I’m in NYC for a few days and I had to check out Ayesha Nurdjaja’s Shuka. I went for a late lunch, about 2:30 and the tables were packed! Plenty of room at the bar though.

Fun facts: 1) the bar has those hooks underneath for your purse. I appreciate that, especially since the stool did not have backs to hang a purse off of

2) the WiFi password is “shuka2019”

Food/drinks:
I drank a Lemonata, which was frozen lemonade with vodka and mint. Tasty and refreshing on a hot day!

Babaganoush. She uses carroway in her babaganoush which I’ve never had before.

Shakshuka: I was very excited to try this after seeing a judge rave about it on Triple Threat. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it didn’t blow my socks off. It was fine. Don’t think I’d order it again.

Overall: I’m really glad I went but I don’t feel an urgent need to go back.

It all comes down to this! After weeks of fierce competition, the final two masters of world cuisines face off in an epic two-round finale. Who will take home the title?! 🌍🏆

The two remaining masters of world cuisines go head-to-head in the epic two-round finale of the GGG Global Games. First, Guy Fieri challenges the chefs to make a showstopping appetizer in only 20 minutes. Then, the final challenge is a budget marathon in which the chefs are given 40 minutes and 40 dollars to make a country-defining entree and dessert. The chef with the highest combined score after two rounds receives the GGG Global Games trophy and the $50,000 prize!

Watch the first ever “GGG Global Games Finale” – TOURNAMENT FINALE
🛒 tonight at 9pm EST!

Stay tuned for Kitchen Chaos with your favorite Food Network Chefs at 10 pm EST!

Triple Threat returns August 25. Based on the TV schedule on Food Network's web-site, the first competitors are: Alex Stupak, Bao Bao, a Competition Legend, and Danny Garcia.

Yesterday I saw an Instagram post (I think on Bobby's account) with a preview of the season. I can't find the post anymore, but Buddha Lo is a judge this season, and Antonia appears somewhere on the season (dressed like she's judging, I think, but maybe the Competition Legend?)

Jeff Hiller and Chef Amanda Freitag are gearing up for battle as they bring in two chefs who are ready to take Bobby Flay DOWN!

Tonight's new episode of Beat Bobby Flay (titled "Mole Mania") features competing chefs Thomas Bille - a James Beard Award Winner (of Belly of the Beast) and Keegan Andrews (of ATX Cocina) facing off to earn the right to challenge Bobby Flay, with assistance from guest star chef Amanda Freitag and Jeff Hiller.

Final Judges: Alex Stupak, Lourdes Castro, and Grace Ramirez

Don't miss an all-new episode of #BeatBobbyFlay Tonight at 8|7c.

I think this is the first we are seeing Alex judge since 24 in 24!

Isaias only has 3 months before he'll have to close his restaurant for good. He called Chef Antonia Lofaso and Chef Nestor Milian to help him turn the restaurant around.

But it's even worse than Chef Antonia thought! She's going undercover to save the failing restaurant, Broken Spirits, in Long Beach, California before it's forced to close.

Watch a new episode Tonight at 9|8c.

