Recently in Kitchen Nightmares Category

The previews leading up to this week's season finale of Kitchen Nightmares promised an explosive episode that wouldn't disappoint. After watching the show, I don't know if I'd call it explosive but it was definitely enjoyable.

Nestled in the gateway to California's wine country is the Secret Garden restaurant in Moorpark, CA. It is owned and run by Michel and on the brink of financial ruin. The featured staff in this episode included: Jane, a server; Sammy, a server; and Devon, a cook. Michel is an arrogant and fiery French chef serving stodgy food to retirees who must have nothing better to do with their money than to eat in his establishment.

After two tries, Gordon finally found the entrance to the restaurant and was amazed at the lack of waitstaff and the ghastly furnishings. Walking back to the kitchen, he found Michel and Jane and introduced himself. Once seated, he was met with a dirty glass which he quickly pointed out to Jane. Gordon decided to live a little dangerously and ordered an appetizer of strawberries and garlic shrimp (it was disgusting). He then ordered a Roquefort stuffed filet of beef which turned out to be a tough hunk of meat accompanied by raw carrots and a heaping of greasy shoestring potatoes all served on a chipped plate.

When he met with Michel about his meal, he told him that it was boring and tasteless crap. It was one of the worst meals he'd ever eaten. Of course, none of this went over very well with Michel who almost immediately began bickering back and forth with Gordon. The next morning didn't go very well either. When Gordon inspected the kitchen he found rotten food, moldy containers, and maggots. Yes, I said maggots. After throwing up in the restroom, he confronted Michel on the state of his kitchen. Michel actually said that it had just been cleaned and was upset that Gordon would dare insult him. This guy is a piece of work.

After the massive kitchen clean-up, Gordon wanted to witness the dinner service. The problem was that there were hardly any customers. What few customers there were had the same problem that many of this season's restaurants had -- slow service. Michel believed his customers wanted an experience to enjoy in his restaurant. I guess if you call staring at the horrible furnishings and decoration while waiting to be served an experience then you'd be correct. Personally, I'd rather enjoy the food but what do I know?

On day 3, Gordon shuttered up the business and placed 'Closed' signs on the place. When Michel finally showed up to work, he wasn't happy about that because he didn't want the community to think he'd closed down. Gordon calmed him down and then went to work butchering the Frenchman's menu. There was too much food and it was all crusted or stuffed. Gordon believed the menu should be cleaner so that the food would be quick and easy to cook. Michel was having a hard time going with it.

At dinner service that night, the customers were loving Gordon's specials and things were going great -- at first. Before too long, orders began backing up which made Michel feel that he had to revert back to his old menu. It didn't help either that the kitchen staff wasn't telling the waitstaff that they were out of ingredients for some of the specials which left the waitstaff still pushing the specials on the customers. Jane and Michel eventually began arguing about the way things were going and she left in tears. The service ended in disaster: waiters messing up, no communication back and forth between them and the kitchen, and just outright disorganization.

The next day was relaunch day so you know what that means. The restaurant received new signage and new decor. It was so drastic to me that it didn't even look like the same restaurant (that means it was a huge improvement). Michel didn't think it was much of an improvement though and was worried that his old (literally) customers wouldn't appreciate the new design and be worried they might be in the wrong restaurant (that just might be possible). Michel really didn't like the news that there would be a food critic at dinner service either.

At dinner service that evening, there was a ton of customers -- including the food critic and Miss California! I don't know if you noticed this or not, but the food critic had an earpiece in which made me wonder who was talking to her. Anyway, her fish that she'd ordered was overseasoned so she sent it back. Michel then went out to offer her a signature dish from his old menu which infuriated Gordon. They began a huge yelling match (did you see that quick shirtless Gordon shot?) that the customers could overhear in the dining area. Gordon called Michel a pig with a filthy kitchen. Michel told Gordon he wasn't a true chef. Eventually, Gordon left to get some fresh air and to cool off.

Although he wanted to walk away from it all, Gordon did eventually come back to the kitchen and told Michel that they just needed to work together just one more night. Michel changed his mind about serving one of his old dishes to the food critic and instead served her one of Gordon's dishes. She absolutely loved it which Michel didn't like hearing. Michel continued talking to the other customers and was told over and over again how much they loved the changes and the food. Doesn't that tell you something Michel?

At their final meeting, Gordon told them not to screw things up and told Michel that he has to learn to serve the customers and not himself. The voiceover guy told us that later in the week Michel had kept on cleaning, Jane had been promoted to Manager, customers were happy, and the restaurant is now a success. They didn't say if the restaurant was still open or not so I'm assuming it is. I have a hard time believing though that Michel really changed any of his ways.

