Anybody else watch Restaurant Impossible?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I recently found this show on Amazon Prime and have watched about 10+ episodes.</p>

<p>What is with the Health Depts in the areas that many of these restaurants are in? I’ve lived most of my life in two areas…Southern Calif and Alabama. Both states have tough health depts inspections for restaurants. In Alabama, inspections are once a month and you get written up for the smallest infractions. If you get a borderline score, they come back in a week or so for a recheck. You can easily get shut-down…and places do get shut-down. </p>

<p>When I’ve watched RI and Chef Robert finds disgusting kitchens I’ve been scratching my head wondering what the heck is going on with these areas’ inspectors???</p>

<p>I like the show for other reasons, but I’m really at a loss for what’s up with the inspectors!</p>

<p>lol…also wondering if they’re really sticking to the so-called $10k budget. </p>

<p>Who else has watched this show? </p>

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<p>We watch it all the time. I’ve also wondered about the inspectors. And remember, that $10K budget doesn’t include labor.</p>

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<p>^^</p>

<p>Yes I know it doesnt’ include labor. But even just in materials there have been shows that seem to clearly exceed that.</p>

<p>In the first couple of shows, budget seemed to dominate the show. Then in a few shows in later years, budget seems to have gone by the way side…new chairs/tables, pricier floorings, etc.</p>

<p>In one of the first shows, they had to cut into the budget to buy food for the fridge. In later shows there are trucks delivering huge amounts of food with no mention of budget. </p>

<p>So far, I haven’t seen any mention of bathrooms. I imagine some have pretty crummy bathrooms. </p>

<p>But seriously, THE INSPECTORS…where are they? I would think that if I lived where any of these dirty restaurants were, I’d be calling up the health inspection office and asking what grades have they been giving out.</p>

<p>Also…where I’ve lived, the Score Card has to be prominently placed in the restaurant. I haven’t seen any so far on this show. </p>

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<p>Have not watched the show, but we were just in LA, and as D2 was showing us around, we drove by a restaurant that was part of the series, and she pointed it out to us. </p>

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<p>^^
which restaurant was it? Wonder if it was a dirty one? Not all have dirty kitchens or bad fridge practices, but the ones that do are just awful.</p>

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<p>Oops, I was wrong (H just corrected me). It was Bar Rehab that she was talking about. The one we drove by was near Riverside Dr. and Laurel Canyon Rd.</p>

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<p>I’ve been watching for years. I actually like the predecessor, * Dinner: Impossible * better. </p>

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<p>Every restaurant I’ve ever worked on we were forced to put in at least one HC bathroom if there wasn’t one already.</p>

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<p>Oh my…Last night I was about to watch an episode from the first season and had to stop just a few minutes in. There were rat droppings and (I think) a dead rat on the floor. I got to sick to my stomach to continue watching…so switched to another episode. Ugh. </p>

<p>But don’t y’all get tears in your eyes when you see people who have everything tied up into these restaurants and they’re about to lose everything…and then things get turned around?</p>

<p>I also wonder about the ones with lousy tasting food (many of them). Don’t they taste their own menu? Don’t they realize that if people aren’t coming in then the food must not be too good? </p>

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<p>I found it tiring as every episode has the Grand Reopening held up by painters, carpenters, decorators, and countless tongue lashings by Robert. Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares” also has plenty of horrible kitchens and you see him vomiting into garbage cans every so often. These are not good shows to watch while eating dinner.</p>

<p>Maybe these restaurants clean up a bit before their inspection and then let it slide for a few months? Or grease the palm?</p>

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<p>I can’t stand to watch the ones with dirty kitchens. Makes you not want to eat out at mom and pop places. If you go to the website you’ll see what happens down the road with the restaurants. Most of them end up failing or going back to their old menus, etc. A two day lesson isn’t going to educate people enough, especially when they have to hire a new chef or he’s giving them basic cooking lessons.</p>

