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Marc Maron
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Ready to order?
Zibby Owens
Yes.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
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Drew Nieporent
Everything.
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Drew Nieporent
Yes, Chef.
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Podcast Host/Announcer
Today's episode is sponsored by the Foxed Page, a podcast and YouTube channel that dives deep into the very best books. It's basically your favorite college English class, but very relaxed and way more fun. No exams, no participation, and only books you really want to read. Kimberly Ford, best selling author, one time professor and PhD in literature, offers up entertaining, often funny talks that will leave you feeling inspired and a little smarter. She digs right into everything from J.D. salinger to Miranda July, from Demon Copperhead to Madame Bovary, from Pride and Prejudice to Lessons in Chemistry. The talks on individual books are the heart of the podcast, but enriched read segments tackle ideas like unreliable narrators, while Old Favorite talks treat you to a fresh adult look at childhood gems like Harriet the Spy and Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. Want to get the most out of what you read and be entertained along the way? The Fox page is for you. Hi, this is Zibby Owens and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly Moms don't have time to read Books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest best selling, buzziest or underrated authors and story creators whose work I think is worth your time as a bookstore owner, publisher, author and Obviously podcaster. I get a comprehensive look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't have to stay in the know, get insider insights and connect with guests like I do every single day. For more information, go to zibbemedia.com and follow me on Instagram ibeowens. Drew Niperint is the author of I'm Not Trying to Be Difficult Stories from the Restaurant Trenches. Drew, one of America's most respected and celebrated restaurateurs, is the founder and inspiration behind the Myriad Restaurant Group, which opened and operated Nobu, New York, Nobu London, Tribeca Grill, Rubicon, Corton, Batard, Daily Burger at Madison Square Garden, and many more. Nieperun's groundbreaking first restaurant, Montrachet, earned three stars from the New York Times and kept that rating for 21 years. He has partnered with Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, and Francis Ford Coppola, among others. He has also won multiple James Beard Awards.
Zibby Owens
Welcome, Drew. Thank you so much for coming on Totally Booked to talk about I'm Not.
Podcast Host/Announcer
Trying to Be Stories from the Restaurant Trenches. Congratulations.
Drew Nieporent
Thank you. Zimbabwe. Thank you very much.
Zibby Owens
As a lifelong New Yorker and Hamptons person, all the restaurants you mentioned, I feel like I've been to at one point in time or another. Even like the Della Femina days and all of that. Thank you for feeding me and so many others along the way.
Drew Nieporent
Thank you. It's been a number of years.
Zibby Owens
You know, towards the end of the book, you said something that just stayed with me so much is at this point in your life, you're worried that you're going to be forgotten and you've come to peace with it and with your life. But you can sense on the page that you are literally like, sort of working your way through how you feel about life. Like, as you conclude the book, just jump in with that. Tell me how you're feeling about it.
Drew Nieporent
Well, you know, here's the way it is. I mean, I never kept all my eggs in one basket. In fact, I had like 40 baskets. And it was just a tremendous career doing this and that and going here and there and being actually pretty conservative considering the restaurant business is very volatile, very difficult. I did all. I did all kinds of things. And you probably went to these places. But I looked at the Four Seasons, Paul Covey, Tom Margitai. I want to be those guys or the 21 Club, become an institution. And the problem is this generation has a very short attention span. It's always about the next, the newest, the Latest years ago, when I saw how much press tacos and pizza and, you know, all this crap food was getting, I was like, holy mackerel. Like, I've worked my entire career to refine food and put it out in a beautiful setting. And, you know, these people are making a hamburger and it's getting as much press as I'm getting. So. So I. But I've come to grips with it. I understand it. You know, I'm not sure I. I can rationalize it. Like, it's not, it's not the way I thought it was gonna be. I thought, you know, and, you know, Nobu is still operating. It's 31 years, so it's not like I don't have anything. And I do the hamburgers at Madison Square GARDEN now, for 12 years, I've outlasted John George Vongericht and Charlie Palmer, Andrew Carmelini. So, you know, I'm still in the game. Let's put it that way.
Zibby Owens
You are absolutely still in the game.