What did you think about this finale episode? What'd you think about the arrogant French chef? What'd you think about the entire season of Kitchen Nightmares overall? What kind of changes would you like to see in its second season?

I really enjoyed this week's Kitchen Nightmares. The owner and head chef, Joe, wasn't portrayed as a complete jerk. The other chef, Gene, actually seemed like a nice guy. The main waitresses, Josett and Jessica, seemed like nice women even if they were a little wild. Joe's family seemed normal. What is this universe I stepped into and how can I keep going back?

Campania is a little Italian restaurant in Fair Lawn, NJ, with a fairly new owner named Joe. Joe bought the place 18 months ago but ever since he took over, business has gone down the drain. Of course, Gordon will be coming to save him. When Gordon arrived, he made a couple of remarks to Joe about his finger-pointing (he must have been cranky that day) before the waitress arrived to take his order. He ordered tortellini soup that turned out to be bland, sausage ravioli that had too much garlic, and a crusted chicken that he deemed too sweet and dry. He also had to wait more than 20 minutes for his food to be brought to him and was forced to endure the laughing and other goings on back in the kitchen. Who would want that? Later, he told Joe about how the customers could hear everything and how he found his food boring which led Joe to quip that perhaps it was a mistake to invite Gordon.

The second at Campania, Gordon decided to check out the restaurant's supply of food on hand. He found way too much food going bad just waiting to be served. Before that night's dinner service, Gordon told Joe that he had too many staff members for the place bringing Joe to get rid of a couple of workers named Chris and Katie. Katie was understandably upset in the parking lot but hey, that's the breaks. Girl, if you'd been good enough he wouldn't have let ya go.

At dinner service that evening, customers were left waiting hours for their food. One guy even ordered a pizza (no doubt just because the cameras were there) but we never saw the pizza being delivered. When the food did arrive, many of the customers said it was just average. Average must have been good enough for them though because most of them took home doggy bags. That was another problem Gordon had with Campania -- their portion sizes were too big. When Gordon tried to explain that to Joe later, Joe says that that's what the customers like. He got upset when Gordon kept after him trying to explain to him that it's a waste of money on his part though.

The next day, Gordon visited Joe's wife Melissa at their home. We heard the standard sob story that we hear every week. This is his dream; if we can't bring the restaurant back into the black we'll lose everything; and the bills aren't getting paid. Next, we saw Gordon return back to the restaurant and try to teach the staff more about presentation and then provided them with a special meatball recipe that he thought would be good for the restaurant to use as their signature dish. He even had their delivery van customized with "New Jersey's best meatballs" and gave them shirts and hats to wear with the slogan. Passing out meatballs on the sidewalk to passers-by seemed to make a good impression on those that ate them. That's a good way to drum up some business.

On day 4, the restaurant is re-launched and you know what that means. It's re-design time! The entire outside of the restaurant was painted and styled and they received new signage and lights. The inside was completely redone too and looked a hundred times better than it did before. Why, they even provided them with a new stove to replace an old broken one. I wonder if they fixed their walk-in freezer though. Anyway, everybody was thrilled and excited at the changes. They were even cool with the smaller plates that were provided.

Of course, Gordon had re-designed the menu as well. It was a trimmed down version of its old self except now it had a pasta section. You'd think that would be an obvious section to have on a menu in an Italian restaurant. One hour before opening, Gordon decided to try a little stunt he pulls on his staff to get them motivated for the night's service. The first person in the waitstaff to sell every dish on the menu that night would receive a $100 bill. It's time for the doors to open and Joe doesn't want to let Gordon down.

The reopening was completely booked and the service went very smoothly at first. One table though (an old hag in particular) said they didn't like any of their food. Gordon went out to talk to them to find out what they didn't like but wound up telling the older lady that she was talking out of her rear. When she told him to grow up, he called her an old bag to the rest of the table. I've always loved that about Gordon! Meanwhile, Joe was getting frustrated back in the kitchen and rather than just put his head down and do the work he decided to go schmooze out in the dining area. That just made things worse because then service was really backing up.

A different lady began to complain in the restaurant about the meatballs tasting like Ragu. She really started quite a scene and when Joe's mother heard her complaining, she was upset just like any other mother. The best part was when that lady went out to the parking lot, another female customer (who seemed a tad bit tipsy) got into a yelling match with her on the way out. Why'd you keep eating the food if you weren't satisfied with it? You just wanted a free meal! Luckily, a cop car pulled up and broke it all up. I wonder if there was a breathalyzer involved.

As usual though, Joe got himself together though and the rest of the night finished smoothly. Josette even won the $100 server bingo! Joe really liked the changes that had been made and made it seem like the server bingo would stick around. I thought that was a cool thing myself.

