MovieChat Forums > Kitchen Nightmares (2007) Discussion > Cafe 36

Cafe 36

posted 10 years ago by jefgg
26 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone seen the episode about Cafe 36 in La Grange, Illinois? That seemed like an expensive restaurant that served horrible food. Did they ever say what their prices were? Their wait times were pathetically long. It isn't surprising the place was empty.

Why are so many people so eager to invest in a restaurant who have zero experience in that business? The two owners seemed like nice folks but completely clueless.

Pinto the "chef" had a lot of attitude. It was probably to compensate for his many shortcomings. That is a common defense mechanism for a-holes. Pinto reminded me of Juciano from the "Bar Rescue" episode about Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The crêpes looked and sounded horrible. Ramsay should have called them CRAPS. But that would have been too easy.

Pinto served risotto that had been in the refrigerator for over a week. I used to manage a group home. The state had a law that we had to throw out leftovers after three days. I keep leftovers at home for up to four days. But that doesn't matter because I am feeding myself, not serving the public.

[–] dmrmlr-1 10 years ago

The Café 36 episode is one of my favorites. The owners were so nice, but as you said, clueless. It's a common question, "Why do people with no experience open a restaurant?". I guess if they didn't, we wouldn't have so many fix your restaurant/bar/bakery shows! The saddest thing about Café 36, other than the eventual closing, was that they didn't fire Pinto, he quit!

[–] jefgg 10 years ago

It is better that Pinto quit because he probably would not have been able to collect unemployment. I can't believe he got away with taking so long to make lousy food.

I saw on another site that the former owners of Cafe 36 might be homeless. I really hope they aren't.

I wonder what Ramsay thought about the name of that place. I assume 36 is the number of a local highway. Is that a good name for a restaurant trying to be posh?

[–] dmrmlr-1 10 years ago

You brought up some good points. I'm not sure what the "36" stood for, but it did make the place sound more like a diner, rather than fine dining. I never thought about Pinto drawing unemployment, good call! As for the owners, I hope that they are well, they were two of the nicest ever on Kitchen Nightmares.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 10 years ago

Cafe 36 is one of the episodes I always record.

The owners, Terry and Carol, just seemed so nice...but clueless.

Pinto was clueless, too, but he should have been fired a long time ago. Just his habit of double-dipping food with his finger should have had him thrown out. The whole thing with 'fresh frozen' was crazy.

I know the restaurant closed, and I just hope the owners managed to come away with something. They're too old [in their mid-60s now, I believe] to have to start over financially.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] mdnightwnd 10 years ago

Terry irritated me when a guy on his staff was trying to tell him what was wrong (Pinto) and instead of listening, he threatened to fire the guy.

They did seem like a really nice couple, but that one incident made me a bit less sympathetic - to Terry anyway.

[–] electricrat66 9 years ago

I totally agree.

I could have been at a barbecue!

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

Yeah, I know what you're talking about, and I agree. That scene was upsetting. The server was BEING HONEST about the problems, i.e., that Terry was hiding and Pinto should be fired, but Terry got all defensive and pulled rank on him, in an insulting way, "YOU'RE A SERVER...remember your place!" (I'm paraphrasing.) Just because he's ONLY a server doesn't mean he can't see what's going on and needs to be changed. But Terry didn't want to hear it...at least not from a lowly server. 

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] jefgg 7 years ago

Servers are very important to a restaurant. So are chefs. But Pinto was a lousy chef with a poor attitude so he was expendable.

[–] Bernnard_Black 7 years ago

Yeah, the owner was disappointing there. Thing people don't remember is that the chef gets paid hourly. If he turns out sh!tty food, it doesn't cost him. But the servers - who get blamed if the food is no good - get paid by tips, so crappy food hurts their pay, and they probably have to work HARDER as a result, not less. So they work harder, take abuse from the customer, and get less money. I'd say the server had a right to be angry.

Whores will have their trinkets.

[–] ranran-001 9 years ago

I couldn't believe Pinto didn't know how to make a crepe. They are the easiest things to make besides pancakes and waffles.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

Pinto couldn't make much of anything! As for crepes, I haven't made them in years, but as I recall there's a certain learning curve to getting them right. However, once you've mastered that, they're easy to make--and a so-called 'chef' should certainly be able to do that.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] CasseroleWorshipper 9 years ago

One of those places where the owners were sincere and had good intentions. Not full of themselves, in denial or arrogant like most owners you see on the show, just clueless. Looked like a nice place too, old-fashioned but nice.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

I just watched this episode [again], and I was left feeling like I always do. I WISH they could've made a go of it, because Terry and Carol seemed like such a nice couple. It's sad to think that at their age they had to deal with a failure that must have ruined them financially. I hope they're doing okay now.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] neglndr 9 years ago

Yeah, I know what you're talking about, and I agree. That scene was upsetting. The server was BEING HONEST about the problems, i.e., that Terry was hiding and Pinto should be fired, but Terry got all defensive and pulled rank on him, in an insulting way, "YOU'RE A SERVER...remember your place!" (I'm paraphrasing.) Just because he's ONLY a server doesn't mean he can't see what's going on and needs to be changed. But Terry didn't want to hear it...at least not from a lowly server.

