You have to wonder why there aren’t more TV series about restaurants. It’s a good question. Ensemble casts work well on television and restaurants have staffs which are made-to-order ensembles. In restaurants, people work long hours, they are a generally odd (especially chefs, who are weirdos), they date (generally ill-advisedly), and eateries can go bust in the wake of one bad review. Kitchens are messy places with people bumping into each other all the time unless one yells “behind” or “corner.” However, television network execs like casts to be young, hot people who are cool and wear stylish threads. The people who work flattop grills all day just because they love it are capital-C Characters, but they can be funny and frustrating and endearing all the same.
It’s clear “The Bear” gets that from the jump. The Hulu network series is set in a worn-down Chicago restaurant boastfully named The Original Beef of Chicagoland. The lead is a greasy-haired superstar chef, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, who’s come home to take over the family restaurant after his older brother Mikey stuck a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Carmen has worked as the CDC (Chef de Cuisine) at one of the finest restaurants in New York, but to his cousin Richie he’s just a little shit that thinks he can change the system they have for feeding people, not to mention maybe the menu, too.
Everybody in the kitchen is called Chef because, as Carmy explains to the crew, it’s a sign of respect. Understood? If you did and worked in a kitchen, you’d say “heard.” Well, except for Tina, the line cook who likes to bust Carmy’s stones by calling him “Jeff.”
Other oddballs are Marcus the baker, who is obsessed with making the perfect donut when he should be frosting chocolate cakes, real-life chef Matty “Munchies” Matheson, who plays Stak, a fix-it guy who gets paid in sandwiches. You’ve got Carmen’s sister Sugar and Uncle Jimmy, who may or may not be a real uncle, played by the amazing Oliver Platt. And, of course, Richie or Cuz, who is generally funny, sad and hostile, sometimes all at once. Last but not least is Sydney, who has been hired to do staging (pronounced stah-jing). She’s over-qualified but admires Carmen, and her dad loves the original beef sandwiches.
Whoever chose the songs for the soundtrack hit the spot. So, let’s all take a bite out of our Italian beef sandwich — be it wet, dipped, or dry — grab a seat at the counter, and enjoy the top 10 songs (and two without reservations) from season 1 of “The Bear.”
Number 10: Andrew Bird ‘Sisyphus’ (“My Finest Work” 2019)
You could make a big mistake by sitting down to a musical meal with Andrew Bird after a busy, draining day. Bird demands undivided focus and attention to hear his multilayered lyrics and symbolism that can drown your mind like gravy on a catchy tune. Sisyphus is a sly trickster who cheated death twice. His eternal punishment was carrying a boulder up to the top of a hill, never to succeed in this maddening task.
Richie fires a gun in the air while berating a bunch of rowdy nerds dressed like RPG-game addicts waiting in line to play a video game tournament on the “Ballbreaker” machine. The Sisyphus aspect of the video machine is that it can’t be beat.
Number 9: John Mayall ‘The Bear’ (“Blues from Laurel Canyon” 1968)
After the Bluesbreakers thing had run its course, John Mayall moved to California, staying in Laurel Canyon along with many other musicians. The band Canned Heat had just caught on when Mayall befriended their lead singer, Bob “The Bear” Hite, moving in with him while exploring other options. He wrote ‘The Bear’ as a tribute to Hite, pointing out his deep love for the blues and his impressive collection of old 78 rpm records: “I’ll see you, old Bear / I’ll be back ‘fore long”.
Molly Ringwald has a very small part as an Al-Anon meeting moderator, but she gets a strong monologue to deliver about what it means to love someone who’s an addict. She’s learned that the only way she can get through it all is by keeping her side of the street clean and doing her part to stay out of bad situations. Carmy has started attending meetings to try and make sense of why Mikey killed himself without even so much as leaving a note. Mikey’s bemused apparition drops in from time to time just to see how things are working out at the Original Beef.
Number 8: Counting Crows ‘Have You Seen Me Lately’ (“Recovering the Satellites” 1996)
Being the focus of unwanted attention was annoying to Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. Of course, when you have a habit of dating actresses (Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, etc.), he may be complaining too much. Among other things, this song is about how you can succeed by pouring your soul into your work, but you yourself will become a ghost of a person in the attempt: “But it’s just a little piece of me / And I don’t need anyone / And these days I feel like I’m fading away”.