We were told that in the days that followed, customers were still thrilled and profits were increasing. Joe began behaving more like a boss instead of a friend and that Campania was not know for quality more than quantity. Gordon even helped them break the big plates back in the kitchen to celebrate their new start.

Next week's episode is a repeat of Peter's in Babylon, NY. The season finale will be on December 12 and will cover Secret Garden in Moorpark, CA.

What did you think this episode? Does Campania seem like a place you would go and dine? Have you ever witnessed any fights in restaurants like this? Gimme some stories!

Ahhhh, Kitchen Nightmares was back in New York state this week. All is right in the world. Well, except for the Finn McCool's restaurant of course.

The restaurant is owned by a pushover named Buddy who has let his two sons help him run it into the ground. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, Buddy wants help from Gordon. The sad thing is that he needs Gordon to help him with his two sons -- Jason and Brian. Jason is the bar manager and while he's a nice guy he seems better suited working at a children's daycare than in a restaurant. Brian is the head chef and a complete ass. He's an awful cook, is cocky and disrespectful, and basically said he could care less if the restaurant goes down in flames because it's not his restaurant. Yeah, he's one of those guys.

After Gordon showed up to Finn McCool's and introduced himself, it was time for the test taste. Unfortunately for him, he ordered Irish spring rolls, roasted salmon with a balsamic reduction, and a shepherd's pie. He was able to keep a bite or two down of the nasty spring rolls and dry salmon but when it came to the shepherd's pie it was a no go. Not long after taking a bite of the greasy pie, poor Gordon had to go pray to the porcelain god. I don't know about you but that's not a very good start.

Later, Gordon (after hopefully brushing his teeth) talked to Brian about the quality of his food. Really he told him it sucked but guess what? Brian didn't care what Gordon had to say. The next day, Gordon left to invite the local firemen to come to dinner that night as his guest. He wanted to see what they had to say and how Buddy and his gang could handle the service. After a much needed kitchen detox, it was time for dinner service and there were no customers. Wait! Here come the firemen now to save the night.

Well, they could have saved the night except the service was awful and the food was horrible. It took them an hour to even get their food and when they did it was cold. The most disgusting part of this entire segment was how the sous chef, Frances, dropped a chicking wing on the floor and then picked it back up and put it in the pan with the other little wings. I loved the playback in slow motion spotlighting the wing's fall from glory. Good job Fox! Frances' explanation for putting it back in the pan? The fryer will sterilize it while cooking. Gordon was appalled (as was I) but head chef and head idiot Brian thought it was funny.

The next day, Gordon met with Buddy about the state of his restaurant and the state of his finances. My jaw almost hit the floor when he said he was losing $20,000 per month in keeping the place open. He was honest in saying that he'd fire Brian if he wasn't family though. Just wow.

Later, Gordon pared down the menu and "tweaked" the shepherd's pie. Actually, he replaced it with his own recipe because Brian's version sucked. That evening during dinner service, Brian bgean htitnig the bozoe if you know what I mean and got a little testy with Gordon. His father and owner of the restaurant tried to step in and calm him down but Brian wasn't having any of it. He quit and sped away in his high class white painter's van leaving Buddy to pick up the pieces in the kitchen. Of course, Buddy couldn't cook for nothing.

Gordon sat down to speak to Brian the next day about his behavior and wound up feeling sorry for him because his father had no clue about running a restaurant and all the pressure that was put on him. Boohoo. After sprucing up the place on somebody else's dime, it was time for Gordon to make the big reveal. They now have a sign out front and they're ready for the big grand opening.

The firemen were back for dinner as well as everybody else in town it seemed that night. The local food critic, Sabrina, was even there. As always, things were a complete and utter mess at the beginning of service. There were the usual long waits for food creating the slow turnover of tables causing the departure of the ones waiting to catch a glimpse of Gordon enjoy the Irish fare. Two-and-a-half hours into service, they finally began to get it together and managed to end on a somewhat positive note. The snobby food critic loved her food so much that she said it was worth the wait. Psst, Gordon probably made it himself.

That night, Gordon left behind a family that had finally come together to work for the good of their family and the good of their pocketbooks. Brian crying about Gordon helping him get his spark back was a tad too much to take for me though. The end of the show gave us an update on the family pub saying that two months after Gordon had left, the restaurant was doing much better and the shepherd's pie was the talk of the town. Buddy was even finally able to pay himself for the first time. Hmm, what happened to all that debt he had?

Next week, the show's in Pomona, CA. It seems they have a chef from "the hood" (they used the term not me) who can't take criticism, an owner that's run out of money, and a busboy with sticky fingers. Should be interesting!