Terry was in the right on that one. The server didn't go up to Terry and tell him politely what was wrong he went up there and pointed his finger at Terry making demands like firing Pinto and that he needed to be more of a leader. Terry said something to the effect of "Your a server and you need to worry about your tables and I will worry about what goes on back here."

One of the problems with Cafe 36 was that Terry was too nice of a boss and let things go and that was Terry letting that server, who did nothing but complain the whole episode, know those days are over.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

Terry was in the right on that one.

I disagree.

The server didn't go up to Terry and tell him politely what was wrong he went up there and pointed his finger at Terry making demands like firing Pinto and that he needed to be more of a leader.

He stated, emphatically, that Terry was hiding and that Pinto should be fired--both of which were accurate observations.

Terry said something to the effect of "Your [sic] a server and you need to worry about your tables and I will worry about what goes on back here."

I don't recall Terry saying any of that. What I do recall was something like, "You're a server! Remember your place. If you don't like working here, then keep your opinions to yourself."

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

I think you're right, kylethecookiethief, about Terry being in denial about Pinto. But that leads to a thought I've had, not just with Cafe 36 but a lot of restaurants: Don't the owners have ANY IDEA what good food tastes and/or looks like?! Think about how many episodes we've seen where there's a horrible, clueless "chef" knocking out horrific food. At least in Ramsay's opinion, and the opinions we hear from customers or people on the street. But the owners GIVE THE FOOD A 10! Have they never eaten in decent restaurants, or even in homes with capable people cooking? I don't get it.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

See, I understand that some of the owners have no restaurant experience--but they ALL have eating experience! That's why I don't know how they manage to give their food a 10 when it's barely edible [according to Ramsay, Irvine, customers, et al]. How far is it possible to go into denial?! 

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

I also agree that Terry had no right to threaten/berate the waiter who was trying to tell him that Pinto needed to be gone.

Yeah, what really bothered me about it was the class system Terry obviously believes in, i.e., if you're "just" a server, your opinion is less valuable than someone else's. I could understand if we were talking brain surgery, and a server was trying to tell a brain surgeon how to operate; then saying "you're a server--remember your place" would at least make sense. But a server, in a restaurant, watching how things work, seeing that the head chef is clueless and his staff doesn't respect him, and seeing that the owner needs to step up, that's all valid and should be listened to.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] falconefans 9 years ago

I haven't seen this episode in a while, but from what i recall the waiter quietly said this to the owner. It's not like he berated his boss in front of customers or other employees. I thought he was just expressing his opinion in an effort to help the owners save their business.

I was really surprised at the owner's response. It felt very out of character for him to not only react that way but also the way he spoke to the waiter and the words he used. I just assumed that the stress of watching his business going down the drain and the added stress of having Gordon and the film crew there finally got to him and he just snapped.

Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans.
No she doesnt.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

I haven't seen this episode in a while, but from what i recall the waiter quietly said this to the owner. It's not like he berated his boss in front of customers or other employees. I thought he was just expressing his opinion in an effort to help the owners save their business.

Yes, that's exactly how I saw it, too. The server was somewhat animated, but rightly so as far as I'm concerned, because the topic was very serious, and time was of the essence--considering the business was failing.

I was really surprised at the owner's response. It felt very out of character for him to not only react that way but also the way he spoke to the waiter and the words he used. I just assumed that the stress of watching his business going down the drain and the added stress of having Gordon and the film crew there finally got to him and he just snapped.

Ditto.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com

[–] dmrmlr-1 9 years ago

I loved the couple from Café 36, but the response to the server was way out of line. That has always irritated me! The server was quite rightly pointing out a glaring problem to the owner. Ramsay saw how worthless Pinto was and told them to fire him the first day!

[–] jefgg 9 years ago

It appears that Cafe 36 closed in 2009. I didn't realize it was such an old episode.

[–] GraceFromSoCal 9 years ago

Yeah, it's one of the earliest episodes; it was filmed in 2008.

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http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com