A flashback shows Carmy’s past swanky-food life may look cushy, serving $700 dinners plated with tweezers in a kitchen that is gleamingly immaculate, but his boss, played by a ruthlessly shitty Joel McHale, was a walking nightmare, the human equivalent of battery acid, actively abusive, even telling Carmy that he should be dead. No wonder giving up a high-paying, award-winning career to come home to Chicago and try and pull his brother’s sandwich shop out of debt doesn’t feel like a failure.
Number 7: Matt North ‘Top of the Fridge’ (“Bullies in the Backyard” 2022)
This song from the Nashville-based session drummer is almost a novelty with its sing-song pace that hides its insight and sarcasm about finding things hidden on top of the refrigerator. North’s philosophy has always been to not steal the spotlight from the lead vocalist with displays of brilliant drumming. But a little notice for your talents would really go a long way rather than suffer being unseen: “On the top of the fridge, my top-secret place / Where I stash all my treasure, nothing else can replace”.
Carmy stuck Sydney with breaking the news that the way they deliver food is going to change, and she walked headlong into the blades of a surly staff. It’s bad enough that she cut herself on a rogue boxcutter, but to have her sauce deliberately destroyed by Tina, her pounds upon pounds of sliced onions hidden by Marcus, and her authority undermined by Richie? That would be enough to drive anyone to their breaking point. Then she refuses Marcus’ offer to take down the massive vat of gelatinous veal stock on top of the fridge in the walk-in, and she ends up spilling it all over.
Number 6: Norah Jones ‘Happy Pills’ (“Little Broken Hearts” 2012)
This one comes off as a nice juxtaposition between the happy music and darker lyrics. Jones shares vocals with Danger Mouse, who produced the album. It details a break-up and how the singer is feeling pretty good about herself for not having to deal with her ex ever again, reflected in the almost sinister tone to her vocals. With you gone, I’m alive / makes me feel like I took happy pills / and time stood still.
One episode is titled ‘Hands,’ which is the word for the food is ready, and will someone please bring it to the customer before it gets cold. After punching a hole through the wall, Richie is sent off to the hardware store with Sydney because he can’t actually drive. (You really don’t need to in Chicago.) Or, knowing Richie, maybe his license could have been suspended after one too many DUIs. Things go poorly at first when Richie places a call to his daughter and first must deal with his ex-wife who is trying to figure out how to break the news she is going to remarry, hoping Richie won’t kill the guy before vows are exchanged.
Number 5: John Mayer ‘Last Train Home’ (“Sob Rock” 2021)
Mayer is totally committed to a potential romance. If the lady is happy to put her all into it too, he invites her to come on board: “So if you’re comin’ with me, let me know / Maybe you’re the last train / Maybe you’re the last train home”. Long one of popular music’s most eligible bachelors, dating the likes of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Aniston, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. OMG, does he have poor taste in women or what? But you kinda like his music despite his vacuousness.
Sydney rides the pink line (elevated rail) home to her apartment with her dad. We see the remnants of her failed Sheridan Road Catering business, all piled up in her room, and we see just how close she lives to the El. We also see that, like Carmy, she seems to live, breathe, and dream food, even waking up from a deep sleep to jot something down about a cold short rib braise. If nothing goes wrong again (har har), maybe her dream of a special, more expensive dinner menu will come to fruition, beef tongue risotto, and all.
Number 4: R.E.M. ‘Oh My Heart’ (“Collapse Into Now” 2011)
This song is sad, slow and defeated but also comforting and full of love, in a way. There can be poignancy to a deep hurt. It’s a reminder that whoever or whatever you cared about actually mattered to you, and that you let a little piece of yourself out into the world. It’s also a reminder than you absolutely are capable of doing things on your own terms: “This place needs me here to start / This place is the beat of my heart”.
Oliver Platt absolutely kills it as milky-faced, big-glasses-wearing midwestern uncle that you’ve got to love, even if they’re an asshole loan shark who says you owe them $300,000. His entitled son is celebrating some tween birthday, and Carmen and Richie are enlisted to cater in an effort to knock $2,000 off their tab. The guys think Carmen’s sister Sugar married some idiot named Pate, who is an annoying try-hard type. Pete tells Carmen he and Sugar followed his career and are very proud.
