Guy Fieri (née Guy Ramsey Ferry)

He wasn't born a woman.
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You're right, that was dumb. EL

Guy is great! I really only watch D,D, and D though. He visits the types of restaurants I like to go to; greasy spoons, family owned joints, etc. And he gets the owners to show you how to make some of their specialties, eliminating the need to fork out dough for a cookbook you'll only use a couple times. Highly entertaining!

If I recall correctly, Guy Fierri was a winning contestant on "The Next Food Network Star" thanks to a gift of gab and a fearless on-air personality. Not everyone can talk, cook, crack jokes and time everything to break for commercials without falling apart. Watching others who've tried it -- and blown it -- is downright painful. One of your readers criticized "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" for praising all of the hash-houses and bbq shacks Fierri visits. Of course, it does. That's the whole point of the show, locating off-beat joints with good "eats." Not haut cuisine. As for his faux name (forgive the Franco-Italian mixed metaphor,) why not? Did anyone think less of Frances Louise Gumm when she became Judy Garland or Bernie Schwartz when he transitioned to Tony Curtis?

Maybe its the Southern California vibe, but it looks like he's got a good buzz on all the time.

Guy Fieri is a man who obviously loves his job. So much so that I'm very jealous -- how can I get a fantastic job like his?

Seriously, he loves to eat, loves the places he goes, and has an amazing capacity for spicy food. Make that for food, period.

I've never seen a segment where he puts down any D, D, or D, or any of their dishes. As mom used to say, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything." Bravo, Guy, for being true to what you love, without hurting anyone in the process!

Did anyone think less of Frances Louise Gumm when she became Judy Garland or Bernie Schwartz when he transitioned to Tony Curtis?

Or Owl Meat when became voodoopork or voodoopork when he became terrier mom...

Guy obviously has a love of food, especially that "down-home" comfort-type food that "D, D & D" features. I also like how he narrows in on one particular item on the menu (maybe that's how avoids criticizing them). I'm a regular patron of 2 of the places he visited when he came to Salt Lake City a few months ago and he choose the right items to feature. He did a show last summer featuring a crab place down on Ft. Smallwood Rd called Stoney Creek Inn featuring their crab cakes. These are the places you go to that are right around the corner or off the highway a few miles when you're sick of the fast-food/Denny's/Appleby's hold on travel food.

My son loves him. My son is three.

Anonymous wrote, quoting someone else: "Did anyone think less of Frances Louise Gumm when she became Judy Garland or Bernie Schwartz when he transitioned to Tony Curtis?"

And then added: "Or Owl Meat when became voodoopork or voodoopork when he became terrier mom.."

Here's mine:
Or jl when he became Bucky. Or JMc when he became Owl Meat... and later, Laura Lee... (heads up, Bucky!)

Guy is fun but a little too intense!

Guy is a total jerk. If you love to hate him, (and poke fun at the rest of the Food Network hosts) I highly recommend www.FoodNetworkHumor.com for many great laughs!
-alex

What I don't like about Guy is that he owns a restaurant, talks about all these diners, drive-ins, and dives and yet SHILLS for TGIF... also that whole sunglasses backwards on his head thing... tacky.

Or Owl Meat when became voodoopork or voodoopork when he became terrier mom...Or jl when he became Bucky. Or JMc when he became Owl Meat... and later, Laura Lee... (heads up, Bucky!)

Well slap me, Martha, and call me an ass. Are we back to this again?

Well slap me, Martha

Koo koo kachoo.

and another non-being tries to simplify his world. Watch out for the event horizon.

Guy Fieri represents everything that's wrong with Food Network right now. TPTB seem to want to focus more on the personalities than the food. How else can one explain absolute dreck like Down Home with the Neelys, Paula's Party, or any one of Guy's overproduced shows?

Chris from Westminster -- I don't think that any Food Network show has ever offered a bad review of a restaurant. In the Sandbox, though, we don't mind the advice Alice Roosevelt Longworth had on her salon pillow: "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me."

(Cue the old music ...) ... That's Entertainment ...

I am still entertained, but will cease to be sooner than later unless he or his writers expand his vocabulary. "Off the hook," "that's money," and the like will not wear well over time at their current frequency.

Waitaminute! Laura Lee is a guy???

