Man vs Food

[Shel_B]

Over the past few months I've seen a number of episodes of this show. What drivel! What junk!

It's nothing more than a paean to gluttony, and appears to be quite contrived as well. It seems that everything Adam Richman (I think that's his name) eats is "delicious!"

However, what he devours appears to be little more than excessive fat and grease, poorly prepared, and overdone to the max.

Comments?

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

I was just having a similar thought last night. I'm kind of sick of watching TV shows about people eating things.

At least Bourdain and Zimmerman have some travel context to their show or some quippy writing; it's marginally educational.

This show is just a guy gorging himself every episode.

[heidih]

I do not consider this a food show. It belongs with the food eating competitions which hopefully are not on Food TV??? I can't watch it without feeling sick, and the quality or even taste of the food is never mentioned.

[chappie]

Oh stop being so surprised ...

It's T.V.

[Soup]

my kids love this show, however I have a hard time watching it.

Adam R seems very likable to me. He seems like a pretty nice guy if not alway sincere about how good something tastes.

However, when he starts the eating challenges (where he has to eat volume: the one where he has to something hot doesn't bother me), I keep thinking how can he do that to his body and when is he going to throw up? It just looks painful and the glutteny is just difficult to watch. It tripple D gone very wrong.

I wish he would stop.

[Aloha Steve]

United was showing episodes as shorts for inflight entertainment. I agree with all the above. It was really gross and at the same time a little fascinating in that shock your senses sought of way.

He seems like a nice enough guy and I guess for $$$, he will act foolish, eat anything and a lot of it now and worry about his body when he is older.......like my age

[Porthos]

I haven't watched the show. I can't get past the absurd gluttony I see in the ads for it. 4 pounds of cheese in a sandwich???

[johnnyd]

I do not consider this a food show. It belongs with the food eating competitions which hopefully are not on Food TV??? I can't watch it without feeling sick, and the quality or even taste of the food is never mentioned.

Can't agree more. It's just so against so many trends right now - overeating, overspending...

And then I find out this guy invaded my town and taped a show over July 4th,

On Monday Richman visited the Maine State Pier and took a schooner ride. Richman also spent the afternoon and part of the evening at Nosh Kitchen Bar on Congress Street, where Chef Jason Loring made him an “Apocalypse Now” burger – three times.

The burger, which sells for $20, is made with American cheese, seared pork belly, cured bacon, foie gras, mayo, and macerated orange and cherries. Loring said Richman also tried his pork belly reuben.

Article in Portland Press Herald 7-6-10

It seems such a waste because Nosh Kitchen Bar has a couple great chefs who I know personally that do amazing charcuterie, very creative sandwiches, all manner of in-house pickling, innovative flavor pairing, and choose excellent beverage menus. If you are in the area, don't rule them out because they appeared on this show next September.

Richman then went out to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights for who knows how many lobster rolls.

[MattyC]

It seems such a waste because Nosh Kitchen Bar has a couple great chefs who I know personally that do amazing charcuterie, very creative sandwiches, all manner of in-house pickling, innovative flavor pairing, and choose excellent beverage menus. If you are in the area, don't rule them out because they appeared on this show next September.

Richman then went out to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights for who knows how many lobster rolls.

Yeah I agree completely, I loved Nosh while I lived in Portland, probably one of my more favorite and fun places (im a big meat and charcuterie fan). Really great place, hope just because they were on the show, that people don't think that place isn't as high quality as it is.

Edited July 7, 2010 by MattyC (log)

[Reignking]

I would bet that this publicity will only help them.

[CDRFloppingham]

Shadenfreude.

[jsmeeker]

I have a love/hate relationship with this show. I actually like Adam. Seems like a good guy. He has fun and enjoys what he is doing (even when he gets into a challenge that is clearly painful or uncomfortable).Really, I think he is the most likable thing about this show. But I am not really a big fan of giant portions. Especially portions that are so large that they become a gimmick. All that said, I kind of enjoy the show overall. I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure.

[Dignan]

I have a love/hate relationship with this show. I actually like Adam. Seems like a good guy. He has fun and enjoys what he is doing (even when he gets into a challenge that is clearly painful or uncomfortable).Really, I think he is the most likable thing about this show. But I am not really a big fan of giant portions. Especially portions that are so large that they become a gimmick. All that said, I kind of enjoy the show overall. I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure.

I'm with you, excepting the guilt. And of course all the challenges aren't based on gluttony, as there are the "heat" challenges in there to leaven the thing.

[Nasi_Campur]

The American public is by and large a glutton for garbage television isn't it?

Not an iota of surprise here.

[enginerd]

I hate to jump in an shatter peoples impressions here but as someone who accidentally stumbled into a taping of this show, Adam is not a nice friendly guy in real life. There were three of us who came in through a rear entrance and were surprised to see the dining room packed with tv lights and a general crowd. When Adam came out of the seclusion of his trailer he had his headphones on and walked through the crowd ignoring everyone with his head down. Someone tried to take a cell phone photo with him which really send him over the edge and a producer had to intervene. During the taping the audience was told that if they do not look happy enough and do not keep up the cheering then they will be removed from the restaurant. Finally when the taping was over Adam replaced his headphones and ignored the crowd while he retreated to his trailer. By this point we were seated in the dining room eating our dinner when when of the crew went table to table informing us, "if you leak the results in the internet we will track you down and f#&*ing sue you!" Nice and classy way to interrupt someone who is eating.

[jmolinari]

I would have said " really? I don't recall signing a non-disclosure, and how exactly are you going to track me down since i live out of state and i'm just coming though here on vacation".

[Robbie]

I've only seen the show once, he was at some place where they were cooking a whole pig. Both me and my wife thought it was awesome because they had just cut this pig in half down the middle and threw it on a grill for like 14 hours, we were both craving the pulled pork madly after that.

Of course, we don't have tv so whenever we do end up watching something at the parents house we get all too excited...

[Soup]

Very interesting. Has anyone else been to a taping?

I have a theory that the eating challenges are fixed. No one could eat that amount.

[Genkinaonna]

I keep waiting for that "very special episode" where he keels over dead from a massive heart attack or ruptured stomach. It's for that reason alone I keep watching. Morbid, I know...but true...

[barbarataylor]

You can see everything on TV, it doesn't depend how strange or amazing it is.

[gfweb]

I hate to jump in an shatter peoples impressions here but as someone who accidentally stumbled into a taping of this show, Adam is not a nice friendly guy in real life. There were three of us who came in through a rear entrance and were surprised to see the dining room packed with tv lights and a general crowd. When Adam came out of the seclusion of his trailer he had his headphones on and walked through the crowd ignoring everyone with his head down. Someone tried to take a cell phone photo with him which really send him over the edge and a producer had to intervene. During the taping the audience was told that if they do not look happy enough and do not keep up the cheering then they will be removed from the restaurant. Finally when the taping was over Adam replaced his headphones and ignored the crowd while he retreated to his trailer. By this point we were seated in the dining room eating our dinner when when of the crew went table to table informing us, "if you leak the results in the internet we will track you down and f#&*ing sue you!" Nice and classy way to interrupt someone who is eating.

He probably had an upset stomach.

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