Full of insider gossip and celebrity appearances, I'm Not Trying to Be Difficult is an energetic memoir from renowned restaurateur Drew Nieporent. It's a fast-moving and enjoyable account of his love for and life in the restaurant business.
Nieporent grew up in a middle-class Manhattan neighborhood in the 1960s with a civil servant father who took him to countless meals in the restaurants he'd helped to obtain liquor licenses. It was during those meals that Nieporent vowed to open his own restaurant. His first high school gig, of which he still speaks fondly, was at a McDonald's. From there, he waited tables on a Scandinavian cruise ship while enrolled at Cornell. After graduation, he took a job as assistant restaurant director at Maxwell's Plum in New York City. Intensely driven and willing to sacrifice his time for the work, Nieporent managed to open his own restaurant, Montrachet, just before he turned 30. Montrachet, however, was only the beginning. Nieporent partnered with Robert DeNiro to open the wildly successful Tribeca Grill and then, in 1994, he cofounded Nobu along with DeNiro and chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.
Along with plenty of advice, such as "the space dictates the idea of the restaurant, not the other way around," Nieporent relates his encounters with numerous celebrities including Bruce Springsteen, Robin Williams, and even Donald Trump, about whom Nieporent writes, "The leopard does not change its spots." There have been bumps in the road--high-profile splits with partners, a lack of personal life, and health problems--but ultimately, Nieporent declares he is choosing "to go out on top." This lively chronicle of his powerhouse career is proof that he has. --Debra Ginsberg, author and freelance editor