I'm not a fan of his, but I've got to give him props for featuring DiPasquale's in Highlandtown for his "Real Italian" segment.

Love him or hate him - there's not a whole lot in between. For me, Guy's the guy I hate to love to hate.

Credit Guy for being entertaining on DDD, but credit Page Productions for finding these restaurants and ensuring all Guy's comments are "nice." He's eaten some awful food, and those segments just ends up on the editing room floor.

Some of the restaurant owners have said Guy was arrogant and self-absorbed while he was there. But, business doubles and triples after a segment airs, so who's complaining!

I find Guy annoying in general, but specifically I cannot stand to watch him eat. Why does FN subject its viewers to watching him shove food into his mouth and grunt and smack like a hog? It makes anything he eats look disgusting.

I've noticed that many of the people on FN talk with their mouths full and make disgusting noises when they taste their food. Even Giada De Laurentis!

It's a problem.

I saw him in action at a local diner, and he is pretty cool.I love him on d. d. and d.Really nice to everbody,

Betsy -- there is a graphic, X-rated quality to all those eating scenes. That's cable for you.

The "Guy" is a tool. He tries to come off as the "bad boy" of the Food Network with his bottle blonde, spikey hair, his Vegas style shirts, wrist bands halfway up the forearm and the big watches and jewelry. He's somewhat toned down on DDD but he reminds me of Ty Pennington on Extreme Home Makeovers on other shows with the way he's always yelling into the camera. I don't get the reason for throwing things at the camera all the time. To me, he's just being a nuisance and I'm waiting for his 15 minutes to end. And I agree with the MD Canon's post regarding his catch phrases. "Off the hook" and "money" were soooo late 90's.
Besides, everyone knows that Duff from Ace of Cakes is the bad boy of the Food Network.

Betsy, I personally hate the stuffing their face thing that some of TFN stars do. Especially Paula Deen. Ew. Stop licking spoons that you cook with for the love of god!

A couple of years ago, my son pointed out that all TFN stars had gotten fatter over the years. It's true. Even Tyler Florence has a double chin.

Duff? I don't know about a badboy, but I just love the personalities of everyone on his show. The other night when Mary Alice was describing a Bar Mitzvah cake for some kid and inserted a "mazel tov" I laughed out loud. They are all really funny! And Elena's tattoos ... whooo baby. The best arms on tv!

To be honest, for the longest time I thought the annoying guy from those TGIFridays ads was Joey Fatone (the "Fat One" from 98 Degrees or Backstreet Boys, or whatever his boy-band group was)

I can think of two times he couldn't choke down the food and it was included on the show. Once was some type of Mexican soup that cures hangovers and the other was scrapple at a diner in Philly. Any comments from owners or employees of the places he has been to in Baltimore? Of the places I've seen on the show in our area only DiPasquale's looked like a place I want to visit. Both Blue Moon and the pit beef place (Champs?) seem similar to alot of other places. I know after visiting several places shown on the Food Network that they don't all live up to the hype. For instance the Varsity in Atlanta, the burger place in Utah that was on recently, and a diner in the Lake Tahoo region all were not near as good as the TV made them look. Especially the Varsity.

Don't you dare say anything bad about my Giada.

I love it when folks blast some TV food host ("can't stand 'em, disgusting, stupid", etc.), like every show they turn on MUST conform to their tastes. I have a solution I have employed many times--don't watch 'em!

Mascarpone

OldPhil, you forgot "... and get off my lawn!"

Chili Willy Milli Vanilli

Bling? Ahem, that's like describing yourself as a foodie.

Oversized turquoise man-jewelry is not bling so much as it is, well, something you might find falling off of Adrienne Barbeau in a Holiday Inn piano bar near Winslow Arizona. "You done with those fries? You know, Bea Arthur gave me this? So you gonna buy me a drink or what?"

Guy Fieri ... ♫ and then there's Maude ... ♫

I don't watch the Food Network, not having cable, and I've never see this Guy guy, but I'm pretty danged sure he he is *no* Bea Arthur.

Ms Lissa, you might be surprised about the Bea Arthur connection.

RtSO, oh? Seven degrees of Bea Arthur?

I'm not to a fan! Guy stole is look from the lead singer of Smash Mouth....circa 1995. He never has a bad thing to say concerning any on-air establishment. He has visited several places that are nothing more than local icons, but not at all good. Hence..Pastore's...yikes! Cheap ingredients= bad food.

