Road Tasted, Food Network
Paula Deen's sons, Jamie and Bobby, are the hosts of this show. As the title suggests, the two brothers travel around from state-to-state, looking for unique places to eat. (Two of the show's original titles were Two for the Road and Good To Go.) Road Tasted is very similar in style to two other shows on the channel, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and Food Finds. On RRTT, Rachael visits several restaurants in specific cities (e.g., Atlanta, Boston) or locations (e.g., central California), offering her opinions on the quality and affordability of the food. On FF, Sandra Pinckney looks for specialty foods in small-town stores, restaurants and vendors; she offers information on how to order products as well. Road Tasted seems to be a blend of these two shows, or at least it does in the first episode, which was filmed in northern California. The brothers ate wine-grape pie in Napa Valley, sampled taffy on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and tasted cioppino at Phil's Fish Market. New episodes of the show air on Tuesdays at 10:00 PM.
The brothers are very likeable (yet, they are borderline annoying), they interact well with each other and the people they meet. However, I'm not sure how this show stands apart from the two from which it seems to take its cues: RRTT and FF. Do we really need another travelling food show, especially since it seems Alton Brown will soon air one?
Some links about the Deen boys:
- The Lady & Sons
- 'Deen boys earning name for themselves'
- 'Flagstaff House Restaurant Featured on New Food Network Show Hosted by Paula Deen's Sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen'
- 'Sons of Food Network chef Paula Deen bring their new show to Seattle'
The third edition of PR kicked off last night at 10:00PM, with a casting special that preceded it. The casting special was fun to watch, especially seeing the contestants who were told to leave before they could show their clothes. The first episode gave a great design challenge: the contestants were to trash their apartment, searching for materials to use for their first gown. Kate Spade was one of the judges (my wife received her black baby bag is a shower gift when The Cute was born). It's hard to tell who to root for at this point, but I will definitely not be rooting for Malan - Malan Breton.
Some links:
- Pinking Shears at 20 Paces
- The Tour: "Project Runway'' runs to NBC
- A chat with Tim Gunn of 'Project Runway'
- Ready - to where? (life after the show)
- Ann Althouse's take on the first episode
Do we really need another food traveling show?
ReplyDeleteDo we really need another Survivor or CSI show? (grins)
I think those shows live or die by the calibre of the host. Alton Brown is experienced, knows what he's good at and I suspect that his show will do well. (I'll be watching, anyway!) I'm not sure about the brothers show though, I agree.
"Survivor" and "Project Runway" are really the only reality shows I watch - well, ok, I did watch "Top Chef" when it was on.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the importance of the show host. The brothers seem engaging, but we'll see how it works out in future episodes. They certainly owe a lot to their mother! I'll probably check out Alton's show, as well.
I'm glad that new shows are airing, but it would be nice to see a more eclectic set of hosts. FoodTV has become so "white" lately, and it would be nice to see more people of color. I was very disappointed that yet another white guy won "Next Food Network Star." Pinckney and Bobby Rivers of "Top Five" are the only people of color that host a show right now. I'm not counting the host of "American Iron Chef," because that show is dominated by white people (Flay, Puck, Cora, Batali, Brown).
I had the same thought about yet another travelling food show. Though Alton's is not a new show, but a special that will run for a limited number of weeks.
ReplyDelete