Original release date: June 23, 2023
Carmy continues to attend Al-Anon meetings, where he discusses his struggle to find time for leisure and enjoyment. He and Sydney prepare their menu, but realize they have to get out of their routine and sample food at other restaurants. Claire gets Carmy’s real number via Fak, and asks Carmy to help her pack up her mother’s house. Carmy subsequently bails on his plans with Sydney, so she goes to restaurants around the city to sample dishes. Gathering inspiration, she also receives feedback from a former colleague, who stresses the importance of having a business partner she can trust. Sydney returns to The Bear and becomes upset when she discovers Carmy has been making large decisions without consulting her.
* * *
(Carmy inhales deeply)
CARMY: I Googled “fun” the other day.
“…what provides amusement or enjoyment.”
That’s what it means.
I am, uh, currently opening a restaurant
that’s providing zero amusement or enjoyment.
Um…
No, no, I’m kidding, it’s, um…
it’s okay. I’m, uh…
I don’t know, III’m trying to
start from aa healthy place.
Aaa positive place.
And, um…
yeah, that’s the goal, right?
I think when I was a kid, um,
anything that would give me any sort of excitement
ororor amusement or enjoyment, uh,
it always got kinda fucked.
You know, II don’t think my family meant to ruin it
or anything like that, you know.
II don’t think they did it on purpose.
But II think…
sometimes they just, they try too hard.
You know, or they’d make promises
that they weren’t able to keep.
(inhales deeply)
Have to remind myself to breathe sometimes.
I, um,
have to remind myself to, uh…
to be present, you know.
Remind myself that the sky is not falling,
that, um, there is no other shoe,
which is incredibly difficult
because there is always another shoe.
(light laughter)
I don’t know. I think, um…
You know, maybe if I could provide
moremoremore amusement oror enjoyment for myself,
it would be easier to, uh, to provide for others, you know.
I don’t know. Um…
Yeah. Anyway, I’m happy to be here.
Thank you, guys. Thanks for letting me share.
(keyboard keys clacking)
(clacking continues)
NEWSCASTER 1: Bridgeport, known to be the neighborhood diner
people counted on for the past seven decades
is closing its doors for good.
NEWSCASTER 2: Yesterday, the restaurant made the announcement
that it would be closing permanently.
WOMAN: Everybody loves the food.
They love the service.
They love this restaurant.
NEWSCASTER 3: …that people could always count on…
NEWSCASTER 4: …for the many employees that have
worked at the restaurant for decades,
the news came as a devastating…
(sizzling)
You know what a lot of restaurants suck at?
CARMY: Hmm. How much time do I have to answer that question?
Hmm. Desserts.
Do we have any miles?
Uh, yes, Pete at United.
Could we use ’em?
Of course.
SYDNEY: Can I pitch you something crazy?
We send Marcus somewhere?
So maybe not so crazy.
No, no, I think that’s, uh, smart.
Yeah?
Yeah. But, um, how’s his mom?
SYDNEY: I think she’s stable, I don’t know.
But I just was thinking it might be good
to send him somewhere wild.
Wild, like?
Like Copenhagen?
Yeah. Yeah, I got spots there.
I mean, I figured you would.
CARMY: You happy?
Yeah, I marinated the radicchio, burned grapefruit,
got a little bit of chili in there.
CARMY: Alright.
SYDNEY: Alright.
CARMY: Mm.
(dropping utensils)
Fucking shit.
SYDNEY: Mmmmmm. Mmmm.
The salt.
Mmmm.
It’s too much salt.
Fuck me.
CARMY: You got water?
Uh, yeah.
(Carmy clears throat)
You marinated it too long.
It’s okay, though.
I mean, it’s not okay
if it’s two times in a row.
(clears throat)
God.
That’s why we’re doing this, alright?
(sighs) I wanna make a suggestion.
I think our palates are fucked.
Where is the suggestion?
CARMY: I think that we need to go out.
We need to try some stuff.
Like a reset.
You’re sending me home?
CARMY: No.
No, I’m not sending you home.
I’m sending us out for… inspiration.
It’s gonna take me about an hour to clean this up,
and then I’ll, uh, meet you at Kasama.
Sound good?
Yeah, sounds good.
CARMY: Okay.
Thank you.
And, uh, Syd?
SYDNEY: Yeah?
It was really, it was almost perfect.
Almost.
Yeah.
See you in an hour.
SYDNEY: Mmhmm.