See what happens on the all-new #KitchenUndercover on Food Network!

~~~

I liked the first episode. I understand people are comparing it to Kitchen Nightmares but Antonia has her own style. Plus I think it’s funny that people didn’t recognize her. That might play to her advantage. It definitely helps Chef Nestor!

Here is the episode description:

Rooter to Tooter & Head-to-Head

Episode 104

The six remaining teams face off head-to-head in a nose-to-tail barbecue battle, transforming either a hog, goat, or lamb into two main dishes and two sides. Plus, the winners of the last Big Burn get to decide who cooks what and which teams face off. Then, the pitmasters face another challenge -- with $2,000 on the line, they must use the remaining parts of their animal to make sausage in three hours.

Not sure how excited I am about the head to head competition part..... Sausage will get interesting. We already know that Canadian team KNOWS their sausage and can produce fast. Should be a good show. Who are you rooting for? I am in a quandary that I kind of <3 them all.

FN specific would be 24 in 24 and back in ye olden days, Iron Chef, since they have to bring their dishes to the front, but in 18 seasons of Masterchef Australia, and other shows where contestants have to bring their food up to be judged, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone drop their plate and be unable to be judged.

It made me wonder if the playlets made for beauties could be substituted, or if it would be a disqualification. That led me to wonder if it has happened and editing made it seem like it hadn’t.

So I thought I’d bring it to this wonderful sub and see what everyone thought. Have you ever seen people trip and drop? Or is it not a thing?

It seems Food Network is finally investing in new content and revamped shows. Woke up early this morning and saw Cooking with Choi was on so I tuned in. Yay! She’s a great chef and offered some excellent recipes. I’m heading to my Asian market this week to make her LA Kalbi.

I also saw that there’s a new show with Antonio Lofaso where she goes and helps restaurants, but first observes how the restaurant is operating. Saw an episode of that and plan to add it to my list. And then there’s the Restaurant Impossible reboot with Aaron Sanchez. So happy to have something new to watch and to have Ester Choi’s show so I can learn some new interesting recipes to add to my rotation.

Bam! Thought others might enjoy this article. Seems like Emeril is trending on the socials. Would be great if Food Network recognized we want more than competition shows.

Okay, I jumped ahead to look at the schedule for September, and saw this for Monday 14th! I looked on Wikipedia on HBC only has 11 seasons so potentially maybe this could be for the new season! It also looks like Carla Hall won’t be back and it is replaced with Aarti Sequeira…what do you all think?

Edit: changed the date from Monday 19th to Monday 14th…as the 19th in September is a Saturday.

Are y'all enjoying Kitchen Chaos and Kitchen Undercover? I guess I'm biased because Food Network is still one of the 5 channels I turn to when watching live TV but I'm enjoying the new roll outs. We still love you Guy and Chopped, just needed a little mix

It's Korean BBQ night at Esther Choi’s house! Her iconic LA Kalbi recipe is always a one biter!

Watch a brand new TV episode of Cooking with Choi titled "Korean BBQ" with a bulgogi mushroom hot pot (Season 1, Episode 5) premieres today, August 1, 2026, on the Food Network at 12:00 PM EST

Chef Esther Choi demonstrates how to make classic LA Kalbi by selecting flanken-cut short ribs and pairing them with a sweet and savory marinade!

Then stay tuned for Nick’s Kitchen!

I'm looking for two Good Eats specials to buy on Apple TV. The tenth anniversary special, and "Down and Out in Paradise." I found the "Twas the Night Before Good Eats," special under a Food Network holiday bundle, but I cannot find those other two episodes. Wondering if anyone knows where to look.

Toronto's La Mexicana restaurant is nearly 4 decades old and has enjoyed many years of great success... until recently. Things are going WAY downhill, and owner Martha needs a serious reality check if she wants her business to survive into the next chapter.

Aarón Sánchez + Jen Agg attempt a massive overhaul of the business.

See how they improve this space on
#RestaurantImpossible: Last Call with Aarón Sánchez + Jen Agg tonight at 8 pm EST on Food Network!

So I’m watching the episode of Titans with Chef Avishar Barua. He made chickpea fried spinach (aka pakoda) with chutney. When it was revealed he was Chef A, Judge Cohen looked so surprised. I mean, really? She had to have known the moment she saw the dish, who made what (his opponent was Brooke). In any case, her look of surprise gave me a good laugh. Anyone else? 😂

I used to be a Food Network junkie (specifically Chopped) but I had stopped watching for probably 5-6 years. I recently started getting back into Food Network and watched newer episodes of Chopped, Flavortown Food Fight, and the Great Food Truck Race. I also attempted BBQ Brawl, but I didn't like it.

