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Previous Episodes July 18 |
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Teams will plan, open, and run their very own restaurant - all in 24 hours - for $10,000. Recaps by Chico Alexander, GSNN
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Italiano Battle It's Old-World meets New-World as two teams play dueling Italian eateries. Who'll come out with the spiciest meatball, and who's going to end up with a really bad case of heartburn?
They have 24 hours before service to set up concepts, decor, and menus. They will be given their own half of a building, their own kitchen and wait staff, their own cookware, and a budget of $4000. They will be judged by the customers as well as host Scott Conant and three heavy-hitters of the New York culinary scene. The players that best run their restaurant win $10,000. Restaurant Names: Rossella/Angela/Nonna: DA ROSSELLA (Pugliese
menu) 24 HOURS LEFT Rossella is going to start on the menu of "peasant food"... and there's going to be a lot of it. Angela's worried that it's going to be too much. Anthony and Chris going to work on Modern Italian dishes. Not too many dishes, but quality over quantity... As for design, Angela is working on a mural for their restaurant, while Debra Jean opts for the sunset. 23 HOURS LEFT The teams are heading to a local market to go shopping. All of the three-generations team are shopping for ingredient. Chris is doing the shopping for his team, spending $2200 to the ladies' $1500. Needless to say, Debra Jean is going to have a hard time designing the place... 20 HOURS LEFT ... and her fears are confirmed as she uses what's left to buy decorations. At the end of the day, they have 48 cents. Rossella is worried that her cooking is going to be slow because of Nonna's attention to detail. Chris, on the other hand, has a quicker style of cooking. 18 HOURS LEFT And Rossella is still prepping, not quite sure as to whether or not she's in over her head. 17 HOURS LEFT Rossella takes a breather to go see her mom. Angela tells us... yeah, she knows it's too much. "You're gonna be mediocre if you do too many." The original menu had 17 items... and now it's pared down to 4. Those four have to be perfect now. Anthony and Chris finish prep at 2:45a. 12 HOURS LEFT Menus... PESTO DA ROSSELLA Scott walks in to see how things are going. While Angela uses paintings, Debra Jean is forced to use the food that Anthony and Chris bought. 4 HOURS LEFT Nonna's wedding cake has more booze in it than a frat party on homecoming weekend. 1 HOUR LEFT All of the pieces are finally coming together. With five minutes left, prep is done. It's SHOWTIME. SERVICE! Angela has to start off by selling her Taste of Italy... with her mother. Who can say no to a grandmother with cookies. Anthony is taking notice, so Debra Jean follows suit, selling her menu with choices on it. Da Rossella's dishes are very earthy, very well done. Pesto is working like a well-oiled machine. Angela is making Rossella insane with her micromanaging, while Pesto has a pretty long line of customers. She wishes she had more tables... well, maybe if you used the one for decor. The judges start to walk into Da Rossella. Tonight with Scott, we have KB Network News' Karine Bakhoum, chef & restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, and Gabriella Gersenshon of Time Out New York. The mom's decor hearkens back to a small Italian trattoria. The antipasti is about as authentic as it gets. The main is true-to-form pasta, but Gabriella finds it murky with a texture pasta. The problem with a small menu: one pasta choice. The second course is comforting, but the mortadella is lost. And the cake... it's drunken. Over at Pesto, the decor is bland. The seating arrangement... could've been better. The pesto in pesto is very top notch. The antipasti is "funky" and full of assertive flavors, but they lack finesse. But the chicken in the main is raw. That's a BIG HIT. The chicken that is cooked is really full of flavor, the clams are nice and tender, the veal is overpowered by the salt. The dessert... is light and flavorful. The citrus offset is fun. But the judges do address the tables being used as decor and the raw chicken. On the other hand, there's a wide array of choices on the menu, but the flavors were overpowering, and the tiramisu was a perfect way to end the meal. At the end of the day, both teams did what they set out to do: open a restaurant in 24 seemingly impossible hours. Angela, Rossella & Nonna shared food and family. Debra Jean, Anthony & Chris had a popular eatery, but the portions and flavors were too much. But for one team, it's going to pay out in a $10,000 profit. The winner of this 24 Hour Restaurant Battle is... ... ... ... DA ROSSELLA! The commitment and the mistakes end up hurting the Pesto crew, while the family feel of the Ragos' menu turns into a pay day. Two more teams next time. Until then... No charge. To see this episode in its entirety, visit the official website at www.foodnetwork.com/24hourrestaurantbattle. |
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