Customer Reviews

Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By Bill Marsano. Can you see yourself reading a couple of hundred pages about the nation's best-known restaurant and restaurateur? Yes, it's all a form of glorified gossip, but if you're interested in the food world and a ton of big names for lagniappe, then you will have a lot of fun here.

Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque is a pretty good story-teller to begin with and he has the able assistance of Peter J. Elliott. The two combine in the early chapters to give an affecting account of Sirio's early life in wartime and postwar Italy ("we lived, we farmed, we got arrested") and then move neatly into his years of building a career, enslaving himself on passenger liners on the high seas and tony restaurants in Paris, New York and elsewhere.

Once he gets to Manhattan things begin to pop and the only fair thing to do is set down some of the notables who talk and/or are talked about in these pages. Stars? Siro's got 'em": Yves Montand, Lauren Bacall, The Burtons ("they came--but just to fight"), the Windsors, Sinatra, Cary Grant, Joan Crawford. Peter Duchin, Claudette Colbert, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren--my what a bunch of clods our present-day stars seem to be by comparison (Britney? J.Lo? Please!). Amonmg princes and politicos there are the Reagans, Nixon, Ford, most Kennedys, Juan Carlos of Spain, King Umberto of Italy, Ferdinand Marcos, Anastasio Somoza, Princess Grace . . . Glitterati: Mrs. Wm. F. Buckley, Babe Paley, Jackie O., Lee Radziwill. Writers: Colman Andrews, James Villas, Michael Batterberry, Truman Capote, Leonard Lyons, Cindy Adams, Liz Smith, Gael Greene, Bryan Miller, Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, Julia Child. And more. Many more.

Ho-hum is what I thought when I picked this up, but it proved me wrong. It's fun.--Bill Marsano is a professional writer and editor.

To ZYBYSKO aka Tibet. Nowhere in the book did I even mention the original owner of Lutece, so I'm not sure how you can accuse me of not getting his name right. I never said Mr. Jacobs was a refugee. I write clearly that he had a successful and honored career helping refugees. I have his partners and friends, on record, in the book, giving their opinions of him. Alsace and its surrounding areas are some of the most important ski areas in Europe and the story in question happens in the New York, not in Europe. The restaurants I mention as being family owned, of course, were and are. What other definition would one give for restaurants that are solely owned by a husband and wife. And lastly, Mr. Maccioni when he created Le Cirque, never dreamed he would have restaurants elsewhere in the world.

... so "Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque" does for the culinary biography.

Part biography of a food maestro, part chronicle of a celebrated restaurant, part food fable, part window onto American aristocratic society, "Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque" is a must-read for cognoscenti of all flavors. For cuisine fiends and the people who love them (like myself), chillin with restauranteur Sirio Maccioni is immensely more enjoyable than chillin creme brulee .... trust me.

"Sirio..."'s recipe for success contains merely two ingredients: a darn good story + a darn good presentation. The darn good story is a "ragazzo" to riches tale that goes from Mussolini's italy to Giuliani's NYC, with some glamorous stops along the way. Of course, Sirio Maccioni's life IS le Cirque and his climb to the top of FoodWorld's Mount Everest makes this book a page-turner.

"Sirio..."'s unique presentation also helps make the book a winner. Sirio's grandfatherly stream-of-consciousness recollections are surrounded by a bed of traditional biography (authored by Bloomberg food critic Peter Elliot in an easily digestible pithy style).All this is then smothered with a layer of baroque recipes that will have your lips smackin' for 400+ pages. The continual interspersing of Sirio, Elliot, and the recipes is rarely jarring and the stylistic flip-flopping keeps the narrative lively and the reader interested.

Using the formula that made le Cirque, the restaurant, a success... exceptional food served with flair... le Cirque the book, is a feast for lovers of food, biography, or society. Thankfully, for us all, no reservations are needed to get this Dish served up tastefully. Bon Appetit.

