Bobby And Sophie On The Coast - General Discussion

[Bastet]

Basically an L.A. follow-up to the NYC-based The Flay List, Bobby Flay and his daughter Sophie have a new show premiering next month on Food Network:

Quote

Name a better dad-daughter duo in the food world. We’ll wait…

Bobby Flay and his daughter, Sophie Flay, have that on lock!

He’s a born-and-raised New Yorker, while she’s a Los Angeles transplant, and both of them have a passion for food. A few years ago Bobby and Sophie set off on The Flay List, in which they shared their favorite hot spots around the Big Apple. But now that Sophie is settled in L.A., they’re taking their food-crawl adventures to Cali on their all-new series, Bobby and Sophie on the Coast, premiering Monday, Aug. 22 at 9|8c.

The Los Angeles food scene is unlike any other, given the abundance of fresh produce grown nearby and the mix of cuisines available, and in each episode, they’ll check out some of the most-creative, most-mouthwatering dishes around. From juicy smash burgers to hand-shucked oysters, farm-fresh French toast and creamy Thai curry, Bobby and Sophie are ready to eat it all and showcase some little-known spots in Malibu, Hollywood, Playa del Rey and more neighborhoods across L.A.

So much of L.A. eating focuses on locally sourced ingredients, so as Bobby and Sophie criss-cross the area, they’ll pick up tons of specialty veggies, citrus, hot sauce and more, all to cook up a feast when they get home. Plus, they’ll meet the tastemakers whose businesses are a must-visit when in town, including Brooke Williamson and Stephanie Izard, and of course have some fun between meals. Wait until you see what happens when Bobby zips up his wetsuit and hopes to catch some waves as a newbie surfer!

This is family adventure at its best, so get ready for plenty of laughs and even more incredible eats.

They're really great together, and showcased delicious food on their first series; living in Los Angeles, I'm particularly excited to see where they eat and shop in this one.

[Bastet]

I love when she said he should open a restaurant in L.A. (I'm rather surprised he hasn't; if he stuck only to NY or even the East Coast for restaurants, I'd get it, but he doesn't, plus he has a house here), and he laughed, asking, "Why, so you have someplace to go?" with the clear implication being "go for free" - that was such a father/daughter moment.

They were cute at the cat cafe; I love how Bobby didn't want to leave and asked if they could do a ten-part documentary about the place.  (The owner: "Yes." 🙂)

Good restaurants they picked for the Hollywood episode.  Jitlada is indeed the best Thai food in L.A.  And those ginger soy ribs at Yamashiro are to die for.  I hardly ever go there, because it's expensive as hell, I have to call in favors from an old connection to get a good table, and the crowd is kind of obnoxious (it's a see and be seen place), but I take out of town guests there sometimes for the view.

And I take anyone who's never tried chicken and waffles to Roscoe's; if you don't like it there, you won't like it anywhere.  (I'm not someone who gets excited by it, but it's good occasionally.)

I've been to Tartine, too, and of course The Farmer's Market, but neither of the individual restaurants they visited within (the Mexican restaurant didn't even exist last time I was there).  Nancy Silverton is an acquaintance, but I have not yet made it to The Barish (I am still not dining indoors due to the pandemic) -- it looks incredible!

Edited August 23, 2022 by Bastet

[chessiegal]

Dang, I forgot this debuted tonight. I set up the repeat to record.

[Grizzly]

I would love to eat at Nancy Silverton's restaurant! That food looked so good. It seemed like they stayed in west Hollywood. Wonder if they'll do other areas. Sophie's outfits are so distinct, it was easy to see they spliced several days together in non chronological order. That bugged me. The kittens were adorable, Bobby could adopt one and train it to find truffles. Even the cameramen were into it. I do like father and daughter together.  Would not want to be a third wheel in that relationship.

[Bastet]

On 8/23/2022 at 6:34 PM, Grizzly said:

It seemed like they stayed in west Hollywood. Wonder if they'll do other areas.

They ventured into Hollywood proper (tourist town) and East Hollywood (good cultural diversity, formerly affordable, has been dealing with the effects of gentrification for a while) as well.  But of that overall area, WeHo* has by far the most to offer to a general audience (and has been a longstanding haven for the local LGBTQ community), so I'm not surprised that's where the two of them gravitate for food. 

*Sophie said in the VO - at which she does a good job, showing her education/training - that's how West Hollywood is referred to, and while that's common in writing, I don't find it all that common in speaking.

The next episode is about downtown L.A.  That should be interesting; for a long time before Sophie came to L.A. for college (she graduated from USC) and Bobby bought a house here (in the Hollywood Hills), downtown (now DTLA) was a culinary wasteland at night -- people worked there, so there were lunch restaurants and some after-work bars, but no one who was considered to count lived there and white collar folks got the hell out of Dodge after happy hour at the latest.  It had changed a lot by the time they came to town, and has changed even more since (good and bad, as always).  So I'm quite curious to see which places they highlight, and how they describe the area's evolution.

