Tyler Florence succumbs

[Reefpimp]

Tyler Florence wouldn't be where he is today if he'd started his career 3-1/2 feet tall and covered in warts. I am not impressed by his technique or his recipes, and quite frankly, his shilling for Applebees was the final nail in their respective coffins for me. I will no longer patronize either of those brands, as I can vote with my wallet.

[annecros]

After seeing Tyler Florence on Sandra Lee's (she kept bending over to show us her cleavage) Halloween special, making semi-homade pizzas with pregrated cheddar cheese, I guess I have to revise my opinion of him downward.

[coquus]

burger-1 Neutral (at least it was your wife that ordered it:smile:)

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

No doubt there are few from Tyler's target audience reading this thread. For those his show is aimed at, these commercials are most likely a step up for them. He is, after all, an instructor. The already savvy need not watch his show but beginners would do well to watch him.

IMHO, I think he's an excellent instructor and I wish I had more teachers like him in high school. Sure, he jumped the shark, but let him make his money. I think he's earned it.

[mrsadm]

I was disappointed.  I have really enjoyed his Food 911 and Tyler's Ultimate shows and have really liked every recipe of his that I have ever made (plus, he's so freakin' cute  ).  But I saw it coming when I noticed in the Sandra Lee cookbook that I got for my birthday (joke gift) had Tyler introducing and endorsing it and her  .

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Tyler endorsed a Sandra Lee cookbook??????????????? EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW how could he do that? His cooking skills are way too good for that! Creeps me out.........

[Matcha Eyes]

I have to wonder if Tyler's work with Sandra isn't part of a contract clause from the Food Network. Although he might not really care much for Sandra's work, he still might be required to help promote whatever projects she might be working on.

[piperdown]

I hate to admit it, but I actually went to Applebee's the other day (not my choice, but it was one of the only choices around). So I ended up trying the burger, and I have to say it wasn't all that bad. It actually had a bit of fresh flavor to it. The pesto tasted like pesto, and it was better than anything I've ever had there (which is about two other things). Sue it sucked that I couldn't get a medium rare burger (I think medium well was the rarest choice), but over all I was pleasantly surprized.

Will I go back willingly? No, there are better places to spend the same amount of cash, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of people like familiarity, and that's what they get from Applebee's and TF. At least I feel better knowing, that if people do choose to go there, there will be a few interesting things on the menu for the people to try. And this might wake some of them up to what food could taste like if they expand there experiences

[K_A_S]

Add a pro vote for the burger: I ate there the other day, and the burger was actually quite good. On the downside, the "special" fries were stone cold, and when they brought me some warm ones (after explaining to me that the first batch were so cold because they had to be tossed in the special sauce), they were terrible.

TOTAL:

1 thumb up for a tasty burger

1 thumb down for nasty fries (and maybe a pinky down for really lame service)

[scordelia]

So who's gonna "take one for the team" and go try one of his dishes?

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I took one for the team!

I was driving from Chicago to Champaign-Urbana for a funeral and pulled over to grab a bite in Kankakee. I had the Bruschetta Burger--one of the new, bold offerings courtesy of Tyler. Applebee's described a pure Angus beef burger with pesto and tomato on foccacia and served with garlic fries. First, Applebee's insisted (over my strenuous objection) to serve me a medium burger (policy). The "foccacia" was soggy, and the burger a bit greasy, and I wished for more tomatoes. The fries were very good--well seasoned with a sprinkling of parsley and fresh parmesan.

In short, my meal was average and overpriced. There are other chain places off the interstate that offer better food and value.

[Susie Q]

I wrote Applbee's off when I ordered some quasi-asian dish on two different locations . Both times I asked for some extra soy and both times I was told that the kitchen didn't have any.

WTH? How can you have asian food on the menu and not have soy in the kitchen?