Critique of TGIF tie-in with Food Network and URS-2

I found this to be a very interesting article - paraphrased here:

Pairing Food with Franchise - Tessa Wegert, Jan 8, 2009

When the show debuted last February, (TGI Friday's) announced it would be featuring the winning recipes on its menu for restaurant-going viewers to judge for themselves. The Friday's "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" menu is back. And this time, it comes with a nice selection of online media.

To promote its connection to the show, Friday's has established a presence on the Food Network site ....

Where Friday's could have done better is in its selection of page placements on foodnetwork.com. The chain has the "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" section covered with a sponsorship. That's a no-brainer. Given that its spokesperson-slash-Food Network chef also hosts two other unrelated shows, however, placing additional banners in those sections of the site would have been a stealthy move.

Like many TV chefs, Fieri has a big personality. Viewers will either love him or hate him, without much in between. And if they love him, they'll love him on his other shows as well. What a perfect chance for Friday's to expand its reach and up the odds of reaching potential customers by covering more Fieri-related pages.

Contextually, there's no connection between, say, "Guy's Big Bite" and the custom menu at Friday's. But Guy represents a common ground that's just as likely to be traversed by a new or already loyal customer as the site section that overtly promotes "Ultimate Recipe Showdown."

Guy Fieri is all over Texas, for DDD

Texas is all a-buzz this week with Guy Fieri sightings and DDD camera crews up, down and all around, with tapings starting Monday, January 5, 2009 and winding up on Friday the 9th.


Pictures from the shoot at Twisted Root Burger company in Deep Ellum, Texas.

First stop at Chef Point Cafe in Watauga TX, and Jamaica Gates, a Caribbean restaurant that opened last June, in Arlington. Read more at Star Telegram.

Next at Fred's Texas Cafe in Fort Worth's Cultural District, known for their Taco Cheese Fries and Beefsteak Ranchero, and at Louie's Pizza on North Henderson in Dallas. Read more at FW Weekly

And at Avila's Mexican in the morning and Twisted Root Burger in Deep Ellum in the evening.

*Update*
Click Here to view a map of all the Triple D restaurants in the Dallas - Fort Worth, TX area.

Family Favorites (DV0512)
Louie's (no website)
839 N Henderson Avenue, Dallas, TX 75206 - map
(214) 826-0505

Funky Joints (DV0601)
Chef Point Cafe - website
5901 Watauga Road, Wautaga, TX 76148 - map
(817) 656-0080
www.chefpointcafe.org

A Burger, A Bowl and a Slice (DV0604)
Twisted Root Burger Co - website
2615 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75226 - map
(214) 741-7668
www.twistedrootburgerco.com

Who'Da Thunk It? (DV0606)
Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine - website
1020 W Arkansas Ln., Arlington, TX - map
(817) 795-2600
www.jamaicagates.com

All Kinds of Classics (DV0609)
Fred's Texas Cafe - website
915 Currie St., Fort Worth, TX 76107 - map
(817) 332-0083
www.fredstexascafe.com

Mama's Cookin' (DV0613)
Avila's Mexican Restaurant - (no website)
4714 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75219 - map
(214) 520-2700

GuyFieri.com

I am sure anyone who is a fan of Guy Fieri has visited his website. I've noticed that the graphic layout has changed in recent months, and that many of the links have been 'under construction' for quite some time.

I visited GuyFieri.com today, and found that the majority of links and pages have been updated and are now working.

... including ...

A link to a full, updated and interactive map of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I'm not too proud to say that with the encouragement of husband and friends, I played a part in making that happen. Thank you Mr. Hoekenga!

Here are a few of my comments on what else I see on that website.
1. Buy Gear: Good that the gear is there; I'm sure it appeals to many, but I won't buy any of it. Sorry Guy!
"Kulinary Krew" - it is a pet peeve of mine when people purposefully misspell words. Blame it on an over-exuberant 7th grade English teacher, and I'm too old to change my pet peeves. I similarly refused to send my children to a nearby daycare called Kids Kastle for the same reason. The word "krew," I could understand if it was spelled "krewe," a group with hereditary membership whose members organize and participate as costumed paraders in the annual Mardi Gras carnival. "Culinary Krewe" I would buy.
"Knuckle Sandwich" - a euphemism for a punch in the face. No thank you.
"Food Fite" - Misspelled, more violence. Thank you, but I'll decline.

2. Get to know Guid: Good page, nice bio, my kids have fun changing his look. But as much as I snooped around, I found no "inside 'dish' on yours truly, the people in my Krew, some of the people I meet."

3. G-TV: looks new. The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives font doesn't match the other two shows, but look at me being picky. And where's Ultimate Recipe Showdown? It's current, hot and missing from his website. I should also think this is where some video should be. Pick some favorite clips off You Tube and embed. Right? Maybe even change up the videos once a month, just to keep things fresh.

4. Food: I like this. I like this a lot. So far the once-a-month recipes are a cocktail and two veggie dishes. The cocktail I get, but veggies from Guy? Let's hope February's installment is a meat dish, big n bold cooked low n slow. Perhaps he can try Dorable's Pot Roast! haha

5. Email Sign Up: Under Construction?

6. Contact Us: Perhaps the site's page most in need of development, of which Hoekenga Design and Guy are well aware. At today's writing, the Guest Book hasn't been updated in two months. Why? They are just plain too busy to approve the multitude of posts. And that's too bad. If a fan takes the time to compose a thoughtful comment and submit it, only to see day after day that comment hasn't posted after several weeks go by, one loses hope. And faith. And that's sad.

I think it may also be helpful for a brief explanation of what an "agent" is and does, and what a "press inquiry" is. Those in the biz know, but the rest of us do not.

