Luke's Blog

RIP Harvey Korman... one of my fond childhood memories was watching him, with my mom and dad, on the Carol Burnett show.

The Mario Kart racing is coming to the Wii

The new site Hulu has the best episode of what I consider the best comedy ever on tv (yes even better than Seinfeld)

 Here's a funny online birthday message someone pointed out to me: (and no, it's not my birthday)

Are you like most people and missed the Oscars?  Here's a site that boiled it down to one minute.

Here's one of my favorite old spoofs:

I'm not sure if this is still true now that people are scrambling for Wii consoles for gifts but there is one place that was a sure bet to find the game a few months ago.

If you go to the Nintendo World store in Rock Center you might be able to get one.  I went in and bought one of the 100 or so that they had behind the counter.

Just an idea if you have not been able to get one at your regular store.

Kitchen Nightmares is Chef Gordon Ramsay's hit show on Fox 5.
The season finale airs on December 12 at 9 p.m.  Ramsay will help the owner of Secret Garden in Moorpark, California put his restaurant back on the map.  Word is that Ramsay will get into an all out shouting match with the owner when he doesn't like the suggested changes.  It should be a good one.  Watch a preview below.

Watch past episodes of the show right here on MyFoxNY.com.  CLICK HERE to go to Fox On Demand and watch.

If your restaurant is in the New York or tri-state area and you'd like to be featured on Kitchen Nightmares please call:
Lisa
917-678-9996
or email at Twinswordl1@aol.com

For areas outside of New York click on the link on the right side of the page for more information.

See where the New York  area restaurants he attempts to rescue are located on the map below.  Double-click on the icons to find out more about the restaurant and read episode reviews below.

 
View Larger Map

The following is a rundown of the episodes that feature New York area establishments and a quick take on the episodes by MyFoxNY.com's Luke Funk, a fan of the show.


Episode 1:  Peter's.  Chef Gordon Ramsay visits a small, family-run Italian restaurant on the southern shore of Long Island.  He's faced with a hot-tempered Godfather wannabe, Peter the restaurant manager who is driving his family crazy and the business into the ground.  Luke's take on the episode:  It was hard not to root for the restaurant's ultimate failure after about 20 minutes of watching Peter's act.  I can only assume he revered back to normal about 3 days after the cameras left.

Episode 2:  Dillons.  Chef Gordon Ramsay is hitting the big city in an attempt to revamp Indian restaurant Dillons and make it one of the hottest venues in town.  Luke's take on the episode:  This might have been the most disgusting restaurant ever caught on camera.  Take the Taco Bell rats over this mess!  Who would trust a turnaround to last?

Episode 3:  The Mixing Bowl.  Gordon Ramsay visits the small restaurant, The Mixing Bowl.  With the owner in the kitchen and an inexperienced manager running the front of the house, things are going downhill fast.  Luke's take on the episode:  John Lydon asked "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"  That's what the owner should have been asking his staff as he paid for incompetence.  One word:  coupons.

Episode 4:  Seascape Restaurant & Taproom.  A mother-son team is running their beloved familiy restaurant, Seascape, into the ground.  A hard-headed chef, mixed with an inexperienced general manager, is a recipe for disaster.  Luke's take on the episode:  We've all stumbled into restaurants like this.  If they can't keep the wallpaper on the wall you wonder how much they're thinking about the food.  Sometimes chain restaurants can be an advantage over a family establishment.

Episode 5:  The Olde Stone Mill.  Restaurant owner Dean and his wife have poured their lives into renovating The Olde Stone Mill, but the service and food were horrible  Chef Gordon Ramsay and the owner clash when it comes to making changes.  Luke's take on the episode:  What a great building.  It was nice to see Ramsey not have to have the kitchen scrubbed.  How could things go so wrong in this spot?

Episode 6:  Sebastian's.  Chef Ramsay takes on the west coast where this restaurant is in a state of chaos.  Luke take on the episode:  Ah, nothing like a pizza joint trying to make itself out as a fine dining establishment.  Watching this clown operate makes me think I could consider myself a chef.  I actually use more fresh ingredients than he did.  I'm surprised there weren't big blocks of stolen government cheese in the kitchen fridge.  What a waste of Ramsay's time to have to tell a pizza place to use the already installed brick  ovens.  I'm not sure if this actor-wanna-be was serious or playing a role as the crazy man.  At least the cook got what she wanted with a fresh dough maker.

Episode 7:  Finn McCool's.   The show moved back to Long Island for a visit to a West Hampton money-pit.  Retired dad Buddy poured all of his life savings into running this restaurant and has never cashed a paycheck.  His son Brian, who serves as head chef, doesn't respect his father or his job.  Plus, Brian is making everyone unhappy, including the customers.  Luke's take on the episode:  It says it all when the chef says, "I learned my Shephard's Pie from someone who knew someone who went to Ireland".  This was one of Ramsay's easiest turn-arounds to date.

Episode 8:  Lela's.  Chef Ramsay tries to rev up business for Lela's, an upscale restaurant in desperate need of diners.  When Gordon gets in the kitchen and starts criticizing the menu items, the executive chef is less than thrilled and they have a showdown in front of the entire staff.  Luke's take on the episode:  There's nothing wrong with powdered mashed potatoes just don't charge me upscale prices for them.   This place has one of the best collections of kitchen misfits, from the wrapping chef to the Napoleonic sous chef and the sticky fingered assistant.  You have to give props to a chef who will defend his day old nachos.

Episode 9:  Campania.  It is an Italian restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey that's losing more money than it is making.  With the wait staff hanging out in the kitchen as if it were a high school cafeteria, food rarely hits customers' tables.  Luke's take on the episode:  I can get my Italian and a tan in the same strip mall.  What more could I ask for?  This episode provided me with my favorite moment of the series when Chef Ramsay said "sorry about the old bag".  Fawlty Towers anyone?

