If they wanted sweets why couldn't they visit their food network friend Duff right here,in Balmer, hon? Not too surprised about Faidley's - it's a better choice then Phillips, IMHO.

I for one am actually a bit weary of The Food Network re-invention of it's same dreary shows while losing the ones that I thought had the most charm (Molto Mario and Sara Molton Cooking Live were a couple that come to mind). These endless weird baking and cooking competitions with the bitchy British judge and the aspiring New Food Network Star - blech. I'd rather watch Julia reruns anyday!

I am an admitted Food Network watcher, but I can't sit through this show. The Neely's seem like super-nice people, the kind I'd love for neighbors, but Gina is waaaay too over the top for television, to the point where it makes things uncomfortable.

Still, kudos to them for checking out Dangerously Delicious. Those things are great.

Followed by another Baltimore show: Ace of Cakes. I think the 10:00 p.m. one is a new one.

While it is lamentable that the Neelys go to Delaware for dessert, I think that we should think of it not as though Baltimore doesn't have good cupcakes, but that Delaware has so little to offer that it could only be a footnote on our show.

Excellent point! EL

Gina and Pat are more about personality than they are cooking, much like most of Food Network's "programming" these days. Let me know when Alton Brown comes to Baltimore. *Then* my interest will be piqued.

The dumbing down of Food Network is illustrated by the likes of the Neelys, Paual Deen, Rachel Ray and the rest. The only decent thing left about FN is Alton Brown.

I wish Tony Bourdain would have visted. For those who read "Kitchen Confidential", Bourdain is no fan of Baltimore. He described Baltimore as a quaint excuse for a city with an Ozark fatalism that's amusing in John Water's films but not so much fun to live with.

I will be watching the convention tonight, but I love the Cooking with the Neelys show, they always have the best food, which keeps me interested. Only a very few Bobby Flay grilling days are better than what is being served at the Neelys.

Hey, hey RoCK....I'll give you the rest of them, but I heart Paula Deen!

Joyce W, couldn't agree more! The reality shows and food challenges are BO-RING! I agree with Jeff and RoCK that Alton Brown is about the only thing Food TV has going for it. I'm looking forward to his next road trip saga, coming soon.

In all fairness, when Bourdain worked in Baltimore it was the early 80s and he worked in one of the Inner Harbor restaurants and was a heroin addict. So he should have fit right in.

Agree with the Alton fans (and Bourdain too - although, technically, he's now "Travel Channel".

Bourdain, I've noticed has changed a lot over the last year and is a much more gracious visitor and much more receptive to trying some local specialities that might not be appreciated by a foreigners palate. The first time I saw him eat guinni pig in Central or South Amercia he said it made him want to claw his own eyes out. His more recent account of this tasty treat (he's braver than I am) was much more complimentary.

I guess I lament much of the actual nuts and bolts cooking shows because as a novice home chef, I learned a lot from the early Food Network days. I would never know what to do with a chefs knife, how to carmelize or what to do with things like truffle oil or even sea salt, were it not for those early shows. I have discovered that many of the "oldies" have reapppeared on Fine Living and have begun to watch them again.

I was very very disappointed in this show last night. I hadn't read the blog so I had no idea they were going to friggen Newark.. Newark! The name escapes me at the moment, but there's a bakery type deal in Locust Point with killer cupcakes that I thought was going to be the focus. Maybe they don't ship fresh cupcakes (makes sense to me). I like to think that they were asked to particpate, found out it was the Neely's doing the show now, and politely declined!

Being a Bmore transplant from the midwest, I have come to discover that you people know diddley squat about BBQ or meat other than overly seasoned seafood. Stop dissing the Neely's just be happy that they showed up to one of the most seperated cities on the east coast. On the other hand I think G&M is so much better than Faidley's, like Dangerfield they get know respect!

I missed the episode last night, but I'm sure FN will replay a bunch of times. Though...I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it... I cannot stand to watch the Neely's, they are way too over the top, to the point of nauseating, I have to change the channel anytime they are on because I can't stand to hear either of them talk.

You have to remember what the idea of the Neelys' show is: Small, local owner-run places that will ship their stuff to you. Like other of the FN shows, such as Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, it features the Neelys getting into the kitchen and working alongside the owner(s). While I have heard that G&M crabcakes are very good, I don't eat them so I can't comment, but I don't think the atmosphere would have been as interesting as Faidley's.

I had a chance this summer to eat at the Neely's restuarant in Memphis, and their BBQ is leaps and bounds better than anything this area has to offer, so I wouldn't say that they are style over substance.

Ugh - Paul Deen! Her caricature of a Southern woman makes me queasy. (I say this as a woman born and bred in the South - though the fact that I use the word "escape" to describe my moving up here admittedly reveals my perspective on my former home.)

JimH, your comment is like grapes in Jell-O.

I've had cupcakes at both Baltimore Cupcake Co. and Sweet & Sassy. While both are good, I'd definitely give the nod to the Newark cupcakes. The Baltimore ones have too much icing and not enough cake!

That said, it was a show focused on Baltimore...

The Neely's seem like super-nice people, the kind I'd love for neighbors, but Gina is waaaay too over the top for television, to the point where it makes things uncomfortable.

I cannot stand to watch the Neely's, they are way too over the top, to the point of nauseating, I have to change the channel anytime they are on because I can't stand to hear either of them talk.

Maybe we should start a club, because I feel exactly the same way. There is just something so disingenuous and artificial about both of them, especially the wife. I seriously cannot watch them at all, and I watch a lot of stuff on the FN, especially anything with Alton. But, these days, I would definitely take a Saturday afternoon on PBS over the FN any day. Between Mark Bittman, Jacques Pepin, and the America's Test Kitchen folks, the PBS lineup is what FN should aspire to be.

