I'm sure the NYT review had nothing to do with the closing... I can picture Sarah Palin eating there. The class of people who ate there don't read newspapers. They don't read, period. Seriously, there's no such thing as a "fine-dining" restaurant in that kind of location or of that size. Not that Guy's place was ever intended to be such a place. I thought of it as more of a bad joke. This was strictly a tourist trap. I just feel sorry for the people who are now looking for work.
2
epic as wells, hilarious
Maybe just maybe the restaurant is closing because the owners see the handwriting on the wall regarding restaurants in NYC. Once the $15/hour minimum wage kicks in their labor costs will skyrocket. All the other NYC labor mandates like paid sick leave add up for labor-intensive business like a large restaurant.
But why all the hatred for Guy Fieri and his customers? Don't eat there if you don't like the place. Really. (BTW his birth name was 'Ferry', his Italian immigrant grandfather changed it from 'Fieri' to 'Ferry'. Guy changed it back to 'Fieri' in the 1990s.)
I attended Hello Dolly across the street on Dec. 27th and marveled how the place has survived! HA!
?? $16 million a year?
But that cannot have been his net.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/guy-fieri-and-his-famous-d...
Finally. Surprised this dump stayed open for as long as it did; but then, the tourist rubes kept it in business when they couldn't get a table at Olive Gareden or Applebee's nearby. This douchenozzle Ferry and his chain restaurant machine crank out sugar loaded, weak "cocktails" and diabetes appetizers and heart-attack entrees that those in the hinterlands adore, but anyone with actual discerning taste and palate wouldn't be caught dead patronizing. I'm sure another tourist trap will take this massive cave over and close in 5 years (if lucky!).Real New Yorkers know-as do savvy tourists who do their homework-better than to eat in Times Square.
8
Ate there in 2013. Food and service were VERY mediocre. Was very disappointed.
1
I think Guy Fieri simply didn't know what good food was. On his Diners show he went to a local restaurant and raved about various dishes. We went and tried the very dishes he said were so good, and instead found them to be really terrible. After that experience, I never believed anything he said.
7
500 seats.
Who wants to open a restaurant that big? The food had to be terrible even by times square standards. Purely a vanity project by someone who should have known better.
3
The food biz is a difficult one. Nothing is guaranteed, least of all by having celebrity status. Couldbe there are just too many similar venues, especially in the Times Square area. Tourist food is a tough one. Rent must be high there too.
Guy is a businessman, and entertainer, a fail is part of the pursuit...
Insulting him is childish...grow up haters.
5
It is without doubt that whatever replaces Mr. Fieri's restaurant will be another restaurant; they're the only entities that can still, perhaps, turn a profit in Manhattan, even Duane Reades are closing. A regular Times reader will note the unending onslaught of restaurant reviews, where there seems to be more reporters on the food beat than covering Washington and more bistros popping up than mushrooms on a hill of warm dung.
Greed has turned Manhattan into cultural desert; the "fringe" neighborhoods, once the low-rent incubators of new art and music have become the glass enclaves of the vapid wealthy and they hardly notice the difference. Already an incurious, homogenized crowd, to them, stuffing your face at the fusion restaurant du jour IS culture.
4
The comments I have read here are mostly mean spirited and insulting to a man who is doing what he can to make a living. I never ate here, mainly because as a New Yorker I avoid Times Square as much as I can. The failure of this restaurant probably has more to do with high rent. People worked there and they are not out of a job. That is sad. Guy Fieri will hopefully continue with his highly entertaining DDD show. As a professional chef, I appreciate his knowledge of food and cooking, and his spotlighting of hard working chefs across the country who are making good food to please their loyal local customers. The personal attacks in these comments on a man none of you know seem very strange. What is is that makes you all delight in the failure of others? Anyway, Fieri is not falling. Some corporation simply could not sustain the operation of this very large restaurant. Love you Guy!
23
Provincial and snobbish NYers.
6
I totally agree. The vitriol thrown at him is completely unnecessary. He cooks food to appeal to a certain demographic just like many chefs in NY and throughout the country do. My fiance and I met him a few years back and he couldn't have been more friendly. Maybe those commenting nasty things about him on here should redirect their hatred towards a chef more deserving... like the many who sexually harass women??
8
the end of an establishment that put out lazy, tacky, and frightfully unhealthy food receives no sympathy from me
1
5 years with bad food? Maybe the money was made in the liquor.