Episode 10:  Secret Garden.  (12/12/07)  Stay tuned for a review.

Kitchen Nightmares is Chef Gordon Ramsay's hit show on Fox 5.  It airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m.

OCTOBER 12 - 17, 2007

 The 7th Annual Russian Film Week will open in style with a red carpet New York premiere of Andrei Konchalovsky’s film “Gloss” (Glyanets), at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center (199 Chambers Street) in Manhattan. The film follows the story of a small town girl arriving in the big city determined to conquer the capital by getting involved in the dangerous and glamorous world of the new Russian elite. Mr. Konchalovsky, one of Russia’s best-known directors, has made such movies as “Tango & Cash”, “Runaway Train”, “Maria’s Lovers”, and “House of Fools”. The premiere will be followed by an exclusive reception for the celebrities and VIPs at the Russian Mission to the United Nations hosted by the Russian Ambassador to the UN.

The Annual Russian Film Week will run from October 12 through October 17 at the Clearview Cinemas on 62nd Street & Broadway.  Cinema lovers will be offered a variety of groundbreaking movies including blockbusters, innovative dramas, comedies and art house films. Most of the films will be presented to the public by its stars and directors arriving in New York especially for the Film Week. All movies are subtitled.

Russian Film Week is proud to announce the following line-up:

·         “Two in One” (Dva v Odnom) an art house film by Kira Muratova has already premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and due to an overwhelming demand is coming back to New York for the Russian Film Week.

Times: Sunday, Oct. 14 at 6:00pm, Wednesday, Oct 17 at 8:30pm

·         “Nothing Personal” (Nichego Lichnogo), a cocktail of crime, melodrama and comedy, directed by Larisa Sadilova, about a case of mistaken identity by a private detective who follows the wrong woman and falls in love with her.

            Times: Friday, Oct. 12 at 4:00pm, Monday, Oct 15 at 6:00pm

·         “Vice” (Tiski), a controversial film directed by Valery Todorovsky about a young DJ named Dennis who gets in trouble and crosses some very dangerous people, falling into the world of murder, crime and excess.

 Times: Saturday, Oct. 13 at 3:30pm, Monday, Oct 17 at 8:30pm

·         “Propaganda Team: Hit the Enemy”(Agitbrigada: Bei Vraga!), a comedy by Vitaly Melnikov,  one of the most respected directors in Russia.  A humorous glance at a group of performers traveling down the mighty Volga River during World War II, stopping at various villages along the way to entertain people.

      Times: Sunday, Oct. 14 at 1:00pm and  8:30pm

·         “Father” (Otets), a war drama directed by Ivan Solovov based on a short story “The Return” by Andrei Platonov, censored during Stalin’s reign. After the end of World War II, Capitan Ivanov returns to his wife and children, but has a very hard time adjusting to the civilian life.

      Times: Friday, Oct. 12 at 1:30pm, Tuesday, Oct 16 at 6:00pm

·         “Lovey-Dovey” (Lubov-Morkov), this year’s blockbuster comedy, directed by Alexander Strizhenov and starring Russia’s music superstar Kristina Orbakaite, about a young couple that switches bodies in order to save their marriage.

      Times: Saturday, Oct. 13 at 1:00pm & 9:00pm, Wednesday, Oct 17 at 3:00pm

·         “Russian Game” (Russkaya Igra) a comedy about a down on his luck Italian gambler who needs to pay off his debts within a week or suffer the consequences. He decides that he can win all the money that he needs in Russia where he meets a ring of card shark thieves, getting scammed in the process, but having the adventure of his life, directed by Pavel Chukhraj, the Oscar-nominated director for the Best Foreign Language Film of 1998 “The Thief”.

      Times: Monday, Oct. 15 at 3:00pm, Tuesday, Oct 16 at 8:30pm

·         “Treasure Raiders” – a thriller directed by Brent Huff, starring David Carradine and Alexander Nevsky about a top Russian street racer nicknamed Wolf and Michael, an American professor, who together search for an ancient treasure in Moscow.

      Times: Saturday, Oct. 13 at 6:30pm, Sunday, Oct 14 at 3:30pm

·         “The Actress” – a lyrical comedy directed by Stanislav Govorukhin about a talented, but down on her luck actress. But luck is all about being at the right place at the right time. Watch what happens!

      Times: Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 3:00pm, Wednesday, Oct 17 at 6:00pm

if you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks you might not know about the big movie opening this weekend.  It's "The Simpsons Movie."  Check out what Ron and Jodi would look like if they were characters in The Simpsons:

If you would like to Springfieldize yourself go to

 THIS SITE

I'm already dreading the new Harry Potter movie.  I've enjoyed all 4 of the movies.  My wife and I make a point to see them on IMAX for the great big screen and good sound system in the theater.  It makes it a great movie experience when watching movies at home is generally becoming a much more enjoyable process.

Now back to the dread.  If you have not heard, the final 20 minutes of the movie (at least the IMAX version) will be in 3-D.  Hollywood, I beg you, please give up on this silly "technology."  It was more than irritating in Superman Returns to have to slap on the glasses multiple times to watch a couple of slightly blurry scenes.  I am convinced the scene of Superman running through the corn fields was shot and inserted into the movie simply for the 3-D effects.

Why do they have to bring this gimick back every generation?  It should have died the final death with Jaws 3-D.

If you're a fan of the annual hot dog eating contest on Coney Island (and who isn't) check out the coverage page that we're putting together for this year's event.

HOT DOG EATING CONTEST

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