Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Putting Clues On The Menu at "Kitchen Nightmares"

Gordon Ramsay May Know How To Cook, Just Don't Ask Him For Directions

I finally caught up to last week's episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" on Fox, a show that still manages to be entertaining, even when it assumes its audience is a collective mass of bliterhing idiots.
On the latest installment, chef/mad genius Gordon Ramsay and Co. whipped into shape a restaurant in Bellmore, on Long Island's South Shore, about 25 miles from Manhattan. It's about as suburban as suburban gets.
Yet, in the cutaway shots that give us a break from Ramsay fulminating, restaurant staff members screaming and crying and a chance to crank up some portentous music, we first see a shot of an elevated subway in Queens. Later, it's a shot of a horse-drawn carriage outside of Central Park.
And what does this has to do with Bellmore let alone the fate of the restaurant in question, The Mixing Bowl?
It's the suburbs, people! People live here so they don't have to ride the subway. Why not show the beach or water, both of which are nearby? How about a strip mall? Now that's Bellmore.
Also, once again, we see Ramsay getting off at the Bellmore train station on his way to his date with destiny at the hapless eatery on Merrick Road. Ramsay is fooling no one into thinking he actually spent time with the plebeians who have no choice but to ride the Long Island Railroad. Nice try, though.
On Wednesday, Gordo schleps out to Long Island yet again, this time to the Seascape (not in Zagat's, by the way) in Islip. That's quite a slog on the train, so we'll see if he can instead drive on the right side of the road (literally) to meet his next supplicants.

No comments: