Man v. Food Nation Viewing Party at Tom + Chee

I declared Wednesday my official Tom + Chee day, picking up this Armagoetta sandwich for lunch from their Court Street shop in anticipation of its appearance on Wednesday night’s Man v. Food Nation Cincinnati show. A great combination of pickled cherry peppers, crispy fried onions (yep, like those atop a traditional green bean casserole), hot mustard, and goetta. I thought MvF host Adam Richman did a good job of explaining our regional specialty, goetta, as: “where patty sausage meets meat loaf meets scrapple."

I had hoped to try T+C’s other sandwich featured on MvF for dinner, the Blueberry Bleu (mozzarella, blue cheese, and homemade blueberry compote on an inside-out grilled glazed donut), but arrived at their Newport on the Levee location later than planned. Co-owners Corey Ward and Trew Quackenbush and their wives wanted the “friends and family only” viewing party to be a treat for all the staff too. So by the time I arrived, the kitchen was closed and they’d ordered in pizza. It was fun to see staff I’ve come to know, most of whom were present the day of filming, this time in street clothes and with children and significant others in tow for the big night.

There was both excitement and nervousness in the air as 9:00 p.m. approached. The Travel Channel's Man v. Food Nation film crew was in town for more than four days in August to shoot its Cincinnati episode. They spent the better part of their Saturday at T+C and host Adam Richman himself was there for more than three hours. What footage would make the cut for the half-hour episode T+C shared with Camp Washington Chili and Izzy’s?

The room went quiet for the intro, and all eyes were on the restaurant’s two TV screens for the first segment, featuring Tom + Chee.

Actually, I was surprised at how much of what I saw filmed ended up being packed into those 5-6 minutes. Although the Armagoetta and Blueberry Bleu were the two sandwiches that got the most attention the day of the shoot, I didn’t expect both of them to make air. Yet they did – including Trew’s solid demos at the cooktop, and Adam Richman’s rhapsodies about both. A whoop went up from the crowd when Richman used the word “melt-aphysical” to describe T+C’s grilled cheese, and we all applauded at the end of the segment. The food looked good on camera, the restaurant was well represented as being fun, fresh, and innovative, and Adam Richman’s enthusiasm for it was unmistakable.

The program included some gorgeous shots of the Ohio River and the bridges between downtown Cincinnati and our sister cities in Northern Kentucky, and it did justice to two other venerable Cincy restaurants as well. Izzy's is a place I've been going to since I was a kid and have written about before. Camp Washington Chili is one of the best independent Cincinnati-style chili parlors in town.

To be honest, once the T+C segment was over, we weren’t quite as glued to the TV. If you missed all or part of the Cincinnati episode of Man v. Food Nation or want to watch again, here are some upcoming air times on the Travel Channel:

Saturday, October 15 11:00 AM
Wednesday, October 19 9:30 PM
Thursday, October 20 12:30 AM
Saturday, October 22 11:30 AM

You can also find online video from the Cincy show on the Travel Channel website here, and here. And here is a terrific segment from my beloved Findlay Market that, alas, didn't make it into the show's half-hour time-slot. At about the 1:33 mark of you can see an actual "eggplant to go" from Daisy Mae's, which offers produce year-round at Findlay Market and convenient delivery - thanks, Barb :)

Tom + Chee's facebook page is the best source of info about their locations, hours, and the always evolving specials at both of their current locations, Court Street in Cincinnati and Newport on the Levee (near the Aquarium). Unfortunately, Tom + Chee no longer has their spot on Fountain Square since 3CDC banned food tents from the Square. I am keeping fingers crossed that could somehow change.

If you agree, here's a thought. The Enquirer/Metromix is running its 2011 Readers Choice dining poll. Tom + Chee isn't named as a nominee in any of the categories. However, "Most Buzz-Worthy" is a write-in/"essay question" category where you could voice your support for T+C (and, if you choose, how much you miss having them, and other food vendors, on the Square).

So . . . what do you do if you’re the owners of a small food business open less than two years and suddenly receiving this kind of national exposure? Breathe a sigh of relief at finally seeing it air. Thank your dedicated, hard-working crew and the rest of your support system. Enjoy a few moments of the high. Tend to your phone as it blows up. And brace yourself for what may come next. At least that’s what Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Mr. and Mrs. Chee are doing.

I was honored to be invited to share this milestone with the T+C crew. And I thank Adam Richman and his gang for making my city look so good and tasty on TV.