(“Goodbye Girl” by Squeeze playing)
♪ I met her in a bar room
♪ Her name I didn’t catch
♪ She looked like something special ♪
♪ The kind who’d understand ♪
♪ The room was almost spinning ♪
♪ She pulled another smile
♪ She had the grace like pleasure ♪
♪ She had a certain style
♪ Sunlight on the lino
♪ Woke me with a shake
(loud banging)
♪ I looked around to find her but she’d gone ♪
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
♪ Goodbye, girl
(Richie speaking indistinctly)
RICHIE: Yeah? Hold on, hold on. No, that’s okay.
I got you.
Alright, here we go. Ready?
Here we go.
(sighs)
Ah.
Told you.
I got it.
Okay.
There we go. Okay.
I got you.
How’s your mom doing, by the way?
EVA: Good.
Yeah?
They said that she got stuck on a Zoom.
Do you know what that’s about?
Got a promotion.
Uncle Frank is proud of her.
So am I.
So we had a little party.
Huh.
Frank, huh?
And Mom got a raise, too.
Which is why Uncle Frank got the good cake from Weber’s.
That’s awesome.
That mom got a promotion. She’s a hard worker.
And that’s important, right?
Yeah, but you still have to pay child support
’cause fair is fair.
(exhales) I love taking care of you.
And I always will.
You know that?
I know, Daddy.
RICHIE: Alright.
Give me a hug.
Alright, backpack attack. Here we go.
I’m gonna watch you until you go inside, okay?
I love you.
And, Eva?
I love Taylor Swift, too.
I just needed a break, you know.
(cell phone buzzing)
Hello.
WOMAN (over phone): Did you really give me a fake number?
Claire?
Should my feelings be hurt?
I think they’re hurt.
CARMY: Mm.
No. No, no, no. Sorry, no.
That must have, uh, that must have been a mistake.
You know I know your entire family and all the Faks, right?
CARMY: You know all the Faks?
Yeah, I know all the fuckin’ Faks.
And they’re gonna come beat you up.
(laughs)
There are, um, there are a lot of Faks. Yeah.
Why, just walk me through giving me a fake number. Why?
CARMY: Hmm… No, no. ‘Cause I, um…
I didn’t mean, I didn’t mean for that to happen.
I’mI’mI’m sorry.
I’m sorry. It was a mistake, okay?
Thank you. II really appreciate that.
Well, I was originally calling before I found out
I got fake numbered and had to ask Neil
for your real number to ask if you were busy today.
So now I have two questions.
CARMY: Shoot. Yeah.
Okay. One, is it okay that I have your number,
or did you really not want me to have your number?
No, no, no, no. It’sit’s, uh…
I want you, I want you to have my number.
Okay, say that one more time.
I want you to have my number.
Okay, cool. Are you busy today?
(clicks tongue)
Um…
So, I’m, I, um
Okay, can you just, can you just not make this weird?
Like, I just need a favor. My cousin bailed on me.
What, Big Denny?
CLAIRE: No, Mac. Denny’s dead.
Oh.
Damn, Denny.
CLAIRE: Yeah, totally sucks,
but I have to move all this shit
from my mom who is not dead.
She’s actually absolutely thriving, into storage and II…
There are really big boxes, and I need a really big car.
Do you still have that van?
Yes. No, we do. We still have that van.
Um, I am… in.
Really?
Yeah. Yeah, really.
Okay, I’ll text you the address.
No, no, I know where it is.
CLAIRE: Are you sure? ‘Cause I’m worried about your number issue.
I know where it is.
You know what? I’ll give my address to Fak.
(Carmy laughs)
And then he can give it to you.
Does that sound good?
And then punch you in the face. Does that sound good?
(laughs) No, no, I don’t need Fak.
CLAIRE: You know, he, um, he told me
that you guys are really close
and that he’s your best friend.
Fak said that?
CLAIRE: Mmhmm.
No, no, no. Fak’s not my best friend.
CLAIRE: Really?
No, no, he is. He’s probably my best friend.
CLAIRE: That’s interesting,
to sit with, for you.
(chuckles)
Um, okay.
I, uh, I will see you soon then?
Yeah, I’ll see you soon.
Okay.
CARMY: Okay.
Okay, bye.
CARMY: Bye.
Fuck.
(“Secret Teardrops” by Martin Rev playing)
♪ Secret teardrops…
Hi. What can I get you?
♪ When I kiss you I’m in paradise ♪
♪ I held your hand and you were so close to me ♪
SYDNEY: Can I get the breakfast sandwich
with longaniza and also can I get a hash brown?
I’ll also have the mushroom adobo
and, um, and one of these mango tarts.
And, um, a matcha latte, please.
Thanks.
♪ When I kiss you I’m in paradise ♪
♪ I touched your hand and you were so close to me ♪
♪
WAITER: Here you go.
Courage and confidence.
Uh…
WAITER: The book.
Coach K fan?
