NJRadioGuy

:::Rip nods, smiles:::

I'm really surprised that the editors left that sequence in the show. I did a bit of digging on the topic last year. All my expensive Teflon cookware loses its non-stick capabilities after a couple of years, even with delicate handling, and I was hoping Hexclad would be the answer. It isn't. It's just more tolerant of abuse and you can use metal utensils on it, which is a big plus. I doubt many commercial kitchens are using that stuff versus the cheap Restaurant Depot pans. An 8" Hexclad pan is $105. An 8" aluminum pan at Restaurant Depot is $8, and a non-stick version is $10, or $60 for a case of them, and until GR became a Hexclad spokesman a few years ago, those RD-style pans were what they were using on the show in earlier seasons. For that matter, a friend of mine who worked the line a few years back said that all the knives they used were cheap RD knives worth about $15. There were dozens of them per station, and they were sent out for sharpening every week and thrown in the dishwasher several times a day. Hexclad pans and Henckels knives are the domain of wealthy high-end home chefs, but that $500 Michelin Star meal you enjoy on your 25th anniversary was almost certainly cooked in the cheapest pans and cut with the cheapest knives used in food service. As for Atoye being eliminated, yeah, she was the weakest link and it was her time to go. I hope she's able to succeed in the industry, but I have to wonder if she has the temperament for the job long-term. And that holds true for a few other cheftestants on the show. Unlike many previous seasons, once they get down to black jackets I think it will be extremely difficult to select the really weak links. It will come down to who made a mistake in service for the sake of the game show aspect of this rather than who is a weaker chef.

Your son is absolutely right. NYC street meat is legendary, although I personally prefer a trip down to Nathan's in C.I., just outside the BMT subway station. Soft pretzels are also the best hot off a cart. The halal carts do a huge business too but that's not my cuppa.

Since I'm betting this is very much a cost-cutting measure, I'd suggest maybe the show could just phase out the Engine company and the Ambulance and just focus on T81, R3, and the DDC. Real-world station closures and company amalgamations are a thing, but the most problematic issue would be the engine for a number of reasons here. I do wish One Chicago as a franchise could stop with the cast turnover for a while, though.

I don't see this one lasting for the long-haul. The relaunch sequence was ridiculous since it was Gordon's menu and Gordon's chefs executing it. Of course everybody would love it. The whole business with a co-owner "walking away," even though he had zero invested made no sense, especially since he had control of the bank account.

I gotta wonder how they're going to pull off a new "2024" series since the original recipe is set more or less in the present day. With John being written out for these last episodes, settling the ownership and direction of the ranch will probably be the theme for the remaining scripts. Then what? They sell the land and a new chapter begins? Or turn it into the Rip and Beth Ranch? I'd watch the shit out of those two dysfunctional characters, but I don't think you can build a series with them as leads.

Regarding the British version, I've watched all but the final two episodes and I do enjoy them both. I find the UK version has more uncomfortable or downright cringeworthy "sitcom-ish" moments, but when they decide to get sentimental they pull out all the stops and vastly out-do the American version. Mike (the husband) is portrayed as an utter moron in the British version. I vastly prefer Jay. I like both Allison (UK) and Sam (US) equally. I think I like British Pat more than Pete, mostly because when they did the family visit episode in the British version it was far more poignant and sentimental. I get a kick out of Lady Button, but I despise her sour expression. Hetty is far more likeable but both work well in their respective settings. Trevor and Julian both work very well and I love them both. Isaac is a mashup between the Captain and Thomas, and frankly I think Isaac works better than both the two individuals, although the Captain is wonderfully silly in a way that Isaac isn't. Thomas is my least favourite character on the BritVersion. Thorfinn and Robin are both gems and I love them both. There is no UK equivalent to Flower, and no American version of Mary; between the two of them I prefer Mary, just because Flower still hasn't found her voice in the US show, and Mary's character grew nicely. Kitty is the British version of Alberta, and both are tremendous in their similar roles. I love them both. Kitty is much younger, very naïve, and a sweet, gentle soul whereas Alberta is is smart, tough and world-wise. They both work brilliantly, but in the more sentimental scenes, Kitty melts your heart.

