March 23
...serving up your daily dish.
That seems to be the attitude adopted by the now notorious owner of Cuban Pete’s, Dominick Restaino. Restaino, arrested last month for selling wine without a license, is so proud of his boil-the alcohol-out-of–the-Sangria recipe, that he figured it deserved center stage at his restaurant. From The Montclair Times:
“I was taking these big pots and pouring the wine into them and cooking it,” he said. “But the ABC said I wasn’t cooking it long enough or not at all. So, then I figured I’d do cook it right in front of everybody.” Armed with cooking instructions from a cookware salesman and an admitted interest in public display, this past Saturday, March 18, his wait staff set up $6,000 worth of cooking equipment in the restaurant’s courtyard. Five 50-gallon copper pots puffed out steam as Almaden wine from California boiled inside. Restaino poured wine samples into a test-tube-shaped temperature gauge to make sure the wine was cooking long enough. As he served up his new concoction, Restaino claimed he’d beaten the system.
But this show of bravado got him into trouble again:
Lowered alcohol content or not, on Monday, March 20, Montclair Supervising Fire Inspector David Allin told Restaino that an anonymous caller had reported him for cooking outside his restaurant. Allin issued Restaino a warning, citing propane in a fire exit as a fire code violation. “Propane is heavier than air,” said Allin. “It is therefore low to the ground and can seep under doorways. And it’s very easily ignitable. Even a cell phone can ignite it. We gave him a warning.” If given a second notice, Restaino could face a fine of $2,500 per day, Allin said.
He’s also still claiming he’s the victim of restaurant envy from his competitors, and is maintaining his innocence.
“No one is going to stop me,” Restaino said. “It’s not the police who are mad at me, and it’s not even the ABC. I found a way to beat the system and my competition is angry, that’s what this is all about.
Let’s see what happens during his Montclair Court appearance. Originally scheduled for today, it has been postponed until March 31.
March 23, 2006 in Really Freaking Weird | Permalink
" I found a way to beat the system and my competition is angry, that’s what this is all about."
hmmm? ... that sound's sooooo familiar...
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 3:10:43 PM
You know, this guy comes off as a total know-nothing. He understands neither the laws of physics nor ABC regulations. It's time to yank him off the stage.
I liked the bit that he's now using Almaden from California, however. He actually keeps engraving his restaurant's gravestone, so to speak, as we speak.
It's not so much "flair," walleroo, as it seems to be simple obstinacy. (And from a seeming simpleton, who cackles over his cauldron, at that.) I await follow-up coverage of his day in court, when the only feasible defense I can see his attorney mounting is that he is in fact the village idiot.
Posted by: cathar | Mar 23, 2006 3:27:23 PM
"Get you a copper kettle
Get you a copper coil
Fill it with Almaden wine from California
And never more you'll toil"
With apologies to
Albert Frank Beddoe
Posted by: Bitpusher | Mar 23, 2006 3:33:29 PM
Is the trial open to the public? Will it be added to the "thrill seeker" calendar?
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 3:40:48 PM
lasermike, I don't need your advice to chill out. (Ever, it is fair to say.) Far better you should advise Restaino about at least lip service to ABC regulations, and also about the art of keeping a low profile as one's day in court nears.
Finally, with the Cuban Pete's case, I sort of understand what Forrest Gump's mother meant when she told him "Stupid is as stupid does."
Posted by: cathar | Mar 23, 2006 3:44:30 PM
You could always chill out with a nice, refreshing, piping-hot mug of "sangria".
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 3:46:14 PM
Cathar,
What's it to you? You have some grudge against Cuban Pete's? If so, let us know. If not, chill out. Who are you, Elliot Ness?
Posted by: Tired of blowhards | Mar 23, 2006 3:50:00 PM
"What's it to you?"
That's, pretty much, the whole purpose to a blog with comments!
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 3:51:14 PM
Get you a copper kettle
Get you a copper coil
Fill it with Almaden wine from California
And in jail then you'll toil
apologies to everyone but Dominick
Posted by: pissant | Mar 23, 2006 3:52:47 PM
Seems to me its time to yank a lot of these idiots off the stage, including the trolls here.
Posted by: I agree these posters are blowhards | Mar 23, 2006 3:59:46 PM
How's the food at Cuban Pete's?
Some people seem to really like it, others have reported problems. Any recent visitors?
Posted by: Rail Paul | Mar 23, 2006 4:11:28 PM
“No one is going to stop me" NO one!
Not the ABC! Not the Police! Not the Inspectors!
"Restaurant envy" Yes! yes! yes! that's it shout it out RESTAURANT ENVY from the tallest rooftops
Viva La Guerra
Posted by: Jose' | Mar 23, 2006 4:13:46 PM
I hear the boiled fruit is good. Also the decor looks nice, though you have to wipe the condensate from the windows to see.
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 4:13:48 PM
For those who think "trolls" who express outrage over any criticism Cuban Pete's restraurant management skills, go there and have a good time. But make it quick. Because likely he's going to be shut down for a while or otherwise firmly chastised in a professionally painful way.
And if you can't see that his consistent stunting since his original warning doesn't help his case, well, you're even dumber than you all sound on this matter. Restaino is thus very much welcome to the lot of you.
Posted by: cathar | Mar 23, 2006 4:19:05 PM
Yes, piss, the perspiring one with the big wooden spoon.
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 4:19:20 PM
(he should appear at any moment...)
(my breath is bated...)
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Mar 23, 2006 4:22:22 PM
I wonder if Dominick Restaino has ever met Domenick Santana of the Hard Grove in Jersey City and formerly of the Stone Pony. I have a feeling they would get along famously.
Perhaps Santana could lend Restaino his Statue of Dancing Liberty from the Hard Grove.
Posted by: notteham | Mar 23, 2006 4:22:48 PM
I wonder if Dominick Restaino has ever met Domenick Santana of the Hard Grove in Jersey City and formerly of the Stone Pony. I have a feeling they would get along famously.
Perhaps Santana could lend Restaino his Statue of Dancing Liberty from the Hard Grove.
Posted by: notteham | Mar 23, 2006 4:23:00 PM