Uh… no. No.
Mymy dad got it for me.
WAITER: It’s a Krzyzewski thing.
Courage and confidence leads to decisionmaking.
Sure.
WAITER: Go, Devils.
(cell phone buzzes)
(“TwentyFive Miles” by Edwin Starr playing)
♪ Come on, feet, start moving ♪
♪ Got to get me there
♪ Oh
♪ Hey, hey
♪ Uhhuh, huh, huh, huh, oh
♪ Uhhuh, huh, huh, huh, yeah ♪
♪ Oh
♪ Twentyfive miles from home, girl ♪
♪ My feet are hurting mighty bad ♪
♪ Now, I’ve been walking for three days ♪
♪ And two lonely nights
♪ You know that I’m mighty mad, huh ♪
♪ But I got a woman waiting for me ♪
♪ That’s gonna make this trip worthwhile ♪
Hey, what can we do for ya?
Uh, I’m Sydney.
We were emailing earlier?
Oh, Carmy’s sous chef, right?
Yeah.
♪ So I gotta keep on walking
♪ Mmhmm, huh
NAYIA: Hi.
It’s great to see you.
You, too.
Hey, Syd, what it do?
Hi. How you doing?
So glad you came.
I’m glad I came ’cause I get to eat this.
MAN: Slice up.
♪ I got 15 miles to go now ♪
♪ And I can hear my baby calling my name ♪
So this is the forequarter.
Does that go into the short rib?
ROB: This is the end of the short rib is where the navel begins.
And the only thing that separates it is that little line of cartilage.
WOMAN: Okay. Preshift time.
We’ve got a busy night tonight,
so we’ve got 180 on the books,
and it starts right at four o’clock.
So I wanna make sure that everything is perfect
right when we open.
♪ And I forget about these feet of mine ♪
Where you at right now?
I’m actually about to open up a new spot,
on Orleans, yeah.
Always tryin’ to be the best.
Yeah, always. Yeah.
So how’s it going?
It’s not bad. It’s just, you know…
a lot.
Is there a timeline to opening?
We wanna open in May.
Yeah. Yeah.
SYDNEY: Okay.
Great response. (laughing)
♪
Did I hear you mention that you’reyou’re looking for staff?
SYDNEY: Yeah. Front of house.
Butbut even back of house, you know.
All of the staff that work at Avec
have been here for years.
Sure. Yeah, yeah.
But if I hear of anyone,
I’ll send them directly to you.
SYDNEY: Thank you.
I do have a couple menu changes.
Ray’s picking ’em up right now.
We’re gonna do a short rib hummus
instead of the lamb neck.
♪ Come on, feet, don’t fail me now ♪
♪ Come on, feet, don’t stop
♪ I got ten more miles to go
♪ Ten more miles
SYDNEY: If there’s any advice that you have,
I will take it.
I know that you’re gonna have great food.
SYDNEY: Yeah.
You just, you have to make sure
that your hospitality and service is overwhelming.
Yeah.
DONNIE: And, um,
make sure you have a great partner,
someone you can trust.
♪ Although my feet are tired
♪ I can’t lose my stride
SYDNEY: But you had a restaurant before, right?
Yeah, my wife and I had a restaurant over in Bucktown.
Why do you think it closed?
We had a terrible business partner
who took all of our money and flew off to Hawaii.
I wish that wasn’t a common story in this business,
but, you know, these things happen all the time.
♪ I’m so tired, huh
♪ But I just can’t lose my stride ♪
♪ Walkin’ ♪
♪ Yeah, huh
♪ I got to walk on
You’re gonna be fine.
I know.
DONNIE: Truly.
I know.
Thanks, Donnie.
DONNIE: You’re gonna be fine.
NAYIA: Congrats on going solo.
SYDNEY: Thank you.
It’s like, not exactly solo, but you know…
NAYIA: How not exactly solo?
Oh, I have a partner.
Ah. Okay, cool.
What’s your profit share?
Oh, um, not like that.
We’re just, um,
we’re working together, yeah.
Ahh. Got it.
(sharp laugh) Been there.
And?
Uh, just, you know…
Listen to your gut.
Yeah. Yeah, heard.
NAYIA: Alright?
Yeah. Yeah, you too.
NAYIA: Great to see you.
♪ Hey, hey, now
♪ I got to walk on
♪ Let me tell ya, y’all, gotta say ♪
(line ringing)
(ringing continues)
AUTOMATED RESPONSE: Your call has been forwarded
to an automatic voice message system.
CARMY (over voice mail): Carmen Berzatto…
AUTOMATED RESPONSE: …is not available…
Yo, what are you doing?
I’m trying to pull it!
Get your foot down.