I really liked her, but she's an expensive cast member with a storyline that can't really progress since her love interest left the show. She'll be missed.

It's his to lose at this point. If he completely melts down is about the only way he'll be gone before the finale. Even if he doesn't win, he's guaranteed a high level job in the industry; you just know some good restaurant owner or chef de cuisine will snatch him up the minute he leaves if he doesn't win. Jonathan is very talented in his own right, as is Ryan. Ryan will likely earn a black jacket, and I could see Grrrr offering him a position at one of his restaurants after he's eliminated. He's still in Cork, so would he even be able to get a work visa to the U.S. if he won? With all of Gordon's restaurants in continental Europe I could see Ryan on the line at any one of them. Dahmere I think could very easily become a lot more than just a winning contestant if he's really as good as he appears at this stage. Gordo sees something special in him and maybe he could follow in Christina's path.

I don't think anyone would fault Tess for kicking his entitled arse to the curb. But with that said, the fact they were childhood sweethearts and that he's stayed with her through surgeries and accepted her lifetime medical issues that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, I think she has a connection with him that's not likely to be broken easily, and I think her mum understands that too. But he better wise up. I don't think he has the slightest idea of how good he had it.

Love Bites was not fixable unless Chris The Jerk hired an actual chef to run the kitchen, and trusted him to do the job. The food seemed to be OK(ish), and they weren't lacking for customers, so finding a local cook who could run that tiny kitchen should have been an easy thing to do and relieve Chris' workload and the anxiety that came with it. He definitely needs serious couch time and anger management counselling based on what was presented on screen. Tess was enabling him, and things would get even more toxic if they'd continued without GRRR's intervention. He treated her like garbage and there's no excuse for that whatsoever. But it's up to her whether she wanted to continue on with him in life. He's definitely shown his true colors, however.

W00T—the actors' strike is over. Back to Woodstone Manor soon, I hope!

If "Q" accepts the mentor's advice and follows it to the letter then the place has a chance. But I just don't think the restaurant will be there this time next year. The discipline it takes to run any kind of a successful business, let alone a restaurant in a city with insanely high costs of doing business I think might be more than this team is ready to handle, and when things get tough next time those bar shots might become too tempting once again. In the setup I was saying to my other half that the place is definitely fixable, and without a lot of work, but the wrong people are in charge. I gave it no chance until the end when GRRRRR gifted them the services of that chef for a time.

My favourite diner in Queens closed down a few years ago—the Georgia Diner on 55th Ave., beside the Queens Mall, just off Queens Blvd. That was our go-to when we lived in Maspeth back in the early aughts. Amazing food, huge menu and (gasp!) free parking, but now it's the site of yet more apartments. In Manhattan, the old familiar Luncheonettes are pretty much all gone now. They were a working class staple, much like Automats were in the day, where you could get a filling meal for minimal cost. Now we have McDonalds, Wendys, Panera, and Chipotle on every corner, almost, and not only are they very fast and at least somewhat affordable, but they're also very consistent. Out here in Northern NJ diners are still a big deal and I don't think I've visited one that I didn't like in many years. Like I said earlier, I'll drive well out of my way for the Park West Diner on 46 West.

Bets on whether that dorm room chef would do better than 50% (or more) of the cheftestants on HK, or than half the pretend "executive chefs" on Kitchen Nightmares?

I never knew that was a thing until my wife pointed me towards this one (Wellington in a dorm room). Brilliant!

I think Claudia was the right choice to go bye-bye at this point. She's just too young and unprepared, and no amount of culinary skill or good palate will make her fit to run a professional kitchen and control a brigade in a few months. Who knows, maybe in five years? But not now. Mattias is at least marginally competent on the line, and maybe he just had a crap night. I suspect he'll be gone sooner rather than later, though.