Great stuff! Lots of good behind the scenes stories about New York's "creme de le creme" and even some insinuations about european restuarant people. Read between the lines in this biography and its much like Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". I call it a biography because I doubt that Sirio could have written this well penned story of his life, loves, and career. Nice job Peter Elliot.

I was really suprised how fun this book was to read. Who knew Sirio invented creme brulee? Pasta primavera? He certainly was known for taking care of his clientele, especially the ladies, although as I said before you have to read between the lines for the bawdy bits. And if you believe all the gossip, there are a few names not mentioned.

Siro's childhood in Italy was a tad grim, but riveting. I learned a few things about WWII I didn't know. A few things were left out there for you to think about too.

This biography has everything that good fiction should have...sex, drama, comedy, and vague moral lines drawn in the sand. Bravo, Sirio!

If this isn't a story about small town boy does good, I don't know what is. I read the book while touring Tuscany, which made it even more special. If you love good food and have an appreciation for what it takes to run a restaurant, then you will love this book. Sirio is truly the ringmaster of the greatest show on earth. The restaurant business either makes you a better person or it gobbles you up and spits you out. Every night is showtime and the next person through the door is your biggest fan or your worst critic. Nobody knows that better than Sirio Maccioni and in the Tuscan hillsides he is practically a national treasure. It seems everybody knows Sirio, or wants to know him and for good reason. Italians love food and they love people. Sirio knows both better than anyone and he has given himself up to a life of entertaining others. Believe it or not, that is a huge sacrifice. Yes, he gets enjoyment from seeing others enjoy themselves but that often comes with huge personal sacrifices and tons of self discipline. He is the best and he gives people the inspiration to be their very best. The restaurant business is unlike any other. From waiters to chefs to busboys and bartenders, every night is showtime and if you put on a sour face you turn off the crowd and crash in a flaming ball of fire.
This is not a cookbook, it is a documentary. It is one of the best stories I have ever read about life, living and the pursuit of happiness. This book is about making yourself a better person and how to succeed in one of the toughest businesses in the world. I read a book a week and I don't believe in negative reviews. If you don't have something good to say, don't say it. I have read this book twice and I can't remember doing that very often.
We booked a room at the Palace before Christmas and my daughter Jennifer, got to experience Le Cirque. Two weeks later from Rome, we booked the Palace and tried to make reservations at Le Cirque only to find out that it had closed. Let me tell you that I am not alone when I say that the restaurant world is waiting to see where the next greatest show on earth will take place. Sirio can't possibly abandon Manhattan. It is, after all, the greatest stage for the best ringmaster the restaurant business has ever known. I can't wait to buy tickets!!!
Ciao Bella
William H. Addeo

A wonderful memoir of a great life! Great New York stories and bits of gossip. Would make a good beach read too!

This was a fabulous read. I have recommend it to friends. I now want to eat at one of Sirio's restaurants. I also bought the cookbook by his wife, also entertaining. Learning about how Sirio gained his skills and how he dealt with success is a great inspirational story.

Thank you Mr. Maccione for writing your life story. I have always wanted to eat at Le Cirque and since I never get to New York I will probably not have that pleasure, but I now feel that I have been there through your wonderful writing. You are a true survivor and your family looks beautiful, happy and successful. Le Cirque is a legend and you both deserve your place in history.

This is going to be a very short review.

This is one of the best biographies on someone in the restaurant business I have ever read. In this book is some hidden wisdom, and incredible stories on running a highly successful place, along with some of Sirio's favorite recipes. Along the way, we'll learn about many of the 'almost failures' of Sirio and his family. I highly recommend this book.

I loved this.

An enjoyable read. Sirio is an italian immigrant who shrewdley made his way to the top of New York's restuarant ladder and reinvented the restuarant business to what it is today. Even though he still has strong roots in Italy and speaks better french than english, he tells his notorius story to his american co-author Peter Elliot, food critic for Bloomberg radio and winner of the James Beard award. Peter Elliot does a wondrous job piecing together Sirio's autobiography along with interviews of Sirio's friends, family, and New York notables and a sound history of each landscape visited in Sirio's journey from Montecatini, Italy to New York City.