Michael Costa, executive chef at Baltimore's Pazo, knows a thing or two about flambeing. He knows if the flames shoot up way over his head, it's a bad sign. Even if the fire marshal is standing by, which he was.
The HBO pilot The Washingtonienne shot scenes in the restaurant recently, and Costa was one of several staffers who were extras. He was filmed doing chef's work in the kitchen, which wouldn't have been much of a stretch if the special-effects folks hadn't fanned the flames on his faux flambe.
"They had a propane tank with a burner," he said. "The propane was positioned about chest level, and the flames were 2 or 3 feet high, a foot or two over my head, which hopefully wouldn't happen in a normal professional kitchen."
Aside from not catching fire, the hardest part for Costa was faking the normal food-prep bustle, since the dishes had already been made.
That, and throwing away the real Pazo menu items created as props - pork confit cannelloni, some fancy pizzas, steaks - when the long overnight shoot was over.
"It was definitely painful to throw it away after the shoot, but after 12 hours it was probably the best thing for it," he said.
The television show, based on a book by Washington sex blogger Jessica Cutler and executive-produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, stars Rachel Taylor, Amanda Walsh and Bitsie Tulloch. Pazo is standing in for a D.C. hot spot.
Pazo server James Smith played a bartender and wound up with a speaking part. That's made him something of a celebrity among the staff, though he isn't sure just what he spoke.
"They ordered a drink, and I kind of just nodded and said, 'OK,' and walked away," Smith said. " 'OK' or 'sure' or some phrase in agreeance that I'm going to get the drink. Everybody's hyping it up. I'm trying to be modest."
Rob Colon, assistant sommelier at one of Pazo's sister restaurants, Cinghiale, played the "suited restaurant manager."
"That's what it said on their call sheet," he said. It was a step up from his last theatrical credit. He appeared in a community theater production of Grease eight or nine years ago and described his role as "random teenage dancer No. 3."
Mission-driven and elegant
The folks at Sheppard Pratt were less than amused by my take on the psychiatric hospital's ads in The New Yorker magazine.
Yes, the ad for "The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt" played up the "elegantly appointed environment" and "first-class setting." It also said, "The Retreat does not accept insurance."