What did you think of this week's Kitchen Nightmares? Would you have fired Brian if he was your son running your place into the ground?

There should be a law against crazy restaurateurs. I mean it. Sebastian, the owner/chef featured on this week's Kitchen Nightmares is one whacked out dude. He's also a liar, a fraud, and a drama queen. In other words, he's perfect for reality TV!

Sebastian's is a quasi-pizzeria nestled among the studio lots in Burbank, CA. Sebastian bought the restaurant two years ago and has big plans for franchising. His only problem is that the restaurant is losing money quickly and could be closing in six months (or less). And why would the restaurant be losing money? It's because of his overwhelming 20-something gourmet flavor combination of a menu composed of pre-prepared food. He's also not exactly "management material" if he's had to fire 49 people in the last year. Of course, the customers are confused by the menu when they look at it. I wouldn't be able to figure out a damned thing to eat there if I dined there myself.

Gordon shows up on his shining white steed to try and save the day but Sebastian is a bull about everything Gordon suggests. (He sure didn't mind the re-design of his restaurant later though.) Sebastian got his feelings hurt when Gordon requested a puke bag after eating his food. Sebastian got ticked that Gordon didn't think his menu was magnificently unique. Sebastian became furious when Gordon called him delusional. Sebastian thought Gordon was crazy for not thinking he could franchise the place.

When Gordon suggested they actually use the pizza ovens in the pizzeria (shocking isn't it?) Sebastian didn't like that either because he thought it was cheaper to use the frozen prepared food. Hello Sebastian. That's why your food is crappy and nobody is eating there. Put on your listening ears little big man. Gordon threw out the gourmet flavor combination menu and simplified it. The pizzas off of that new menu looked mighty tasty!

After the re-design and teaching the staff how to toss pizza dough, it was time to reopen. It was Oscar night so they rolled out the red carpet to welcome the customers to a fully booked house. Things were going great. The customers loved the food, the staff was working as a team and then Sebastian decided to throw a temper tantrum about his office not being vacuumed. Hey crazy man. There are hungry people in your restaurant wanting to eat your food. They could care less if your office is vacuumed.

That little tantrum led to an even bigger one later on after Gordon found Sebastian going back to his gourmet flavor combination ways. After Gordon told Sebastian that he'd never met someone he believed in as little as him and told him he knew he'd be going back to his sloppy, frozen, shortcut ways the fit really hit the shan.

Sebastian began yelling and screaming at Gordon like a little girlyman back in the kitchen. It was loud enough that the customers had to have heard him. When Gordon asked Sebastian to stop shouting and to calm down, Sebastian merely asked Gordon if he'd speak to him like a man. Wha? Sebastian, you're not the man in this little relationship right now. Even more hilarious was when Sebastian told Gordon that his act is a joke and that he's the phony chef. Oooh. Keep on telling yourself that Sebastian.

So while Sebastian went outside to cool down, Gordon took control of things in the kitchen and somehow managed to successfully get everybody back on track. Sure enough, Sebastian then came back in with his tail between his legs admitting to Gordon that everything Gordon said was true. I think somebody slipped Sebastian something because that sure was a quick turnaround (or as Amber from this season's Big Brother would say, a quick 360).

After the night's service was complete, Gordon told them all that it was a job well done. Later though, Gordon said he had mixed feelings about Sebastian's and knows that Sebastian has little interest in changing things up for good.

There were no updates on the restaurant so I wonder how it's doing. Is it even still open? If it is open, would anybody in that area be willing to go eat there and provide a review of how it is now? This is a restaurant I would really love a follow-up on. Seriously!

If you know of or run a restaurant that's down in the dumps, why don't you give FOX a call? They're casting right now for more featured restaurants. The number is: 866-226-2226. Please pass it on.

What did you think about this episode? What would you have ordered from that gourmet flavor combination of a menu? If you're in the Hollywood area, would you please go eat at Sebastian's for me and email me a review? Pretty please with sugar on top?

I must say that The Olde Stone Mill, featured on last night's Kitchen Nightmares, had more going for it than previous restaurants shown this season. The location didn't seem too bad and the outside of the building looked very nice (except for the lack of signage). The dining area inside was definitely more spacious and and more elegant than what we have been used to. And dare I say it, the kitchen was clean! But there were still those same pesky problems that plague so many restaurants: nasty food and awful management.

Dean, the owner of The Olde Stone Mill for six years, was too much of a schmoozer with the customers and enforced absolutely no quality control in the kitchen. His wife, Barbara, would rather not confront the fact that they were $500,000 in debt and preferred having her head in the sand. Mike, the chef, lacked passion in his cooking and taste in his palate. This week's bumbling general manager was dear old Tom and our hostess with the mostest was Jeanie.