Drew Nieporent
Yeah, but. But truthfully, like, like, I wrote this book, I read it, I just read the audiobook this week, and as I'm reading it, I'm like, nobody knows any of this stuff and I'm not so certain people are going to care. But I appreciate being on with you and appreciate the fact that you have some, you know, previous experience at my places.
Zibby Owens
No, I think people are going to care. It's a story. It's a coming of age through food story. And not only do you weave in all the restaurants and the glamour and the behind the scenes of, oh, Donald Trump paid more for this job and this chef went to this place and this betrayal, but it's also a very personal story of your parents and your relationship with your body and your health and your family and your marriage. I mean, there's so much in here. I feel like everyone's going to find a little piece of something that relates to them.
Drew Nieporent
I swear, from your list. I really hope that's the case.
Zibby Owens
Thank God, you know, I was so moved, as I mentioned, you know, being a New Yorker. But your experience with nine, eleven and being a restaurant owner during that time or not, you know, being tapped into so many of the different places and having had Montrachet there for so long and everything, how you felt and getting on that train, being like, I've got to get there, and then all of a sudden realizing, no, no, now I've got to get home, and then feeding all the workers, like, just tell me a little bit more about that day. Because I hadn't heard that story.
Drew Nieporent
Yeah, well, that, you know, everybody, obviously, Everybody has a 911 story. My 911 story is actually quite interesting because at the time, I lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and I took the train to the World Trade Center. That's the way I got to work. So in 93, they had bombed. Somebody tried to bomb the Trade Center. And that was a very difficult moment. So now it's 2001, and the same thing's kind of occurring. I said to my wife, get me to the train. I got on the train. They. They stopped the train in Rutherford, made us all get out, which probably was probably the smartest thing in New York, you know, stopping traffic into New York, especially into lower Manhattan. And once I figured out what was going on, I knew it was going to be catastrophic downtown. And I got downtown, and a neighbor of mine, he goes, you know, you probably have a lot of food. We got to do something with that food, you know, and there are these rescue workers. So I didn't really. That wasn't, you know, like, the first thing that came to mind. The first thing that came to mind was, am I going to be able to be open? But that was, you know, they literally stopped the traffic below 14th Street. I had to get a credential. I was friendly with a captain, this guy Ed Mamet, David Mamet's cousin or something. And we came down and this credential got me down every day. And eventually, you know, it's in the book. The most interesting story that I remember was George Bush. George Bush was gonna come to Ground Zero, okay? So I get down there, and everyone, you know, I could see Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Giuliani. I saw everybody. But I was trying to figure out, where is George Bush going to talk? And, you know, there was no. You know, there was no said space, but I had lost some weight, and I was able to get. I lifted myself on this broken lamppost, which had a very small circumference. And then suddenly, like, right after that, there's bush, like, literally 30 yards in front of me, and he's got a bullhorn. And behind me there was a truck where these construction workers were on the back on the hood of the truck, and he goes to bullhorn, and he starts speaking, and you can't hear him. So the guy is behind me, they go, we can't hear you. Just like that. And the next thing you know, he goes, well, we hear you, and America hears you and these people. And, you know, okay. I got back to my office this was the greatest speech in presidential history. They couldn't hear him on the. On the. But nobody. That. That's. I mean, literally that. So I have, like, a Forrest Gumpian life. I was. I was in Atlanta in 1974 for Hank Aarons when he broke Babe Ruth's record. You know, even yesterday, you know, I had dinner at Noble, and Mayor Adams came in, and he's kind of keeping a low profile these days. The book, believe it or not, Zibby, the book is actually. It's like. It's almost like a third of my life. And, you know, I read the book, and I was like, oh, my God, did I forget this? Did I forget this? Did I forget this person? And so, not that I'm going to write another book, but, you know, I had just. I've been fortunate because I've had all these moments, and they're good stories and, you know, but being a restaurateur at. I knew right away when I was a kid I was gonna do that. So being a restaurateur, you're always, you know. You know, the doors are open and hundreds of people are coming in, and, you know, there's this tremendous action. But 9 11, you know, I mean, for everyone, was very problematic, obviously. But the pandemic subsequently, you know, 2020, that was probably worse. A strange way, it was probably worse.
