Sarah and I have started watching another reality show, a Monday night offering. The good news is that it's not The Swan.

Not sure how we got watching, but we've seen the last 2 or 3 episodes of The Restaurant. For those of you who've not seen it, the show follows the opening and operation of chef Rocco DiSpirito's restaurant Rocco's on 22nd. The main theme of this "season" (which appears to be all of six episodes) is the clash between DiSpirito and the restaurant's financier/owner (title depending on who is talking)Jeffrey Chodorow. Suffice it to say that news is out-stripping the events on the show, which takes a bit of the mystery out of things for me.

When we're not getting this stand-off, we get tension everywhere else. Last night, for example, featured a spat between the maitre'd and a hostess, a waitress and various floor staff, and two of the cooks. The level of conflict here isn't much higher than what you get between housemates on The Real World, as if anyone possessed the maturity of an average adult things would be running much smoother.

I'm also a little confused about Rocco's participation in this venture, as I don't think I've seen him in the restaurant more than once. It seems like his mom is the real force behind things there (she's the executive chef), but she's been largely out of the power struggle.

I generally don't like shows where the plot is driven by stupid arguments. Give me off-key singing and naked photo shoots anyday. Even so, I'm mildly interested in The Restaurant. But I won't recap it, so there's that to be thankful for.