Cuisine on the small screen The Bear the latest in long line of TV restos By: David Sanderson Posted: 5:10 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 15, 2024

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This article was published 15/07/2024 (755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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The third season of The Bear dropped on Disney+ late last month. To say that fans of the Emmy Award-winning television series had been hungering to catch up on the goings-on at the oft-chaotic Original Beef of Chicagoland, the fictional restaurant that serves as the show’s primary setting, would be an understatement.

According to Variety magazine, the first episode of Season 3 of The Bear, which stars Jeremy Allen White as chef Carmen (Carmy) Berzatto and Ayo Edebiri as sous chef Sydney Adamu, registered 5.4 million views in the four days following its June 26 release, a 24 per cent increase over the second season’s debut episode in June 2023.

While it’s true The Bear has been a runaway hit since its debut two years ago, with audiences and critics alike, it’s far from the first time a dining spot has played a starring role on a TV screen.

Here is a rundown of other scripted eateries that have whetted the appetites of viewers.

Brontoburgers Malt Shop (The Flintstones)

Location: Bedrock

Not only was Brontoburgers a go-to for Fred Flintstone and his best pal Barney Rubble, the chums’ offspring also frequented the prehistoric food palace. Seven episodes of The Pebbles and Bam-Bam Show, which succeeded The Flintstones as a Saturday-morning cartoon entry on CBS in 1971, were set at Brontoburgers, well-known for its mammoth-size shakes and burgers.

Arnold’s Restaurant (Happy Days)

Location: Milwaukee, Wis.

Arnold’s was the weekly hangout for Richie Cunningham, Ralph Malph, Potsie Webber and Arthur (Fonzie) Fonzarelli for all 255 episodes of ABC sitcom Happy Days, which ran from 1974 to 1984. Mitsumo (Arnold) Takahashi (Pat Morita) was the owner of Arnold’s during the show’s first three seasons, before handing the keys over to Al Delvecchio (Al Molinaro). In keeping with the show’s 1950s and early ‘60s theme, washrooms at Arnold’s were marked Guys and Dolls.

 

 

Mel’s Diner (Alice)

Location: Phoenix, Ariz.

“Kiss my grits,” was a catchphrase often uttered by Mel’s Diner server Florence Jean (Flo) Castleberry (Polly Holliday) on Alice, which aired on CBS for nine seasons beginning in 1976. Alice starred Linda Lavin as Flo’s fellow employee Alice Hyatt, a role originally played by Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the Academy Award-filming film the sitcom was based upon. We’re not sure how the antics of diner owner Mel Sharples (Vic Tayback) would play out in 2024; “Dingy” and “Blondie” were just a couple of the derogatory nicknames he assigned to members of his waitstaff.

Ruby Diner (Corner Gas)

Location: Dog River, Sask.

It was a dark day in Dog River, err, Rouleau, Sask., in November 2016 when the Ruby café was razed after being deemed a safety hazard. The faux diner, along with the adjacent and equally pretend Corner Gas petrol station, had been part of a walking tour of the area, which served as the setting for the CTV series Corner Gas from 2004 to 2009. Also sadly demolished that morning was an exterior letter signboard that, during the six-time Gemini Award-winner’s run, sported messages reading “Eat at the Ruby and get gas,” “If you think our bathrooms are dirty, you should see the kitchen” and — our fave — “Come for the oil change, stay for the grease.”

Peach Pit (Beverly Hills, 90210)

Location: Beverly Hills, Calif.

Dylan to the rescue! Nat Bussichio, the proprietor of the Peach Pit diner, suffers a heart attack in the third season of Fox’s soapy teen series Beverly Hills, 90210. Head server Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) runs the show for a spell in his absence but when Nat’s cousin, the Pit’s co-owner, threatens to shut things down for good, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) buys him out, allowing the eatery to continue dishing out burgers and fries to Kelly, Brenda, David and the rest of the Southern California gang.

Monk’s Café (Seinfeld)

Location: New York City, N.Y.

Three years ago, the website Screenrant.com issued a list of the 10 most memorable Seinfeld scenes set in the NBC sitcom’s mainstay Monk’s Cafe. For our money, it’s a toss-up between Elaine requesting George pick her up a “big salad” while on a date there, which causes a rift between the two, and a convo between Elaine and Jerry over whether or not he, uh, pleased her, during their three-year romantic relationship. “Fake, fake, fake, fake,” she lets him know over a bowl of soup. (Fun fact: actress Ruth Cohen, who plays Ruthie, Monk’s cashier, appeared in 101 of the 180 Seinfeld episodes, more than any character other than the four leads.)

Luke’s Diner (Gilmore Girls)

Location: Stars Hollow, Conn.

How great was this for devotees of the WB/CW dramedy Gilmore Girls? In October 2016, Netflix covered the cost of converting 200 North American coffee shops into real-life versions of Luke’s Diner, complete with cup-and-saucer shaped placards and wall signs reading “no cellphones.” The single-day promotion heralded the show’s reboot Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which revisited the relationship of mother-daughter BFFs Lorelei and Rory Gilmore (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, respectively).

The Gilded Truffle (The Simpsons)

Location: Springfield

Winnipeg is reputed to have the most restaurants per capita in North America but Springfield has to be a close second. Krusty Burger, Lard Lad Donuts, the Frying Dutchman and the Picky Vegan are just a few of the eateries the Simpsons have sunk their teeth into in the long-running Fox animated series. In the episode Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner, Homer-as-food-critic pens negative reviews of various local establishments, including the Gilded Truffle. Offended, the city’s restaurant owners band together, ultimately deciding to off their newfound foe by feeding him a poisoned éclaire.

Café Nervosa (Frasier)

Location: Seattle, Wash.

Café Nervosa is a constant in Frasier and Nile Crane’s daily lives, that’s true, but owner Maureen Nervosa’s (Amy Hill) lone appearance occurred in the Season 10 episode Farewell Nervosa, when she gives the neurotic brothers the boot for complaining about a guitarist who has been hired to play ambient music. The café in this NBC Cheers spinoff was reportedly inspired by Seattle’s Elliot Bay Café, which, according to Reddit, served its last cuppa joe in 2023.

Los Pollos Hermanos (Breaking Bad)

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

Talk about life imitating art: a resident of Cook County, Ill., was arrested and charged with the manufacturing of methamphetamine in 2014. For his mugshot, he sported a Los Pollos Hermanos T-shirt, reminiscent of the fried chicken chain that served as a money-laundering front for Gus Fring’s meth operation in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, AMC’s linked dramas about a high school teacher-turned-drug-dealer and his shady lawyer.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca