Hilary's Urban Skeevery

So, when Manny Flores profiled HUE on Check Please awhile back it was an obvious campaign shill. Well lookee here! Today's Sunday Tribune reveals that HUE's been contributing to Flores's campaign. Lovely. It's all about the food.

and, apparently, this isn't the first time an alderman's plugged a restaurant involved in their campaign on Check Please. Ick.

I don't find it very surprising or troubling that a business contributes to the campaign of the local alderman. Seems like smart business to me. An alderman is all powerful in terms of licenses and permits in his ward. You probably want to stay on his good side. Wouldn't be surprised if Hilary’s gave money to Jesse Granato (former 1st ward alderman and Flores' opponent) too. I also don't see a problem with Flores plugging a business in his ward. I presume that Flores has no financial stake in the business.

I really wasn't bothered by it either, since he genuinely seemed to really love the place.

Best,
Michael

My point is not to highlight certain aldermanic traditions in Chicago, but to add yet more evidence of Check Please's downhill slide(part and parcel of WTTW's atrocious methods and programming in general---they've single-handedly destroyed the rigor and diversity originally espoused by the likes of Paper Tiger TV).

Back to the food: they never shoulda gotten rid of Amanda Puck. Yadda Yadda Yadda.

I lived up the street for 6 years and never darkened HUE's door. I didn't care for the itchy, ersatz-boho, WP vibe then and I like it even less
now that HUE's parlaying "guerrilla" publicity into their closing and re-opening/re-concepting(apparently, it'll be "edgy").

eatchicago wrote:I really wasn't bothered by it either, since he genuinely seemed to really love the place.

Best,
Michael

I wouldn't have been bothered by it if he had disclosed the fact that he'd received donations from HUE.

It's not that Flores takes donations from HUE, or any other business for that matter, that's the issue or even surprising. It's the misrepresentation inherent in his appearance on Check, Please! that doesn't sit right. He gave every appearance that his recommendation of HUE was biased only from the standpoint that he loved its FOOD so much. He, of course, should have disclosed that he receives donations from the owner of HUE as well so that the viewer can at least consider the extent to which these donations may have influenced his decision to recommend a restaurant which will no doubt have an upshot in business due the episode of Check, Please! It's as if he used a show that is supposed to showcase the recommendations of "regular people" as a means for political payback. It stinks.

Of course, this raises the issue as to whether a Check, Please! participant should disclose whether, for instance, they are friends with the owners or the chef of a restaurant they recommended. It would be nice if they did, but not fatal if they didn't. I think it's distinguishable from the case of Flores because the person who may recommend a friend's restaurant presumably does so gratuitously and without any benefit to him or her. Flores has something at stake in recommending HUE.

For me, this raises another, distinct issue I have, in general, with Check, Please! when it features "famous" guests. The preamble Alpana recites in the beginning of every show is that it features the recommendations of "regular people. . . " Not only do these local celebrities get on a show ahead of many "regular people" who have been applying for years, but their opinions undoubtedly will be given greater weight by the viewing public, which again, seems to undermine the basic premise of the show.

LTH,

Politicians take contributions. TV, even 'reality' tv, is not actually real.

I like Check Please, it's fun tv, good for a chuckle, Double-Yum comes to mind, Alpana S is easy on the eyes, and sometimes I even pick up a new place to eat. Or, at the least, a new place to avoid.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

Politicians take contributions. TV, even 'reality' tv, is not actually real.

I like Check Please, it's fun tv, good for a chuckle, Double-Yum comes to mind, Alpana S is easy on the eyes, and sometimes I even pick up a new place to eat. Or, at the least, a new place to avoid.

Enjoy,
Gary

I agree; don't mistake "Check, Please!" for journalism; it is entertainment. Speaking of which, Alpana (who is normally a bit stiff and awkward on camera) ad libbed something on the Friday episode (a repeat) that still has me chuckling. Specifically, one of the reviewers noted that at a particular restaurant, if you order the cheese-stuffed olives on the side of your martini, the bartender fills your glass with more booze. Alpana deadpanned, "Thanks for the Betty Ford tip of the day!" She killed with that one.

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

Politicians take contributions. TV, even 'reality' tv, is not actually real.

I like Check Please, it's fun tv, good for a chuckle, Double-Yum comes to mind, Alpana S is easy on the eyes, and sometimes I even pick up a new place to eat. Or, at the least, a new place to avoid.

Enjoy,
Gary

Yes, everybody knows that politicians take contributions. Everybody also knows that Check, Please! is not journalism - but pleeeze - while the show is certainly a form of entertainment, the producers should have known better than to let a politician on the show, especially given that he's likely to use the show to push a favor. Couldn't they have found someone else from the thousands of entries instead of a politician?

Christopher Gordon wrote:closing and re-opening/re-concepting(apparently, it'll be "edgy").

Why would there be such a huge conspiracy right before HUE is closing? What’s this deal with the - re-concepting apparently "edgy" - talk? Do you know something about HUE reopening with an edgy appeal? Was that on the check please or do you know something else?

laikom wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:closing and re-opening/re-concepting(apparently, it'll be "edgy").

Why would there be such a huge conspiracy right before HUE is closing? What’s this deal with the - re-concepting apparently "edgy" - talk? Do you know something about HUE reopening with an edgy appeal? Was that on the check please or do you know something else?

This mention of supposed, "edginess" was in a Tribune article last week...maybe the Thursday restaurant openings and closings section? I forget. To paraphrase from my faulty memory, a co-worker or friend of the owner said something along the lines of:

friend: "it's going to be edgy"
Trib: "edgy how?"
friend: "oh...you'd have to know the owner to understand."

In my mind this talk of "edginess" is tantamount to referring to a restaurant's decor as "funky."

