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When we are on the road we will go to places we have seen on his show - DINERS ETC... and they are universally good and very fairly priced. Its always a safe bet for a good meal at a fair price and lots of it. In New York City we hit his own restaurant near Broadway and were shocked at how utterly mediocre it was and very overpriced. The food was the quality and scope of an Applebees or Ruby Tuesday or Chili's and the cost was twice as much. A mixed drink was $12.
Now it was a block from the theater district so you expect to pay more - but it was simply not too good. A fellow and his date sitting next to us in the usual NYC closed quarters said the only people who go there are tourists and theater goers (which they also were) and both are enough to keep him in business despite universally bad reviews in the NY press.
I have been to a Johnny Garlics, they are not bad. I have had better though. I think though to be honest its who's in the kitchen that makes the restaurant. If you have been to a TA or Denny's diner at a Flying J then you know most of the time the fare you will get will be blah. However I have found every once in awhile you get a good chef who knows his stuff and the food goes from blah to pretty damn good. We had TA with restaurant in my area and they had an aspiring chef in there and I have to say I did not mind one bit being his guinea pig, though it was mainly pops who was his guinea pig. Pops was a short order cook way back when before he went into the Navy cooking at his folks restaurant and he knows a thing or two about cooking well himself. Old school style with lard and butter and the like.