3
I always remember his Thanksgiving cooking video, he brought his unique style to an American classic.
Nothing better than Rumplemintz infused cranberry while we listen to his Nickelback Christmas Carols
https://youtu.be/2zQyPwZsOm4
1
DDD featured various places in southern NJ and boosted all of their name recognition. Most of them were well known locally and to people who visit during the summer months as being very good restaurants with unique offerings or venues and very good food. Being on the show boosted their visibility.
In regard to some of the comments dissing him and his restaurant in NY. Sorry it was "awful" in your opinion but I've been to three of his restaurants in three states and each one was very good. They don't all serve the same food. Some specialize in barbecue dishes others are chop houses -- it depends on the location and the clientele he's trying to attract.
It's sad too to see so many snarky comments applauding the closing -- many jobs lost, many vendors losing a client, etc. Maybe get past disliking Fieri and hating some of his food offerings and think of the people who will be out of a job on December 31.
11
He besmirched Rhode Islands pristine reputation, as Pete so well described. We will never forget, even if he has family in "Nort Providence"
"How, for example, did Rhode Island’s supremely unhealthy and awesomely
good fried calamari — dressed with garlic butter and pickled hot peppers — end up in your restaurant as a plate of pale, unsalted squid rings next to a dish of sweet mayonnaise with a distant rumor of spice?"
2
I mean Guy himself is a character and seems pretty likeable but man his "Act" on TV is so stale and played out and they keep rerunning DDD shows from 5,6,7 years ago!!
If you want an entertaining panning of a celebrity restaurant check out the review of Nobu Palo alto by Michael Bauer of the SF Chronicle.
2
It's angering that a guy who knows nothing about the job he holds, cares nothing about promoting quality and setting a healthy example get's the opportunity he has gotten, failed or not. Now that I think of it, he and Donald Trump have a lot in common. Good riddance.
6
Hey Guy Fieri, not his real name, is a shallow, slobby celebrity who is hawking expensive junk food. Sorry about being a snob, but even his stupid "Johnny Garlic's" failed in Bakersfield. Bakersfield! That's where Kevin McCarthy is from, another shallow, pretentious...oops, wrong story line.
Twice (I don't recall why it was even once) I "dined" at Johnny Garlic's to be incited into frustration, anger and disappointment about being ripped off by the phoniness and $13 Bloody Mary--this is BAKERSFIELD, remember. In an era of blatant falsehood, fake everything, Garlic's fits in nicely. Adios, Guy Whatever Your Real Name is.
8
He's a really nice guy. he's neither shallow nor slobby.
3
This slob visited a local haunt called "Chick and Ruthie's" a few years ago. I had the misfortune of being there when he came in. The man's presence is so nauseating that I've never been back.
4
Fieri is to food what Trump is to politics -- vulgar, unfit and unpalatable.
13
His theme is affordable DDD food. The equivalent of my father's 50's truck stop, cafeteria, and diner food, which had an emphasis on affordability, quantity and homemade taste (green beans are always overcooked). Times Square is not an affordable neighborhood. Quantity is no longer in fashion among truck drivers or New Yorkers. He has hit some spots in New England which are note-worthy by local standards so there is nothing wrong with his taste in food. He and the Sterns travel the same food exploration roadways, with different presentations; roadways that not many have traveled before (Holly Eats comes to mind). At least not televised nationally. Look at it this way, if the Sterns opened a restaurant, why would I want to eat there?
2
I started watching Food Network 18 years ago when it was actually about presenting great food that could be replicated at home. Unfortunately, it has devolved into a mishmash of bubbleheaded talking weasels who focus on the funny instead of the meals. I previously watched to learn better cooking techniques and serve food that wows family and friends alike. Now, I speed past while channel surfing: cuisine is no longer the next food network star. Bring back Sara Moulton!
23
I'm not a fan of chain or celebrity restaurants, but the reality is that rents in Times Square are so absurdly high, one can't make money no matter what. Rents can be up to $2000 per square foot. Even at half that a 10,000 square foot restaurant could easily be paying $10 million a year in rent. That's over $27,000 a day just in rent.
I actually like his show. Although much of the food shown is unhealthy or the portions way too large, much of the food is made from fresh non-processed ingredients with chefs making things from scratch. What's wrong with that?
13
There were several local restaruants who were vying to get on DDD
on food channel. Guy chose a couple nearby, funny those have folded
or moved on. Oh and those that weren't picked have flourished.
