Joyous news, courtesy of TV Squad (and others). Chef Robert Irvine, who was unceremonioiusly dumped from his Dinner:Impossible gig when the Food Network discovered inaccuracies in his resume, has been reinstated.
Although I never watched Chef Michael Symon’s version of the show, I’m pretty psyched that Irvine is back in charge. This guy IS the show. Doing it without him is like watching House without Hugh Laurie.
I know this was probably just a business decision (better entertainment = better ratings = better ad revenue), but I think Food Network did the right thing. Chef Irvine’s new episodes are due to begin airing in March of new year.
/Film reports that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, one of my all-time favorite childhood books, is being adapted into a feature film.
It will be a 3D animated feature (I can’t wait to see the meatballs jump right out of the screen and into my retinas), featuring the voices of Anna Farris (The House Bunny) and Bill Hader (SNL). But even better, the inimitable Mr. T will also be lending his considerable vocal talents.
I really hope they get this thing right and don’t screw too much with the story or tone. In many ways, the book inspired my current interest in food, and I wouldn’t want this sacred text drowned out by a cacophony of irrelevant pop culture references.
We used to have a Baskin-Robbins in my neighborhood when I was a kid, and I would always get World Class Chocolate. I have no idea if that’s still part of the “31 flavors” at the current stores (now owned and operated by the Dunkin’ Donuts conglomerate), but going to that B-R for the first time will forever be one of my warmest ice cream memories.
2. Melograno, still the number 1 restaurant on my Philly Top 10, has lost its lease and will move this summer.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Food and Drinq blog:
Melograno, one of the best-received of the recent crop of mom-and-pop BYOs, has lost its lease after five years.
July 28 will be its last day at 22d and Spruce Streets, says Rosemarie Tran, who owns Melograno with her husband, Gianluca Demontis.
They’re relocating to 2010 Sansom St. — same name and concept — and hope to be up and running in September, taking advantage of their usual August vacation.
Although its current neighborhood is much nicer, I can’t complain since they’re moving around the corner from me. As long as the quality stays high, I’ll be there on a regular basis.
3. Who added the extra “r” in shebert?
If you just pronounced that last word like “sherbert,” join the crowd. Thankfully, we have Anu Garg of MSN’s new On Wordscolumn to show us the folly of our ways.
The word is from Arabic, but it took a scenic route to English. It stopped by Persian and Turkish before reaching the shores of the English language. In Arabic šarbat is a drink. (By the way, the word syrup is a cousin of this word.)
I’m sure you all remember me (and about every food new outlet around the country) telling you about the unfortunate ousting of Dinner: Impossible’s host, Chef Robert Irvine, several weeks ago. The story goes that Mr. Irvine embellished his resume a tad (or more, depending on your opinion), prompting Food Network to fire one of my favorite food personalities from one of my favorite shows.
Now, the FN has announced his replacement - Michael Symon, winner of the network’s Next Iron Chef competition.
Personally, I have no idea who this guy is and what he’s capable of. I love Iron Chef (even the America version) but I’ve never seen Symon in action. I guess he has to be good if he won the competition, but it remains to be seen whether he has the outsized personality (and ego) required for Dinner: Impossible.
Look, I’ll give him props for the bald pate (if only because I’ll probably be sporting the look in a few years), but as to his prowess under tight deadlines, I have no idea. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, my friends.
By the way, is it me or is he just flipping egg yolks in that picture?
The fanciest of fancy Philadelphia restaurants has just gotten a little less, well… fancy, according to Zagat:
Georges Perrier, saying he wants to have fun and stop obsessing over his Mobil five stars, has dropped the prix fixe policy at Le Bec-Fin, his Center City West landmark. Most mains on the à la carte dinner menu are priced under $40, and the reservation book has slots every 15 minutes, not two seatings a night.
I have mixed feelings about this move. On the one hand, I like it when owners try to mix things up and infuse some unpredictability into stodgy institutions. On the other hand, as someone who’s never experienced this particular institution, I feel like I’m being robbed of the full Le Bec-Fin treatment.
I guess when I finally do make it there, I can take solace in the fact that I won’t know what I’m missing. But that’s cold comfort when part of the reason you’re going in the first place (the exclusive fine dining charm) has been unceremoniously stripped away.
Is it too much to ask to have both styles of dining? A couple of mass seatings and prix-fixes for the traditionalists and newbies (like me), and a more mainstream, a la carte experience for the rest?
And by the way, when did a gas station get to be the preeminent judge of dining quality in the United States? Taking restaurant suggestions from Mobil is like asking my local mechanic how to make a soufflé.
Chef Robert Irvine, host of one of my favorite Food Network shows, Dinner: Impossible, was yanked from his position today due to the recent discovery of inaccuracies in his resume.
As told here (and just about everywhere else), Chef Irvine apologized for the embellishments in a written statement, only to have the network announce their intentions to replace him immediately.
This is not cool.
Dinner: Impossible is probably one of the most fun shows on Food Network. I can’t say I make appointments to watch it, but I have a hard time turning it off when it’s on. Heck, I even watched two hours of it last Saturday night to escape a sub-par SNL episode.
While I don’t blame Food Network for its actions and I certainly don’t condone Chef Irvine for his admitted stupidity, I do wish the show could continue with that good ol’ cockney man-monster.
So what if he didn’t work for the Queen? He’s already accomplished three seasons worth of missions… and if you’ve watched any of them, you know the guy’s got more than enough credentials to carry on.
Question: Do you think firing Chef Irvine was fair punishment for misrepresenting his experience?
Joyous news, courtesy of TV Squad (and others). Chef Robert Irvine, who was unceremonioiusly dumped from his Dinner:Impossible gig when the Food Network discovered inaccuracies in his resume, has been reinstated.
If you just pronounced that last word like “sherbert,” join the crowd. Thankfully, we have Anu Garg of MSN’s new On Words 
Chef Robert Irvine, host of one of my favorite 