Tell me the truth now. Have you ever heard of shrimp cocktail where the shrimp was wrapped in bacon? I've had shrimp wrapped in bacon but never with shrimp cocktail. And would you honestly eat a chopped salad that looked like that? Why hadn't somebody melted Mike's funnel long ago? I like tilapia. I like lobster. Tilapia stuffed with lobster sounds disconcerting.

After having "the talk" with Dean and Barbara about the dire straits their restaurant is in, Gordon observes a full dinner service on a Saturday night. Mike's overwhelmed in the kitchen while Dean is up front schmoozing and drinking. The food finally began arriving after an hour and I felt oddly disturbed for the people who ordered the calamari (one of my favorite appetizers). It was served in a giant martini glass. What the .... When the food began going back to the kitchen, Dean finally decided to step in but not in a good way. He just wanted the food out to the tables and didn't care about the quality in the least.

On Day 2, Gordon told Dean that the food needed some serious attention and that he shouldn't be rushing it so much. And then Dean did a no-no. He accused Gordon of paying his customers to say his food was good. Gordon calls Dean a fake. Dean calls Gordon a fake right back. Dean is quite the arrogant jerk. On Day 3, Gordon toured the town and decided that Tuckahoe needed a steakhouse. He then shows Mike how to cook steak properly and how to serve a simple chopped salad. Gordon then presents the steakhouse idea to Dean who's not very fond of the idea. Too bad though because if Gordon says it's going to be a steakhouse then that's what it shall be.

On Day 4 (wait for it, wait, OK), the design team makes over the dining area. They even put in a weird bench table/sofa thing in the middle of it all. Hmmm. A makeover means they will be relaunching that evening. Two hours before opening, Tom is falling over himself trying to remember the cuts of beef for his table-side presentation (very cool I think). The doors open and I almost passed out.

They showed Gordon Ramsay shirtless again! Are the producers reading my innermost thoughts? Well, maybe they're not so "inner" but it's very nice of them to think of me. Thumbs up! I guess we should get back to the relaunch.

They're fully booked and the mayor and his entourage are even there. Tom's having a hard time handling all that beef and Jeanie's herding the customers around like cattle. Sound the alarm! Printer problems in the kitchen! Dean and Mike started yelling at each other like immature tweens blaming everything and everyone but themselves for the wait the customers are having to endure. But of course, the printer gets fixed and the night manages to finish quasi-successfully.

The next day, Gordon tells Dean that he can't be scared of failure and that he has to break out of his rut. It's his business and in the end, it all depends on him.

In the update since, we found out that Dean has successfully taken charge and Tom's much more confident in his managerial duties. Mike has rekindled his passion for cooking. (Sounds like a fairy tale doesn't it?) In honor of the mill's 200th birthday, a celebration party was organized by Gordon for the town and the mayor even gave him a key to the town. It was for the town of Yonkers but whatever. And the biggest thing? Gordon set them up a light sign on the side of the restaurant. It looks fabulous!

Next week, they're going to be in Hollywood. I didn't know there was a Hollywood, New York? Let me look that up. There's not a Hollywood, New York! They're actually leaving the state. Wa-hoo! It's a pizzeria in, I assume, Hollywood, Californ-i-a. Until next week Gordon!

Before I begin, yes. I'm still upset that this is the fourth episode of this season of Kitchen Nightmares and they're still in New York state despite the claims of the opening voice who says they criss-cross the country in search of restaurants for Gordon to assist. I'm beginning to think I should never eat at a restaurant in New York state if I were to visit. Hmm.

This episode, we're watching the drama within the Seascape Inn in Islip, NY. It was opened in 1962 by current owners Irene's late husband and Peter's father. In the last couple of years since he passed away, the restaurant has begun failing miserably and Peter needs to make up between $800,000 and $1,000,000 to keep the restaurant afloat.

It doesn't help that their head chef, Doug, is beyond arrogant and believes his cooking is the be all end all despite the amount of grease sludge in the kitchen. The sous chef, Charles, seems like he could really care less about being there. The two people I liked the most in this episode (besides Gordon - duh) were the two waitresses Marilyn and Diane. Marilyn was an older bird who'd been waitressing for the Seascape Inn since 1967. Diane was a woman who shot from the hip. I liked that.