Okay, maybe Bea Arthur's voice is deeper.

OK, so I'm watchtin The Learning Channel, and they have this show called How It's Made. It's all about how stuff is made. You know, like pencils, fire hydrants, bolts etc. Anyway, nothing ever goes wrong! You know, like when Lucy and Ethel got that job at the candy factory - - - something that reflects real life. Or better yet the narrator would come on and say " we were going to make a precision wristwatch, but all we have is a can of broken crayons and a cigar box full of seashells -what do you think I'm Freakin McGyver?! Then he starts laughing maniacly and the screen goes to a test pattern.
Then I tear myself away from the TV to make myself a snack. Every day for the last fifteen years I open a can of tomato soup, and what do I see? Yup -tomato soup!. Don't these people realize that I hate tomato soup!
Why don't they put something I like in there, like pierogis. The old Ball & Chain is tired of hearing me carp about pierogis so she says "Why don't you just but pierogis?" Jeez Louise if I did that it would be admitting that the terrorists have won! One of these days, as God is my witness, I'll open that can and there will be pierogis. I'll stand on the kitchen chair with my fist raised as my triumphant yell of "PIEROGIS!" echos throughout the land. I've gotta go now to shake the aforementioned fist at those blasted kids out front and tell them to get off my lawn before I call a radio car.

The owner of the Blue Moon Cafe is going to be filmed for Guys Big Bite next month in New York.

I read these posts and can't believe how judgmental people can be. He is a success story. He is having a great time making lots of $$$ doing what he loves best. FN knew what they're doing by giving him several shows. He's entertaining and makes cooking fun. I doubt FN would want to return to the past days when watching a cooking show was boring. Most men and children would not be watching his shows if they were dull. So kudos to him for becoming so successful and by capturing a wide range of audience.

I read these posts and can't believe how judgmental people can be.

Susan, you must be new around here ...

"Most men and children would not be watching his shows if they were dull."

Yes, and there is a direct relationship between mass appeal and quality. Why, the Jonas Brothers are one of the greatest rock bands of all time, American Idol is one of the greatest TV shows of all time, and Titanic is one of the greatest movies of all time.

"I doubt FN would want to return to the past days when watching a cooking show was boring."

Yes, FN has moved beyond the bad old days when programming was informative. I say leave all that educational programming on public television where it belongs. Give me the Neeley's because what I really need is more sass and less saute, or Sandra Lee so I can finally figure out the perfect cocktail pairing for seven layer dip.

Good stuff RoCK. Popular = good. They wouldn't have elected Hitler if he wasn't good. Do you really expect Germany to go back to the old days of boring politics? Guido Ferry Über Alles. Britney Spears for Prezident.

Geeze, go ahead and Godwin yourself, Owlie.

Lissa, I haven't seen a reference to Godwin's Law in quite awhile.

Good one Lissa I never heard of Godwin's Law. I made up the same rule years ago in college. Essentially that when Hitler or Nazis are brought up in an argument that the argument had reached a point of absurd no return. I was of course being absurd. I also like to point out that Hitler was elected when people exalt democracy.

Yes, Hitler was elected, and that is a valid point to make. Kissinger, of all people, forgot.

However, the corollary to Godwin's Law is that the first person who mentions Hitler in an argument automatically looses.

Kissinger (not elected) is still alive – proof that God does not exist or just hates us.

I tried SEVERAL times to watch this show to see the different restaurants around the Country, but the way this guy SHOVES food in his FACE is UTTERLY DISGUSTING! i can't and won't watch again. Makes my stomach turn. this is not an issue of class or etiquette - its just GROSS..and NOT FUNNY at all.

For those who loathe Fieri as much as I do, you can seek some comfort at FoodNetworkHumor.com - they poke fun at him on a daily basis and it's hysterical!

So is Stoney Creek he did worth going to?

I don't remember when I read it but someone commented on his wearing jewelry while he cooked and that it was unsanitary. Well, I hope that person never watches Paula Dean because she wears more diamonds than Elizabeth Taylor. At least Guy de-blings when he is getting his hands into the food. I think he is great. I just wish he would try cooking with less Hot peppers and stuff. My system won't take it. Give me an alternative please.