Found via Gapers’ Block, last Thursday’s Eight Forty-Eight intervied David Manilow, the creator and executive producer of Check, Please!.
It’s a pleasant enough interview, but the real highlight is some audio clips of an unaired pilot episode featuring then-State-Senator Barack Obama raving about Dixie Kitchen. Here’s a direct link to the RealAudio for that segment.
Little known fact: I was briefly on “Check, Please!” No, not as a reviewer. But we were at Ethiopian Diamond when they sent the camera crews to get footage. The proprietors had encouraged us to come, so we rounded up a big group. (One of the best things about Ethiopian Diamond is their capacity to host large parties, and of course Ethiopian food is well suited to a festive event.) Dennis‘s cute daughter monopolized the camera time, but since they were hovering around our table, I did get a few seconds on camera.
My friend Tim almost got on as a reviewer. He had filled out their form saying that his favorite restaurant was Medieval Times. They called to make arrangements to put him on-air, and he made the mistake of admitting that he’d never been there, and he was a vegetarian. I guess they decided he wasn’t such a good candidate for reviewer after that.
The saddest part of that story is this…
My friend took me to Medeival Times for my birthday this year, and it turns out it really IS my favorite restaurant. The vegetarian option they offered was some bland steamed vegetables and white rice covered in plastic wrap (which, apparently, was invented in 1060), but it turns out that its not about the food at all. What got me was the falcon show, the half hour horse dance, and the battling, the high-school boy dressed like a peasant who brought us our food, the torture museum, the gift shop, and the post-tournment photo ops. A truly anachrotastic experience! Maybe I should re-apply to Check Please.