Restaurant visit
Even though KN ended years ago, I was curious if anyone here had been to any of the restaurants featured on the show, either before or after the show.
Posted Jun 23, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC
2619
I’ve been to Cafe Hon a few times since Gordon came. Their seafood was definitely the best stuff on the menu, but in fairness it’s hard to fuck up a crab cake in Baltimore.
But unfortunately Denise still SUCKS and is pissing the city off like twice a month about non restaurant things before and after CH closed. So I always had this bit of guilt going there because the food and service was good but I didn’t want to really support someone who just had these feuds with the community.
Just this past month, a huge festival she organizes announced that a big vendor won’t be invited back and it triggered a chain reaction of almost everyone else pulling out. So, she had to beg for that vender to come back while also dealing with a barrage of hate (rightfully so) from the city for almost ruining a decades old festival that is well liked. There’s a lot of political stuff in there too that I don’t really want to get into, but that’s just the most recent example of her making everyone go “goddamnit, Denise.”
22
Denise seemed like an insufferable bitch. Egotistical and self-centered
18
She is. She tries to lean on her Baltimore heritage whenever she gets yelled at and we all just roll our eyes. She fooled Gordon into believing her but nobody else really did.
8
I wouldn’t be surprised if Gordon actually believed she wasn’t going to change or that there a huge possibility she wouldn’t.
3
86 THAT!
4
Yes, I used to go to Leones frequently before and after the show. I actually worked there briefly to try and help Michael out about a week after Gordon was there. It’s going strong to this day, so the change’s definitely helped.
17
Very cool! Is Michael still in charge there?
7
Yes he is, Momma Rose passed some years ago, so Michael and his wife run it together. I moved away about 7 years ago, but still see them on Facebook and IG.
9
I went to Oceana in New Orleans about a week or so before the infamous episode.
I did not know they were about to be featured on KN. I only found out while channel surfing many months later.
Yes, I got ridiculously sick twice - once from eating there and the other from watching that episode.
9
Oceana is still standing strong on Conti Street in the French Quarter, but I believe it is under new management.
3
I should clarify - I ate there a week or so before they shot the episode, so I ate the bad stuff featured in the episode. I heard they are under new ownership but I don't think I will be darkening that doorstep ever again.
1
I only eat on Bourbon Street if I’m REALLY drunk.
1
I think it's the only episode taken down from YouTube. Can't find it anywhere, so I think the owners sued or something.
2
They did, or, at least the new owners did. The episode is available on other video platforms. In fact, there's a post in this group from a few years ago that links to it.
I don't know if I have the words to explain how repulsed I was to see that place on TV, knowing I'd dined there just before Gordon showed up.
https://watch.plex.tv/show/kitchen-nightmares-us/season/3/episode/14
1
It’s been filming again Gordon was just in my neighborhood in Queens a few weeks back
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1
Wish I was older when the original had aired, PJ’s Steakhouse was very close to where I live. Ironically the German place that is there now is a place I frequent
5
I went to Lido Di Manhattan 2 times in the past few years. I’ve always failed to see Lisa but she is still there. just went on the off-hours like 4pm. Foods great and some of Gordon’s food is still on there.
5
For KN: I’ve visited Mama Maria’s (NYC) and Panteleones (Denver). Mama Maria’s closed earlier this year but the other one is still open. I missed my chance to eat at Cafe Hon by two weeks.
For Hotel Hell: I’ve stayed in Towns Inn (WV) and eaten at the restaurant for Landoll’s Mohican Castle (OH).
1
I had the (dis) pleasure of visiting the Curtis House that was on Hotel Hell as they had a dining room for the public. My aging grandmother liked the place. I was probably about 7 or 8, so it would put it in '89/'90 and I just remember everything having a thick coating of dust on it and my mom commenting about dead flies on window sills. We never went back. They also had a staff of little people that would hang out onthe front steps on their breaks.
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1
I've been to Jack's Waterfront before and after the show.
Now, with Jack's before the show, this was before the original owner sold it. My family and I went there often when I was growing up. And the food at the time was fantastic. Also, the decor you saw on the show before the remodel was the same decor when the original owner had it. So, in other words - the owners on the show didn't change anything except the quality of the food (which is always the kiss of death in that area).
About after the show, my dad and I went there I believe a month or so after the episode aired. It was dark, dreary, and you could tell almost everything from the remodel was ripped out of the place. Also, the menu while small, had nothing that Ramsey offered. And it was obvious they were clearing out the frozen stock because the food was not good. And my dad being dad asked the waitress what the show was like. The waitress said she was a new hire and wasn't on the show, but said the owners weren't happy with the show. And left it at that.
So, I don't know what exactly occurred, but what I do know is that the restaurant was sold soon after to a local business owner and is now called Brownies On The Lake. It has mixed reviews (like all the joints the local business owner has).
Awesome! Cool story, that’s exactly what I was hoping to achieve with this post.