Zibby Owens
Now tell me.
Drew Nieporent
Well, because first of all, the government. I don't fault the government that much. This day, you could do it. This day, you couldn't do it. This day, you could, you know, put a table outside. There was just a lot of uncertainty. And then they would close and open, close and open. Especially in New York, eventually, when the dust settled. Tribeca Grill, this incredible restaurant that I had run for about, you know, 30 plus years, you know, we used to be open seven days a week, lunch and dinner. I couldn't. There was no staff, because in the restaurant business, everyone headed for the hills. So the staff, you know, they were unemployed, and they. They all took jobs that they were offered. And there was one point where I looked down and said, I don't even have a chef. I don't have a manager. I don't have waiters. And I was like, I'm not gonna let this close me. So I reopened, and, you know, I've always given it a good shot. But the pandemic was worse. I mean, 911 was so such a small area, like, you know, contained. I remember leaving one night, and, you know, just. I was. I was midtown. I was like, it's like, you know, you're midtown. There's nothing. Nothing's happened here. So how come they're so affected by this incident? But it was good. You know, the country came together, but the pandemic was worse. And what's funny was I was actually in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which I bet you've been to. I have one of the greatest places on God's green earth. And, you know, it's funny. It's because I've done a charity there for, like, 20 years, very big charity. Brought in 18 chefs at one point, the best chefs in the world. So I'm like, oh, I wonder if I put that in the book. So I'm reading, and. Because for the pandemic, I was actually in Jackson, came back for Jackson, and they had closed all the restaurants. And then I went to Katz's Deli because it was St. Patty's Day, and every good Jew gets corned beef. They eat St. Patty's Day. And I was like, this is horrible. I can't smell it. I can't taste it. And those were the symptoms of COVID but we didn't know that then. So I had Covid right away. Didn't really. You know, I wasn't that sick, thank God. But, you know, that whole thing was. That was very difficult. That was the worst part of it, I think.
Zibby Owens
And not to just talk about all the negative times in your life, because there were so many victories and successes and happy times. But you had a terrible, catastrophic stroke. Had to relearn how to walk. That only got, like, a page in the whole book. That could have been the book.
Drew Nieporent
You know, something. I came home one night, and I've always. I love eating, and I. You know, I've. My weights fluctuated quite a bit over the years. I ran the New York Marathon, so, you know, you can't be a fatty to run the New York Marathon. But I just keeled over. I mean, I just. And luckily, my wife upstairs heard. You know, I grabbed a chair, and she heard the noise. And then they proceeded to put me on a gurney. They took me to a hospital. I live now in Piermont, New York, right on the Hudson River. The hospital they took me to had no stroke unit, so they had to put me back into the ambulance to go to the Bronx. I probably should be dead, but the clot lodged apparently behind my ear. And honestly, I had. I didn't have a clue that I was having a stroke. I had no idea. And then, you know, it's in the book. It's in the Book. There was sort of a relearning of everything. And this happened about seven years ago. What's funny was I was in the hospital for a procedure yesterday or two days ago, and I said I had aphasia from my stroke. And they go, what do you mean? You speak fine? And I realized, like, I used the word aphasia because I didn't really understand that that's when you can't speak well or you have loss of memory. But the one residual thing for my stroke is if I'm watching a movie or TV and somebody cries, I, like, I fall apart. It just comes on me, like, I. Emotionally. And it's an amazing thing. It's like a. I'm sort of happy that it happens because it feels, like, very strong in my body. But I don't know how, you know, something in my brain sees this emotion, and I become emotional, so. But, yeah, you're right. You know, this stroke I kind of. I put to the side a little bit.
Zibby Owens
Oh, my gosh. Well, I cry pretty much anytime anybody cries on screen anyway, as, like, my baseline. So I don't know what part of the brain, but I clearly need to, you know, strengthen that part or something.
Server
Ready to order?
Zibby Owens
Yes.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything.
Drew Nieporent
Everything.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27, and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back.
