Being honest, I have not yet had a chance to try the Guy Fieri's burger on board. What have I heard about them is that are both good and "just awful." The caramel-flavored shake sounds really good, but I haven't tried it.
But in any case - the New York Times just reviewed the new Guy Fieri restaurant and they have literally NOTHING good to say about the food.
Fieri appeared on Today to respond to the Times review. His rebuttal was pretty weak in my opinion, saying the reviewer had 'an agenda' and also that the restaurant was still new and they are constantly striving to improve. That is an admission that things are not going good. The thing is the reviewer went to the restaurant four times not just once. You can see the NBC piece here. There is a commercial before the interview starts.
The Guy's Burgers on Liberty and Breeze are good. The main thing that makes them better than the previous burgers are the toppings and sauces. The burger itself is about the same. It's definitely an improvement but not anything earth shattering.
I will say that I did enjoy them.
Take care,
Mike
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I read the review, & heard his rebuttal...he is no different then any celebrity chef, that opens restaurants wide all over...consistency is always the issue..He was on Wendy Williams with this pretzel chicken tenders..she raved,and this week she made them at home,and raved again. Go figure.
I do think that never enjoying any menu item, over 4 visits is hard to swallow though. If true, the lines leaving would be longer then the lines to get in....check please!
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I'm not a fan of Guy Fieri, but after our cruise on the Carnival Breeze I am a fan of the Guy's Burgers.
As Mike said, the variety of toppings really make it work. Plus I thought the buns were really good.
I couldn't eat the buns so I can't really comment on them. I could only have a "Naked Guy".
My nephew ate about ten of the burgers on our cruise last March and he loved them. We gave him some ribbing about the number of burgers he consumed.
I do believe that things aren't going well for the restaurant and the critic did have an agenda. The truth is somewhere in the middle but with the publicity this review is receiving Guy is going to have to do a lot of damage control and get that restaurant to a level well above where it currently is.
Take care,
Mike
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I'm sorry - but as a reviewer myself I have a very hard accepting the idea that anyone would write a review this bad because they have an agenda - Not only would that be a firing offense, it would ruin your reputation as a reviewer.
Impartiality and sense of balance is the stock and trade of a reviewer. I have been on ships where I good experiences and I have been on ships where I didn't - and I always try to tell the truth keeping in mind that my job is not to write according to what appeals to me - but what I think is best for the general masses - the public customers.
The only reviewers I know "with an agenda" are the ones who fawn over everything the get solely so they can get more free stuff. When I see a reviewer who has nothing to gain by going negative doing so - I tend to believe they are REALLY serious about what they experienced - and not making it up.
"Having an agenda" is the biggest cop out for any business that gets a bad review. As someone who has been on receiving end of reactions from cruise lines who have endured both good and bad reviews from me - I can tell you without a doubt that if you want to gain my respect back you say "we appreciate what you had to say and we want you to know we are trying harder."
The LAST THING any business should ever do is accuse a reviewer of having an agenda. It reeks of insecurity and a general lack of respect for what the reviewer does for a living (insinuating they can be "bought").
I know the NYT policy on travel is "no free trips" so I am guessing the same is true of the restaurants - no free food. So - exactly what kind of "agenda" could the writer have? He didn't like the table?
Actually, the only thing he complimented was the staff who he said seemed to realize they were serving an inferior product.
Linda hit it on the nose with her comment about "celebrity chefs" - Many of them will put their name on almost anything, but keeping the quality up is the responsibility of management. It sounds like Carnival does well with their burgers based on the comments here.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Another thing with celebrity restaurants is the "IN" factor..people want to go, to say they've been...then if it's bad, they trash it, and if it's was good, it's fablulous chit chat.
I have a celebrity reataurant on our block in Wellesley Ma. It's Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger. This place has had fabulous reviews...we share a communal parking lot,and when they are cooking,and we inhale, you can gain 5 pounds easily His entree into the rarified air of celeb chefs, was slow and calculated, with no endorsements for a long time..I think he still has only the one restaurant.
Limos used to drive 4 hrs form NYC, loaded with people to dine at Blue Ginger..eat, then drive 4 hrs back..oy! Our parkinglot at times had several limos waiting for their passengers!
BTW, Guy is the butt of many famous chef's jokes. Fair or unfair?
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Last edited by Trip; November 16th, 2012 at 06:12 PM.
Though 500 seats is a huge restaurant, I don't think anyone opening a restaurant in Time Square with a "Celebrity" name on the door is counting on a lot of repeat business from locals
And of course the NY Daily News couldn't believe their good fortune when they learned their competitor had run up a tab of probably $20,000 or more at Guy's restaurant. I'll bet you could hear the editor laughing three blocks away.
I agree that Times Square is a tourist trap, the stores there are famous for having "going out of business sales" every week of the year.
And I am sure this restaurant probably figured it could get away with a lot because most people going there would be wide-eyed tourists.
