The Intern from Hell: Drew Abruzzese from ‘The Restaurant’

Drew Abruzzese was on our television screens for all of two episodes during the second season of The Restaurant. During that time, however, he did what few others have managed to do – he earned a full induction into the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

How he did it is a true tale of an immature brat who had delusions of grandeur. On a recent episode of Survivor: All-Stars, there was a question posed to the group about which remaining contestant thought they were smarter than they actually were. If Drew had been on Survivor instead of The Restaurant, he would have won that category hands down. (OK, actually he would have been voted out in the first couple weeks for his attitude, but allow me my example anyway.)

Let’s take a look at Drew’s two episodes to see why he deserves this induction.

In the first episode, Drew struck me as a kiss-ass, pure and simple. Jeffrey Chodorow said he was shocked at the amount Rocco’s was spending on flowers. Drew said he was shocked at the amount Rocco’s was spending on flowers. Jeffrey talked about how Rocco replied with “No comment” to most of his questions. When corporate chef Luke asks Jeffrey how Rocco replied to a question about whether Rocco is blaming opening the restaurant too quickly for their losing money, Drew said that Rocco’s response would be “No comment.” OK, Drew, we get it – you’re going to say whatever the boss says.

Then he was told he would be working in the restaurant to keep Jeffrey up on the day-to-day operations. The problem is that he had already decided then that he wouldn’t get along with Rocco. Even though Sarah, from Jeffrey’s Corporate Task Force, told him not to go into it with a negative attitude, it was clear that he already had his mind made up. He knew he would not get respect, and that was that.

Indeed, the issue of respect is one that came up again and again. He insisted that if people treated him with respect, he would do so in return. Yet that’s not at all what we saw. Instead, what we saw was Drew demanding respect yet refusing to give any in return. Mind you, he was a 20-year-old demanding respect from those older and more experienced than him.

Another point that was mentioned several times – by others – was that Drew was there to observe and report back to Jeffrey. Apparently, Drew has a different understanding of the word “observe” than the rest of us do. To Drew, “observing” meant giving out free drinks, telling various staff members what to do, answering phones, arguing with employees, calling the boss names, etc.

But wait, he said he was in the restaurant business for 15 years. Gosh. That’s great. It’s also amazing, since that means he’s been in the business since he was five. I guess his daddy brought him in during “Bring Your Child to Work Day.”

But if he truly had been in the restaurant business for any length of time at all, you’d think he’d know important facts like you need to be 21 to serve alcohol in New York (and most other places) and you aren’t supposed to use a glass to scoop out ice because it can break and necessitate a complete emptying of the ice container. Yet there he was, doing both of those things. And he wondered why he didn’t get the respect he so deserved.

But that’s really not the main reason. Let’s look at some of the others.

First, Drew was there representing the other “side” of the restaurant’s ownership, so he should have understood that he would be viewed at least in part as “the enemy.” Yet he got all upset when Rocco came into the restaurant and walked by him without acknowledging him. Mind you, Rocco didn’t acknowledge Emily, standing next to Drew, either. It was not the top thing on his mind. But since Drew appears to have an exaggerated opinion of himself, apparently he should always be the top thing on everybody’s mind.

Then Rocco called and Drew, who is supposed to be observing, answered the phone. Rocco was understandably annoyed and told him that he should not be answering phones or taking reservations unless he was trained. I don’t think that’s unreasonable for a boss to expect. Drew, however, apparently does. He handed the phone to Emily and uttered his now infamous “captain douchebag” remark about Rocco. It’s not bad enough that he said it, but he said it so Rocco could hear it. Worse still, he said it in front of any customers who might have been around. What the hell kind of idiot does that?

Poor Drew was upset. He had been mistreated by the douchebag. So he went to tell chef Tony about it. Excuse me. He went to whine to chef Tony about it. But when Tony didn’t give him a shoulder to cry on, but basically told him to suck it up, Drew got even more upset. Also, I should note that Drew claimed Rocco flipped out on him. I didn’t see anything that indicated that kind of response from Rocco. Drew is either exaggerating quite a bit or just doesn’t truly know what it’s like to have somebody flip out at you.

After Drew caused various other problems, Rocco decided he’d had enough. He pulled Drew aside and went over the list of things Drew had done wrong. In doing so, he mentioned that Drew was 19 and shouldn’t be telling the staff what to do. But then the kid actually had the gall to correct Rocco and say he’s not 19! Ha! So there! OK, how old is he? Well, he wasn’t gonna tell Rocco, instead trying to change the subject. Good idea, considering that coming back with an, “I’m 20!” would have made him look like an even bigger fool.

Once again, Drew exaggerated the extent to which Rocco got upset, this time to Jeffrey, saying Rocco “blew up” at him. Baloney. Rocco was mad, but he never “blew up.” He also added that Rocco is a “jerkoff.” Well, that’s mature. Maybe he’s right about not being 19 – because he acted about a decade younger.

As Jeffrey himself told Drew, just about everybody in the restaurant had called to talk about Drew’s problems. He told Drew that he accomplished nothing and sent him home. Good.

The real question is whether Drew learned anything from all of this. From the way he reacted on-screen, I’d have to guess that he didn’t. He began by acting high and mighty, and ended by calling Rocco names and exaggerating the situation.

Overall, Drew came off like a spoiled brat should be flipping burgers at McDonald’s, not telling professionals how to do their jobs when he doesn’t even know how to do his. He never seemed to understand the position he was in: Intern. If you’re in a new position like that, you need to give respect to your boss and those around you. In return, you should expect to be treated decently, but to get respect, you need to earn it. Drew never proved that he was worthy of that respect – to the contrary, he showed that he was most definitely not worthy of it. But in his brief stint on reality television, he did show himself worthy of one thing: an induction into the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of the Reality TV Hall of Shame, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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