Maybe there is some collation to this.?
4
All of the restaurants he's ever visited near me are doing just fine
2
I am a cook and I think a pretty good one but I would not give up my day job. I have tried Guy's suggestions on DDD not because I watch the show, but because the restaurants proudly display Guy in their kitchen. Here in Phoenix the food at those dives is fair and nothing to rave about. Sadly Guy and a whole lot of celebrity "chefs" have destroyed the Food Network. I stopped watching years ago. Loved Pete's scorching review of Guy's NYTS restaurant. Sadly the recommended dives here in Phoenix have not heard about Pete's review. Go figure!
6
This article and the comments demonstrate just how provincial New Yorkers are. There are over 300 million Americans who do not live in the Big Apple, nor do they aspire to live in such a metropolis. When they come for a visit (from their "teepees" beyond the Hudson), after spending a day walking their legs off, bumped by other people like balls in a pinball machine, and run down by mad messenger bikers, they just want a few minutes of peace with familiar comfort food that fires up their endorphins. You New Yorkers don't have to eat it. No need to be snarky about "rubes" from outside of the City visiting Times Square; their dollars help to pay for your comfort.
14
They may also want child-friendly restaurants which the chains and Guy's may provide.
4
How sad that the Pence family won't be able to stop for dinner on their next visit to the Big Apple.
8
They can always go to the Applebee's.
1
In a pinch I ate at Guy Fieri's restaurant in the Cancun, Mexico airport. We (family of 5) were pressed for time and a good, solid burger seemed like a great idea. 40 minutes and >$125 later, my first and last Guy Fieri experience was over. Food was overpriced and barely mediocre and the service was worse than horrible.
7
it was all over after howard johnson’s times square closed...
14
No, it was all over after the Rialto Deli on Broadway and 48th street closed several decades ago.
And not a moment too soon. The spiky haired self seeker was never more than a wannabe at best, more often just a me too, and most of the time the embodiment of culinary mediocrity. Who can trust a character trying his best to look like Bart Simpson?
8
I find it hard to believe that all the people commenting on here joyfully celebrating its demise actually ate in his restaurant. Surely you had to figure a 500 seat restaurant in Times Square was going to be an epicurean delight. The personal hate for Mr Fieri seems to be overboard from people who I would bet never met him. I have eaten in several of his DDD restaurants across the country and they have been very good.
8
Of course it is. he isn't trendy; if he was this would be filled with adoration of him
2
Guy and all of the rest of them on the Food (?) Channel are what I would call "Shouting Heads". Everything is over the top, moves at warp speed, and topics change so fast you don't know what you are watching. All interlaced with 50% of the air time devoted to similar Shouting Heads commercials. I pay to see this? - I asked myself. Pulled the plug years ago and have never missed it.
8
I believe when the review first appeared in the NYT Fieri denied he was an owner or had anything to do with the food prep. or cooking. He said they basically paid for the use of his name. That said, Fieri is banking it on his ridiculous cable show because, clearly, he can't make it anywhere else.
Funny no one is mentioning the fact that this is a name franchised location and that Guy himself is not closing this location. All the news networks and papers trying to make something out of nothing.
7
This was probably the most famous restaurant review printed by the Times. But does anyone else remember one from years earlier by Ruth Riechle (I think). In it she noted what the restaurant was like when she was an average customer, and what it became after she was "discovered." Service and food improved dramatically and added one or two stars. A good restaurant great. Anyone who remembers the the "giant raspberries" will remember this review.
This place epitomized our culture of celebrity and reality TV . Fiery is not more of a chef than Trump is a statesman .
12
Snarky as was the original review. Not much compassion for all the workers now unemployed.
4
I love Guy and DDD, without embarrassment. He is over the top and fun. Yes, he goes to places serving every food that is bad for your health on one plate at one time, but I'm sure it still tastes great. Is it gourmet food? No. Is Times Square the Met Museum? No.
People should get over themselves. Chain restaurants can make very good food, reliably, and are relatively inexpensive. That his Time Square location was maybe too big, or too expensive to run, or that no one was watching how the food was cooked or presented, is the fault of restaurant management. Maybe he is just over-extended. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with him or his "persona." I never ate there, because I live here and know better. Tourists go where they recognize food items that are on the menu.
