Note: Back to full recaps after the concensus was that was preferable than the short pseudo-synopsis.

In the first of two new episodes of Kitchen Nightmares this week, Gordon heads to Long Island to tackle the troubled restaurant “Trobiano’s,” a restaurant that is in debt for half a million dollars.  The restaurant is owned by Anthony and his girlfriend’s parents, Joe & Pat, and they are dangerously close to losing it all.

Owner/Executive Chef Anthony wanted to own his own restaurant immediately upon graduating from culinary school.  Somehow he talked his girlfriend’s father to go into business with him, even though Joe thought the idea was stupid.  Anthony’s girlfriend Tiffany said they had a great relationship for six years, but ever since opening the restaurant they’ve been fighting a lot.  She works as a waitress in the restaurant and is stressed because her parent’s retirement is in jeopardy due to the struggling restaurant.

Gordon arrives at the restaurant, sees the sign in the window proclaiming the $14.95 “Early Bird Special” and says, “F*#& me, that’s cheaper than a sub shop.”  Wow, what kind of subs is he eating?  I’m certainly not eating $15 subs.  He starts interviewing the owners and asks if Anthony has any experience in Italian restaurants.  Anthony admits that he has no Italian experience and Gordon asks him, “Are you that arrogant?”

When Gordon returns that evening to eat he says that the decor matches the clientele, “Drab & fuddy-duddy.” He also mentions that he feels like he has gone to “visit his granny in a retirement home.”  He orders the eggplant tower, chicken-wrapped shrimp and the salmon-spaghetti bolognese, all supposedly popular items. Gordon feels the marinara is ghastly, doesn’t understand why anyone would stick a shrimp inside a chicken calling the dish “sh&#” and proclaims the salmon dry and “absolutely hideous”.

Gordon briefs the restaurant staff that they are being “robbed” because they are serving so much food, each person is essentially leaving with two extra entrees. Owner/Chef Anthony, at the young age of 29, is so arrogant he feels he is above tasting his food for quality control and feels that Gordon (or anyone else) has no room to tell him how he could improve.  Gordon starts investigating the kitchen and is appalled at the conditions; filth, grime and mouse droppings. Owner/Chef Anthony says that “they have staff” to do the cleaning, he shouldn’t be bothered with that sort of trivial detail.

Gordon walks out when Anthony’s belligerence angers him. Anthony realizes that it is in his hands to get Gordon back so they can save the restaurant, thus saving the future for himself, his girlfriend and potential future in-laws.  Now that they’ve reached an agreement, it’s time to dig in and get cleaning.  Because as Gordon teaches us, a clean kitchen will allow us to respect the ingredients.  The whole fam pitches in to scour, scrub and de-funkify the kitchen.

As a reward for all the hard-cleaning, the next day Gordon takes them on a trip to a farm!  Woo Hoo!  They all get a turn milking a cow, Anthony’s skills prompt Gordon to tell him that “teets are not your strong point”.  After they’ve all tortured an innocent cow, they get to turn their fresh milk into fresh mozzarella.  I love some fresh mozz, but I didn’t need to see a family bumbling to get the milk on their own to make the cheese!

That night they are opening without the tacky “Early Bird Special” and several entrees featuring the new fresh mozzarella.  The restaurant patrons are impressed with the new fresh product, but I don’t think the waiter needed to tell them that the staff milked the cows on their own.  That just seemed weird.

Despite the pep talk the night before, Anthony is still too arrogant to taste test his food.  Gordon is furious at this and goes out behind the restaurant to complain to the camera, thus accidentally getting himself locked out of the restaurant.  Inside the patrons are complaining and sending food back, prompting the family to all get after Anthony to taste, taste, taste.  Plus the busy state of the restaurant that evening is causing the kitchen crew to fall behind; food is forgotten, catches fire and the alarms sound.  Dinner service limps along for the remainder of the evening.  Later Gordon unleashes a tirade against Anthony that basically consists of a lot of F-bombs and the word “TASTE” a lot.

Overnight Gordon’s extreme makeover team works to update the decor, make the restaurant more inviting and added a “mozzarella bar”.  What’s a mozzarella bar? They don’t really explain much, but it looked like a little table with a couple balls of mozzarella set out.  The menu has also been revamped to include simpler dishes that will be more practical sizes and more authentic Italian cuisine.

Dinner service that night is going to be crucial.  They have to cook from the new menu, but they also have to impress the editor-in-chief from Bon Appetit magazine, who will be dining there that night.  Gordon says that is a crucial opportunity to get word out about the restaurant via a magazine read by about 6 million people each month.  Never mind the fact that the restaurant is being featured on a PRIMETIME TELEVISION SHOW.

An order comes in for just about every entree on the menu tipping Anthony off to the fact that it must be the magazine people.  Time to step up his game.  Success! They are passing the food around the table and all are pleased, making comments about various items being “perfectly cooked.”

After the service, Gordon takes Anthony aside and orders him to “make an honest woman” out of girlfriend Tiffany, even providing him with a ring. Anthony goes into the dining room, thanks all the patrons for being there and then proposes in front of everyone.  Then Gordon surprises them further and says that he’s arranged for them to be married that same night, right there in the restaurant. Wow… it’s a good thing she said yes!  Gordon’s arrangements even included a wedding dress and tuxes.

Everyone is grateful to Gordon for “saving their lives.”  Gordon’s parting words of wisdom were that “a nightmare was turned into a beautiful dream.”

Jill blogs at GlossyVeneer where she rambles about her daily life and reviews random things/places she encounters.  She also writes at JillWillRun, as she trains for a marathon while raising money for cancer research.