ON THE DL

Adam Gertler of Food Network Makes Me Hungry

Adam Gertler, star of Will Work for Food on the Food Network, joins the show to talk about...well, being a star on the Food Network.

Gertler was a contestant on Next Food Network Star, and despite losing in the finals, was offered his own show by the network, premiering tonight, January 19, 2009 at 8:30 pm.

We talk about his journey from Syracuse acting troupes to LA to become an actor to co-owning a restaurant in Philadelphia to making ends meet as a waiter to his inevitable tryout for Next Food Network Star. I’m tired just typing that.

We also talk about what it takes to try out for a reality show. Was it a last resort? A lark? It’s interesting to get into the mindset of someone who is part of the reality TV world.

“There were times I was intimidated. And there were times I thought, ‘well, I’ve got just as much a right to be here as anybody else.’ What I lack in hard restaurant experience, I more than make up for in enthusiasm and verve and honest passion for this subject. If there is some thing I don’t know, I attack it with a passion. Which is why Will Work For Food is a perfect show for me.”

Then, we get into the happenings on a reality TV show. How much of what they show us on the episodes is “reality?” How much of what they show us is for the benefit of television. Gertler explains that there is no gray area on TV and that in order to make compelling drama, everything has to be in black and white.

“In reality television, to convey to an audience, gray area is hard to play. By that I mean if you do seven things great and three things terrible, you’re great. If you do six things terribly and four things sort of redeeming – that in between doesn’t really play. So the way things come off are sort of a black and white of how it happens. But that being said, it is all real.”

We talk in detail about his time in Philly. What is the hardest thing about owning a restaurant? What’s it like owning a restaurant in a town like this, where everything is so colloquial? And what advice would he have for someone thinking about opening a restaurant?

Also, we talk a lot about why the Smoked Joint closed. Gertler explains that while he had a great location for his restaurant, it’s not great when neighbors are calling the police all the time. And it’s not great when you serve hearty, roll-up-your-sleeves food in the theatre district. After hearing Gertler explain all the perils of owning the Smoked Joint, I wonder why anyone would ever want to own a restaurant. But after hearing him talk about the ups and downs with such passion, I understand why.

So, now that he’s a big-to-do celebrity, would he ever think about opening another restaurant and would that restaurant be in Philly?

“As far as my future, it remains to be seen. Part of me says ‘well we didn’t really work out in Philly. Maybe there’s a reason that barbeque – like real smoked barbeque – hasn’t taken off before in Philly. Philly likes their certain food of that genre and then there’s the upper echelon of cuisine and where we are is kind of in the middle. Now with this notoriety, you wonder ‘well now you’re sort of taking a different approach and the factors are different.’ Being well known will certainly bring people in the door. It won’t keep people there, but our quality of food was never in doubt to me.

“I would love to do it again in Philly if I thought the opportunity was there and I thought that we could do it well. Or maybe somewhere else, but it’s something that my brother and I both really want to do at some point. And maybe for nothing else just to prove that we can, because I’ll always have that hanging over my head.”

Obviously we talk about his new show on the Food Network. Basically he travels the globe showing viewers how certain foods are made, cultivated and created. Anything from harvesting truffles to flair bartending, if it’s a job in food, Gerlter plans to try it.

There will be some “yuks” on the show, and there is ample opportunity for Gertler’s ebullient personality to shine through, but he assures me the show is as much information as entertainment. At the very least, he promises we’ll learn just how hard some of these jobs are.

He’s an easy guy to root for, and it comes through on the interview. It’s like you’re talking to the guy next door, only he’s on TV. That’s what will hopefully make the show a success. Even when talking about food, he gives advice on life:

“Nothing in my past could have gone any other way to get here. It couldn’t have gone any other way. So you just kinda of throw your hands up in the air and say, ‘planning is one thing, but just whatever you do be enthusiastic and keep moving forward and say ‘yes’ to everything.”

We end on some Philly talk. We know about cheesesteaks and we know about pretzels, but what’s the most underrated food in Philly. His answer totally surprised me: muscles.

I never would have thought that muscles would be on anyone’s list of “Philly” foods but Gertler explains that they are a great comfort food and decidedly “Philly.” Hmm.

And while the Eagles didn’t make the Super Bowl, the interview was recorded before this weekend’s games, so I asked Gertler, win or lose, what would be his Super Bowl spread.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS SHOW ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

Link to this: