How to Get Into ANY Restaurant, Why Michelin Stars Are Nonsense & Building a Billion Dollar Business

YERRR – the guys sat down with Mario Carbone to chop it up about the hustle behind building a restaurant empire. From old-school red sauce joints to celeb-packed hotspots, Mario breaks down the flavors, the business, and the pressure of keeping it all fresh. He talks about Michelin stars, wild celebrity dining stories, and why good hospitality is the real secret sauce. All that and more on this week’s episode of FLAGRANT. INDULGE. 00:00 Intro 00:37 Getting a reservation at Carbone? Greasing the right people 8:07 Quick Tip, Restaurants’ intel + Maitre Ds 13:18 Michelin Star Experiences 17:42 How much do waiters make at Carbone? 21:58 Politics in dining, Michelin Stars + Finding a good restaurant 26:25 The staff is banging each other 27:38 Can Michelin star be bought? Paying influencers 30:21 Sorry Justin Bieber! Scummiest PR move 33:01 Starting out + Power of the Review 41:51 Worst tipper? Tip 20% 46:31 Racial busboy harmony 48:51 Mexicans are the best 53:29 Sandwich Shop to Carbone + Getting a backer 1:00:34 Throwing a critic out + Respecting a negative review 1:04:51 Aiming for the old school + Torrisi’s super power 1:08:30 Relationships with celebs + Banned celebs 1:12:39 Rap mentioning Carbone 1:23:49 Rules to sending food back 1:24:46 Better Italian food in NYC than Italy 1:28:13 Getting people to leave + Not being kid friendly 1:32:22 Outside Dining, Maintaining Quality + Entrepreneurial 1:37:30 Too difficult to replicate, The Spicy Rig + Iconic dish 1:43:02 Biggest bomb + Secret menu 1:46:48 Pet peeves + Giant menus 1:54:21 Moving to Italy + New dining trends now 2:00:58 Pinnacle for a Chef + Rewarding talent 2:04:08 Best places in New York? 2:11:42 Judge an Italian restaurant? Underrated pork chops 2:14:44 Charging for Wine + Impressing a date 2:17:43 F1 Weekend in Miami 2:20:15 What’s next? + Performance + Obama protocol 2:25:24 Getting your flowers from the Older generation 2:27:18 Navigating Egos 2:30:14 Why is New York the greatest city in the world? 2:31:41 Next generation coming through + Tariffs impacting 2:34:44 Being proud of heritage + Assimilation