Comments on: Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares Hits Long Island Again http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69 All Things Food, Dining,Taste, Spice, e.t.c. Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:29:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: april http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-7666 april Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:08:27 +0000 http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-7666 We have just watched the first show of "Handlebar's", in the UK. Lovely people, we wish the owners and staff all the best. We have just watched the first show of “Handlebar’s”, in the UK. Lovely people, we wish the owners and staff all the best.

]]> By: Chris http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-614 Chris Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:32:32 +0000 http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-614 I ate at the Handlebar last night for the first time since the re-opening. My food was very good, and as were the meals of the rest of our party. The rest of my evening was spent suffering from extreme stomach pains- with a climax of projectile vomiting and diarrhea at around 10 pm. This continued until about 6am (with vomiting and explosive diarrhea once every hour) and I have been recovering all day today. Thank you for the food poisoning, Handlebar. I will never again eat in this establishment, and will always give a poor recommendation from here on out. <div><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1226721276_0">From Moderator:</span></div> <div><span class="yshortcuts">Good Evening</span> Chris,</div> <div /> <div>Thanks for posting to <a href="http://www.amaninthekitchen.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1226721276_1"><font color="#003399">www.AManintheKitchen.com</font></span></a>.</div> <div>I am so sorry to hear about your recent illness, thank God you are feeling better.</div> <div>I personally know how horrible that illness is.</div> <div>Can you please tell me exactly what you ate and did you call back and speak to the owners?</div> <div>The owners are quite nice and approachable. They should take care of you.</div> <div> <div>P.S. Did anyone else eat the same things that you did and did they get sick?</div> </div> <div>Best Regards,</div> <div /> <div><a href="http://www.amaninthekitchen.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"><font color="#003399">www.AManintheKitchen.Com</font></a></div> <div><font color="#003399" /></div> <div /> I ate at the Handlebar last night for the first time since the re-opening. My food was very good, and as were the meals of the rest of our party. The rest of my evening was spent suffering from extreme stomach pains- with a climax of projectile vomiting and diarrhea at around 10 pm. This continued until about 6am (with vomiting and explosive diarrhea once every hour) and I have been recovering all day today. Thank you for the food poisoning, Handlebar. I will never again eat in this establishment, and will always give a poor recommendation from here on out.

From Moderator:
Good Evening Chris,
Thanks for posting to http://www.AManintheKitchen.com.
I am so sorry to hear about your recent illness, thank God you are feeling better.
I personally know how horrible that illness is.
Can you please tell me exactly what you ate and did you call back and speak to the owners?
The owners are quite nice and approachable. They should take care of you.
P.S. Did anyone else eat the same things that you did and did they get sick?
Best Regards,
]]> By: Stephen http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-557 Stephen Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:51:43 +0000 http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-557 I went to the Handle Bar restaurant shortly after the airing of Kitchen Nightmares 2008, episode 1 and found it to be a rather ordinary affair. I arrived no less then 30 minutes after the airing, and found only a few gatherings of cheap helium balloons, obnoxious drunken off-duty employees, one extra wide-screen TV placed specifically for the show, and a lack-luster bunch of drunkards and of course the post-show novelty seekers – myself being one of them. Though I do live close by, this was the first encounter I had with the challenged and worn decorum of the establishment. What surprised me the most was the complete lack of enthusiasm from both the staff and the crowd in general, and try as I might I could not help but escape the feeling that I was simple sitting inside some typical ‘Strong-Island’ playground for tight-shirted-men and worn out anarchists who speak with ease, the oft forgotten and whimsical colloquy of Brooklynese. Yes, this is a biker bar and of course it shall remain one, but the truth is, that beyond some pathetic attempts at naming this a gastropub; the Handle Bar is, and shall always be, a Long Island dive for the not-so-rich and not-so-beautiful eclectic crowd. I went to the Handle Bar restaurant shortly after the airing of Kitchen Nightmares 2008, episode 1 and found it to be a rather ordinary affair. I arrived no less then 30 minutes after the airing, and found only a few gatherings of cheap helium balloons, obnoxious drunken off-duty employees, one extra wide-screen TV placed specifically for the show, and a lack-luster bunch of drunkards and of course the post-show novelty seekers – myself being one of them. Though I do live close by, this was the first encounter I had with the challenged and worn decorum of the establishment. What surprised me the most was the complete lack of enthusiasm from both the staff and the crowd in general, and try as I might I could not help but escape the feeling that I was simple sitting inside some typical ‘Strong-Island’ playground for tight-shirted-men and worn out anarchists who speak with ease, the oft forgotten and whimsical colloquy of Brooklynese. Yes, this is a biker bar and of course it shall remain one, but the truth is, that beyond some pathetic attempts at naming this a gastropub; the Handle Bar is, and shall always be, a Long Island dive for the not-so-rich and not-so-beautiful eclectic crowd.

