Located near the Universal and Warner Bros. studio lots in Burbank, CA, Sebastian’s is owned by a part-time actor. Sebastian is a Massachusetts native who believes he can cook anything. Yet his temperament is conflicting with his employees, and he has fired 49 people over the last year. Most of the workers are actors. The huge menu is confusing to both customers and wait staff. On top of that, the business is losing money.
Gordon arrives and remarks that the front is tacky. He sits down for lunch and is shocked that Sebastian has time to greet every customer that walks through the door. Looking at the menu, Gordon explains his one simple rule of dining: “Whenever you come across a menu with photographs, get the f**k out of there.” Then Sebastian forces Gordon to hear what the “concept” of the menu is, and Gordon can only put his face in his hands. It is utterly complex, but not in a good way.
Gordon orders calamari, and Sebastian assures him that it’s fresh. He also requests a New York strip and a pizza. Gordon chats up Sonia, the actress-waitress, who lets him know that the calamari are, in fact, frozen. One taste confirms this, and Gordon asks Sonia for a sick bag. Sebastian is not pleased by this comment.
Next he is served a “Popeye” pizza. Even though there is a wood-burning oven in the kitchen, the pizza is watery and doesn’t seem fresh. The steak doesn’t cut it either, and Gordon says that his plate looks like “a can of dog food” and is an “embarrassment to New York strip steak.”
“I hope you can act, because you clearly can’t cook,” Gordon laments to Sebastian about his lackluster meal. Sebastian explains that he doesn’t have the money to buy fresh calamari for a seafood medley. The pizza dough is delivered frozen, even though Gordon thought it was the house specialty. Yet Sebastian corrects him -- it’s the “concept menu” that is the specialty.
Sebastian hopes to one day sell his pizzas in supermarkets all over the world. Gordon realizes that he is delusional. Inside the kitchen, Sebastian congratulates himself for winning the argument. Gordon comes back in to yell. Sebastian can’t even cook one good pizza so how can he think about franchising?
Gordon returns to witness a dinner service. He can’t believe the sight of the waitresses having to go through a lengthy menu explanation to every customer. As he watches the kitchen and Chef Lou in control of the busy service, Gordon recognizes that every single thing prepared is originally frozen. One look in the freezer shows that all food is processed or pre-packaged.