We all know the routine by now. Gordon shows up and introduces himself. He sits down and orders a meal or meals. Tonight he decided to go with the crabcakes, pesto lobster ravioli, and cajun Atlantic salmon. The crabcakes fell apart (they weren't prepared fresh but were frozen), the raviolis needed more parsley (not), the pesto was a light creamy green (ewww), and the fish was dry. The topper of his meal was the sweet little cookie Irene brought him. Personally, I think Irene was trying to suffocate him with the powdered sugar.

Of course, the dinner service that night was horrendous. Complaints from customers, Peter arguing on the phone in front of customers, and cold plates. I did love what Gordon told Doug about his overuse of parsley on the dishes. I'll tell you what he said for a five dollar Paypal. Just kidding. He told Doug, "Sprinkle it on your wife but not on the effing plates!" You have to love Gordon Ramsay.

While observing dinner service, Gordon noticed the kitchen was uber filthy. How hilarious that at the beginning of the episode Irene had told him that they ran a clean restaurant. It made my skin crawl watching Gordon go through that kitchen. They keep fish in a dog food bag? Doug recooks the chicken? The croutons are moldy?

Gordon decided to shut the place down. No lunch service for the folks of Islip on their day two! Personally, I think they'd be better off at the local Cluck 'n Pluck. The kitchen needs a deep steamcleaning. Finally the restaurant was on the verge of reopening on day four. Was it cleaner? Yes. Were Doug and Charles still acting like asses? Yes. They were being such asses that Gordon told Peter and Irene that they needed to make a choice. Basically it was him or them. Peter timidly walked to the kitchen and fired Doug and Charles. Poor Dougie was humiliated. What a baby. No cooks means no reopening.

On day five, Gordon took Peter boxing to relieve his frustrations. Come to find out, Peter had been put down by his father growing up and and said he had been keeping himself down in the business due to that. He's now found the cajones to prove his father wrong and has decided that he can't blame his father for keeping him down anymore.

While they were boxing, the amazing remodeling took place. I must say the place looked better. At least it didn't look like the walls were about to crumble apart at any moment and come crashing down on a diner's head. They also hired a new chef, Scott, who was local to the community. I hope he takes charge. They certainly need some direction in the kitchen. Oh my gosh! Jean-Baptiste is there!!! He'll be helping Peter take charge in the front.

The restaurant is getting ready to reopen for dinner service finally that evening and Peter's even wearing a jacket (Jean-Baptiste suggested it). Woohoo! A shirtless Gordon Ramsay sighting. Yum.

Of course, things were crazy at first because they hadn't been used to this amount of business in about forever. Eventually though they all settled into a rhythm and began working as a team getting the orders out. Overall, Gordon thought it was a successful night.

Interesting enough, we found out that Gordon stuck around for another week after that night and helped the new chef Scott out for the restaurant. Gordon even helped the restaurant with an annual chowder cookoff. And Marilyn, who'd been there since 1967, brought back the table-side flambee.

Whoa! We're being treated to an update again. This one is five months after the filming was completed. The restaurant looked deserted. Come to find out, Peter sold the restaurant. He got an offer he just couldn't refuse. I feel bad for Marilyn the most.

Next week, Kitchen Nightmares will be at the Old Stone Mill in Tuckahoe, NY. What? Did I really hear that right? A fifth New York state restaurant in a row? Forget about in a row. Only New York state restaurants since this series started? I've had it! I'm done with this show!!!

I could be talked into watching next week's episode if I'm promised another shirtless Gordon scene though.

I would like to begin this recap by telling the Fox execs overseeing Kitchen Nightmares,

Enough with New York already!

This is now the third episode of Kitchen Nightmares in its first season where they have attended to a restaurant in New York state. At the beginning of each show, the voiceover guy says they're criss-crossing the country to blah blah blah. There are 50 states in the U.S. right? Or have all of the states been blended to become one big state called New York? No disrespect to any New York residents out there but come on already. Could we see a restaurant in another state? And I don't mean New Jersey either. LOL

I feel better now after my mini rant. Let's get on with it.

The name of the restaurant Gordon Ramsay will be helping changing tonight is 'The Mixing Bowl Eatery' in Bellmore, NY which is a mere thirty minutes from New York City. Billy is the owner and the chef of this fine establishment. His wife Lisa is an owner as well and really pushing her husband to just sell the place and get it over with. The manager, Mike, is a big time schmoozer who's only looking out for himself. Mike's sister, Lynn, works as a waitress there along with a young lady named Kim.

