Notes, Quotes and Observations From Luigi D'Italia's Appearance on Kitchen Nightmares

• JB can turn into a good sometimes...

• Oh, I guess the producers went to her home and chose her wardrobe for her. I don't think so. You really don't know what's involved in shooting a television show of this type, do you? Otherwise you wouldn't make such ridiculous claims regarding Luigi crying, the video of his father, or the tee shirt his wife wore.

• "Are you telling me the family stated on national television they're a million in the hole for shits and giggles?" No shit, Sherlock. I'm not sure what JB's trying to get at, unless he actually believes that Luigi was pretending to cry and that "I've failed my father!" was scripted. He also seems to be suggesting that the video of Papa in Italy was somehow faked. Perhaps he thinks the entire program broadcast represents real time, rather than the number of weeks that were probably involved in the actual production.

• Note to Gustavo: I believe Gordon did return six weeks after he'd left to see how things were going. He does in most of the  episodes of the American version of the show as well. Also, I'd like to echo H. Batter. Does this mean the restaurant sucks again, or should we at least try to give it a shot?

• Oh, so Italians "aren't the best financial managers"? Way to go, Mr. Stereotype! I suppose that's meant to be an excuse for running their restaurant into the ground. "Refusal to compromise on quality"? If there's one thing I've witnessed in 40 years of dining in Italian restaurants, it's that over the years, quality is the first thing to go for the majority of family-owned establishments--in fact, that's true of most family-owned restaurants, regardless of the cuisine. That was clearly the case with Luigi's.  The Thais and Indians manage to avoid this by selling out and moving on before things sour and go bad. Not only have I eaten in numerous Italian restaurants in the US and elsewhere, I've also been to Italy four times to sample all the regional cuisines on their home turf. The food at Luigi's was definitely broken. If you can't see (or rather taste) that, you don't know anything about quality Italian cuisine. From what I saw in the program, the food served looked like absolute slop, and there was some rotting food in their walk-in. Now in addition to having  been to Italy four times, I was once  married to an Italian for many years. So I've seen how many people get attached to favorite restaurants and remain loyal long after the food has become sub-par. While the family is welcome to return to what their loyal diners enjoy, it's evident that doing so didn't prevent them from running up a debt that will eventually close their establishment. Gordon Ramsey's upgrade wasn't for the old customers who've barely managed to keep the restaurant afloat, and left it with a massive debt. It was to lure new diners and increase business. If they decide to go back to what they consider "tried and true" but what obviously couldn't sustain their business, they can expect to eventually go bankrupt. If the boys don't care and abandon Gordon's menu, and if  Grace returns to being a foul-mouthed bitch who could obviously be overheard in the dining room, you can expect Luigi's to close in the next year.

• Luigi D'Italia is one of the good family restaurant in Anaheim so please don't be discourge to go, thank you!!!

• so, does this place suck again?? The wife and I wanted to try this place......

• Why, does Santa not like milk and cookies?  Should I be leaving something else out? 

• It's notes, quotes, and observations, son!

• "Ramsay should've just said the wop staff--no wabs allowed." Jesus, you and Dave wrote 10 paragraphs about some po' guy that said, "roach coach" and this only merits 1?

• Dude, stop your Luigi apologias already and go to Rufino's! Are you telling me the family stated on national television they're a million in the hole for shits and giggles?

• "For all the old-timers who were saying Luigi's shouldn't change what was not broken: How do you like the revelation the restaurant is $1.5 million in the hole?" C'mon, sir.  You know better than that.  Italian people, admittedly, aren't the best financial managers (largely due to their boundless generosity and refusal to compromise on quality).  The food was not broken...and the food likely has nothing to do with that deficit. 

• And how 'bout Tony's wife wearing that "Fuhgetaboutit" t-shirt in the big scene where the 2 couples meet to discuss what's wrong with the restaurant.  I guess her "Vaffanculo" shirt was in the laundry.....

• If you believe what was being portrayed in the episode as even just one tiny bit of being real, I'm sure you put out cookies and milk for Santa Claus every Dec. 24, too.  That episode was so contrived and staged, I felt like I was watching Saturday Night Live do a spoof of the reality genre.  I mean, really...Luigi crying and saying if the restaurant fails, "I've failed my father!"  (Who, BTW, magically appeared on a grainy video, taped in Italy, near the end of the show, telling his sons he loved them and sounding like the King of Siam on his deathbed in a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.  If Papa really believed what was going on, he'd be on the next Alitalia charter to Fullerton Airport to slap the hell out of both of them.)  The only "real" part of the episode was the family saying "f--k" as every other word.  Now THAT reminded me of my youth in the outer boroughs of New York.   

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