The Million Dollar Critic

[gulfporter]

This is a new show on BBC-America.

 

Here's the setup: A real-life restaurant critic for The Times (of London) flies over the pond to revew restaurants in the US and Canada.  His claim is that positive restaurant reviews in The Times can generate up to a million dollars for the restaurant.  

 

He visits 5 restaurants in a particular city and gives one of them a positive review (on Huff Post).  

 

The critic (Giles Coren) is likable and the show is quite entertaining; he can be a bit snarky about poor food or service, but not in an angry or vulgar way.  

 

Interesting to see him experience certain foods (softshell crabs) for the first time.  

 

 

[gfweb]

I saw the Philadelphia episode.  My big complaint was the restaurants they chose. Selection was a high class veg place, a noodle bar, a cypriot restaurant, a deli, and something else. How are some of these worthy of a "million $" review?  This is what they could find in Phila?  Really?

 

Cyprus won. Ive eaten there. Its good but its hardly in the upper ranks of local restaurants. I think the soup-nazi-like owner may have made for good TV.

 

Whole thing was entertaining enough, but felt bogus.

[ElsieD]

Thanks for this. We are going to give it a look. I used to read his reviews and he can be hysterically funny.

[Andrew]

I haven't seen the programme but his reviews are an excellent read and normally 'spot on'.

 

Andrew

[Okanagancook]

I agree with gfweb, that the choices seem odd. Maybe these are the ones willing to participate?