Travel Channel's Man v. Food

[cocostarfish]

Has anyone seen this show yet? It's really fun and I LOVE the host. With Bizarre Foods and Bourdain, it seems the Travel Channel is doing food shows better then the Food Network.

It airs Wednesdays at 10p.

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows...

[Ericandblueboy]

I've only seen previews. Seems kind of silly in a funny way. Maybe I'll DVR it this week.

[LaLa]

I love the travel channel.My favorite is Sam Brown's shows but you are right...i see more food on it than food network!

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Slippery-M...

[dave_c]

I caught the re-airing of two shows last night - Amarillo and Memphis.

I know the hook of the show is the last segment where he (Adam Richman) takes on the food challenge. I found that part to be boring and kind of gross.

I enjoyed the warm-up places he visited before the big challenge.
Gus's fried chicken and the ribs at Rendevous looked great!

I also enjoyed that Richman described the food he was eating vs us watching him eat.

Pros
Describes the food and the flavor
He's a chatterbox with some witty banter - Interacts very well with the restaurant staff
Does NOT use phrases like "too legit to quit" or "that's money"

Cons
Watching someone consume mass quantities is not appealing
Parts of the show seemed staged - the ending Q&A segment and bits throughout the show.
Lack of food knowledge (?) where Richman made a comment that chuck is good steak. (Really?)

[Ericandblueboy]

Watching the Pittsburgh episode. He's eating alot of food that I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. He's lessing annoying than Guy but that doesn't say much about his slovenly ways.

[Phaedrus]

I am of two minds about this. I like his energy, and he is way less obnoxious than Guy Fieri. I also like to find out about the places he visits, although the steak place in Amarillo is a Travel Channel favorite, they have been there a bunch of times, even Tony Bourdain went there.

The shovel the food in your mouth thing is something uniquely American. i guess we are all so used to the abundance of food in this country that it takes something like consuming massive quantities of food to get our attention since we can't actually taste the food ourselves. It is still pretty disgusting to see though. You can eat 72 oz of meat looking dainty I guess.

[ritabwh]

I guess I could click on his bio...but, is he a professional eater?

[Ericandblueboy]

I think he says he's not. I watched another episode (that I recorded) last night. After two shows, I think he is as annoying as Guy.

[sommrluv]

I watched part of the one show, where he ate that four pound steak?

It made me physically ill. They basically butterflied a roast. EWWWWWWW.

I had to change the channel, I don't know if he finished it or not.

It was almost as foul as those hidden valley ranch commercials and the buckets of dressing.

[scubadoo97]

hard to beat Guy in the annoyance category

[JungMann]

There is a boyish earnestness that I find very entertaining in Adam Richman. He's the sole reason I watch the show (if there's nothing else on). He's got the perfect personality for the show: not obnoxious like Guy Fieri, not vulgar like Bourdain, not esoteric like Zimmern. I rarely watch full episodes, but every now and then I'll flip through and see him covered in some unknown sauce, perspiring from spice and the labor of eating 5 lbs. of meat in 5 minutes, his eyes near dazed but with this determined "I-Think-I-Can. I-Think-I-Can." look on his face.

[hudsonvalleyfoodblog]

I'm sure after one season everyone will be complaining about Adam Richman as well.

[Miss Needle]

I like him -- a much more likable version of Guy Fierri. Watching him cram all that food down kind of turns my stomach, but I'm willing to watch it. I will always catch him on the repeats as Top Chef is on at 10P on Wed.

[Davwud]

I've just recently caught this show and so far I like it.

I can see where it may become somewhat redundant though. Take away to food challenge and it's just another "Go to a city and eat at a few different places" show. The food challenge might lose it's charm. I find the stories about the others having met the challenge better than watching Adam challenged. Such as the story of the 83 YO grandmother who ate the 72oz steak.

DT

[L_W]

I finally caught this and I did enjoy this. But I also enjoy Guy F. I think the thing about Guy is the way the FN edits his stuff to make him look as "silly" as possible. I have a feeling that this show could easy be as over the top as Guy's quite easily.

[Kinnexa]

The ads looked promising but...too piggy for me. And the cheerleaders drive me nuts!

In the right light (and while stuffing his face) this guy looks a lot like John Belushi - think 'Animal House'

[therealdoctorlew]

Nothing exceeds like excess.

[FireRev]

This is so funny! When I saw this show, and set my dvr to record it, I thought it was a new show hosted by ALAN Richman, the food writer for GQ. I was impressed, because ALAN has some serious food cred. But this guy ADAM is someone else. I'm assuming not related. Ha!

I guess I'll still check out the show, but I don't expect much now.

[Ericandblueboy]

Alan Richman would probably make an entertaining food show.

[TheSFFog]

I like the show but Kevin Arnold ( Fred Savage ) has really let himself go. Maybe he could bring Winnie Cooper along for a couple of episodes !

[Phaedrus]

LOL. Its true! I guess Winnie left him too.

[newfie29]

Watched it for the first time last night, and Kevin Arnold came to mind immediately - that sort of cocked eyebrow, inquisitive look that is quite endearing - I find the show quite entertaining, in a gluttonous sort of way...

[Bunson]

This is a fun show to watch! The host is great, they do a good job of showcasing the restaurant, and the half hour format compacts everything in nice and tight and makes the half hour fly by.

[CucumberBoy]

I like the concept -- I'm a filthy pig myself -- but the host has all the personality of a phone book.

My gut feeling -- and it's a big one -- is The Travel Channel is going for their own version of the "young, urban and inexplicably hip food show host" ala Guy Fieri.

At least Guy has some credibility, some skills other than simply shoveling food into his gullet.

I submitted a programming idea to FN recently -- I call it "Stomach Stuffers". The show features celebrities who've recently undergone stomach-stapling/lap band surgery; the first segment will show graphic details of the surgery and recovery process. The second segment will be a competition whereby celebrities out-do one another to see who can stretch and distend their new "thumbache" the quickest, ala Carnie Wilson.

I'm still waiting for FN's reply and cheque.

-cb-