Restaurant Impossible BBQ Craziness

CarolinaQue said:
The biggest reason they brought him back was because Michael Simon, the one that replaced him after he was found out, has the personality of my shoe!!! He may be a great chef, but his camera presence sucks in my opinion. I do think that Robert can cook and should have never embelished his resume. As far as birch, it is a very usable wood. Here is a list of many:

WOOD SELECTION FOR SMOKING & GRILLING
by Bill Wight​
Here is a list of woods suitable for smoking:

ACACIA - these trees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has a flavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy. A very hot burning wood.
ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.
ALMOND - A sweet smoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.
APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.
ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.
BIRCH - Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.
CHERRY - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry wood is the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitter flavor.
COTTONWOOD - It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don't use green cottonwood for smoking.
CRABAPPLE - Similar to apple wood.
GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.
HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking--the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef.
LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.
MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.
MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning.
MULBERRY - The smell is sweet and reminds one of apple.
OAK - Heavy smoke flavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.
ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.
PEAR - A nice subtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.
PECAN - Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.
SWEET FRUIT WOODS - APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.
WALNUT - ENGLISH and BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game.
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Whaaaa?? No peach wood?

Myron would have a "damn" fit!:laugh:

Oops! Should have saw the sweet fruit woods!:doh:
 
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btcg said:
Carolina,

I know you've got a ton of experience, and now that you've pointed out the birch comments may have been uninformed, I'd note, that I'm now converted somewhat in my choices.

After using fruitwoods, hardwoods are just too heavy for my tastes, most of the time.
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I hear what you're sayin'!!! Some woods aren't what some people like...that's the beauty of this thing called BBQ!!!

But I will say that most people I've taked to about wood smoke and it being to strong usually don't have a good grasp on how to use it properly. Either by using it before it's seasoned well, to much of it or some thing of the sort.
 
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Well, interesting for this to come up right now. I'm just downloading the entire series now. Have not seen any of it yet. I just like seeing shows where Idiots own restaurants. I'm makes me actually run my business better, because it alerts me to how people can make stupid decisions, lose interest in their business, are unable to manage people etc...

I hope it works for me in that respect. As for the Birch wood. I believe it's used a fair bit in fish smoking in Scandinavian countries...

Cheers!

Bill
 
CarolinaQue said:
I hear what you're sayin'!!! Some woods aren't what some people like...that's the beauty of this thing called BBQ!!!

But I will say that most people I've taked to about wood smoke and it being to strong usually don't have a good grasp on how to use it properly. Either by using it before it's seasoned well, to much of it or some thing of the sort.
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I'd wager they use too much.

But even if they use it properly, hardwoods impart a much deeper flavor, and for my tastes, fruitwood's less turns out actually to be more.

Gonna definitely use peach today for my ribs.
 
i remember as a kid i used to cook with birchwood alot it was good for burghers, hot dogs, and fish. i did not know then what wood i was grabbing along the shore of the river but i know now.
 
I love my briskets to taste like aspirin, it cuts down on the next mornings pain when I have had too much beer during cooking :becky:
 
I like watching Alton Brown. He's the reason I'm here - I was going to make an AB smoker, then I found the UDS.

To tell truth, I probably would have built a Smoker Joe instead, had I known about them. I'm certainly not unhappy with my UDS though.

Back on topic - Some of these food "personalities" are just that. I like to watch people cook different things, but it seems that most of these TV types focus too much on "color" in foods. "Look at that color." "This is a wonderful food, just look at that color." "I add these ingredients to give it that color." Honestly, seeing some of the stuff they're making I wonder if they've ever bothered to taste the stuff they're making. It's cooking for yuppie show-offs.

I have disliked Irvine ever since I watched one of those "reality" cooking shows he was doing where they bring him in to put together some elaborate meal in the shortest timeframe possible. Inasmuch as I hate "reality tv", he comes off as a blustering jerk who likes to browbeat his help.

Fortunately I have 3 kids and no real time to watch TV now, just when I'm helping feed the youngest a bottle.
 
RI didn't impress me on "Dinner: Impossible", but I gained a new respect for him on the second season of "Worse Cooks in America". He seemed like a pretty good instructor.
 
Never cared too much for the "Dinner Impossible" thing, probably because of the scripting of everything. But with "Restaurant Impossible" there is a real life situation where things, for any number of reasons, have gone very wrong and the ship is going down.
Running a successful food joint takes a ton of work. That Robert can come into a failing one and bring it back to operational (and potential success) status in just a couple of days is really amazing. I know, a lot of that can be just what the camera and editor throws at ya. The work and the transformation is real though as are the smiles and compliments from the people eating their meals.
Gotta give him a thumbs up for sheer grit to take it on and the tenacity to see it through. I also like the aspect of giving someone a second chance to either make or break it. :thumb:
 
I enjoy the show. I watch those shows to catch different cooking techniques, and different flavor combinations... (I think dinner impossible back in the day was the show that inspired me to make chocolate-covered bacon).

Don't quite agree with all the hate towards Robert though. Yes, he padded his resume a bit, but he knows how to cook, and how to run a kitchen. Personality-wise, I can't say, I don't know him, although it sounds vaguely like the comments people not in the know would say about Mr. Mixon. "He can cook, but that guy is a jerk!"

It's TV. Good guys and bad guys are all needed for ratings. Myron is a really nice, down to earth guy. TV shows are designed to entertain, and to make you want to watch them....

- Snookie is not hot.
- Jack Bauer isn't a real person.
- Alton Brown, while incredibly knowledgeable, still has to learn his subjects before shows.
- "Dinner: Impossible" is scripted.
- KITT from Knight Rider wasn't NEARLY as intelligent as the show made him out to be.
 
After watching him on tv I thought he was a great chef but just like most people my opinion of his moral character went to crap after the scandal. I do have more respect for Alton Brown, the guy is a freekin cooking encyclopedia!
 
So enough about Robert's integrity or AB's vast cooking knowledge (he actually went to school to learn about food so that he could do what he does...the plan worked brilliantly)......

Did anyone actually notice the freaking dirty bbq restaurant in the show? Can you believe they were serving food out of there?

I opened a restaurant once that the previous owners had been in business and said all I had to do was order food and open the doors. Well, it all looked clean on the surface. When I started cleaning it took two months to finish and open the doors. I could not believe anyone served food out of there.

The restaurant in that show was disgraceful.
 
Cook said:
Did anyone actually notice the freaking dirty bbq restaurant in the show? Can you believe they were serving food out of there?

I opened a restaurant once that the previous owners had been in business and said all I had to do was order food and open the doors. Well, it all looked clean on the surface. When I started cleaning it took two months to finish and open the doors. I could not believe anyone served food out of there.

The restaurant in that show was disgraceful.
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And if you went back there today I bet it's a mess again. The guy & his wife didn't look like they were all that motivated...
 
hamiltont said:
And if you went back there today I bet it's a mess again. The guy & his wife didn't look like they were all that motivated...
Click to expand...

At the end of the show, that is exactly what is said. They allowed the mess to creep back in and the place was closed with a small sign in the window that said they would reopen soon.

It also said that when FTN called them, they reported doing much better financially, yet they were closed and dirty......:crazy:
 
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