Dinner a la “As Seen On TV”
With well over 4,000 restaurants, New York City is home to every type of dining experience imaginable. Eating is definitely a huge part of my New York experience, and my newest gastro-hobby is watching food TV shows and then checking out the restaurants and chefs featured on those shows. Here in NYC there are many opportunities to actually go and eat these TV chefs’ food.
One of my favorite discoveries came from watching an episode of Chopped on the Food Network. On this particular episode, a Peruvian surfer named Miguel Aguilar with a restaurant called Surfish Bistro in Park Slope, Brooklyn won the challenge. He was so charming and passionate about the food he made, my wife and I were inspired to head straight to Surfish that night. The food was good and Miguel was in the kitchen cooking for us. Pretty cool!
We were also super excited to visit Bobby Flay’s restaurant, Mesa Grill. This however was a major disappointment. The flavors were so bland! We were in absolute shock. We love Chef Flay on TV and we wanted to love his food as much as we love his personality. Oh, well.
Guy Fieri just opened a restaurant in Times Square called Guy’s American Kitchen. My wife and I are super excited to go, but the stakes are high. I love Guy, I love his shows, and I want to love his food. My expectations are through the roof! This makes me ask the question, “While a celeb chef is a huge draw, does the celeb chef create over-the-top, unreal dish dreams?” Yes, it does. To me Guy’s restaurant has to be as good and unique as all those featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. In addition, it has to be as cool and fun as Guy is on TV. Is this possible? Can Guy deliver? The proof will be in the pudding, or in this case the Root Beer Pork Ribs and Pretzel Chicken tenders.