There is a difference between Walmart and Armani Exchange and Lexus and Volkswagen. Most Americans have a lousy diet and do not care about "food excellence". They want tasty food in big portions that are not outrageously expensive. Sorry, folks, but "world class food and drink" ain't never gone be found in Times Square. Seriously.
That doesn't mean that his entire enterprise, and all the others like it, isn't about the money it makes. Of course it is. The idea, however, is, in this case, so what?
4
I agree with your comment. I don't why folks hate Guy and say Nickelback for example. Both harmless at worst. We ate at his place in A.C. perfectly fine and the mixed drinks were exceptional. Bourdain's and others snark will fall out of fashion soon enough. No everyone can be a "cool kid", and jet off to southeast Asia or Lyon.
3
Fieri neatly represents the sad demise of the once enjoyable Food Network, epitomizing their sheer adoration of the "celebrity chef' nonsense even when, as in the case of Mr. Fieri, one could hardly call them chefs at all (cooks yes, chefs no). The network which once used to actually feature shows on cooking and food of course had it's personalities, but they were just part of it all, not the raison d'etre. Now it's all about contests and competitions, many of them so obviously fake in their presentation, especially the timing thing. (Amazing, if you watch, how one never, ever sees someone actually run out of time, even with "one minute on the clock" announced and half their food uncooked and nothing plated they suddenly lift their arms at the closing bell as they miraculously made it! Or when they are seen pulling a tray out of the oven and a second later are handling it and the food with their bare hands.)
I suppose this all fits in to our inane celebrity culture and love of "stars", no matter how limited or dubious their skills or talents, but one can only wish for the day when this nonsense fades into the oblivion it so richly merits!
33
Never underestimate the blind following of "celebrities" by the middle class. I have friends from the Midwest that brag about going to Vegas and eating at Fieri's, Giada's, Buffet's, etc. as if these are the pinnacle of culinary desire.
15
It’s just not the middle class. Enough of the more prosperous seem to fawn all over celebrities as well.
3
You mean Trump, right?
1
Just think of how well the restaurant could have done and the boost it would have provided Mr. Fieri's reputation, had it provided the hungry and thirsty individual with world class food and drink. Travelers, immigrants, citizens of NY, all must be fed. To be able to relax in a nice restaurant, imbibe a good drink and feast with wonderful food make the heart grow fonder of the environment in which you find yourself. Too bad, a restaurant as I have described would have raised Mr. Fieri's stature one level above Trump's.
4
Again with Trump? Stop being a sore loser.
1
There is absolutely no reason to think that Mr. Fieri would actually operate a world-class restaurant. His success is built upon a larger-than-life personality who gushes over the work of other chefs. His restaurants have more to do with the tourist trap trade and precious little to do with good food prepared well.
18
To be fair, the sewage that most NYC restaurants flog at ludicrous prices (due to rents jacked up by slumlord real estate - and possibly criminal - gangs) isn't much worse than Fieri's.
From pizza to "haute" cuisine, the key is PT Barnum-style advertising and pathetic gimmicks, not consistent, ingredient selection, competent preparation,and polite, attentive service.
A restaurant mercy killing. Fieri is a vulgar fool parading as a chef. The restaurant was awful. As is he. Bye bye.
30
The scathing review wasn't very effective if Guy soldiered on for 5 more years. Snark doesn't always do the trick.
7
That's the nature of tourist restaurants: there's no need for repeat business. He didn't "soldier on" as much as rely on a steady stream of pigeons. And anyway, do you think the hayseed visitors who kept it afloat read the Times review?
7
He probably got a lot of tourists in from GA.
1
Two things that do not belong in the same sentence; Food and Times Square.
33
Oh well, frustrated newly-thwarted Manhattan sophisticates can always grab a cab out to Laughlin Nevada, where the world's cheapest hi-rise hotel (and I don't mean that pejoratively, the place is literally $19 a night) houses another one of Mr. Donkey Celebrity's esteemed redoubts.
7
I live in Hell's Kitchen and shortly after the Pete Wells review came out my boyfriend and I decided we had to hatevisit the place and see if it was really that bad. It was. But the thing that struck me the most was how ENORMOUS the place was! The bar area alone was larger than most (all?) restaurants by my apartment. Maybe Del Frisco's, or that giant Red Lobster, also in Times Square? In any event, my favorite part about the visit was that once the server learned that we were local and not tourists, he was happy to guide us through the menu: "Don't get this, or this, or this, and definitely don't drink that!"
