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I watched The Phantom Gourmet on Boston's NECN station for years. It was hosted by Billy Costa, who is also a DJ on the long-running KISS-108 morning show with Matt Siegel. After the show ran for eight years, producer Dan Andelman and his family moved the show to WSBK 38, another Boston station. Costa stayed at NECN and launched a new show, TV Diner. The Phantom Gourmet is a mysterious person (they won't say whether the diner is male or female) who goes around in secret and reviews Boston and New England eating establishments. The show gives the restaurants a grade. The show also features other reviews and features as well.
TV Diner is a little different. They feature a lot of chefs and go behind the scenes of restaurants. The do reviews too, giving a "plate" grade, but it's not as much of a focus as it is on the other show.
To say things are tense between the two shows is an understatement. Besides the typical tension you would expect from two similar shows in the same TV market, Costa is a little ticked that The Phantom Gourmet asks their guests (chefs, foodies, customers, etc) not to appear on the other show for a few months.
I've watched both shows. I watched when Costa hosted TPG and I watch TPG now that it's hosted by Andelman. I don't mind TV Diner at all, it's just that it's on a TV station I hardly ever watch (NECN is the cable news station here) and I never remember when it's on.
I do take issue with The Phantom Gourmet's rule about restaurant reviewing though. At an appearance at Border's for their book, the Andelmans said that the Phantom only visits a restaurant once and then does a review. I think that's a little unfair. Any restaurant can have a bad night. Imagine if someone judged TPG by watching only one episode.
But it's a fun show. They both are. I've learned about places to eat more from these shows than any other resource. Now I guess we have to see whether or not two shows like this can survive in the same market. Both shows are in it for the long haul.
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7-26-2007 @9:26AM Jon said... Phantom Gourmet sucks. I used to like it, but they changed the formula a couple years ago so it's no longer worth watching.
The big problem is that the show is too lowbrow. The hosts don't seem to care about food at all. Their favorite restaurant is a cheap bar known for its wings, and they also have segments about their favorite cereals and fast-food places. I've never seen any of them talk about enjoying a real restaurant or any kind of good food.
And the actual restaurant reviews are the same way. Every time I turn it on, it's a theme show about something lowbrow. It's always "Best Burgers", "Best Hot Dogs", "Best Comfort Food", etc. I don't mind that sometimes; I like burgers and fries too. But most of the time, the show seems to focus on the same few topics, and it's boring.
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7-26-2007 @12:55PM Nelson said... All I have to say is that Phantom Gourmet chose Fuddruckers as it's best burger in town. The Andelman bros. are food hacks who bow down the the almighty advertising $$$. Fuddruckers...blech.
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7-26-2007 @4:08PM Laura K said... I gotta say I have pretty much the same complaints---I don't really trust the Phantom Gourmet's judgements. It seems like it really is all about advertising dollars and corporate chains. And I LIKE Fuddrucker's burgers. Well, I like them in California. The one time I went to a Fuddrucker's here it was sadly, sadly disappointing. Which makes it even more surprising that TPG judged it the best burger. Perhaps I should check out TV Diner?
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8-01-2007 @7:38PM Will said... I agree completely that Phantom has gone WAY downhill. I watched them when they were the only game in town. TV Diner is far superior. The Andelman's are just out for the money. Their Phantom Gourmet event in Boston was a disgrace. Take people who know nothing about food and give them a food show and this is what you get. I don't put any faith in the Phantom reviews at all.
www.TheBostonFoodie.blogspot.com
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8-04-2007 @9:22AM Crystal King said... I've been doing restaurant reviews for a local paper for a few months now and one of my rules is that I need to have eaten somewhere at least twice and that I always bring people with me so I can get a good understanding of the variety of foods. Very strange that the Phantom would only visit once. You just can't have any sort of accurate understanding of a location with only one visit.
I never manage catching Phantom that often but TV Diner is on a lot and I usually watch it although I think that they are also quite advertising focused. Plus they aren't very hard-assed about any of the restaurants-Costa is so busy schmoozing it up with chefs that I doubt places get their fair dues. Plus he's so smarmy (in the same annoying way that Todd English is) that I have a hard time watching him for long.
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8-09-2007 @10:08PM Robert Nadeau said... As a veteran restaurant reviewer in Boston, I have to confess that I don't watch television. I think it's hard enough to describe food in printed words without also having to make taste visual. That said, I take exception to the blog's position that one visit is insufficient because any restaurant can have a bad night. In my view, if they are charging the public, they are subject to review. Also, after decades on this beat, I have a sense of what kinds of problems are transient (waiter spills soup) versus structural (vanilla and carrot juice are never going to be a great sauce for lobster). I do sample from a least three or four full-course dinners, and try to make multiple visits to get a better sense of the atmosphere. On the other hand, when I do eat alone, I have a lot more time to think and concentrate. But at today's prices, very few publications can afford multiple visits, and one cannot do a consumer column without the publication paying all expenses. My expenses are now sometimes more than I get paid for my time and writing! This is not a healthy market unless you think that fine dining should be once again reserved for the rich.
Robert Nadeau, restaurant critic
The Boston Phoenix
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