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"America's Next Great Restaurant"

jsmeeker

By jsmeeker
in Food Media & Arts

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jsmeeker

jsmeeker

Posted
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Can't believe sudhir had such an epic brainfart.

WTH is with browbeating souldaddy out of fried chicken? Talk about not understanding the concept.

They all got a lot of input from the "investors". Sudhir got sucked into making it liek Chipotle because he really likes Chipotle and because Steve Ells, founder of Chipiotle, kept encouraging him to "make it a taco"

I know Bobby Flay wanted to see the freid chicken. Even said so to Jamawn after he saw it was NOT there for the "soft trial". I think it ws Curtis who encouraged him to drop it from the menu. Not really sure WHY it is STILL not there. That makes no sense to me.

really, they DID get a lot of conflicting advise.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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IndyRob

IndyRob

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I liked this show, and it's interesting that it has spawned something that we can actually sample, but I think it vindicates Top Chef's sudden death, one loss and you're out rules.

At least for the last two episodes, I was pretty confident that I knew that Soul Daddy would be the winner. That's good for the selection process, but not as good for TV.

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Carlton

Carlton

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Real quick first impressions cause I have to turn my phone in before the movie. Walking in you could swear you're at Chipotle. Same setup though large family style tables. Oh and the have a sauce station with a hot sauce, BBQ, and molasses mustard. The corn bread waffles are decent but pretty small, like a 3-4 biter. Pork was ok, a little cold when I got it, the bun was light but dry. The staff was really nice and helpful welcoming you in and explaining the dishes but you could tell they are getting the bugs worked out still.

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Toliver

Toliver

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Because of breaking news, the show was bumped in my time zone (and will be repeated later on an NBC cable channel) so I didn't get to see the finale.

Do all indian regions/cuisines have curry? He said his was southern indian food and perhaps they don't serve curry. Just guessin' as to why he didn't have any...

And again, I don't blame him for being confused thanks to the conflicting and inconsistant advice from the judges from week to week. Someone asked where the curry was and yet they kept harping on how it had to be hand-held food that could be eaten on the go. How does one eat curry on the go? Oh, that's right...make it like a taco and eveything will be fine.

No fried chicken at SoulDaddy's? WTF? :angry: No thanks. I'll go to Roscoe's instead.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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jsmeeker

jsmeeker

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I believe, but am not positive, that curry is fairly common in South Indian cuisine. I do know for a fact that curry rarely appears on Chipotle's menu.

indeed. While I don't know too much about Inidan food, I think it's safe to say what I do know is like other rank and file Americans. "Indian food has curry!!" Having an Indian place, no matter what region it is supposedly specializing in, adapted to middle American tastes without "curry" seems so dumb.

Really, I think he took it as close to Chipotle and "Mexican" as he dared. Why? 'Cuz Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, told him too.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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jsmeeker

jsmeeker

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I think the real question is, what on earth is curry? It has become an acceptable term for describing saucy Indian dishes, but is not a term traditionally used in India at all.

Right. But how many people in the USA really understand that? Heck, "curry" isn't even a specific spice. A lot of people don't even know that, either.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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IndyRob

IndyRob

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So has anybody been able to go? I've looked for reviews but haven't found any. The only new news I've found is that Jumawn will be able to see 'his' concept realized, will receive a manager's salary (MOD?, store manager?, regional manager?...), and will receive a percentage of profits (I imagine somewhere between 0.00000001% and 1%).

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  • 1 month later...
Toliver

Toliver

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I just read they closed the NY and LA locations of Soul Daddy -

Holy crap! That was fast.

Does anyone know what kind of promotions (TV Spots, radio, print, etc) they did for the restaurant? It sounds like they didn't do much...kind of hard to build success on just word-of-mouth.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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gfweb

gfweb

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I wonder if Flay et al had a hold harmless clause. I could imagine the network funding a month or two of operations initially and then the investors pulling the plug if it wasn't a hit.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

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Carlton

Carlton

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From their PR release "The realities of running a restaurant are very difficult, more so with multiple locations in multiple cities. After a careful review of the business model and the performance of the restaurants, we have decided that our best opportunity for Soul Daddy’s success is to focus our efforts on establishing a solid footing in one location, building the brand, and developing the operations from there. We have decided to close our restaurants at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles and the South Street Seaport in New York, effective June 14, and focus on developing the best restaurant we can at the Mall of America restaurant in Bloomington, Minnesota. While it has certainly been a difficult decision, we believe this is the best approach as we work towards ongoing success for Soul Daddy."

I was going to go back to the LA location pretty soon to give it a second chance. Oh well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
weinoo

weinoo

Posted
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Funny thing is, I walked over to the South Street Seaport today in hopes of trying this joint out (I had failed to see reread this topic in the past week or two).

I guess Bobby and Curtis and Steve and whoever are just not that great at judging what kind of a restaurant America really needs most. Perhaps Stone would do better on Australia's Next Great Restaurant.

Also, anyone who ever actually eats at the South Street Seaport - if you're reading eGullet, you should know better.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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TheTInCook

TheTInCook

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From the article Erin linked to:

The three restaurants had opened May 2. The two other locations (South Street Seaport in New York City, and Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles) were closed June 14 and 15, respectively, to the surprise of Jamawn, who had found out about the first closing in an email hours after having put in an offer for a home in Lakeville, Minn. He was to have had a year-long management training program at the MOA store. Jamawn first heard that he won the competition about two weeks before the restaurants opened. The three finalists on the TV show had been kept in the dark on who had won, and alternate endings to the program had been filmed.

I did a double take when I read that. Looks like Steve Ells' Chipotle restaurant 'gnomes' took the concept and developed it with out him.

They pulled the plug in 2 months? Seriously? I think that might be a bit soon to judge a place's viability. Any ideas/rumors/facts on what went on? Might be interesting to know why Ells dumped his stock in ANGR Holdings on Chipotle. I keep wondering how they could have screwed up so bad, these are professional and successful restaurant people. Then I remember they brought the waffles, but forgot the fried chicken.

Soul Daddy employees were given referrals to a Chipotle recruiter

heh

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Holly Moore

Holly Moore

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Wonder how much credibility the experts will have if the show returns to air next season?

The locations were likely at least a one year lease. The concept, as implemented, must have been a real dog if, after a couple of months, it was cheaper to walk away, pay off the lease and eat the leasehold improvement costs than to try to troubleshoot it.

Please, someone, do an in-depth article on this fiasco.

Holly Moore

"I eat, therefore I am."

HollyEats.Com

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ErinM

ErinM

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Wonder how much credibility the experts will have if the show returns to air next season?

I read somewhere that it wasn't renewed, so we shouldn't be seeing this show again.

Erin

"American by birth, Irish by the grace of God"

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