Review by Heathonistt

As a career restaurant worker for over 15 years from Chicago who managed similar style restaurants to the place featured in this show, I was excited to see this show. I've miserably pushed through the first season, and really wish I wouldn't have wasted my time. This show manages to simultaneously give the vibe that it was written by someone who grew up watching scripted bad reality tv shows about manufactured kitchen nightmares and has no idea what it's really like to run a restaurant like this, while it depicts everything wrong about restaurant work that CAN be changed and fixed. I could write a novel about the absurdly bad writing (the table-less bar-style 80s plastic menu board greasy spoon takeout restaurant that sells italian beef sandwiches "doesn't do to-gos" and instead employs a full staff to sit around and make small batches of time-consuming fine french fusion dishes with no wait staff), but frankly it's too annoying to think about. The first two episodes include no plot development or character storylines and is simply filled with people screaming over each other the entire time. I cannot understand what anyone says. The extras angrily scream "CORNER" at the top of their lungs every 1.5 seconds -anyone who says "this is how restaurants work" has only worked in highly dysfunctional abusive environments and are conditioned to accept the abuse. This is manufactured stress and drama for the show, and it comes off as lazy writing and obnoxious. Why is the container of gravy on top of a box on the top shelf in an otherwise empty walk in? Because they need DRAMA but don't really want to spend any time making sure the scene seems realistic in any way! This show feels like it was written by a kitchen nightmares reality show producer, and has the same lazy writing, lazy producing, "producers hate their talent" type-vibe of those shows. The chicago references are terrible and stereotypical of what people who aren't from chicago think everyone thinks/talks/acts like there. The only good thing this show offers is beautiful shots of food. That's mostly what the show is. Close-ups of food cooking. We almost never see any of the characters outside of the restaurant. We don't know their lives. They don't have relationships or kids. They're stressed out drones that are there to "serve." A very elitist view of restaurant workers. We hardly know the characters names, as every 3rd word coming out of their mouths are "chef." Everyone in the show calls everyone else "chef." I don't know where this fascist military-like de-personalization of restaurant staff originated from, but it's demeaning. Restaurant owners/managers/workers who wish to alienate their staff and make sure their business fails should employ this "calling everyone "chef" technique. We all know that what people like the most is being de-personalized and being called by words and names that aren't who and what they are. Big props to the actors in the show, they are the only part that makes it worth watching. I would have quit after episode 1 if it weren't for them.