Drew Nieporent
Yes, chef.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
This is so nice.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
Ooh, tiramisu.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
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Zibby Owens
So with all of this experience that. That you've had, all these ups and downs and openings and closings and everything, can you, like, go out to eat at a restaurant without taking apart every little detail? Like, do you go. Like, do you like to. Can you enjoy it? Do you like to go out to eat? Like, what is. Do you have time to do that? Like, tell me about your relationship now to restaurants.
Drew Nieporent
Adore going out to restaurants, but I'm idiosyncratic about this one thing because I know it's the success of what I do when I know a customer, and most of the customers I've gotten to know over the many years, how most of them were pains in the ass. What I mean by that is like, they made a point, like, whether it was about, we like to sit here or. Or whatever. They're, you know, they. They like to drink a certain way, the food a certain way. What. Whatever it was. But they let. They kind of let me know who they were. Right? So when I go to a restaurant now, honestly, the only thing that bothers me is I don't want to be anonymous. So, you know, sometimes I make a reservation of my name. They know who I am. Oh, that's great. Okay. Sometimes they even pick up the check, which is even better, you know, but. But. But it drives my wife up the wall that, you know, like. But, like, even the waiter, when you. When the person who's waiting on you knows that you opened a restaurant, let alone 40, they're not going to hose you. I mean, you know, honestly. And if they do, that's a really bad restaurant. But when I go to a restaurant, I never want to have a bad experience. I am. There are some people, they go out, they don't know what the menu is. They don't know what the prices are. And actually, you know, only one person pays the bill. So, you know, they order expensive food and they, you know, it's like one thing after another. I'm paying the bill, so I study the menu. I look at Yelp to see interior shots. I read one or two reviews just to get a idea. And then, like, you know, there's. There's a beautiful place, gorgeous place, right on the river, Hudson river in Dobbs Ferry. It was a chart House years ago. It's called Half Moon and it's, it's got reasonably good food, but they have a $40 brunch for two courses, which is not cheap, but that's a good price because they're very expensive. So of course I say to my family, I said, you know, look at the $40 brunch. We're going to order what we want. And they fight with me, but they're not paying the bill. So of course they don't. You know, there isn't that caring. But truthfully, I go everywhere, I travel, my life is, I wake up in the morning, what am I going to have for breakfast? Where am I going to go for lunch? What am I going to make for lunch? Am I going to go out for dinner? Now, like most people these days, I've taken the Zepbound, which is like Ozempic and everything. And I normally wouldn't do that, but I had gotten bigger and I'm on the treadmill every day. I'm pretty much. But I was eating every day. Bagels, potatoes, rice, pizza, Chinese food, everything that puts weight on lost 35 pounds. So now I have to be very strategic where I go. And you know, the best place to go is Nobu for sashimi, which is great because, you know, I have it in there. But I have, I have a tremendous curiosity. I respect everybody. And quite frankly, Zimmy, I honestly believe, and this is a true fact, I believe it's my generation, whether Danny Meyer, myself, Richard Melman in Chicago and several other people, obviously. But we raised the bar. He made the whole experience, whether it was service, food, ambiance, we made it better. And we also had the guests best interests at heart. We did it on behalf of the guest. So I really believe we raised the bar. So now it's very, very hard to get a bad meal. You have to, you literally have to like be stupid to have a bad meal. You know, it's like New York especially. I mean, it's unbelievable, the variety. And now, you know, Restaurant week is. I think it's the next two weeks or something. So Restaurant week, it used to be like, it started in 1992. It used to be $19. Then it was a penny a year, 1993, 94, you know, now I think it's. It's something stupid, like 60 bucks. So it's not a bargain anymore. So I look at the menus for Restaurant Week because I'm cheap, I want to bargain, you know, but once in a while you'll see something, you know, what's funny about this is. Okay, you know, Restaurant Week. 30. $30. Right. For 45. No, Avra. $45 for lunch or something. And then you go on their website and they have a lunch for $35 all the time. Even Milos, which, you know, Milos is really expensive, they have a $35 lunch all the time. And they're packed, by the way, you know. So you. What I'm saying to you is, yeah, I love to go out, but I search high and low for good deals.
Zibby Owens
Love it. So what would you say to aspiring restauranters? My husband's cousin owns a bunch of restaurants in New Jersey. He's like an up and coming young chef.