We know how it goes. Gordon shows up and wants to taste some of the fine fare that's being presented on the menu. When he asks Mike what kind of restaurant this is he says it's about 'new American food'. You know, things like salads and wraps. Huh? Gordon couldn't resist getting some digs in early and asked Mike when the last time he had a salad was and the last time he'd been in a gym. Both times Mike replied it had been a long time. hehe

Gordon orders some of their award-winning crabcakes (Mike doesn't know what awards they had won), zucchini pancakes, and green beans with shallots. The crabcakes were good and fresh (+), the pancakes were bland (-) and the green beans had no shallots (-) and too much garlic (-). Not the greatest meal it sounds like but definitely not the worst of the season. Later on, Gordon observes dinner service for the evening. That consisted of Mike schmoozing his friends who seemed to be the only customers for the night. Oh, and he gave them 50% off their meal. What a generous guy!

Later on, Gordon has Mike show him his signs. They were gimmicky and cheesy. And there were plenty of them. Gordon then has a sit down with Billy and Lisa. He tells Billy that he has to start thinking as a businessman and stop leaving everything up to Mike. He tells Lisa that she may be indeed be right about shutting down the Mixing Bowl but that if she decides to stick it out with Billy she has to do so wholeheartedly. Lisa wants to live a normal life though and Billy feels that if their restaurant closes it would be like a death in the family. BTW, what's a normal life? Any of you have that out there?

On day two Gordon is going to teach Mike a lesson so they're putting them signs in the wood chipper that was conveniently rented and placed right outside. Gordon, Billy, Lisa, and Mike then go over maps of the their neighborhood. One from 1997 and one from present-day. In 1997, there were only ten other restaurants around them and now there are forty-seven and they're all full of junk. They need to take the healthy route and server leaner dishes absent of heavy sauces. Gordon and Billy whip up a couple of healthy salmon dishes that could be put on the menu for the evening's services. Oh my. The restaurant's filling up. It's just because Gordon's there though. And don't you love how Mike takes half of everybody's tips? And didn't you really love how Billy found the bollocks to confront Mike? It was about time.

Day three presents us (and them) with the glorious restaurant transformation that seems to be awarded to every restaurant in this bastardized version of its older 'across the pond' sibling. Of course, they love the way it looks now. Mike's actually crying about it. Pssst Mike! It's not yours. Along with the new decor, there is a new menu and a hopefully a newer attitude among them all. They're handing out flyers in the neighborhood to drum up some business for the next evening and they even visit the New York Dragons to get them to come over and enjoy some dinner.

It's day four and it's fifteen minutes before dinner service begins. Mike's in a bad mood. The restaurant's booked. They're double-booked! Oh no. It's madness!!! Mike blames it on Kim who tells Mike it's his own fault. Mike's paying attention to his friends more than the new customers. Oh wait. Some of the New York Dragons have arrived! Good news! But there's a problem. Their reservations were never booked. They have nowhere to sit! Mike explodes! He's yelling and screaming and carrying on like a big titty baby who can't find his nipple. If I'd been the owner of the restaurant, I would have fired him on the spot. For behaving the way he did and for talking to my spouse like that.

Gordon talks to Billy and Lisa about Mike's attitude and tells them that Mike is their problem with the restaurant. They need a new manager. I guess Mike knows they're talking about him because he's crying again about how he doesn't want to go home. Ultimately, Billy and Lisa decide to keep Mike on as the manager. Mike then finds room for the Dragons and all is right with the world. At least it is on that plot of land in Bellmore.

That was basically the entire show. The little snip at the end said that as the week progressed, Mike's management skills improved and the restaurant was getting good reviews and making some moolah. Gordon sponsored a one-mile run on behalf of the healthier Mixing Bowl. On the last day, Billy finally comes out of the kitchen and tells his customers 'what up'. No, he really just said 'hello' to them all. Gordon tells the staff that they've done good and that he'd definitely eat there if he was ever in their neck o' the woods again. On the tiny update, the restaurant is still prospering two months later and Billy and Lisa's marriage is stronger than it was before Gordon's arrival. How cute.

Next week, Kitchen Nightmares will be at the Seascape Inn in Long Island, NY. What? Did I just hear that right? New York again? Grrrrrr. Why I'm gonna....

Last night was a great night of reality TV! Kid Nation was really good and it was hilarious how Emilie and a few cohorts tried to lock the chicken coop so that nobody could slaughter the chickens. But of course, they relented and the kids had chicken soup later. I liked the pipes competition! They should do something like that on Big Brother. Just sayin'. And what about Michael getting the gold star? Greg was a little upset about that wasn't he? He even said he'd do something about it. We'll see.

Where should I even begin with Kitchen Nightmares? That was a freaking crazy episode!!! Gordon stayed in New York City to help makeoever Dillons, an Indian/American/English restaurant that was just a couple of blocks from his own restaurant. Dillons was a perfect example of how not to run a restaurant.