55
People like Guy are all about money, not food! I suspect he really can not cook at all. I feel sorry for the "team" losing their job, wonder how much severance pay Guy is giving them?
17
My girlfriend and I fell into this tourist trap a few years ago. We ordered a buffalo style fries dish and what we got were partially frozen fries completely doused in what seemed to be Franks Red Hot Sauce.
When we mentioned the temperature of the fries to the server, she replied “Well, that’s how they’re supposed to be”. At that moment, it sunk in how foolish we were to have expected better.
19
I'd like to invite the New Yorkers who are commenting so gleefully on the demise of this restaurant to consider something.
There is a great scene in the movie "Kill Bill" where David Carradine explains who Clark Kent is. He's Superman's view of and commentary on Earthlings: Weak, confused, indecisive. Unmanly. Close to useless. Pathetic.
New Yorkers might want to consider that Guy's American was Fieri's commentary on New York, which he's as much alien to as Superman was to Earth. Much as New Yorkers might like to think otherwise, Times Square not only is in their city, it is their city. Of course, their city has other facets too, but the comments don't seem to recognize that Fieri does too, so why should Fieri have focused on any of their other facets. His restaurant very ably commented on Times Square, reflected it, perhaps uncomfortably for many New Yorkers, since Times Square is New York City. Literally, the heart.
13
While I have never had the pleasure to visit Iowa, I assume that Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, nor any other major city represents the rest of your state. I live in Queens and have lived in Brooklyn. Neither of these parts of New York City have anything in common (not just "facets") with Times Square (although Queens and Times Square both have Disney Stores). Whether it's in Times Square or Ames Iowa, an overpriced restaurant poorly offering bad food deserves to be called out.
24
Times Square is NOT New York. It is solely a tourist area. Fieri was catering solely to his idea of what tourists would want.
6
I can tell you're not from around here. Times Square isn't the heart of New York City. It's more like the appendix. Or possibly the wisdom teeth.
2
Darn. I read Pete Well's review back in 2012 and I was planning on finally making a special trip to NYC on January 1st just to eat there. My New Year's resolution is now to stop procrastinating.
13
All should read Vanishing New York if you need a refresher on how a great City has been overturned by corporate greed and gentrification. The loss of numerous neighborhood that were the bedrock of a great New York have fallen to the wrecking ball of Hipster and Millennial hordes intent on a homogenous citizenry. Fight back NYC!
23
This should surprise no one, why would anyone want to dine at a place like this when there are so so many outstanding restaurants within walking distance. This place is right up there with Olive Garden; Red Lobster and Bubba Gump Seafood. While I like Guy's shows especially DDD, I must admit that Guy is the ultimate huckster. He is to food what Richard Simmons is to exercise.
14
Don't insult Richard Simmons.
Maybe the country is just tired of hype without substance?
34
Not so much. One only has to look at who we put in the White House to see that some of the US love the hype.
3
I don't think so. After all, they elected Donald Trump president. He DEFINES hype without substance.
2
Ughh, I reread the original " . . .scathing, no-stars review by Pete Wells of The New York Times" from 2012 as an appetizer, a warm-up to this obit, and felt, once again, that I been groped by a garbage can. Guy's place was DOA in 2012 but somehow became Zombie-ized, lingering on like those French fries in Super Size Me. RIP, again, Guy.
17
Last stop on the Flavor Train. Don't let it run you over on the way out.
24
Its a shame that the restaurant was reportedly not very good. It probably won't matter much to Mr. Fieri in the long run but to the staff that worked there its a big deal. Maybe everyone here shouldn't celebrate this closing quite so much since there are some people newly out of work.
68
Lovely comment.
3
Well this is good news for the start of the new year. Good-bye to a bad restaurant.
14
I appreciate Guy for the unfailingly respectful way he treats the mom & pop DDD owners all across the country.
With all the garbage served at the fast food and other corporate food behemoths it's just great to see these local places lauded night after night. I actually went to one I saw on the show, Kelly Ann's in Pittsburgh, and had huluski and the marinara with polenta. The food was great and I'd have never known about it without Guy.
Maybe his restaurants aren't good, but a part of him is just great in my book.
130
I agree. all of his gimics, hair, jewelry, tatoos, arm bands, his constant attempts to come up with hip copywriteable neologism are a real pain. Almost laughable. But I began to write down the names of some the restaurants he visited, even ones in towns I probably will never visit. He finally wore me down and I do watch him, I hope no one I know sees this. I saw a survey once that showed that 75% of the people who shop at a 7-11 deny that they have ever been in one. That's me with him.