Drew Nieporent
And name one of his places.
Zibby Owens
Diageo Pasta Ramen.
Drew Nieporent
Oh, yeah, what's his name? I went there.
Zibby Owens
You did? Robbie Felice.
Drew Nieporent
Yeah. Ravi Felice, of course. And I just went to the pizza place in Westwood.
Zibby Owens
Oh, Osterio del Crendo or Osterio del Trendo. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Drew Nieporent
So. Well, he's pretty established.
Zibby Owens
Well, it hasn't been that long. I mean, I was at Biagio before he opened it, his first restaurant with my husband when we were, I think, still dating, and he was getting the paint off the walls and we were like, trying to paint it and get it ready to open. So I've watched this whole evolution.
Drew Nieporent
Extraordinarily talented. And Pasta Ramen is kind of one of a kind. Now, if you read the book, you did. Guess what? He's probably a pain in the ass. Good way. But, you know, and I had some communications with him, but I've had more communications with his partner. But I. I went to Pastorama because my son actually lives in Montclair. And it was great. I mean, and also the Crescendo was great. So he's very talented. And I would tell you, somebody like him who has good experiences, he has to make good choices. The other thing I Wait, explain to you. And I learned this the hard way because I got hosed in a way about it. You never know when you hit a brand, because I was getting three stars at Montrachet and great review at Tribeca Grill. And I'm Robert De Niro's partner. And then I opened Nobu. And you have to understand, it's in the book Nobu. Now there's 56 around the world. But back then, you know what Nobu said? No. Didn't say it once, didn't say it twice. He said it three times. And now he's worth about $300 million. So. And I Got I, you know, the title of the book is I'm not trying to be difficult. But guess what? You know, you can tell as we're sharing, you know, time together, I'm pretty strong minded. So like, you tell me to do something, it's like I'm going to do it probably if it's the right thing, but not my, you know, like in the restaurant business, you're not going to tell me what to do. I know I have the experience, right? So the problem is you get bullied, things happen. And I had a lot of restaurants, so I was like, okay, you know, you go your way, I'll go my way. And, but here, here's the, here's what I'm trying to get to the brand. It's a dirty word. And you know, other people have several restaurants and they're not all called one thing. Like John George von gorictenen has like 60 restaurants. Danielle Bellubo, everything's balloon, south, northeast. He's in Wallace. He has a blue box and a little grand someplace. And he's a great guy. But so what I would say is Robbie, probably at some point he might be bored by it, but if he has a brand and pasta ramen is a pretty good brand, he should duplicate that in other places. That's my advice. Other people, Other people. By the way, if you had said, you know, he owns Joe's and you know, or something, I always be gone, you know, tell them, just be, be content with one place that if it's making money. Because the, the only thing I would say is I didn't care about whether I made money or not. I just wanted to be really good. And guess what? I always felt if I did a good job, I'd make money. That's the way I felt. And unfortunately that's not the way it works. So I held restaurants for years that were either breaking even or losing money. But you know, they were critically acclaimed, they had three stars, you know, Rubicon in San Francisco. I love that. I didn't know California was a communist country. I didn't know, you know, I couldn't make any money there. But I had a great time. And you know, I love Valley. I mean, you know, so anyway, it's, you know, he's great though, you know, one day, then he's terrific. I'm glad. So tell me how you're, you're related to him.
Zibby Owens
He's your, he's my, my husband's cousin.
Drew Nieporent
Wow, great, great, thank you.
Zibby Owens
So if you, if readers take away one thing from the book. If you're like, I will have succeeded. If they take this away from the book, what would that be?
