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Eat This New York (2002)
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:7
Rotten:11
Average Rating:5.3/10
Theatrical Release:Jan 30, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: New York City is perhaps as renowned for its fancy restaurants as for its art, culture, and architecture. In fall 2001, two old friends, John McCormick and Billy Phelps, decided they wanted to open... New York City is perhaps as renowned for its fancy restaurants as for its art, culture, and architecture. In fall 2001, two old friends, John McCormick and Billy Phelps, decided they wanted to open a small place on a dilapidated corner in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. They planned for Moto to be a fun, hip bar where people could come for drinks, salads, and sandwiches. But what they thought would take only a few months dragged on for more than a year and a half as they battled the elements, cash-flow problems, and every other imaginable problem that gets in their way. Codirectors Andrew Rossi and Kate Novack, who got married while making this fascinating documentary, intercut scenes of McCormick and Phelps's troubles with interviews with some of New York City's most successful and famous restaurateurs--Daniel Boulud (Cafe Boulud), Keith McNally (Balthazar), and Danny Meyer (Gramercy Tavern) to name a few--who relate stories of their humble beginnings and how they were able to make it in a city where the vast majority of eateries close within five years. Among the highlights are following Drew Nieporent, of Nobu, Montrachet, and the Tribeca Grill, as he receives an honor at a charity gala and takes a walk through the TriBeCa neighborhood he helped revitalize; and meeting Sirio Maccioni and his clan, who run the Le Cirque franchise. Although McCormick and Phelps aren't planning on becoming the next Nieporent or Maccioni, their struggle, especially amid all this success, will tug at audiences' hearts--and make them very hungry. [More]
Director: Andrew Rossi
Director: Andrew Rossi
Screenwriter: Kate Novack
Studio: Organic Pictures
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Reviews for Eat This New York
Everyone who ever thought about opening a restaurant should watch Eat This New York.
The oddest thing about this sweet but not entirely satisfying documentary is how little food is involved.
This lively, absorbing documentary about best friends who open a tiny cafe in the heart of Brooklyn is full of such mouth-watering shots of cooking and eating that a jumbo-sized popcorn and pallid soda simply won't do.
Entrepreneurs are what the U.S. is all about: This doc provides a nice take on what it takes to risk all for a business vision.
The documentary is all over the place but for anybody who has ever sneaked a peak at the Food Network, there is bound to be a morsel or two in this dish that's to your liking.
The treatment is so meandering and flaccid that what might have been a spicy study of service capitalism instead proves a decidedly bland dish.
This unfocused and at times obnoxious movie comes off more like an excuse for directors Andrew Rossi and Kate Novack to kiss up to swankier Manhattan restaurateurs.
So, how's the food? The camera never even goes up close. That's the kind of restaurant documentary this is.
the only feel we're given for the opening of a restaurant is the coping with building contractors...Café Moto literally arises from dust and ashes
Entertaining documentary about the odds against making it in the New York City restaurant business.
It will be impossible for you to walk past a shuttered restaurant and not feel a chill after seeing this documentary.
Though the celebrities often speak the truth, it has nothing to do with the dopes in the dark hole under the M tracks.
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