Adam Richman Filming at Tom + Chee Today - and I Was There!!

I've been a big fan of Tom + Chee since they opened as a lunch booth on Fountain Square last summer, then expanded to their first brick-and-mortar on Court Street. So is Adam Richman, who was at Tom + Chee's third location, at Newport on the Levee, where I got to watch this afternoon's filming. Richman has been in town this week shooting a Cincinnati episode of his Travel Channel show Man vs. Food Nation at Findlay Market, Pho Lang Thang, Senate, and Izzy's, and I couldn't be happier for the Tom + Chee gang to get his attention too!

The film crew was already there when I arrived about 12:30, setting up equipment and doing some preliminary filming.

The owners and staff waited with anticipation for Adam Richman himself to arrive.

When word came that Adam was at the Levee, they had to lock the doors of Tom + Chee. Those of us already there could stay, but no one else could come in, and the restaurant could not cook or serve, except for the show.

Adam arrived about 1:45, with security (and his make-up person). That's him in the brown jacket (he also wore a T-shirt that said "Bacon - The Other Chocolate").

They shot several takes of Adam outside speaking to camera, then entering the restaurant.

Here is Adam talking with one of the Jennies - Mrs. Tom rather than Mrs. Chee :)

Once Adam was ready for inside filming, no more photos were permitted, but it was fascinating to observe the shoot. Several people were asked to do "sit-downs" with him. After signing releases, they would sample one of Tom + Chee's sandwiches, then Adam would slide into the booth or chair next to them and talk with them on camera.

I was lucky enough to be sitting adjacent to the tables where four of the five of those "sit-downs" were filmed this afternoon. Two were with members of the extended T+C family and two were with a couple who is bicycling from Boston to Portland, just happened onto Tom + Chee, and were tasting their food for the first time. There is a lot of waiting around during filming while lights are repositioned, next steps planned, etc. Adam was warm and friendly chatting with his "sit-down" partners off-camera, and seemed especially fascinated by the bicycling fellow.

It was also clear Adam Richman is fascinated by goetta and interested in spotlighting this regional specialty on his Cincinnati show. Two of the "sit-downs" I saw had the eaters tasting Tom + Chee's "Armagoetta" grilled cheese special (Goetta+Hot Peppers+Fried Onions+Sweet Hot Mustard+Pepper-Jack+Rye+Sourdough), and when time came to film Adam in the kitchen with co-owner Trew Quackenbush this afternoon, that was one of the two sandwiches Adam focused on. The other was the "Blueberry Bleu," one of T+C's signature grilled cheese donuts, featuring house-made blueberry reduction, a bit of mozzarella, and bleu cheese on an inside-out glazed donut. Adam loved it, and talked at length on camera about the reasons why.

They also spotlighted the vegan soy oil (rather than butter) T+C uses for all their grilled cheese sandwiches and talked a bit about T+C's three standard tomato soup options at Newport on the Levee. The “Classic” and “Chunky Tomato Basil” are vegan. The “Creamy” is not :) I've been missing T+C's fourth tomato-y option, a cold gazpacho, at Fountain Square this summer. Just sayin'.

Tom + Chee's soups however, go well beyond tomato (the "tom" part of Tom + Chee). I was happy to enjoy this bowl of their famous beer cheese soup with my Italian grilled cheese today: Pepperoni+Ham+Mozzarella on sourdough, with Grippo's chips (another of T+C's signature ingredients), in this case, salt+vinegar chips.

After going outside to reshoot that "entry" scene several more times, Adam left for what was thought to be a break about 5:00 p.m. The restaurant was permitted to reopen and serve customers as onlookers gathered, but expected to have to close again once he returned. Latest word is he didn't.

I will be interested to see how much of what I saw filmed today actually makes it into this Man vs. Food Nation episode that Cincinnati Enquirer columnist John Kieswetter reports will air Wednesday, October 12, especially given all the other great Cincy spots where the show has been filming. But I'm confident it will show our city's food in a positive light, and delighted to see it seek out small, new restaurants like Tom+Chee, Pho Lang Thang, and Senate and go beyond the triumvirate of Cincinnati-style chili, Montgomery Inn ribs, and Graeter's ice cream we're traditionally known for.

Hats off to Tom+Chee on this great day. And I hope you do a viewing party October 12!

Edited to add: One of my favorite local bloggers, photographer extraordinaire Thadd Fiala, was at the Izzy's shoot! Check out his post here.