Phantom Gourmet...

I am a big foodie, there is nothing better than good quality food. (must be the Italian in me!) You could call me a food snob, since I refuse to eat anything out of a can with the exception of tomato sauce and eat any frozen dinner. When I go out to dinner, I expect the food to be exceptional.

I have this favorite TV show that I try to watch when I am at home on Saturday morning between 11AM and 12PM (not very often since I am out and about doing errands and chores or doing homework!) It is called the Phantom Gourmet.

A little bit about The Phantom Gourmet Television Show:
The Phantom Gourmet's first television broadcast was on June 26, 1993. The Phantom Gourmet quickly developed a cult following, winning 'Best Talk Show' from Boston Magazine in 1994, and it's now the most recognized name in the region for restaurant reviews and food information. In September 2003, Phantom Gourmet, Inc. signed a deal with Viacom, bringing the Phantom Gourmet program to UPN38 Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-12noon. In addition, Phantom's 'Restaurant Report Card' segments air regularly on CBS 4 News at 4:30pm and UPN38's Nightcast at 10pm.

According to the website the Phantom "pays his own way" and dines under a disguise to give the most trustworthy restaurant reviews the company can possibly give to their viewers. This is done because the producers believe that recognizable critics are given special service above what average customers receive, whereas concealing the Phantom's identity allows him a more accurate representation of what other customers experience. To this end, the Phantom Gourmet staff refuse to disclose the Phantom's name to the general public. The only clues that have been given are that he doesn't live in Boston or Providence and it has been stated that the Phantom is not an Andelman. On the June 3, 2006 show, host Dan Andelman conducted an interview with the Phantom, whose voice and identity were altered. They revealed that the Phantom's favorite food is pizza, and also that, despite the show's use of "he" to refer to the critic, the Phantom could still be a woman.

I love this show because it is all about the restaurants in New England, mostly in Boston area, where I live. My boyfriend and I absolutely love going out on a "date" on a weekly basis and we try to go to a new restaurant that we haven't experience at least once a month.

We tend to pick out the new and some old favorites from the this show. We both live in Waltham, and there are at least 100 restaurants on Moody Street and whenever Phantom Gourmet raves about one of the restaurants, we head on down there.

Some we have been to thanks to Phantom Gourmet are:

Bison County -the BEST BBQ ever around here
Carl's Steak Subs - just like being in Philly!
Taqueria Mexico - OMG, this is the BEST mexican food on this side of USA
Lizzy's Homemade Ice Cream -so sinfully good....

This whole show is just a product placements. Whenever the "Phantom" raves about it, I am practically jumping up and down and writing down the places that we have to go.