Tuesday, July 10, 2012

OR AS I LIKE TO CALL IT, "KITCHEN ASSHOLE":  The NYT explores what happens to restaurants in the months after Robert Irvine does a Restaurant Impossible makeover, and it's pretty much along the bell curve you'd expect.

6 comments:

  1. Joan H10:37 AM

    Most episodes I've seen have a narration or an end-credit that says how the restaurant is doing weeks or months later.  Many of these have noted that the restaurants have gone back to their old ways.  This, I don't get: they were failing under their old ways, that's why they got on the show.   My husband and I peeked into that restaurant in Mystic CT a few years ago and were ignored, but that's OK because we were appalled by the menu.  If that attitude persisted past the menu & decor makeover, it's no wonder the place continues to struggle.

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  2. Nigel from Cameroon11:35 AM

    Ugh, the word that comes to mind for me is "entitlement." These restaraunt owners feel they are entitled to have their failing businesses repaired and, of course, it's not their fault (either before or after the makeover).

    Still, RI, Chopped, and Pawn Stars (though those guys are total d-bags) have become my favorite mindless time-killer shows.

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  3. Watchman12:32 PM

    The description "profanity maestro" for Gordon Ramsey may be the best two word biography ever written.

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  4. bella wilfer1:40 PM

    Agree with Nigel.  To me, the subtext of the article seems like "people who were happy with the changes ended up having more success in their restaurant post-show, whereas people who were grouchy about Irvine's changes didn't and are happy to complain to the NYT about it."  I just can't believe that Irvine/Food Network wouldn't listen if a restaurant owner told them something like "that frozen dish is actually our most popular"...though I do understand maybe some of them were cowed by Irvine's "celebrity" and perhaps didn't voice their concerns appropriately.  

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  5. Chuck3:43 PM

    I loved this line:  “How often do people say they want to eat British?”

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  6. Jessica11:57 AM

    Haha I don't think anyone would have gone along with the "let's keep the frozen meal" idea, HOWEVER, I can understand the guy bringing it back. "Ideally" no restaurant has prefab frozen stuff being served, but as someone who uses all kinds of frozen vegs, meats, etc, I know it's not the "freshest" option but plenty of times it's the "really effin tasty" option.

    Of course current Food Television and Food Journalism and whatnot prioritize "fresh" over everything else. I still remember poor Spike and his frozen scallops he got immolated over.

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