Phantom Gourmet

The Phantom Gourmet is a food-related television program with reviews of New England area restaurants from an anonymous critic. The show airs on WSBK-TV in Boston, Massachusetts and WLWC-TV in Providence, Rhode Island each Saturday and Sunday morning, with a half-hour episode comprised of older clips followed by an hour-long episode (either new or rerun). In late spring of 2006, the company behind the show came out with its first Boston restaurant guide of reviews, entitled "The Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants."

Show format

In addition to reviews, the show features interviews with restaurant owners and chefs, a segment on determining the best grocery item of a chosen category, and a segment on recipes from Newbury College. The show also gives a "Great 8" selection of restaurants that are the best in their category, and a "Hidden Jewel" that features a unique restaurant that people may not have heard of. At the end of each show, a "Dish Worth Driving To" award is awarded, which is a restaurant in the outlying areas of the Metro Boston area (though sometimes as far away at Rhode Island or New Hampshire).

Though not all ten criteria are necessarily used for every restaurant, the reviews rate the atmosphere, menu, appetizers, entrees, desserts, portion sizes, service, cleanliness, value, and location. Each element is rated is out of ten points, leading to final, though sometimes overlapping rankings of:

*Phan-tastic Dining (~90-100)
*Gourmet Greatness (~80-90)
*Phantom Approved (~75-80)
*Phantom Mezza Mezza (~65-75)
*Phantom Flawed (~65 and below)

History

The program broadcast its first episode on June 26, 1993, on New England Cable News with host Billy Costa. The show gained a cult following almost immediately and was given a Best of Boston award by "Boston Magazine" in 1994 for "Best Talk Show". NECN broadcast the show for a decade.

In March 2003, the Phantom Gourmet made a deal with Viacom to move the show to WSBK-TV beginning on September 20, 2003, where it has been since. During the transition, the original host, Billy Costa began a new show TV Diner, and the Phantom began to sell advertising space to certain restaurants continuously reviewed on the show. The deal also led to the "Restaurant Report Card" segment of the show to appear on sister station WBZ-TV's newscasts. The show was also added to WLWC's programming schedule, bringing the show to the Providence, Rhode Island area, where NECN had been largely unavailable.

The Andelmans

When Phantom Gourmet moved to broadcast television, CEO David (Dave) Andelman tapped WBZ-TV news reporter David Robichaud to serve as host before turning the job over to his own younger brother, Feedback Forum segment host Dan Andelman, who then became the show's full-time and current host. Dave Andelman continues to run the company while also appearing as an unseen narrator during the restaurant segments and frequent on-air contributor. During special theme shows (usually ones that discuss more popular fare like chain restaurants and fast food), the two Andelman brothers are sometimes joined in a panel by other brother Michael, who owns his own marketing company. Their father, Eddie, known for his annual "Hot Dog Safari" charity event, has also been featured on the show as an expert on hot dogs. Dave Andelman appeared on an episode of "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay" as one of the local judges for a meatloaf throwdown which took place on Cape Cod.

Other versions

Radio

In 2008, The Phantom Gourmet discontinued the radio segments that aired on WBZ-AM each morning at 10:56 and each weekend afternoon at 2:56 and 3:56. This version had been on the air since 1995, and usually consisted of an audio version of a "Restaurant Report Card", although at times a "Great 8" segment has appeared on the station. (Ironically, as a result of corporate mergers, WBZ radio is now co-owned with WSBK and WLWC.) A "Phantom Gourmet" radio show debuted on April 7, 2007 on Boston's WTKK-FM (96.9 Talk). It airs on Saturdays from 4PM-7PM local time.

In print & online

The Phantom's report cards also appear in print in the "Boston Herald" Friday editions, and online at the [http://www.phantomgourmet.com Phantom Gourmet's website] after each episode airs. The website also contains web versions of the "Great 8", "Top of the Food Chain", and "Hidden Jewel" segments of the television program.

The critic

The term Phantom Gourmet is also used to describe the critic who reviews for each of the above programs. According to the [http://www.phantomgourmet.com/showpage.aspx?content=WhoIsThePhantom 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.

Special events

In September, the [http://www.phantomgourmetfoodfestival.com Phantom Gourmet Food Festival] is held near Fenway Park on Landsdowne Street. The Phantom's most critically acclaimed restaurants in Boston and the Greater Boston area serve various foods at the event, the gala is a 21+ event due to alcohol served. The Phantom Gourmet sponsors Eddie Andelman's Hot Dog Safari and also hosts the "Phantom Gourmet BBQ Beach Party" at City Hall Plaza (a.k.a. Government Center) in Boston.

References

*cite web | title=Phantom Gourmet's Online Dining Community | work=Who is the Phantom? | url=http://www.phantomgourmet.com/showpage.aspx?content=WhoIsThePhantom | accessdate=September 29 | accessyear=2005

External links

* [http://www.phantomgourmet.com Official website]
* [http://www.wbztv.com WBZ-TV]
* [http://www.wtkk.com WTKK-FM]