Diners, Drive Ins & Dives.

Mike

Mike

Well-known Member
Location
London
This American production is broadcast over here
and sometimes I watch it.

What puzzles me is the the presenter who's name
is Guy always praises the dishes that he tastes,
now I know that, that is being polite, but he never
criticises any dish and that makes me wonder, does
he only visit excellent places, or are all eateries in
America top quality places?

The after effect of one of his visits results in an
upturn in customers and sales, if he is wrong then
a lot of people will be disappointed.

Mike.
 

I've watched Triple D for years and know exactly what you mean. I've thought about this same thing myself several times. How can every single dish be "fantastic" or "off the hook" as Guy likes to say. I do like watching these foodie shows because it does show all of the different foods from the different areas, but it would be nice to see one of them say "I don't really like the way this tastes" or "I think this should have been done this way". But I guess these days being truthful about the food doesn't sell or doesn't matter.

We have a local food show here in New England called "The Phantom Gourmet". When it first started about 25 years ago or so, they would actually send a phantom diner into the restaurants that were going to be shown on an upcoming episode and the restaurant had no idea who they were. The phantom diner would rate the restaurant on a number of categories including, quality of food, cleanliness, service, parking etc. Then they would tally the sub category scores for a grand total. It was an honest way of critquing the restaurants and letting the viewers know what to expect when dining there.

Fast forward a few years and The Phantom Gourmet is simply the name of the show now. There is no longer any phantom diner that goes into the restaurants and then scores them accordingly. Now the restaurants know ahead of time that the show is coming and are given time to prepare. There is really no critiquing done at all, everything at every restaurant they show is great. All they care about now is ratings and making every restaurant seem fantastic. I guess it doesn't pay for them to make places look bad. My wife and I have tried some of the restaurants that have been on this show and it's hit or miss, some are good and some are bad, but none ever seem to meet the expectations that are put forward on the show.
 
He reviewed a restaurant here in Nashville, back then it was called Athens, but it's changed owners, and subsequently names, since. Of course he gave it five stars!!! I've eaten there a few times, and I have to say the food was always excellent! It featured Greek food (which is what I've always gotten because I love ethnic cuisine) but it had some american dishes too.

I think the hook of the show is to feature delicious places to eat, rather than randomly choosing a restaurant and giving an objective review of the food.
 

What'dya think of how Gordon Ramsey handles (in disguise) judging the food he samples and the restaurant owners and employees of failing restaurants, then shows them who he is & uses foul language right and left when he tells them his opinions of it all?
 
Elsie said:
What'dya think of how Gordon Ramsey handles (in disguise) judging the food he samples and the restaurant owners and employees of failing restaurants, then shows them who he is & uses foul language right and left when he tells them his opinions of it all?
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It's all mostly scripted. If there wasn't foul language, it wouldn't be Ramsey. I think he's better without it, personally.
 
We have watch Guy's reviews of restaurants before. He has the word "Dive" in the name of his show, but the word "Dive" isn't the word to describe a good place. And, Guy's looks. The young generation may like it, but wife and I sure don't.
 
So tired of that show. It seems to be on every single day and for hours at a time. It was fun at first but as others have mentioned .. everything can't be "off the hook" and it's gotten to the point where fingernails on a chalkboard are more entertaining !
 
He did one time visit a "Dive", he called it that
and the very young owner agreed with him, but
after he tried a couple of dishes, he promoted
the place from "Dive" to "Unique".

As for Gordon Ramsey, there is no need for all the
bad language, but he started life as a professional
football, (soccer), player, so perhaps he knows no
better.

He was not educated to speak like he does.

Mike.
 
Ronni said:
I think the hook of the show is to feature delicious places to eat, rather than randomly choosing a restaurant and giving an objective review of the food.
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I agree, I think they follow places that have a reputation of being good. I've seen him go out of his mind and really praise the chef or owner of a diner saying the food was the best, 'to die for'. Then other times, I just saw him being passively complimentary and more polite than honestly loving the food. I don't think there would ever be a time where he criticized, that's not what the show is about.
 
Mike said:
He did one time visit a "Dive", he called it that
and the very young owner agreed with him, but
after he tried a couple of dishes, he promoted
the place from "Dive" to "Unique".

As for Gordon Ramsey, there is no need for all the
bad language, but he started life as a professional
football, (soccer), player, so perhaps he knows no
better.

He was not educated to speak like he does.

Mike.
Click to expand...

I think a Dive can be a place that is small and not fancy, like a dinky 'hole in the wall' type of diner, but can have really good food. If you don't mind the atmosphere, they can thrive on their tasty dishes and for me the food comes before the decorations, as long as the place looks clean. I'm not offended by Ramsey's language, was surprised to hear it though. They probably told him not to curb his cursing because more people would watch, more edgy.
 
I won`t watch Guy`s show anymore because he is a jerk. My daughter and her HUSBAND attended a party where Guy was also a guest and,even though he had been introduced to my daughter and SIL at the same time,he started hitting on my daughter and followed her around all evening. I am surprised to this day that my SIL didn`t sock him. My daughter was not flattered by it at all-she says it was disgusting.

Guy does own a home here in my county and he HAS done a lot of fundraisers for fire victims over the past three years. But I just can`t get over his behavior at that party.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I agree, I think they follow places that have a reputation of being good. I've seen him go out of his mind and really praise the chef or owner of a diner saying the food was the best, 'to die for'. Then other times, I just saw him being passively complimentary and more polite than honestly loving the food. I don't think there would ever be a time where he criticized, that's not what the show is about.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The places he goes to are already "legends", I guess you'd call it. On our travels all over the country, the Spousal Equivalent has liked to go eat at as many places from the show as possible. I can't say we've ever been disappointed.
 
My husband really got into that show. Never thought much of it. Concept was interesting...kind of showing you do not have to be a 5 star restaurant to have good food. Places where the locals and other real people eat.

Me, I always preferred Andrew Zimmern and Bizarre Foods. Just like seeing what other people eat, especially in other countries.
 
hollydolly said:
never seen it on the listings Mike...what channel is it on?
Click to expand...

Hi Hollydolly,

This on the "Food Network", channels are Freeview - 41, Sky - 197,
Virgin - 291 and Freesat - 148.

Mike.
 

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