I'm curious to see what other areas they cover.  Valley?  Beach Cities?  East L.A. (or will they lump that in with downtown)?  Orange County (the OC is not LA, but sometimes on a national program it gets included)?   I look forward to finding out; they're fun to watch, and pick good places. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Bastet

[Gramto6]

I am so enjoying this show!! They seem to really love and respect each other and the foods they show look so yummy! This is probably the only FN show that actually makes me smile to watch. 

[Bastet]

I like the Nickel Diner; it's a cheap place to get some great diner food (a nice mix of healthy and artery clogging), and does a lot for the community in which it's situated, which has been gentrified less than most other areas of downtown.

I also absolutely love the pastrami sandwich at Langer's and am now craving one something fierce.  Some history they didn't get into: The neighborhood was in serious decline by the late '80s/early '90s (nearby MacArthur park was used almost exclusively for crack deals), so business was so far down they considered closing.  But when a metro station opened a block away, downtown proper office workers started coming southwest for lunch, and it rebounded.  Employees are treated very well there, so it's a great place to patronize all around.  Highly recommended!

There is so much great food to try at Smorg LA.  The only place they showcased that I've eaten at is Bridgetown.

And Grand Central Market is a landmark, where I have consumed a lot of food over the years; its location makes it a great place to grab lunch when I have a court appearance, and also to pick up some ingredients to take home.  The familiarity is comforting, because downtown has changed so much over my life and continues to change (Bobby commented on the latter, but they really have no idea given how much had already happened by the time Sophie enrolled at USC), but you can walk in there and see some of the same vendors that have been there for decades.  There's a terrific cheesemonger there I wish they'd visited, but I liked seeing Valeria's impressive selection of Mexican chiles showcased.  And Sarita's (the pupusa place they went to) is indeed delicious.

I have not yet made my way to the L.A. version of Girl & the Goat, but I loved Stephanie Izard on Top Chef, so it's on my mental list.  I must try that goat curry!  (Bobby is right that goat is big here, but I'd particularly like to try her take.)

I haven't been to Redbird, either, but that's an incredible event space!  I love when Sophie asked the owner if they do weddings there and Bobby responded, "Why, what are you thinking about?"

I look forward to the beach episode next week; I wonder how much they'll go up and down the local coast, as that covers a lot of area.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Bastet

[Grizzly]

The Redbird was gorgeous! I don't blame Bobby and Sophie for wanting to come up with an event to have there. I'll bet the wedding package is expensive.

So disappointed they featured Senoreatas from Food Truck race.

[Gramto6]

Living in Montana I don't have exposure to all these great places to eat but I love watching them and enjoy watching Bobby & Sophia enjoying them.  This show is a joy for me!

[theredhead77]

On 8/24/2022 at 12:57 AM, Bastet said:

Orange County (the OC is not LA, but sometimes on a national program it gets included)?

Unless it's Anaheim Stadium, where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play. Obviously, I still think that is the dumbest naming convention I have ever heard and I don't give a crap about baseball. 

I keep forgetting this show is on. I need to binge it over the weekend to get caught up.

[chessiegal]

19 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

I keep forgetting this show is on. I need to binge it over the weekend to get caught up.

Short binge. There's two episodes so far.

[Gramto6]

Watching tonight's show. This show just makes me smile throughout. The love between the two is so obvious they enjoy each other and dang I want some of that seafood!!

[Bastet]

There was no preview for the next episode, so I guess they're done already.  Boo.  But, if so, I'm laughing pretty hard they didn't even bother doing a valley episode.

Playa Provisions (Brooke Williamson's restaurant, the only one she didn't have to shut down due to the pandemic) is the only place I'd been to (and I like it a lot; I love her food).  I don't go to the beach very often anymore, and a lot of places they went didn't exist the last time I was in that particular area. 

I don't prefer smashed burgers for the reasons Bobby said they tend not to be all that great, so I'll have to try out that food truck if I spot it in my area.

I laughed when Bobby was watching Sophie chop the herbs without curling her fingers; he went from "I can't watch this" to "Give me the knife." 

I love their relationship.  I like that she teases him but is also really proud of him (like when she was entertained by his surfing failures as he was hers, but she was also cheering when it looked like he might make it up), and it's sweet how he says he's really lucky to have a daughter who wants to spend time with him. 

[Salacious Kitty]

That's it.

Halloween Baking Championship starts next week.

[Gramto6]

19 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

That's it.

Halloween Baking Championship starts next week.

Wow, sad there won't be more, but I guess they are both really busy and just can't do any more. Kind of makes it a little treasure  to watch when they can film.

[maggiemae]

I loved this series. Not dad and daughter loving each other...but great friends too!