Today's Special

Synopsis: Samir is a sous chef in Manhattan. He quits when he's not promoted - his boss says his cooking lacks soul. He decides to find an unpaid internship in Paris, but his father suffers a heart attack keeping him home for a few weeks. Samir must run the family's failing Indian restaurant in Queens. He can't cook Indian food, so things get dire when the chef quits: Samir tracks down Akbar, a cabbie who claims to have cooked for British royalty in Bombay. Akbar cooks with mind, heart, and gut - and offers philosophy as well. With the help of Carrie, whom he met at the Manhattan restaurant, Samir begins to enjoy the work. But will his father approve, and if not, what then?
Genre: Comedy
Director(s): David Kaplan
Production: Inimitable Pictures
 
IMDB:
6.6
Metacritic:
57
Rotten Tomatoes:
81%
R
Year:
2009
99 min
$317,831
Website
243 Views


1

Lobster fennel.

Okay, chard, arugula,

mesclun, radicchio.

Okay? No beet greens,

no beet greens.

Tell eduardo that dairy

delivery gets here at 10:00,

not 10:
15, not 10:30.

Okay, go, go. Freddie,

what the hell is this?

Salmon.

Salmon.

I know it's salmon,

But why does it have

scales and a mouth?

If we serve it like that,

it'll scare the customers,

right?

I just thought...

Yeah, don't think.

Fillet, fillet like

the wind, freddie.

Two beef, one salmon, one rib.

Two beef, one rib.

Chicken's up, lobster's up,

how long on that snapper,

freddie?

Freddie:
Thirty seconds.

Ladies.

Samir, what's the word, stud?

Steady as she goes, chef.

That's my boy.

That's my boy

right here.

Who do we

have this week?

Oh, henna.

Okay, you know what?

Give me that.

Horny henna?

Heterosexual henna?

Just give me it.

Honey-dipped henna?

Just give me that.

You know,

I'm gonna give your mom

my e-mail address,

She's obviously

wasting her

time on you.

You know what?

You are a sick man,

and I have to go.

Hey.

Please try.

Okay.

Henna:
So,

you're a cook?

Yeah, I'm a

sous-chef right now.

The sous-chef

is the, you know,

And oversees all the cooking,

takes care of administration,

inventory,

And basically

solves any problems

that come up.

And the chef is

the one who gets

all the credit, so...

It's not easy to

get to be the chef,

But my boss

is part-owner

of a restaurant

And that looks like

that job is pretty much

mine for the asking, so...

So...

If we get married,

I want to have

a lot of children,

And my mother

would live with us.

Samir:
All right,

okay, chard, arugula,

mesclun, radicchio.

Go, go, go, go.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, whoa.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Right, it's called

cilantro oil,

not cilantro water.

Right. The thing is,

your cilantro oil was

coming out flavorless,

So, I'm finishing

it with water

instead of oil.

You changed it?

Okay, you just

transferred here

from red grill?

Yeah.

Okay, carrie,

If this is not

the best cilantro oil

That I've ever tasted

in my entire life,

You'll be back

at red grill

by dinnertime.

Get your hair out of your face.

This is a kitchen,

not a rock concert.

How's everyone doing?

All right?

Rosie, what's good?

Thank you. Louis?

Watch that seasoning,

son, all right?

Louis:
Got it, chef.

You can talk to him now.

Do it now, don't be a p*ssy.

Shut the f*** up.

Chef, chef, I wanted to...

It's not my fault.

Is that table 11?

That better not be 11.

I've got vips on 11.

I got it.

Come on, let's go.

Chop, chop.

Samir:
I'm gonna need this.

Coming through, corner.

Okay, thank you, freddie.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Yo, this is for table 23.

Yeah, don't worry, freddie.

Hey, wait, that's 16's salmons.

Don't worry.

Hang in there.

Samir.

Pea puree.

Carrie:
Pea puree.

Potato puree.

Potato puree.

Saffron.

Saffron.

Turnip.

Turnip.

Cabbage.

Cabbage.

Team work.

44th and 10th.

Are you indian?

Yeah.

No.

No.

Whoa, hey, hey, watch it.

Watch it.

So, what's your name?

Samir.

What do you do?

I'm a chef.

You...

Oh, really?

Hey, that's wonderful!

You know, I used to cook

for the oberoi sheraton.

The finest hotel

kitchen in all of mumbai.

Whoa.

I met indira gandhi

when she came there

for a banquet.

I created

a special pulao

in her honor,

And she was so taken

by it, that she came

Back to the kitchen

to thank me personally.

Hey, hey, hey, whoa,

watch it. Watch it.

So, do you cook indian food?

I make a murghi masala

that will haunt you

like a lost love.

Okay, could we

just not talk, please?

Oh, yeah.

Sure, sure, boss. Sure.

Hey, mr. Samir.

Better keep my card.

Samir:
Ken f***ing curzon?

Just calm down,

buddy, all right?

Dude, this is my job.

This is my job, you know it is.

And you give it to

f***ing 25-year-old

F***ing ken f***ing curzon?

Come on!

I know you're upset.

I'm upset.

Yes, I am upset.

I have six years in the line,

I have two as your sous-chef.

I know, pal,

and you're the best damn

sous-chef I've got, okay?

Oh, great. But what?

Huh?

Look, samir.

Samir, you...

You are an incredible cook.

All right?

But to be the chef,

that's, I mean,

You got to be more

than just a good cook,

man. You know?

No, no. You've got to

be a creative force.

You've got to be

the man with the magic.

The bing, the bang,

the boom, the pop.

And ken curzon,

he may be 25 years old,

but he's got that magic.

When he slices salmon,

it's f***ing pornographic.

I get a boner

watching this guy cook.

That's a chef.

Frankly, samir, I know

you've been doing this

for a few years,

But your cooking's cold.

I'm sorry,

buddy, but you know what,

it's paint by numbers.

It's by the book.

And as a businessman,

I have to ask myself,

"where's the magic?

"where's the emotion?

"where's my boner?" hmm?

Hey, hey. Samir!

Where're you going, buddy?

I heard you quit,

I'm sorry about that.

It's all for the best, you know.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to paris.

You got a job in paris?

Yeah, I'm going to stage

with jacques renaud.

Really?

At la cantatrice?

Yeah.

Wow, that's amazing.

Well, it's just

a stage, you know.

Call me crazy,

but most people would

seem happy about it.

I am happy.

Good luck.

Wait.

Here.

Wow.

This is good

stuff. Thanks.

If you're

gonna be working

in this madhouse,

You're gonna need

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Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, AH-sif MAHND-vee), is a British-American actor and comedian. He began appearing as an occasional contributing correspondent on The Daily Show on August 9, 2006. On March 12, 2007, he was promoted to a regular correspondent. He is the lead actor, co-writer and producer of the web series Halal in the Family, which premiered on Funny or Die in 2015, and an actor, writer and co-producer of the HBO comedy series The Brink. Mandvi is also the author of the book No Land's Man. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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