But it doesn't make sense that a famous name would think they could open a NY restaurant anywhere and not get compared to other famous restaurants. Being in Times Square is no "excuse."
However - it is logical that someone in management might think it was, and I am guessing he was probably fired, or close to it.
The link Kuki provided also had references to Yelp, and it says many locals also rated the restaurant as poor. So - it probably was.
- IT is also possible a lot of the review was prompted by that dinner party, which I would not say is fair, since those catered events usually have separately prepared food and other differences.
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It seems Carnival has again picked the wrong person to use in branding products.
The burgers in the Carnival Magic's Red Frog Pub are very different than what they have on lido deck. More like sliders. I haven't had the new Guy's burger yet, but I suspect they are similar.
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People love to hate Celebrity Chef's. Guy made something like $8 million last year. As long has his ratings stay high, it doesn't matter what he serves.
OTOH, I doubt a food journalist makes very much by comparison and has to do something to try to distinguish his reviews from others. This one could just be the Simon Cowell of journalism. Except Simon is worth well over $300 million.
had the Guy's burgers twice until I found out their calorie content...
1,200 - 1,800 calories depending on the sauce????
wow....however they were GOOD and I am a very picky eater.
I will add that the advertisement is deceptive....the picture shows the thin onion rings (my favorite) however my "ringer" just had the one solid thick onion ring...of which I am not a fan....
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Just got off breeze today...passed on the burgers due to calorie count however the mushrooms in the toppings section was good.
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Guy's Burgers are awesome. I thought I would try one just to take a picture of it, but ended up having several last week. I think it will take a while, if ever, before I tire of them. The fries are amazing.
Some of the conversions even centered around what a moron the food critic was and how he had to have a private agenda.
There are calories every where you look on cruise ships. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and you'll be okay.
The description for The Ringer clearly states "a righteous Rojo ring"
I tink he delivers whatt he promises, I super-rich burger with just about everything you can throw on top of one.
Honest to goodness - that is just not my thing, (I have an aversion too meat with cheese as a food combination, unless it is a little bleu cheese sauce on a filet mignon). Plus as someone said - the calorie count is nuts.
But I did have a Hagen Dazs Malt last week - probably a good 1200 calories, easy.
The menus DO say 1 onion ring. Personally, when I want a burger I want just one or a few fresh rings, not a ton of fried onions, (That smell will get on your hands and never go away), NO cheese and maybe a little lettuce. I can't stand a burger that falls apart when you are half-way through it. I end up just eating the meat and leaving the rest.
That's just ME, though. If you like these kinds of burgers, which are Guy's claim to fame, then he delivers.
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Ehh... I can leave them. I get a pass because fried foods are off my list of things to consume. My belly says "NO!!" as fried food upsts it and my heart says "NO!!!" as my arteries need to stay cleared.
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I tink he delivers whatt he promises, I super-rich burger with just about everything you can throw on top of one.
Honest to goodness - that is just not my thing, (I have an aversion too meat with cheese as a food combination, unless it is a little bleu cheese sauce on a filet mignon). Plus as someone said - the calorie count is nuts.
Just to clarify, its 80/20 meat, and tastes like steak. I personally dont eat the bun. You can just ask for meat without the cheese and the condiment table is over on the side where if you want lettuce and another tomato or pickles and all that other stuff.. you put it on yourself.
It says toasted bun .. but I got a cold untoasted bun that I took off after a bite and just left it. But you could ask for it without the bun too.
Then it would just be like a piece of almost steak taste beef that has been grilled.
As far as the "ringer" .. I ordered it .. and its one tiny onion ring.. a inch across that they put some kind of BBQ sauce in the middle of so it was too soggy to eat and I threw it away too. I think its just a hole to put sauce in. Its not like some fast food places do it and put some crispy onion rings on a burger.. its one tiny soggy mess to me. I like onion rings.. but you dont get them on the side or so you would want to eat it. the onion ring didnt even taste good when I pulled it off and took a bite by itself.
The burger itself is what is fabulous and the fries. I agree with Bill .. I liked it better than I expected.. but I mostly just ate the burger and added extra lettuce and extra tomatoes .. or got a salad at the salad bar at the buffet... though that was pretty much more than I could eat at one time. Im used to nibbling, so its hard to me to eat a big meal at one sitting.
Paul .... I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I did not hear one single negative comment. Not one person could not fix up that burger to their own liking .. as I said there is a condiment shack .. and you can order it with or without cheese or no sauces, or not bun...they will give it to you how you want.. and it tastes like steak. It really was good. And I am not a beef person. I almost never order it in the MDR or have it at home. I really am not a beef person .. but it was that good.
No way there is over 1000 calories in that burger. If you eat all the fries (which are great), then maybe. Plain hamburger with onions and barbecue sauce. 2.0 is more than Guy's Burger Joint, too.
Met the GUY at a Carnival thingie in the city. He didn't bring no burgers......
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Guy Fieri torn a new reputation by New York Times
Fair or unfair?
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