From undrafted free agent to a Superb Owl champion, yeah maybe "legend" is a bit much, but in the New York market he is. One of those guys you can never hate, and his famous "salsa dance" move in the end zone made him a favourite. He basically just disappeared after retiring, though, which was a bit surprising.

Regarding Jason and his work history. I recall reading how cheftestants in previous years had to undergo intense background checks (doubtful you'll see any ex-cons or deadbeat dads, for example) and psychological exams to ensure they aren't likely to snap and take a meat cleaver to their rivals in their sleep. There is absolutely no way that GR doesn't know the background details of every single one of these..."chefs" weeks or even months before the cameras switch on.

You don't sign up for a Gordon Ramsay "reality" show unless you know 100% what you're getting yourself into. I mean, it's not like Gordo's an unknown quantity. Zero sympathy for that owner. GR gave that man and his family a week of his professional life along with his expertise and a nice makeover to the place. The least he could do is not voice his negative opinions of the man to the press.

Seems like the owner of Bask46 is also an ungrateful weasel. "Gordon will not be there," Baskinger said in a Facebook post announcing the reopening of his restaurant.  "Thank God! He is a complete asshole."

I'm about 10 minutes west of that place and maybe I'll go check it out after the post-airing rush has died down. I do have to wonder after all his gangster bravado if the show's likely-very-large security people took that meathead out for a little chat about making threats and dial it back or else. Either that or he was just playing for the cameras. Either way I called shenanigans on that clown. One thing I can say with 100% certainty is that in North Jersey that place is absolutely authentic as shown. There's a reason The Sopranos was set where it was (one town north of me). As for the Bel-Aire diner, I've eaten at that place a few times, but that was a bunch of years ago when I used to live in Masepth. I'd go to Costco and this place was just 3 or 4 blocks away, if memory serves. Good burgers. Now I'm out in Jersey, where diners are pretty much everywhere and they all have massive menus. Granted maybe not >400 items, but a 6 or 8 page spiral-bound menu is absolutely expected, and suspicious if it's smaller than that. Our favourite now is the Park West Diner (Little Falls on Rt. 46). Best chicken noodle soup in both the known and unknown universes. But these places are usually very busy (at least the good ones are) and I'd bet food turnover is very high. Sorry to hear that Irvine's show was cancelled. I really liked his format so much more.

What started as a brilliant little series shat the bed in the most colossally spectacular fashion imaginable. I can't say I'm surprised, however. There are very few hit series that ever stick the landing (I'm looking at you, Game of Thrones, specifically and also Marcella), but hot damn, this one outdid them all.

Two words: Double jeopardy. Let's say they try and make the case, arrest, and indict the subject but the evidence is flimsy and he gets acquitted at trial. That's it. Game over. He can't be tried twice for the same crime, even if they find the body later win incriminating DNA evidence. Do they need a body? No. But it's foolish to try a case without iron-clad evidence, especially in an era of mistrusting police and government. The words "beyond a reasonable doubt" have a very clear meaning, and that's a very high hurdle to overcome when there's no body. Not impossible, but very, very difficult.

Also Canadian here, and I got the strap on three separate occasions in Montreal during the late 60s / early 70s, and it wasn't outlawed until the 90s, IIRC. They still used at in my high school in 1977. The Lochgelly Tawse (or just The Belt, as they called it) in Scotland, was a far more severe instrument, and three of those on each hand and he'd not be able to use his hands for the rest of the day and probably the next. Not sure when it was outlawed in the U.K., however. I think I read it was in the early-to-mid 80s. They're called public schools in the U.K., ironically. Regular schools are "state schools," and public schools are the prestigious (and expensive) high-end schools. There are Private schools on top of that, but I'm not sure what those are.