How does Robert Irvine find restaurants that the health department missed?

[gfweb]

Inadvertently (believe me) watched a bit of Restaurant Impossible. Same deal as ever. Hopeless owner, financial ignoramus, filthy joint.

 

My question is, where has the department of health been when a place is as foul as some of these?   In my part of the world two mouse turds, an undated sauce and an empty soap dispenser can close a place. Are there cities that don't inspect restaurants?

[liuzhou]

Too many restaurants and too few inspectors. Lack of funding.

[gfweb]

1 minute ago, liuzhou said:

Too many restaurants and too few inspectors. Lack of funding.

 

Stop making excuses

[chromedome]

I find his whole Ramsay-meets-Oprah schtick rather weird and off-putting. That being said, I had the same questions about Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. It seems like a strange way for any restaurant to allow itself to be presented.

[Chimayo Joe]

I've become very cynical about any type of reality TV.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's all staged.

[Kim Shook]

I don't know about other places, but I'm familiar with a couple of the owners of places he's been to in my area and apparently much of what you see (including family discord) is wildly exaggerated.  

[gfweb]

I just looked up the inspection history of the joint. Lots of infractions, but still graded "A".

https://www.sdfoodinfo.org/inspectionhistory.html

Now, both visits were at the beginning of 2021 which might be after the show visited, or perhaps RI imported filth, which I'd completely believe.

 

(BTW does every government website have to be unusable? Too many words and not enough obvious links)

Edited January 8, 2022 by gfweb (log)

[kayb]

14 hours ago, gfweb said:

 Are there cities that don't inspect restaurants?

Yes. Down here, it’s rural enough inspectors get to a restaurant MAYBE once a year. And a huge number of little Mom and pop places aren’t licensed, and thus don’t even get that.

[Steve R.]

3 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I don't know about other places, but I'm familiar with a couple of the owners of places he's been to in my area and apparently much of what you see (including family discord) is wildly exaggerated.  

Yep.  Same here in NYC.  I've seen places I know on several "reality" shows & all were staged to exaggerate so as to increase the "entertainment value".  Even Saint Bourdain did this.  There was an episode on one of his shows where a very food board popular small Egyptian place was featured.  He showed the place with several outdoor tables & smiling groups of diners loving every minute of it.  Although the place, its food & its owner were dear to my heart, it never had outdoor tables and the folks sitting at them were friends of mine, asked to come and help stage the shoot.

[weinoo]

6 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

Yep.  Same here in NYC.  I've seen places I know on several "reality" shows & all were staged to exaggerate so as to increase the "entertainment value".  Even Saint Bourdain did this.  There was an episode on one of his shows where a very food board popular small Egyptian place was featured.  He showed the place with several outdoor tables & smiling groups of diners loving every minute of it.  Although the place, its food & its owner were dear to my heart, it never had outdoor tables and the folks sitting at them were friends of mine, asked to come and help stage the shoot.

 

They probably didn't even show the owner smoking his hookah, which he was doing every time we were there (while cooking!).

[Steve R.]

Just now, weinoo said:

 

They probably didn't even show the owner smoking his hookah, which he was doing every time we were there (while cooking!).

tobacco (seriously).  in some god awful flavors.

[weinoo]

3 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

tobacco (seriously).  in some god awful flavors.

 

We actually used to go to one of the hookah bars across the street. Shady characters (other than me) abounded.