Drew Nieporent
Tell the truth. Be honest. Be honest with the customer. Be honest with the staff. Don't steal. Don't womanize. Don't drink too much. I drink, but don't drink too much. That's not one thing. But it's like an ethic. And perhaps as a restaurateur, know what you're talking about. I mean, you know, like, nothing supplants my knowledge. But I, I don't think I'm smarter than anybody else. All I'm saying is I had great experiences when I was younger, parlayed that into work experiences. I parlayed that into Cornell. When I found out Cornell really wasn't going to further my education, I furthered my education. And I would just tell you it never ends. Like, today I'll read a book, whether it's about the restaurant business or a musician or some somebody in life, politics, whatever. And I'm learning because the learning process never stops. So always be learning. But the takeaway for this book is this was right early in my life, I knew my life was going to be about food and restaurants. I didn't know that every time I opened a restaurant with somebody so talented, they're looking at me like, you know, why should I listen to you? You know, And I, by the way, I'm really easy. I'm easy to get along with. So that's the other part of the equation. Like, if you're too easy, they'll push you over. You know, they'll take advantage of you. So I don't let people take advantage of me. But I have a theory that I don't believe anybody picks a fight with somebody they think they can lose to. So it's as simple as, you know, if you're a big person, you're going to pick a fight with a smaller person. But like, like when I meet certain people, I can tell for whatever reason they're going to. They're going to try to engaged me in some strange way. You know, it's usually an investor or real estate person or something like that. But, you know, so I've, you know, and it's in the book. I mean, even I had an opportunity to go to Las Vegas. De Niro had set it up. Steve Wynn. I mean, to my face, he's like hosing Bob De Niro. I was like, you know. And then that episode actually worked against me because I came back, I told De Niro exactly what he said to me, but he thought, you know, for whatever reason, De Niro probably thought I made it up or didn't believe me. But in other words, at the end of the day, that never helped me, that I told the truth. But I believe in telling the truth.
Zibby Owens
Amazing. Yeah, I believe in also in, well, all of those things, but also in always learning. And I feel like, you know, this podcast and so many of them are like, it's all like a masterclass and you can never stop. So thank you. I've learned a lot from you and.
Podcast Host/Announcer
From the book and from this conversation. So thank you so much.
Drew Nieporent
One day I expect a call from you, which is Drew. I already have a reservation at Nobu, but I'm just letting you know, you know, because honestly, like, when I know somebody's coming in, we can even make it a better experience.
Zibby Owens
Oh, okay.
Drew Nieporent
The problem is, the problem is this is always. And I know you have to go, but this is always the question I get, oh, you're the owner of Nobu, right? Yeah, yeah. Do you own all the Nobus? And I go, you're just gonna have to buy my book. So anyway, Zibby, thank you very much.
Zibby Owens
Oh, thank you. This was such a pleasure. Thank you so much.
Drew Nieporent
Okay. All the best.
Zibby Owens
You too.
Drew Nieporent
Take care.
Zibby Owens
Bye. Bye.
Podcast Host/Announcer
Thank you for listening to Totally Booked with Zibby, formerly Moms don't have Time to read Books. If you loved the show, tell a friend, leave a review, follow me on Instagram, ibbyoens and spread the word. Thanks so much. Oh, and buy the books.
Marc Maron
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Server
Ready to order?
Zibby Owens
Yes.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver card. So let's just get one of everything.
Drew Nieporent
Everything.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27 and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back.
Drew Nieporent
Yes, Chef.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
This is so nice.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 1
Oh, tiramisu.
Capital One Saver Card Promoter 2
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One Saver card. Capital One what's in your wallet?
Server
Terms apply. See capital1.com for details.
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Totally Booked with Zibby
Episode: Drew Nieporent, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches
Date: September 25, 2025
In this engaging episode, Zibby Owens interviews legendary restaurateur Drew Nieporent about his memoir, "I'M NOT TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches." The conversation dives deep into Nieporent’s storied career, his feelings about legacy, the seismic events that shaped him (including 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic), his approach to restaurant culture and ethics, memorable industry tales, and what he wishes his readers—and aspiring restaurateurs—would take away from his book.
The episode wraps with mutual appreciation. Drew offers a standing invitation for Zibby at Nobu, making clear that recognition—being known and seen—is still priceless in hospitality, even at the highest echelons. The dominant vibe is one of wisdom hard-won, humor, practical advice, and above all, a continuing love for the restaurant business and its community.
For anyone interested in New York’s restaurant world, entrepreneurship, or the personal journey behind culinary success, this episode is a must-listen filled with candid stories, valuable insights, and inspiration for food lovers and professionals alike.