Number 3: Popa Chubby ‘The Flavor is in the Fat’ (“A Mighty Hard Road” 2020)
I’m willing to bet good money Popa Chubby is not talking about the flavor of some ribs in this blues rocker. He makes no bones that he’s fond of women with, shall we say, an oversized posterior. This is the best album Popa has ever put out, and frankly, one of the best records of 2020 (Top 10 on this writer’s year-end): “I want some chitlins and collard greens / A big pig foot gonna make me scream / Gimme no tofu, I won’t eat that / You know the flavor is in the fat”. This is a tongue-in-cheek (not that tongue) saucy stomper that is the big man’s signature tune.
What do we think is in Marcus’s heavenly doughnuts? Are those plums? Cherries? It looks like it’s a raised donut with cherry filling and some icing on top that makes it look like a cinnamon bun. It’s kind of bizarre, but I’m sure it’s excellent. The problem is Marcus’s cakes aren’t even cut, as he seems laser-focused on getting those doughnuts right. “Do your job!” Carmy screams as Marcus tries to explain how he renders the fat to fry those donuts just right.
Number 2: John Cougar Mellencamp ‘Check It Out’ (“The Lonesome Jubilee” 1987)
What makes life worth living? The answer is to live life to the fullest, easy when you are rich, harder when you have kids, a mortgage and credit cards maxed. It’s a safe bet Mellencamp is not hurting for cash, but he has the ability to come off as just one of the middle-class folks. The song is a live show staple, a country rock classic that features a nice passage by drummer Kenny Aronoff on hammered dulcimer. In his bio, Mellencamp describes the song as an attempt to solve the mysteries of the heart: “A million young poets screaming out their words / Maybe someday those words will be heard”. It’s cool that the restaurant word for “Yes, I’ve got it,” is “heard.”
The penultimate episode (‘Review’) opens with a voice-over from Lin Brehmer, the longtime morning host of the alt-rock station in Chicago, WXRT. The station is an unholy blend of ’90s Chicago heyday stuff (Smashing Pumpkins, Local H), modern indie rock that’s not too out there, and a lot of support for local bands. The restaurant’s five-star review comes the very same day as the Beef’s embrace of the to-go tablet (Postmates for Door Dash). Sydney left the preorder function open on the to-go, meaning that the restaurant is bombarded with unexpected orders. The place falls apart amid everyone screaming at each other. Richie calls Sydney a bitch and gets (inadvertently) stabbed in the ass with a chef’s knife. It all comes crashing down like a wedding cake on a wobbly card table, and you wonder how they’ll sort it out in the season one finale.
Number 1: Wilco ‘Via Chicago’ (“Summerteeth” 1999)
Jeff Tweedy sings with a scratchy, shaky vocal that is perfect for one about trying to exorcise psychological demons. It opens with the lines I dreamed of killing you again last night / and it felt alright to me. We’ll overlook the dangling modifier. Even in the song’s bleakest moments, Tweedy is assertive in the repetitive phrase I’m coming home / I’m coming home / via Chicago. His well-documented real-life paranoia pops up when he sings about turning on the TV to watch a man with a face like his being chased down a busy street. Tweedy lives in Chicago, so the lyric about coming home can be taken one of two ways – he’s either just coming back home, like Carmy did when his brother shot himself in the head, or home is a state of mind where you are content and comfortable in your head. Maybe home was simply an abstraction to Tweedy, but I doubt it. The city of Chicago, with all its crumbling infrastructure outside of downtown, leads the nation in gun violence and murders and has a history of crooked mayors from Richard Daley in the 90s to the current one, Brandon Johnson, with his store room full of “gifts.” Nevertheless, Chicago is defined more by its neighbourhoods and establishments like the Bear.
Jeremy Allen White, who plays the tortured genius chef, is a really good actor. He comes in so hot with an Al-Anon monologue that it was shocking he didn’t receive an Emmy award just for that. The finale opens with a dream sequence of a caged bear. Carmen wakes up and heads to a meeting. We learn that he always considered his brother to be his best friend, who always told him to “let it rip.” Back at the Beef, Richie hands Carmy a sealed envelope he found behind a cabinet. It reads “love ya, bro, let it rip”, and on the back is a recipe for family-style spaghetti and to make the sauce with the small cans of tomatoes because they “taste better”. Eyes wet, Carmy decides to do it. He grabs a couple cans and is surprised to find a big-ass wad of money wrapped in cling film. The staff gleefully opens all the cans as tomatoes splash all over the kitchen. It totals around $300K. As everyone sits down for a spaghetti dinner, we learn the Beef is closing and will re-open as the Bear, Mikey’s nickname, in season two. Coming soon.