I was bothered by Manny Flores's appearance on "Check Please," the minute it happened, i.e., before the revelations about the campaign contributions. I really felt that a Chicago alderman -- especially one with higher political aspirations, like Manny -- was not going to be willing to criticize a Chicago restaurant on television -- and I believe his review of that awful-sounding improv place confirmed that -- and that alone comprised the integrity of the show. Then, when the fact that HUE's owners contributed to his campaign came to light, it was icing on the cake. I don't blame Manny for trying to go on, he's a politician after all and he ikes publicity even more than the average bear. I blame the show's producers for making such a serious error of judgment.

Don't get me wrong, I like Alderman Flores, and I am still going to watch Check Please because I find it entertaining. But this incident was disappointing on all fronts.

ekpaster wrote:... I believe his review of that awful-sounding improv place confirmed that ...

I've been that improv place, and I thought the food was surprisingly good, although, admittedly, since it's so gimmicky, I went in with pretty low expectations. And when they asked for a suggestion for improv, they really didn't have any idea what to do with Kant's Categorical Imperative.

This is not the first time that Check, Please has featured an elected official recommending a restaurant in their ward. Ald. Burnett (27th) recommended Wishbone a few years ago. Also, then-State Sen. Obama appeared on an un-aired episode. Apparently, he froze in front of the camera.

Let's face it. Check, Please is not hard-hitting journalism. I always take the opinion of the guest on their own restaurant with a grain of salt. The fun for me is hearing from the other two people.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Also, then-State Sen. Obama appeared on an un-aired episode. Apparently, he froze in front of the camera.

No, no, it's the other way around. Obama was awesome, but the other two reviewers froze up for the entire episode.

Here's the article for those who haven't read it:

`Check, Please!'--made out to the campaign


Relevant bits:

Between 2003 and October, Hilary's gave three checks worth $1,700 total to Friends for Flores, the alderman's political fund. Hilary's sent another check for $660 last year to the First Ward Organization, led by a Flores political operative.

The only other City Council member to appear on "Check, Please!" was Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), who also took the opportunity to put in a good word for a campaign donor.

Burnett recommended Wishbone Restaurant for a program in 2001. Wishbone gave Burnett $650 between 1997 and 1999 and another $450 in 2004 and 2005.

The show's producers had filmed another segment with a then-obscure state senator from the Hyde Park neighborhood. That program never aired because Barack Obama "was very chatty and the other two folks froze up," Manilow said.

The state's future junior senator had recommended Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop in his neighborhood. State records show no contributions to Obama from Dixie or its owners.

gleam wrote:No, no, it's the other way around. Obama was awesome, but the other two reviewers froze up for the entire episode.

Oops. You're right. I found audio from the un-aired show here:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio ... c04.asp#02

See "Check, Please: The Lost Episode".

absolutely the show is entertainment. what's the big deal about an alderman being on the show. anyone with half a brain is gonna figure an elected politician such as an alderman won't lambaste an income generating reputable business, especially one located in their own ward.

and we in general (those of us who may watch the show on occasion) have no idea who the other guests are. they could be friends/relatives of the owners of the restaurants they're praising, or enemies of the owners for that matter, and therefore giving scathing reviews.

We have no idea.

Much ado about nothing - IMO. Sounds to me as if there are other special interests being expressed here - that haven't been disclosed. Or, am I just another of the conspiracy theorists?

Oh...I just don't care for HUE's schtick or it's defenders. That's enough to keep me away. As for this "entertainment" argument: that's the heart of my post...not that aldermen will do as their wont...beyond my opinion of a certain restaurant's shenanigans...my point is that PBS(and WTTW) are worthless and hypocritical. PBS used to be a bastion of journalism and education. WTTW is more than happy to shill(it's weird how comercial-less television has so many commercials) and "entertain." Those whose responses consist purely of..."but, it's just TV" don't get it. PBS was chartered to countermand a steady diet of pabulum.

I find it pretty funny that Hillary's is seeking to become "edgy" again (the line of Mercedeses and BMWs outside Near North Montessori every afternoon must have finally gotten to them). I find it pretty funny that restaurants apparently seek to create an atmosphere which I normally associate with, say, the plays of David Mamet.

I am thinking for real edginess, someone needs to open a restaurant in the lockup at 26th and Cal. Call it Félon-- An Urban Cafe. Dinner from 7 to 10, with time off for good behavior.

Hey now, NNM has been holding down that end of the Village since it was The Man With the Golden Arm's milieu.

In good weather I drop the kids using my Vincent Black Shadow. My daughter really likes the sidecar.

Too cool to be defensive.

I was bothered by Manny Flores's appearance on "Check Please," the minute it happened, i.e., before the revelations about the campaign contributions. I really felt that a Chicago alderman . . . was not going to be willing to criticize a Chicago restaurant on television . . . and that alone comprised the integrity of the show

My sentiments exactly--and I think this goes for most public figures who are far more sensitive about their own public images (and the damage that can be wrought by the appearance of negativity) than they are about the nuances of fine (or not so fine) dining.

Another out-of-control non-food thread. Where are the moderators?

rdstoll wrote:Another out-of-control non-food thread. Where are the moderators?

Rdstoll,

Thank you for your interest in LTHForum moderation. Please keep in mind that, while LTHForum is food centric, it's food centric with flashlight, as opposed to laser, focus.

That said, this thread will be moved to Not About Food in the next day or two.

LTHForum Posting Guidelines
Moderator Decisions
Moderation in Moderation

Enjoy,
Gary for the Moderators.

Okay, thanks!! I'm not trying to be the Forum Police or anything...have just seen conversations get out of control sometimes on other boards when they start moving off-topic.

Kudos to the moderators!