood (River North) is gentrifying, although the clientele seemed old school middle class.  Still if they go with takeaway, they will be using food delivery apps, which are used by many non-chain restaurants to outsource their online ordering for pickup orders, not even delivery.

[jabRI]

and Syd's dinner ideas was use what food they already had, and make it more of a dinner.  like the risotto and beef.  they weren't talking about importing lobster or anything.

[xaxat]

9 hours ago, jabRI said:

Confusing scene to me was the guy delivering pork, which Carmen didn't need, and the guy said 'ask Lu'.  Then he went to the cooler and looked at an empty tray of meat?  I didn't get the implication?

He owes his distributors a lot of money. Sometimes a restaurant gets what the distributor feels like giving them until the books are cleared up. Lou probably had some extra pork he wanted to dump, so Carmy got it. In the walkin, he was checking to see if he had any beef from yesterday.

On 7/17/2022 at 4:23 PM, howiveaddict said:

The episode where the gangster like guys were hanging out outside.  Then they were arguing with another guy.   What was that all about.  I missed it.

Back in the day that would definitely be illegal sports bookmaker stuff. But now that you can place a bet from anywhere on your phone, so I don't know either.

7 hours ago, aghst said:

Still if they go with takeaway, they will be using food delivery apps, which are used by many non-chain restaurants to outsource their online ordering for pickup orders, not even delivery.

The major delivery services Uber Eats, Doordash etc. charge restaurants punishing fees to be featured on their service. In some cases restaurants don't even cover their costs on an order.

One of the details I like is the Classic and influential cook books that can be seen in the background. I own several of them, but definitely not that set of Modernist Cuisine Carmy has in his office.. over $600 for the set.

I totally understand Marcus' fascination with fermentation. I to have fallen down that rabbit hole. Kombucha, tepache, mead etc.