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<p>“I found it tiring as every episode has the Grand Reopening held up by painters, carpenters, decorators, and countless tongue lashings by Robert.”</p>

<p>Yes, he is brutal! to everyone. In an episode last night, the poor woman was in tears (he does seem to be easier on the women) and he did try to soothe her afterwards. </p>

<p>“Maybe these restaurants clean up a bit before their inspection and then let it slide for a few months? Or grease the palm?”</p>

<p>Well, i don’t know how it works in THOSE states, but here, inspections are every month and you don’t know when they’re coming…so the point is to catch operations “off guard”. </p>

<p>And, as I said, where I live now not only is the Grade Report req’d to be prominently posted for all to see, it lists every tiny infraction. In Calif, there is only a Big Grade (A, B), but where I live now it’s a big form with every tiny infraction mentioned and then with a big Sharpie the final grade is written with HUGE numbers (97%, 85%, whatever) so it can be seen from a distance. And, the local newspapers print the grades…lol. And if you’re below 80%, you get revisited by the inspectors within days. If you get below a 70, you’re shut down.</p>

<p>IF in other states, inspections are quarterly (or worse!) and you’re on a known schedule, then shame on those states for doing that!!! </p>

<p>There is another new show, Mystery Diners, which uses a company that uses hidden cameras and fake diners/employees to uncover employee misbehaviors (thieves, rudeness, etc). I think it’s a new show (maybe not), and I’ve only seen a couple episodes, but it’s fascinating.</p>

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<p>If I had to put in hidden cameras I’d assume I was the one with the problem knowing how to manage, not the employees. </p>

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<p>There’s a blog tracking which of the fixed-up places are still in business- so many aren’t. I’ve wondered how they get any replacement materials so fast. I’m convinced they have their own warehouses or trucks pre-stocked. There are usually location crews and production teams that scout these places before final choices are made. </p>

<p>On apartment therapy (web site,) there was an article by someone who had had his living room redone- all about the pre-interviews, etc- and how they had to refilm the final unveiling a few times to get the right level of enthusiasm from the homeowners.</p>

<p>I had a copy if my state’s health regulations for food service. It was about an inch and a half thick, weighed a ton. No idea how they get around these rules. </p>

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<p>“If I had to put in hidden cameras I’d assume I was the one with the problem knowing how to manage, not the employees.”</p>

<p>Yes…that’s usually the problem. Mgmt has made poor decision or isn’t managing well. In one case, it was a couple who owned the place. She insisted that a couple employees were bad, and He insisted that these employees were wonderful. The cameras revealed that she was right.</p>

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<p>Two if the places on the show are from my area. I haven’t been to either one.</p>

<p>Sometimes the food is good according to him but their service is bad.</p>

<p>I like the show… it’s amazing to me how crazy some of those places are. </p>

<p>You cab make 10k last pretty far if you sui things yourself. I renovated a kitchen the other year for like 1000 (reused the stove, did anew sink, range good, counter tops, refinished cabinets, new tile back slash, and paint). Most expensive thing was the new fridge which took up like 600 of that 1000!</p>

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<p>^^
Right, when you have the luxury of time, you can renew some stuff yourself. But, restaurants are usually quite large…lots of seating, lots of walls, tons of square footage of flooring.</p>

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<p>Yeah I know. It always socks me how much they do. </p>

<p>I have read a few reviews online though of places and it seems they don’t look as nice in person as on tv. I think they frame then well on tv.</p>

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<p>oops wrong thread</p>

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<p>I record and watch both Restaurant Impossible and Mystery Diners without fail. Its interesting to see how business owners get themselves into these predicaments, and how they can sometimes be blind to their problems. The complications of family dynamics often add another whole layer of problems. I think that anyone who owns a small business or works with small businesses can learn a lot of lessons from these shows.</p>

<p>As for inspections from the health department, the inspections in my city are done at least twice a year. However, inspection results are only posted online.</p>