Tonight: Bravo’s “Best New Restaurant” Will Be Featuring A Familiar Face


Namely, mine.

Yeah, that’s right. I got to go undercover as one of the “secret diners” on Bravo’s show, Best New Restaurant (which you may remember as the show that used to run after Top Chef). The show itself pits restaurants against each other, testing them with various challenges in an attempt to find the best new restaurant in the United States. And the secret diner gig was basically a super-spy version of being a restaurant critic, complete with hidden microphones, secret cameras and all the cool gadgets they would’ve given James Bond if he was, you know, reviewing restaurants rather than gallivanting around the globe killing dudes and blowing shit up.

But whatever. It was WAY more fun than I ever thought it would be (which is saying a lot, because I love being a critic and I figured it would be hard not to have a good time when the drinks were on Tom Colicchio‘s dime), and if all goes according to plan–meaning if they actually use my segments on the show–I ought to be on for the next two or three weeks while the show checks in on restaurants in and around New York City.

So, provided they haven’t cut me from the script like some poor, aspiring actress playing a dead hooker on CSI, I ought to be on your TVs tonight at 10pm on Bravo, sneaking around Manhattan’s L’Apicio and critiquing the grub. Because I signed one of those “On pain of death”-style nondisclosure agreements, I can’t tell you how things went before the show airs, but depending on what bits of the meal they choose to highlight, it could be very good TV.

Best New Restaurant [Bravo]