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S07.E05: Family Face-Off: The Island

xaxat

By xaxat
in The Great Food Truck Race [V]

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xaxat

xaxat

(edited)

I am shocked! Like most people here I thought Vinnie and Co. had it in the bag. 

Screw you FN! That was the most lazily conceived hour of TV I have ever seen on your channel. A hot dog challenge? What's next? Lemonade stands? And the finale was parking the trucks next to each other and letting the teams shout it out?

And the food. . . The previously mentioned hot dogs, grilled cheese with ham and potato chips and red sauce on . . . stuff. All of them items my most culinary challenged self could easily make drunk off my ass at three in the morning.

And for all of their talk about secret family recipes, Carretto should feel ashamed of themselves for throwing red sauce and nutella (?) on flat bread, topping it off with a sprinkle of cheese and calling it "pizza".

So glad this hot mess is over.

Edited by xaxat
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MerBearHou

MerBearHou

I'm so glad the Grilled Cheese guys won.

Can't believe that FN gave Vinny and his annoying mom their own show -- what??

I like Tyler Florence very, very much -- he's truly one of my very favorites on the whole network -- and I used to enjoy this series a great deal.  I feel badly for him.  FN is making a mistake in cheapening and shortening the Food Truck Race.  

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mlp

mlp

The final show was about 75% repetition, fill and more repetition.  Everything that could be said was said two or three times and then repeated after the commercial break.  Most of it wasn't worth hearing/seeing the first time.  

I was glad the Cheese Twins won despite their boring sandwiches because I didn't like Vinny and company.  I watched a couple minutes of the "preview" of his new show with Mama then hit Mute and turned my back to the TV.  Looks dreadful.

  • Love 10
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LexieLily

LexieLily

The most annoying thing to me this whole finale? How Tyler and both of the trucks kept repeating 248543 times that the winner of the hot dog challenge would get a one hour advantage, and when it finally happened, the Grilled Cheese Truck got to Catalina via helicopter in fifteen minutes and the Italians that had to take the boat had an hour ride. Advantage? Forty-five minutes. Not an hour. Simple math, FN.

56 minutes ago, xaxat said:

And for all of their talk about secret family recipes, Carretto should feel ashamed of themselves for throwing red sauce and nutella (?) on flat bread, topping it off with a sprinkle of cheese and calling it "pizza".

That was embarrassing. It was just Nutella and chunks of cheese.

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biakbiak

biakbiak

3 hours ago, LexieLily said:

The most annoying thing to me this whole finale? How Tyler and both of the trucks kept repeating 248543 times that the winner of the hot dog challenge would get a one hour advantage, and when it finally happened, the Grilled Cheese Truck got to Catalina via helicopter in fifteen minutes and the Italians that had to take the boat had an hour ride. Advantage? Forty-five minutes. Not an hour. Simple math, FN.

That was embarrassing. It was just Nutella and chunks of cheese.

It could have easily been an hour, they just edited it to make it seem like the boat and helicopter took off at the same time.

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GaT

GaT

5 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Can't believe that FN gave Vinny and his annoying mom their own show -- what??

That's probably the only reason they were on the show to begin with, to introduce & set them up for their new show. That's why the grilled cheese truck won, because Vinny & Co weren't there to win, they were there to promote.

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spiderpig

spiderpig

Can't believe I allowed myself to be continually annoyed for a solid hour.  The cheese guys were derps, but I was over the Sicilian truck about 5 minutes into episode one.

I had a particularly visceral dislike for Mama.  Every time she opened her mouth and whined (which was whenever she was on cam) I just yelled "Shut up!  Shut up!"  At least we're warned about the family's new show so I can free up some time to power wash my patio.

Didi and Kathleen continue to nuke FN's reputation at warp speed.

What we did see of Catalina looked beautiful, though.

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Totale

Totale

This finale was so engaging and suspense filled I spent most of the 40 minutes wondering if there was something wrong with my TV, because whenever Vinny or whatever cheese whiz was doing the talking did a talking head, they each looked like they had a schmear of tomato sauce over the bridge of their nose.  You'll be happy to hear my TV is OK and it was just bad lighting in the studios in FN Tower, which they undoubtedly noticed but didn't bother to fix or shoot over, because who gives a shit?

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backformore

backformore

What happened to this show? The first season that I watched, it was a fun contest.  This was dreadful.  

To answer my own question,  the show doesn't seem authentic any more.  There's a sense that it's contrived, even scripted.  That the competitors are chosen with the finale already planned, the winning team already chosen.  I think the top two teams were selected ahead of time, with everyone else cast as cannon fodder.

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xaxat

xaxat

  • Author
1 hour ago, backformore said:

 There's a sense that it's contrived, even scripted.