We can’t move it if your foot’s up.
Come on.
Okay, push.
Pick up with your shoulders.
Yeah. Wait, hold on, hold on.
I’m gettin’ a phone call.
(cell phone buzzing)
Use your shoulders.
Hold on, one second.
What up, Chef?
SYDNEY (over phone): Hey.
Sorry, I’m by a fucking train.
Did anybody, uh, come through?
Uh, just like 15.
Ooh, looking for jobs?
MARCUS: Looking for permits.
Wait, permits?
MARCUS: Yeah, permits.
Fuck. So many reps.
Yeah, so many.
Yo, Fak, any new hires roll?
Nah, just people that weren’t nice.
Yeah, people that weren’t nice.
Yeah, no, II actually heard that.
Um, okay, uh,
just let me know if anybody comes by.
MARCUS: Yes, Chef.
Oh, also, Marcus,
there’s something I want to run by you later.
Looking forward.
SYDNEY: Okay. Bye.
Did you just say, “looking forward”?
Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve never said that before in my life.
You’re looking forward? Why don’t we push this?
Why don’t we look forward to that?
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Okay.
MAN: See. That’s good, right?
Hey. (laughs) Um, do you guys work here?
Random question, are you, like, happy at all?
‘Cause, um, do you know The Beef on Orleans?
II heard these people are, um, they’re revamping it.
It’s gonna be like a cool, fine dining spot.
They’re looking for, like, front and back of house.
CHEF: Yo, what the fuck?
You’re seriously not poaching in front of me right now?
No. No.
CHEF: Fuck off.
SYDNEY: Yep. Sorry. Yep.
CHEF: Jesus.
(“Future Perfect” by The Durutti Column playing)
♪ You tell me stories
♪ You speak in pictures
♪ You tell me stories
♪ You speak in pictures
♪ Tell me some stories
♪ Don’t live in the future
♪ You tell me stories
♪ You speak in pictures
♪ Tell me some stories
♪ Don’t live in the future
♪ Don’t live, don’t live…
(“To Make You Happy” by Tommy McGee playing)
♪
♪ I’m just the kind of man
♪ Work hard every day
♪ To make you happy
♪ Real happy now, baby
♪ To earn a dollar more
♪ ‘Cause I know for sure
♪ It’s gonna make you happy
♪ Ooh, ooh
♪ That means I love you
♪ And all I wanna do
♪ Is make you happy
♪ So happy, little baby
♪ Oh girl, I never do
♪ Nothing to hurt you
♪ Just wanna make you happy
♪ Happy
♪
Hi.
Hi. Whwhat are you doing here?
Uh…
Come on, I’d love to show you. Come in.
(loud banging)
(Carmy clears throat)
Richie, you’re just spreadin’ shit everywhere right now.
Yo, I’m spreading shit into the same pile you are.
What, uh…
What? What? What? What?
Yeah, what’s hap… What? What is this? What happened?
Well, you got wood rot.
You got termites, you got roaches,
you got dead raccoons.
Plural, raccoons?
FAK: And, uh, rotten wood.
So obviously the wall is fucking gone.
This isn’t a facelift anymore.
Yeah. You know what, pal? I think you might be right.
Yeah, it was terrible.
Like… terrible.
Um…
Um, what… What’s…
Um… Sorry.
So we just knocked everything down?
CARMY: Yeah, yeah.
What?
Sorry. You would have preferred that we…
Call me?
That I call you to tell you thethethe walls are rotting
and they need to be knocked down?
Yeah, exactly.
Um…
Okay, sorry, so just, um…
You know, forfor next time, what should I have done?
(laughs)
Um, ththis just feels like, uh,
obviously a really big decision.
Sure.
And it would have been nice to have been included in it?
Okay. Got it. No, no.
Next time the, uh, the walls need to be knocked down,
there’s nothing we can do about it…
You let me know.
Okay.
I’ll let you know.
I’ll let you know.
Yeah.
Thanks, Chef.
Yeah, thank you, Chef.
Ooh!
(laughter)
Hey. Uh, yeah. Good. Thanks.
Um, I was wondering if I could cash in on that favor.
Um, yeah.
Dodo you still have a kitchen I could borrow?
You all good? Awesome.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for…
Yeah, for sure. No.
We’re hiring if this doesn’t work out.
Stop!
Fuck me.
(winces)
(sighs)
(inhales, exhales)
(“I Like the Things About Me” by Mavis Staples playing)
(scatting)
(exhales deeply)
(inhales)
♪
♪ I like the things about me
♪ I like the things about me ♪
♪ I like the things about me ♪
♪ I like the things about me ♪
♪ That I once despised
♪ Well…
(scatting)
(scatting continues)