Being a Bmore transplant from the midwest, I have come to discover that you people know diddley squat about BBQ or meat other than overly seasoned seafood.

Funny to me that an area of the country that seems to know a lot about seasoning meat, knows "diddly squat" about seasoning seafood. Straight up overboiled and bland is how I would describe Midwest seafood. Besides the fact the term "Midwest seafood" seems like an unnatural juxtaposition anyway.

I am obviously not a Mensa member, so what does grapes in Jello mean? I was commenting on earlier posts regarding the Neely's perceived lack of cooking prowess. My experience tells me that they know a thing or two about a thing or two.

Maybe he owns a barbecue joint in the area. :-) EL

Dawn wrote: "Midwest seafood" seems like an unnatural juxtaposition anyway.

I couldn't agree more, Dawn. It's the Midwest we have to thank for the "gem" of seafood dining that is Long John Silver's (founded in Lexington, Kentucky in 1969).

Grapes in Jell-o? Just something my jet-lagged brain thought made sense at the time. I guess apples and oranges would have made more sense. You can have a great restaurant and a TV show with no substance; they're not mutally exclusive.

In the Midwest, at least the part of the Midwest I'm from, we have excellent fresh water seafood. Including real lake trout.

Seafood does not equal things from the salty sea.

I'm sorry Lissa, but I think "freshwater seafood" is an oxymoron. Freshwater fish are not seafood, seas have saltwater.

There's a reason cookbooks have chapters labelled "Fish and Seafood".

Now I'll sit back and wait for Hmpstd to come up with a citation showing that my long-held belief is wrong.

Hal, I can never remember how to link here, because the standard HTML doesn't work, but if you go to dictionary.com, your definition is first. However, if you keep reading, it becomes obvious (def. 4 and beyond) that salt is not mandatory.

Of course, each person should salt their fish to taste before eating.

Paula Deen's sons did "Road Tasted" for a couple of years; now the Neelys have it. Last night confirmed why I don't watch the Neelys--they're too gooey for me. Seems many of the Food TV "road" shows change hosts after a couple of years--maybe "burnout"? I agree that PBS airs better cooking shows--on the few weekends they're not doing fund raisers and actually DO air cooking shows...sigh....

If your dinner comes out of the Great Salt Lake, is it seafood? It came from salt water.

it becomes obvious (def. 4 and beyond) that salt is not mandatory

Well, maybe salt isn't mandatory, but you'll have a hard time convincing me that "sea" isn't mandatory. :-)

Hal -- you got it right. Seafood has to be edible fish or shellfish from the sea; otherwise, it's fresh-water fish or shellfish. See the Wiktionary and Merriam-Webster Online definitions. Sorry, Lissa, but the source of that 4th level "entry" in dictionary.com that you cite isn't even a dictionary. WordNet 3.0 is a database compiled under the direction of a retired psychology professor. While my local Giant may sell all fish and shellfish at its "Seafood" counter, that doesn't make it a proper usage of the word. (Hey, in the Boston area, "tonic" is used as a generic term for all varieties of carbonated beverages, but that doesn't mean that I'd want to mix gin with A&W Root Beer for a refreshing summer drink.)

Lissa:

the link here

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/blog/commenting/

The first two lines are the directions on how to link: copy/paste URL where it says "the URL here", making sure that you keep the quotation marks, and copy/paste the word/words you want to be the link in between "the link here".
The second address contains the actual directions on how to do it, that EL posted once. Scroll down to "how to link in a comment". I went to that page and bookmarked it, since I can never remember how to do it. Now I just go to that bookmark, copy and paste the actual directions in my message and then insert the correct URL and link word.
Hope this helps!

"Freshwater seafood" is absurd. Right on Halster. Lake trout. Stop the madness!

" I agree that PBS airs better cooking shows--on the few weekends they're not doing fund raisers and actually DO air cooking shows...sigh...." - Dottie, I'm totally with you! I really love a lot of PBS shows that are non-cooking related as well - ie, Rick Steves travels and Nova; but they fundraise so frequently (and for so long) that I end up changing the channel and watching something else.

On a funny, side note; I accidently switched on one of the Spanish channels to discover Rachel Ray (who annoys me beyond words) and to discover the Spanish translater saying in the middle of her translation "Yummo!". My son and I are still cracking up about that one!

I agree that PBS airs better cooking shows--on the few weekends they're not doing fund raisers and actually DO air cooking shows...sigh....

MPT does indeed seem to be getting closer and closer to "all begging, all the time".

Ok, Hal and hmpstd, I'll dig out my OED when I get home. If the OED requires salt, I'll back down.

Mrs. Neely's voice grates on me so badly during the frequent commercials for their show that I have never watched it.

Another voice on FN that is really rubbing me the wrong way is Ted Allen's on Food Detectives.

I thought that the premise was good and looked forward to watching it.

However, his constant big, deep announcer voice that's crossed with a controlled loudness only exceeded by Billy Mayes has really turned me off. And if I never hear the phrase "Food Tech" again, I'll die happy.

It's a shame, too, since he was fine on Queer Eye.

Being someone who lives in Memphis but loves Baltimore, I thought I would've liked this episode, but I didn't. Like the OP said about Faidley's, that's kind of how it is here with barbecue. You always hear about the Neely's place or Rendezvous, even though there's plenty of other places that have better barbecue. Especially now that the Neelys are involved with FN...you know they're going to get a mention any time the channel talks about barbecue.