I get that feeling as well. As the Cheese Guys progressed to the finals, I wondered if their earlier last place finishes (funnel cakes, ostrich eggs) were scripted to set them up as lovable losers to the Italians who would move from a victory straight into their new show.

On Food Network Star former top FN executive Bob Tuschman would coach the contestants on the importance of being seen as a "food authority".  Now, after his departure, the network actually has a show featuring a woman who admits she doesn't like trying new foods, trying new foods. 

It makes me appreciate Bob more.

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spiderpig

spiderpig

1 hour ago, Totale said:

This finale was so engaging and suspense filled I spent most of the 40 minutes wondering if there was something wrong with my TV, because whenever Vinny or whatever cheese whiz was doing the talking did a talking head, they each looked like they had a schmear of tomato sauce over the bridge of their nose.  You'll be happy to hear my TV is OK and it was just bad lighting in the studios in FN Tower, which they undoubtedly noticed but didn't bother to fix or shoot over, because who gives a shit?

I didn't want to mention it, but why was Mama's throat so bright red?  My eyes were drawn to it on all her talking heads.

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GaT

GaT

(edited)
2 hours ago, backformore said:

There's a sense that it's contrived, even scripted.  

It would have to be scripted, the last thing they did on the show was promote Vinny & Mama's show, right after we watched them come in 2nd. How would that have worked if they weren't one of the final two? They had to make sure that they ended up as one of the final two teams for the promo to work.

Edited by GaT
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needschocolate

needschocolate

(edited)
5 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I don't know if we can talk about this here but - who is the Vinny and Ma show supposed to be targeting? I watched it because nothing else was on and Ma comes off as a total ignorant moron.

I will reply here, because I doubt the new show will get enough viewers to warrant getting their own forum.. I got the feeling that FN is targeting people who used to love watching Cake Boss.

Although Vinnie's mom seems less obnoxious than the women on Cake Boss, I think she isn't as witty, endearing, or charming as FN thinks she is.  I am not buying their premise at all -  that Mama has lived such a sheltered life that she has only eaten italian food her entire life.

Edited by needschocolate
Because, apparently, I sometimes type the entirely wrong word (or maybe I can blame auto-correct)
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backformore

backformore

(edited)
4 hours ago, spiderpig said:

I didn't want to mention it, but why was Mama's throat so bright red?  My eyes were drawn to it on all her talking heads.

I know someone who has that same tendency - a tiny bit of sun, heat, cold, anxiety, and the skin on her neck/throat gets bright red.    The guys with the red noses, I was thinking may have been sunburn related.   But the  lighting when they were talking to the camera didn't help.

I took this off my DVR.  It used to be a fun contest.  Now it's more about the tv show than the contest itself. 

The final two teams seemed like a bunch of jerks to me.  But maybe it's partly because in the last week, I've seen the "Cheese Twins"  (What happened to guy#3?)  on Chopped AND on my local morning news show.   I don't think any of the other teams had a chance in the contest -  but not because their food wasn't good.   originality and quality don't count - only convincing people to part with their money.  

 

ETA:  the grilled cheese guys say "we were the underdog the entire time".  NO, you were not.  the underdogs were eliminated before you.  And several of them probably made much better food.  

Edited by backformore
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bunnyface

bunnyface

It's not as good as in the past, but I was enjoying wondering who was going to win...until right before a winner was announced we were told Vinny and Ma had their own show.  Uh...how are they running a brand new restaurant AND doing a show?  Suspense gone.

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Lola16

Lola16

So boring. The GCG - twin power - wtf. Where is being a twin so unusual these days? And they weren't so identical that it was amazing. They looked like brothers. Tall brothers. Yawn.  And their personalities were as interesting as their GC's.  Yawn.

My DVR somehow picked up this episode twice.  Why?  Does it hate me?

Saw the previews for JS mama & son - no thanks. I do have to say that Vinny is the least douchy of the JS cast but still.  Don't care. Ain't gonna watch.

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GaT

GaT

The more I think about it, the more I think the only reason for this season was to promote  “Vinny & Ma Eat America” (don't even want to discuss this name). Why else would they make it only 5 episodes? What TV show, especially a competition show, is only 5 episodes? Plus every truck was family who had never run a food truck before, what a coincidence that that describes Vinny & his mom, stars of a new FN show. I'm surprised that all the contestants didn't have to be Italian people from New Jersey who never had a food truck but have at least one person who has been on a reality show & who know how to make meatballs. 

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MajorWoody

MajorWoody

That finale might have been a new low in FN history.

They probably spent more on Tylers helicopter arrival, and the later chopper rental for the CheapCheese Guys, then for the entire season.

