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Zagat Bio

=Mark

By =Mark
in Restaurant Life

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=Mark

=Mark

Posted
Posted

Love em or hate em, Tim and Nina Zagat have become a force to be reckoned with in the restaurant world. This Tuesday, June 25 the A&E Network will be doing a Biography profile on them.

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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=Mark

=Mark

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I hear there may be a special surprise guest on the show.

Jim Leff? Ruby? :unsure:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Hmm... Zagats. Zagats. :blink:

Oh, I know who they are now. :cool:

They were on Iron Chef! :laugh:

Is Chairman Kaga the surprise guest? :wub:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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This guest, assuming he is on, will be more amazing and horrifying than all those named above combined.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Beachfan

Beachfan

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That only leaves one candidate, then. A rather large, erudite and much recently-travelled one  :raz:

If true, Macrosan deserves the Sherlock Holmes/Julia Child award for best food related deduction of the year!

beachfan

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Orik

Orik

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Back in the winter of 2000/1, we made a 9pm reservation at one our favorite restaurants. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the host who told us that our table was ready, but that we might want to wait at the bar for 20 minutes or so, as it was adjacent that of a 'very critical and unpleasant couple'.

The only open table for two was near that of Tim and Nina Zagat.

M
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=Mark

=Mark

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I want to get the details on the alleged stabbing that was reported years ago but was glossed over in the press... :shock:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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=Mark

=Mark

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Sorry to let the Spam out of the can, but this was on the TV Guide Website:

With quirky segment intros and a breezy style that departs from the series' usual format, the hour recalls how the couple met in law school and took a trip to Paris, where they compiled an informal restaurant guide. They did the same in New York, and turned their survey into a business after it grew popular in the '80s, becoming, as food critic Steven Shaw says, “the two most feared individuals in the American restaurant industry.”

Gee, did Fat-Guy manage to work in an eGullet plug? :hmmm:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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So this has nothing to do with Iron Chef then? :sad::wink:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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=Mark

=Mark

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So this has nothing to do with Iron Chef then?  :sad:  :wink:

No, and they're not making Orlotan Pie. :blink:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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Jinmyo

Jinmyo

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Dangzagat! :angry:

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson

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Steven Shaw was featured prominently throughout the A&E biography piece on the Zagats. He was particularly spot-on when comparing the accuracy of the Zagat polling system to that of a Central American election. However, I fear that his most venemous comments were edited.

A&E deserves kudos for including the story about Nina and the Seward Johnson estate fiasco. Personally, I think she should have been disbarred, but she quit practicing law immediately after the case anyway. I guess the $1.8 million settlement she received helped.

All in all, a fair piece on the Zagats, which accurately portrayed them as nice people who genuinely enjoy dining out and turned their avocation into their vocation.

The force of the Fat Guy is growing . . .

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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I also thought they did a nice job on the show. I mean, it's a biography of the Zagats, so of course it has to be mostly positive -- otherwise it's just mean-spirited. They gave the detractors (me, Jim Leff, and William Grimes) a lot more time than I'd have imagined, and I agree that the coverage of the Johnson estate issue was surprisingly devastating (to anybody willing to listen closely). In terms of venom, they actually chose my most venomous comments. I tried to cooperate in the spirit of the show, expressing my admiration for the Zagats as businesspeople and gourmets and pointing out where I thought things went wrong. That of course was all reduced to a few sound-bites, though I must confess I liked the bites they chose.

For those who missed it and care, the show will be rebroadcast Sunday (June 30) at 7:00pm on A&E (channel 16 if you're on Time Warner so-called digital cable).

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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=Mark

=Mark

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Good show Steven! You've come a long way from hawking NYC hotdogs on PBS!

Actually that show was pretty good too... :cool:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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