7. Events: Nice! And new too, I believe. Incomplete, however, as I see Rock Fantasy Camp is missing. And websites for more information on these events would be handy too.

8. Media Kit: Lovely. Something I'll never need, but nice to have it there.

Were I in charge of the world (heaven forbid) I would add one more page to GuyFieri.com. I would call it "Show Me Your Grill!" - a place where fans could upload pictures of their perhaps brief meeting at a restaurant, book signing or elsewhere. I see these all over, on MySpace, personal blogs, Facebook, all over. Fans would love to know that he's seen the result of that quick flash of bulb. And I think, were I Guy, I'd want to see that too, the pride, the joy and happiness showing in the faces of these fans. hmmm?

Speaking of all over, there are currently 5 "Guy Fieri's" on MySpace and 2 "Guy Fieri's" on Facebook. Real, any of them? Bah.

Let The Good Times Roll (GI0513H)

Guy's Big Bite - Let The Good Times Roll – Aired: 1/4/09

Guy Fieri's no-utensils-required menu features crispy, golden-fried chicken egg rolls and refreshing, light shrimp spring rolls. Two dipping sauces plus a ginger-mint lemonade make your dinner a rolling good time!

Chicken Avocado Egg Rolls - recipe


Springing Shrimp Rolls - recipe


Elixir G Minty Lemonade - cocktail recipe


Keywords:
ginger, chicken breast, cabbage, egg roll, avocados, sweet chili sauce, shrimp, maifun noodles, jicama, peanut butter, Elixir G, mint

Related Guy Fieri Recipes
Appetizers
Cocktails with liqueur

-> more on Guy's Big Bite <-

Guy Fieri, on Holiday Comfort Food and Burgers

Ultimate holiday comfort food? I had thirty six people. I was camping with my dirt bikes and my kids, my wife, my buddies, and all of that stuff. I had to cook dinner for thirty people in a Weber on a mountain in the cold.

Turkey: I did three different turkeys this year, but I brined the turkey. I did a maple syrup/bourbon brine turkey. I am telling you, it tasted just like ham. It was out of this world. So me, what’s my favorite turkey or holiday food? To me it’s rolling it out and doing something different.

Gravy: I took all of the legs and wings off of my turkeys, because no one ever eats them, and made all of my gravy out of them. I made two gallons of "gravy a la gravy". I made so much gravy you could have gravy as soup.

Christmas: I did a twenty eight day aged prime rib for Christmas this time. I dry aged it in fridge in my garage, so I had about a thirty percent loss. But you want to talk about incredible.

Healthier comfort food? Well, here’s my belief on that, and I think that’s right on point. It’s the same thing with alcohol. It’s not quantity, it’s quality. So I don’t really think you should cheat the mac and cheese. Mac and cheese needs killer cheese; it needs some cream, you know. It needs good pasta.

Portions: ... maybe we just don’t eat ten ounces of it; maybe we’re only getting four of it this time. So I would rather go to a smaller portion and stay with quality than go to a larger portion and not have the quality in it. I think it’s quality not quantity. And let’s just realize this: chicken fried steak is probably not the healthiest thing that you can enjoy, but in moderation it is what it is.

The ultimate burger? Well, I think using great meat, seasoning properly and cooking with high heat.

Meat: The first thing I would have to say is really good meat, fresh ground meat. I think it makes the difference of a lifetime. You know, it’s funny. People say, ‘We don’t want all of the fat’ that’s used in ten grind, you know, ten percent meat and ninety percent fat, and then they slather on mayonnaise. It’s kind of going backwards.

Seasoning: I think over seasoning a burger, like putting too many components to it can also be the issue.

Heat: I think cooking the burger and messing with the burger is probably the biggest flaw. Anytime you hear sizzling, that’s usually juice or fat or some liquid coming out of it, which creates this opportunity for it to be dry.

But I really believe a dynamite, a really well made burger needs a fantastic bun, a fresh tomato, a nice big slice of some red onion, some good crunchy romaine lettuce, maybe a little bit of a whole grain mustard and that’s it, baby! It has all of its own flavor in there.

Interview by Troy Rogers, The Deadbolt

Even Non-Fieri-Fans Are Fans of Dry Aged Beef

Review of Dry-Aged Beef

Kit Pollard, of the Baltimore Food Fun Examiner had this to say:
In a burst of extreme ambition, my parents dry-aged a prime rib for Christmas Eve dinner. The meat spent 10 days in their basement refrigerator and when it came out, it really did have an ugly crust. But a bit of a trim, plus a peppery rub and a few hours in the oven turned it into one of the best pieces of meat I've had in a long time. Don't be fooled by the fact that the recipe comes from Guy Fieri (who I generally want to throttle) - it was excellent.

Recipe: Dry Aged Prime Rib Roast

At the time of this writing, there are 24 reviews on FoodNetwork.com for this recipe, with a 4.8 / 5 star rating. Yes, it's that good.

On Upcoming Episodes of DDD

Two pizza places have announced they'll be featured on Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives in upcoming months.

La Piazza al Forno in Glendale, AZ.

Guy visited La Piazza last fall for a segment scheduled to air in February or early March. La Piazza's Mediterranean pizza, made with pesto-alfredo sauce, fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes and topped with feta cheese, was a hit.

Fieri also was served other pizza combinations and baked spaghetti pie. He proclaimed that La Piazza has "some of the best pizza in town."

Vito & Nick's Pizza in Chicago, IL.

Vito and Nick are excited to announce their 7 minutes of fame will air Monday January 12th, 2009, claiming to have the best thin crust pizza anywhere.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode guide