10
You can also search his show's website for restaurants if you plan to visit a city. That's how I found Kelly Ann's.
1
Saw him once on TV. I had no idea who he was, but the sight of him eating made me nauseous. Not a gourmet, a gourmand.
2
No loss. As has been cited here many times, Tourists need to head away from Times Square and enjoy the best food that NYC has to offer!
30
The sad thing is how many visitors come to New York and end up eating at places like this or the Olive Garden (also in Times Square) or Dave & Busters, etc., instead of venturing outside the tourist zones and trying some real New York Italian or burger joints.
99
Wait, we have a Dave & Busters? And an Olive Garden? Man, I don't know my own city. Where have I been all my life? :-)
4
Was in NYC lady a lady said to my friend and I on a subway on our way to Brooklyn to eat at an Italian Restaurant. I had read about it in the New York Times featuring people that had changed careers ( guy wore a trademark hat and glasses). When she found we were staying in Manhattan sh e said There's an Olive Garden in Times Square area. We thanked her.
Would never go to NYC and eat at a chain restaurant. My son worked just outside of NYC and always had great places to eat that were local. Love your Katz's!
8
Times Square is not NYC. See your Broadway shows goto Hells Kitchen & Restaurant row then escape Times Square Tourists goto Union Square, Harlem, Alphabet City, Downtown, Flushing, Williamsburg, Meatpacking, West Village, Astoria, LIC, Brighton, Arthur Ave, City Island, Wash Heights... tourists: Pick up NYT Mag, W42 Mag, Timeout Mag (Free on Wed), Eat Shop Play, Live, Enjoy like a NY’er
4
Wow. You can all come to the big mall in Syracuse anytime you want to get good food like Guy's, if you miss it. There's plenty of places ... Margaritaville, Dave and Buster's, Cheesecake Factory, lots more! Come on up! It's only -6 right now.
53
Malls, as you probably know, are danger zones for fine dining, regular dining, healthy dining, and just plain dining:
Cheesecake Factory:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheesecake-factory-dinged-as-unhealthiest-u...
Dave and Busters:
http://www.businessinsider.com/9-unhealthiest-chain-restaurant-dishes-20...
Margaritaville:
https://www.fooducate.com/app#!page=product&id=15A3FB5A-DBE6-11E1-956E-1231381BA074
No wonder Americans are so obese. This is not food, it's just gallons of fat, salt, and chemical additives.
Times Square should have said farewell to Guy Fieri years ago. Good riddance to the lewd, homophobic, anti-Semitic Food Network Frat Boy who took advantage of tourists. If this seems harsh, just Google the TMZ video of him fighting his hairdresser from inside a van.
60
Now where am I supposed to go to get my Donkey Sauce fix?
2
Problem Solved: "Guy Fieri Admits That Donkey Sauce Is Just Aioli" see in https://www.eater.com/2017/6/27/15879670/guy-fieri-aioli-donkey-sauce
At least we have this amusing legacy:
http://gothamist.com/2013/02/20/check_out_this_spot-on_spoof_of_guy.php
6
If this joint was anything like the Vegas location, then good riddance! Slimy, cold, and overpriced...served by the surliest waitstaff I've ever encountered.
23
And a single dish is enough to feed a family of four!!
3
Surly waitstaff? In VEGAS, of all places? Not surprising, since the surly attitude of everyone who lives in Vegas starts at 6/10 and only goes up from there.
And why would I go to NYC to eat at a Guy Fieri dump? That's what Vegas is all about - overpriced, underachieving chain fare.
7
Five years after Mr. Wells review?
I could try to comment on this, but others have done it so much better:
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Martin Luther King Jr.:
87
Not to paint all Food Network celeb-chefs with the same brush, but for many of them the opening of a restaurant is simply a way to capitalize off of their overexposure with some handy "brand extensions." (Never mind the food quality.) Guy Fieri is the poster child for this -- between constant marathons of "Triple D" and "Triple G," has anybody ever seen Guy actually cook something? (At least the "Chopped" judges and the "Iron Chefs" seem to have the capacity...)
42
He took a kitchen crew to Santa Rosa during the Northern California wildfires and cooked for the firefighters (and got blamed for creating a celebrity sideshow, not necessarily of his making). Not defending the quality of his restaurant food (I've never been to any of his restaurants), but I think he does have skills at some level...!