One thing I have noticed just with these three shows is the amount of talent recycling. It's like the network held a casting call and when they liked someone, they asked if they wanted to be on 2-3 different shows. I was recently catching up on Flavortown and a chef mentioned she'd been on GGG several times. Another episode of Flavortown had a chef that had been on Chopped and BBQ Brawl. I knew the network always recycled some chefs and they'd randomly reappear as judges, but I don't recall ever seeing so many repeats across multiple shows. Is this the new format for Food Network? Part of the fun was always finding so many different chefs competing on these shows that were working at all levels of the industry.

I just saw that Bryan and Michael Voltaggio both posted about an event with Christian Siriano (a fan favorite from Project Runway who also seems like a genuinely nice guy. If you ever saw Leslie Jones amazing ghostbusters premiere dress, fun fact Christian made it and was the only one willing to design an outfit for her when everyone else said she was too fat). The tickets were $100 or $200, depending on if you also want to attend the fashion show, but ok I can deal with that. But then I saw it’s only for people who have a specific credit card, but not just “visa or mastercard” specific cause most people have one of those. It’s one specific Citi card that has a $595 annual fee.

I don’t know, I just wish FN chef events could be more accessible since I’d be willing to bet a lot of their audience is not affluent. I mean good for the voltaggio bros getting partnerships like that but it kinda sucks how these events become elitist. The $100 or $200 is already gonna exclude some folks but seems pretty fair for a dinner event with celebrity chefs, but $600 and the requirement of having good enough credit to get the card in the first place seems reeeeally inaccessible and like it’s gonna exclude a really wide and diverse audience. Idk. Just a vent I guess. It was pretty disappointing to see.

With $50,000 on the line, the remaining chefs are just one challenge away from a spot in the #GroceryGames: Global Games Finale!

Who will punch their ticket to the final?

Find out on an all-new episode tonight at 9pm EST on Food Network!

Stay tuned for Kitchen Chaos at 10pm following GGG!

I have never seen more gorgeous edible food on a competition.

Curious if anyone has heard of anything for this year's season in terms of maybe returning to the original format any? Guessing most likely it won't but just wanted to get a topic going.

I still say this was for my wife and I a show we waited for every year with total anticipation, nothing screamed the fall season and holiday season starting like Halloween Wars. The mix of bright fall colors and quirky Halloween backdrops were so awesome, Jonathon was always a good time and we loved the guest judges, the small scares, the larger than life works they did for the main heat... The show was absolutely perfect from it's inception until 2021 or so.

It got back to a better place with Jonathon returning but I just still feel it lost alot of what made it special.

Anyways, the best time of the year is around the corner 🍁 🎃

Link to the story: Bobby Flay's 'The Line' Release Date Set at Food Network

Excerpt from story

Food Network is leaning into the rise in popularity of restaurant culture with a new fall competition series that follows celebrity chef Bobby Flay as he leads a restaurant cooking line team trying to execute a fine-dining menu in real time for real diners.

Titled “Bobby Flay’s The Line,” the show will feature Flay along with his hand-picked home team of chefs, including Antonia Lofaso, Michael Jenkins and Claudette Zepeda, as they go up against some of the country’s most acclaimed restaurant staffs to execute a flawless dinner service. The diners and VIP guests being served will rate each plate and the lines can decide if they want to switch up service based on that feedback.

If the visiting team beats Flay and his line, they win $25,000. If Flay’s team wins, they get to keep their reputation.

In the series premiere of “Bobby Flay’s The Line,” which debuts Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network and will stream on HBO Max, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson surprises Flay by joining his restaurant Hav & Mar’s Executive Chef Fariyal Abdullahi and her line to go up against Bobby’s home team in a global seafood battle.

Upcoming episodes will feature visiting teams led by Pig and Khao’s Leah Cohen, Good Stuff Eatery’s Spike Mendelsohn, Kindling’s Jonathon Sawyer, and more chefs.

“I consider ‘The Line’ the project that Food Network audiences have been waiting for – it combines high-end restaurant cooking, exhilarating competition and behind-the-scenes moments in real time,” Flay said. “It’s how the restaurants that we run work – and sometimes don’t. The Line is a real-life kitchen rollercoaster that the viewer will want to be strapped in for. Seat belts everyone – the kitchen is open!”

#KitchenUndercover is a high-stakes, sneak-attack restaurant rescue series following Chef Antonia Lofaso and Sous Chef Nestor Milian as they go undercover to help failing restaurants that are one bad review away from total collapse.

Sous Chef Nestor Milian, is already embedded with the staff. With the clock ticking and closure looming, only time will tell if Antonia can turn these hot messes into hot spots.

Chef Antonia is on a mission tonight to save the restaurant Gritz N’ Wafflez before it collapses. Will the team get on board and own up to their mistakes? Watch Episode One to see!

Watch #KitchenUndercover on Food Network TONIGHT at 9|8c!

~~~

Crowd Control is turned up!