]]> By: Gutsy Gator http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-556 Gutsy Gator Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:10:30 +0000 http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-556 Just tuned in to the show "Kitchen Nightmares" and Chef Ramsey is just amazing, what he & his staff has done to this restaurant, I plan on taking a trip back to NY and am looking forward to dining out at the handlebar Congrats to the owners and the staff and am also looking forward to getting autographs as they have become stars in their own rite..... Just tuned in to the show “Kitchen Nightmares” and Chef Ramsey is just amazing, what he & his staff has done to this restaurant, I plan on taking a trip back to NY and am looking forward to dining out at the handlebar Congrats to the owners and the staff and am also looking forward to getting autographs as they have become stars in their own rite…..

]]> By: Colleen http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-553 Colleen Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:42:23 +0000 http://amaninthekitchen.com/?p=69#comment-553 I was at the Handle Bar restaurant in the last week of August with my husband. This is a place that we like to go to without the children, a date night. I always had loved the seafood crepes, and had heard that they were serving fondue, which I haven't had as a kid and was really looking forward to it. It wasnt there. I ordered the special of the day, a $22 1 1/2 lb Lobster, great price. I asked for spinach on the side, I received a double spinach side, lobster was great, spinach was metiocre. I was saddened to see some of my favorites, were gone and forgotten. The food is ok now, but I wanted more of a selection. This was always a place that wasn't yuppy central, I dont know if Chef Ramsey was trying to make this place a Manhattanite dining experience, but seriously, if I wanted to have that experience, I'd hop on the train. Sadly, when I entered the restaurant, you could here crickets, it was empty. I honestly think that the new menu was horrible, that the owner was doing wonderful with the old menu. I think that Gordon Ramsey's show has gotten to his head. He went in there trying to get ratings, what the public didnt know is that he had a lawyer and a psychologist in his trailer. The Dr, to tell him how he can set each individual employee off, and the lawyer telling him what he can and cannot say. Ratings, ratings, ratings. So to you Chef Ramsey, your experiment failed, I hope your media attention helps this restaurant owner, and that the owner makes changes that will fit the community better. I was at the Handle Bar restaurant in the last week of August with my husband. This is a place that we like to go to without the children, a date night. I always had loved the seafood crepes, and had heard that they were serving fondue, which I haven’t had as a kid and was really looking forward to it. It wasnt there. I ordered the special of the day, a $22 1 1/2 lb Lobster, great price. I asked for spinach on the side, I received a double spinach side, lobster was great, spinach was metiocre. I was saddened to see some of my favorites, were gone and forgotten. The food is ok now, but I wanted more of a selection. This was always a place that wasn’t yuppy central, I dont know if Chef Ramsey was trying to make this place a Manhattanite dining experience, but seriously, if I wanted to have that experience, I’d hop on the train. Sadly, when I entered the restaurant, you could here crickets, it was empty. I honestly think that the new menu was horrible, that the owner was doing wonderful with the old menu. I think that Gordon Ramsey’s show has gotten to his head. He went in there trying to get ratings, what the public didnt know is that he had a lawyer and a psychologist in his trailer. The Dr, to tell him how he can set each individual employee off, and the lawyer telling him what he can and cannot say. Ratings, ratings, ratings.
So to you Chef Ramsey, your experiment failed, I hope your media attention helps this restaurant owner, and that the owner makes changes that will fit the community better.

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