As others have said, this season was nothing but a long commercial for FN's latest new celebs. One set gets a show. And you can bet we will see the other set on multiple FN shows, which has already began with Chopped.

The CheapCheese guys showed that FN is apoealing to the 2am Taco Bell crowd with their awful, low end food. First, they sell hotdogs using the cheapest buns they could find at Sam's Club, combime that with a cheap dog and a pinch of cheese. Then they go with their famous standby, at $12 a pop. The horrible looking burned grilled cheese with a single slice of packaged boiled ham. That sandwich is so ething a prison chow hall worker would reject as being substandard, and we are supposed to believe that this sandwich allowed these frauds to win a food competition.

The Guido Express showed that Ma can make a meatball, and not much else. The pizza, which was a schmear of sauce, a pinch of cheese, and a tortilla made Little Caesars Pizza look like a masterpiece. At keast they used quality buns and plenty of ingredients on their hotdogs. I have no idea how the other clowns outsold them on that.  The Guido's also came across as stereotypical sitcom Italians, and I have no idea what FN saw in them that made them offer them a series. If Ma was so clueless, as they portrayed, why was she driving while Vinny was preening in the backseat?

I won't watch a single minute of their new show, no matter who or what they showcase.

I wonder how long before we see the CheapCheese Guys as guest judges on GGG, complaining because some chef used expensive ingredients instead of packaged crap. 

Things are not looking good for FN under this new management. 

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spiderpig

spiderpig

Yes to what MajorWoody just said.  Here I am, in the sunset of my life, enjoying food competitions the way my grandparents enjoyed Lawrence Welk on Saturday nights (when they babysat me while ma and pa went out partying).

Then Didi and Kathleen swoop in and gut Food Network.  I am upset!  I'll have to read a book or something.

Since it doesn't look like there will be another season of TGFTR, I'll have to put my plug in here for Cousins Maine Lobster.  If there's one in your area, try it.  They're the gold standard of food trucks.

Sorry, Tyler.  Liked you and loved the concept.  Didi O'Whatsit can bite me.

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backformore

backformore

8 hours ago, MajorWoody said:

The CheapCheese guys showed that FN is apoealing to the 2am Taco Bell crowd with their awful, low end food. First, they sell hotdogs using the cheapest buns they could find at Sam's Club, combime that with a cheap dog and a pinch of cheese. Then they go with their famous standby, at $12 a pop. The horrible looking burned grilled cheese with a single slice of packaged boiled ham. That sandwich is so ething a prison chow hall worker would reject as being substandard, and we are supposed to believe that this sandwich allowed these frauds to win a food competition.

I agree.  Their sandwiches seemed like a lesson in how to feed a bunch of kids on a small budget in a short amount of time.  the cheese Twins were on a local show where they talked about various kinds of cheese, combining unusual flavors with a cheese that complements the other ingredients.  Doesn't even seem like the same guys.

In previous seasons, they had people go to the food trucks and sample the food, and the competitors were judged on the QUALITY of the food they put out.   Did they even pretend to do anything like that this season?  Because it seemed like it was all about the cash.  You can sell cardboard with melted cheese on it, and tell someone it's a gourmet meal.  If they don't like it, tough shit - it's still a sale!  

It all has nothing to do with a real food truck business, where success would depend on selling a quality product that people crave, come back for, and tell their friends about.

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lh25

lh25

On 9/25/2016 at 7:10 PM, xaxat said:

And the finale was parking the trucks next to each other and letting the teams shout it out?

That was my least favorite part!  I hate when they do that.  Although I did have to laugh a bit when Vinny's mom was complaining that the cheese guys did to her what her son did to them.

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NewDigs

NewDigs

That was worse than boring, imho.

I think boring would have been an improvement over their childish antics trying to grab every single sale out there. Sounded like toddlers. Waaah!

I don't know why I bothered.

And then to get punked at the end? Vinny and Ma? 

Shoot me now.

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Totale

Totale

These airedales are getting more onscreen time than several "Food Network Star" winners.  So it's fair to assume they both (cheese and guido) got 50K signing bonuses, and just flipped a coin as to which would "win" TGFTR?

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xaxat

xaxat

  • Author

It does explain a lot about this season. It wasn't about being able to cook or run a food truck because the true prize wasn't about being able to cook or run a food truck.

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mlp

mlp

Interesting that there was no publicity for the twins' show, at least none that I saw.  It just sort of showed up.  I thought it was DD&D with hosts who looked, sounded and dressed like ordinary people.  It wasn't very exciting and I wouldn't seek it out but I'll probably half watch it just because there's nothing else on on Friday nights after Hell's Kitchen.

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