31
That was some fantastic review; still reads great 5 years later. Now just waiting for Ben Brantley to do the same.
13
When I lived in New York, I never went to Fieri's restaurant, but it still gave me pleasure through its scathing New York Times review. The review is still one of my all-time favorites. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys-...
44
Thanks for reposting this review. You're right. It's a classic.
3
That review was funny!
Who in their right mind would ever go into the restaurant after reading that !!
Amazing that it lasted 5 1/2 years! Celebrity restaurants don't interest me
1
Where's the disconnect between an able, seasoned chef-star creating tasty, creative comfort food and the stuff Guy and Co. served up at this restaurant? I mean, Guy has eaten at hundreds of places that really bring it in his wheelhouse of upscale comfort food and he knows how to cook, so why the big fail? Too many restaurants and not enough chef in the kitchen I guess?
6
Capitalist food; craven, bad for your heart, over priced, dripping in greed.
4
It is past time for him to leave the food scene. The food business keeps demanding more new faces and products and methods, just as the movies do. Fieri is "old style". As I am........
He (Fieri) is an honest appreciator of single proprietor and small family eateries, and the fried and sweetened excesses that many of them produce; that is not in any way a damnable pursuit. The restaurant was a branding exercise and tourist trap, and in that spectacle that is postmodern Times Square, totally appropriate. No mourning needed.
42
"Bad food is made without pride, by cooks who have no pride, and no love. Bad food is made by chefs who are indifferent, or who are trying to be everything to everybody, who are trying to please everyone" - partial quote by Anthony Bourdain.
62
Russian proverb: the fish rots from the head.
Don't blame the cooks.
Five years in NYC is like 30 anywhere else in the country given the competition, the insane costs of operating a business. I love Guy Fieri, his passion and all his shows. He just helped several young foodies get their own Food Network spot. Terrific man.
19
Ted Nugent agrees with you.
Well, not everyone can be as classy as Mario Batali.
4
On Guy Fieri's Web Site, cited in the article, the photo of a cheseburger-like concoction evokes a feeling of horror. The general tendency of restaurateurs to open new places, and the conglomerates like the Blue Stein Group, do not serve gastronomy, but they are a proof of the words of Ecclesiastes (7:29), "God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions".
6
It was a masterpiece of an article.
2
My daughter is devastated. Not yet 21, she had her heart set on, one day, drinking the watermelon margarita that "tastes like radiator fluid and formaldehyde".
126
Thanks for the link to the original review - re-reading that made my day!
28
We ate there in 2013, and it was awful. We believe in always giving a restaurant a second chance before passing final judgement, so we went back in 2015. This time it was horrible.
107
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...
1
I enjoy Triple D, hated the restaurant. Food was bad, 0 stars about right. Probably took about 5 years for word to get around enough so that this tourist trap was fully avoided. Too many good restaurants in NYC for this place to survive.
30
Guy Fieri has always seemed to me to be the Donald Trump of restaurateurs: all puffery, hyperbole, and gold-plated mediocrity. Given the Times review from five years ago, I'm surprised he stayed in business this long. Even tourists must have some standards, right, or do they just expect to get ripped-off by a place they'll never see again? This place sounds like the sort of restaurant that is found at cruise ship destinations - a one-visit-only approach to service and quality. Adios, Guy!
75
"Donald Trump of restaurateurs", what a great line.
21
You can't win them all. Guy Fieri is a terrific food guy and my guess is that he is spread too thin. He and Emeril Lagasse are my 2 favorite people on the food network.
Guy's show, "Diners Drive-ins and Dives", is fantastic. Best of luck to him in the future! He is one of the many positive gems produced by the great state of California.
30
We're all assuming you're being ironic.
36
Not at all. His show, triple D, has shown his bright light on little mom and pop operations all across America. Though probably almost all of them were already doing very well, I'm sure they picked up a lot of new business afterwards, and viewers learn about all kinds of interesting places and really different food styles and ingredients. It's not high end French cuisine, but that's fine with me.
And I remember the Pete Wells review of this place - scathing! Pete is a superb critic and writer, and I'm sure he was accurate.
As I said, Guy sounds like he is spread way too thin. I've done it myself - in other endeavors. Many people, unfortunately, suffer from depression. Guy suffers from too much optimism and confidence, but I think we all agree it's the better problem to have.
29
You seem to like his shows, but my question to you is "Is his food any good?"
6