Fieri and FN ruin restaurants too. Like the Marietta Diner in Marietta, GA. I've been eating there since it was the Cobb Diner, it was a fantastic place to get all sorts of great food at any hour. Then Fieri rolled into town and made the Diner world famous, and turned it into more of a tourist destination than someplace you drive to because the food is good. The food is bad now. Crab cakes made from fake crab - it in no way has any of the flavor or texture of a crab cake. The only thing that pile of shit has in common with a crab cake is that it is brown on top. My son wanted lobster tail so I took him there for one. Absolute garbage - at 35.00 for two. Menu said steamed, but they were covered in some nasty sauce that was, if I had to guess, was built to cover up the fact that the tails DO NOT EVEN TASTE LIKE LOBSTER. If I had to guess, they are frozen and thawed in a microwave - goodbye flavor. The "Caesar Salad" used to be one of my favorites there, now it comes out, loaded to the gunnels with what tastes like Sysco "Caesar Dressing" that comes in 50 gallon drums. The lettuce is in no way crisp, not only drowned in dressing, it seems like it was pre-made and put in a fridge. When we left, a couple was walking across the lot and stopped to selfie themselves with the Diner as a backdrop. Fuck how the food tastes, I'm getting me some Likes.
I used to admire Gus and what he built at the Diner, but he has sold out, more interested in FB Likes and churning ignoramuses who know no better about the food he is serving. If you could put a dish he made 10 years ago next to dish he serves today and let people see what they are being sold (at higher prices) I think they would be as upset as I am. Gus went on to open another place called the Marietta Fish Market and that seems to be the one he is most active in. So I went there with my kids. So bad. It is all fried. Badly. It is poor quality fish, so they fry it to cover that up. Had the Fish and Chips and what I got was these finger like strips of "Cod" that didn't taste like cod, it didn't taste like anything, but sadness.
Another great business that sold out and trades on it's name and popularity. They don't care if you don't like the food, there will be someone there tomorrow who looks just like you - the business model of every "seafood restaurant" around Orlando, FL.