The place was filthy! Flies buzzing all around the dining area, rotten food in the kitchen, and rat droppings and oodles of cockroaches in the basement with all of the food. I was seriously afraid I'd get food poisining just by watching through the TV screen. I did get nauseous quite a few times during the show. Ewwww!

And how many managers does a restaurant need? Martin was the General Manager, Andrew was the Operations Manager, Khan was the Floor Manager, and then there's Mohammad who was the owner who had no clue. Martin was awfully inept and lazy preferring to busy himself with his cell phone and have his hair stroked (???) by customers in the dining area. What? He quit at the end of the show and I'll bet that was when he immediately filed his lawsuit. BTW, the lawsuit was thrown out and the judge ordered all parties to mediation. Did you notice the quick little blurb at the end about how Purnima (was Dillons) is now successful? Ick.

On Dancing With the Stars, poor Josie Maran and her partner Alex made their exit. I wanted to see her stick around another week at least. And did you see Dolly Parton? Wow.

What did you think about last night's reality fare? It was a crazy night of programming that's for sure!

I was really disappointed by Kitchen Nightmares tonight. I had such high hopes for it because I've always loved the UK version shown on BBC America. The American version? Not so much.

It started off like the UK version kinda. Gordon's arrival wasn't a 'surprise' like the UK version. Gordon did taste the food like he would do in the UK version. He inspected the kitchen like he would in the UK version. We met the restaurant owners and workers like the UK version. But come on.

The voiceover guy for Kitchen Nightmares sounded like a bad imitator of the voiceover guy for Hell's Kitchen. I actually think I've heard him do voiceover work for Discovery Channel or History Channel or something.

And what was up with the stupid sound effects for the captions on the screen? That's not needed at all and was really just plain dumb.

Then Gordon has their kitchen redone overnight? He's replaced a stove or oven or shelving or some other such thing in the UK version but never had their kitchen redone. A new kitchen does not make a great restaurant as we learned in the end. It's all about the chef.

And we didn't get much from the chef tonight. The show focused completely on the co-owner Peter and his complete and utter lack of self-control and kitchen experience. Do you even remember the chef's name? I don't. Because the show was all about Peter.

Peter acting like a wannabe mob boss. Peter acting like a bad ass fighting (really - fist fighting) a debt collector. Peter being a douche to his staff. Peter eating the food out of the kitchen that was intended for the customers. Peter giving away meals and wine for free. Peter taking money from that night's take even when they didn't turn a profit.

They didn't even end the way the UK version does. Tonight's show just ended with basically Gordon wishing them luck and Peter's sister (and co-owner herself) thinking that Peter will change. This after Gordon told Peter that he's doing the family restaurant more harm than good. I see things changed a lot in that area. Not!

In the UK version, Gordon shows up and visits the restaurant 4-6 weeks later. He'll tell them if they've done a good job staying on course or if they've gone back to the same old same old and is disappointed. He checks in on the staff and tracks what's going on.

I think what I really disliked most about this American version is the lack of attention on the chef. The UK version is all about the chef first and the owner(s)/manager(s) second - unless they're both equally at fault for the sorry job. The U.S. version? Argh.

I'll give this American version of Kitchen Nightmares one more shot and if it's not any better next week, it will be out of my lineup.

But I promise you. If I'm ever in Babylon, New York and Peter's was the only place left open? I would go to the local pet food store and eat dog food first. Peter and his attitude (not to mention the state of his walk-in refrigerator) was enough to make me wanna starve myself. Yech.

What did y'all think of Kitchen Nightmares tonight?

Besides Kid Nation, America's Next Top Model and Kitchen Nightmares also start their seasons tonight.

ANTM is on the CW tonight the same time as Kid Nation is on CBS (8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT). Ahhh, the first time this season that my DVR or computer (can't decide which) will be doing double duty. I'll be watching Kid Nation when it comes on so ANTM will be recorded for viewing later on this evening. Don't forget though that if you miss tonight's ANTM, it will be replayed on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT. Go take a look on ANTM's site for pics of the new girls we'll be meeting tonight. Are you like me in that you love the opening of ANTM? If so, be sure to go watch this YouTube.

Kitchen Nightmares comes on FOX tonight at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT. The first restaurant he'll take on will be Peter's in Babylon, NY. I can't wait to find out how different or how similar Gordon will act in this American version as opposed to his UK version. I love the UK version so I really hope Kitchen Nightmares here will be just as good. Check out the Kitchen Nightmares site for some videos when you get a chance today. And have I mentioned I have a huge crush on Gordon? LOL

What's your viewing schedule going to be like tonight? What show are you most excited to watch this evening? And be sure to listen to the latest Reality TV Podcast with Rob and Trevor when you get a chance today!