Restaurant impossible
Just as the restaurant wasn't not allowed to make any comments until the show had aired on the food network channel, I was asked as well not to write any hubs about this once in a lifetime opportunity until the episode was finally shown to the world on national television. Well guess what, the show aired in May and been seen by countless devoted people across the country who are fanatics when it comes to watching cooking shows. I'm not one of these people, but in my household I'm subjected to cooking shows like the "Iron Chef" night and day. So now that it's been seen, I just couldn't resist writing a hub about the entire experience.
It all started back in the cold rainy month of February. Filming took place for the show on February 29th (yes leap day), and on March 1st 2012. I drove by the restaurant everyday while this was going on, and I had no idea what was happening inside of the restaurant at the time. There were vehicles everywhere, and white tents with windows on them lined up in the parking lot. There were even television cameras being sheltered by umbrellas, but what was actually happening there was a mystery, and kept secret from the general public. We all knew something special must have been happening, but a few days past by before we were made aware.
We then learned that Robert Irvine was filming one of his restaurant impossible episodes at this particular restaurant. The entire show was about turning around a local restaurant with just $10,000 in renovations in a mere two days. The whole idea, and project is phenomenal to say the very least. Robert Irvine travels to restaurants across the country working to prevent these small businesses from closing their doors. The restaurants themselves don't need to do anything to prepare for the show. This entire idea is very commendable.
Now I didn't attend the grand reopening night of this restaurant, but I know plenty of people in person who did. This night was certainly not intended for those who were in a particular hurry. The line outside of the restaurant was long, and the weather was very cold that night. A friend of mine said that they waited well over two hours to even get inside the restaurant. Once inside the wait continued, but at least they could warm up a little bit. They said the food that night, once it was delivered was cold, and they all could hear Chef Robert Irvine yelling back in the kitchen. However they said that they never saw Robert Irvine. Really when you come right down to it the whole point of even being there on that one particular night, is just so a person can have bragging rights, and be able to say - "I was there that night". And if that's what you want to do then all of the power to you.
I on the other hand chose to wait until the next day, and got carry out. I simply got a burger and fries. Now I'm no food critic, But I do know what taste good. The burger tasted good, and the fries were excellent. However I don't know if I'd go out of my way to make a long trip for the food. According to the "True TV" website, business at this restaurant has picked up 15%, and I can vouch for that because there's definitely more cars in the parking lot when I drive by. Another thing that's there now every time I drive by is this massive mural on the side of the restaurant. It completely looks different when you are looking at it as you are driving by on the road. I think if I would have had something to do with it, I may have done a little something different. Like maybe not cutting off a portion of the man's body with an existing window. But this is artwork, and we all have to respect what the artist see in their eyes.
I know that this may not seem like such a big deal to everyone out there, but how often does someone get to see something like this evolve in front of them. The food was really good, and plus I had another excuse to write a hub.