Kitchen Nightmares Preview: The Secret Garden + Last Chance To Win!

Tonight’s episode is back in California, specifically Moorpark. (Did you know Moorpark spelled backwards is Krap Room? It’s true!)


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Again if this were the UK Nightmares - this might be a great episode. As it is - meh. I’ll be liveblogging at 9pm east, 6pm west.

Here’s a review and a little about Chef Michel Bardavid.

High energy, charismatic and young Michel Bardavid had all the credentials needed for a food knifeslinger. Born in Lyon, France, the birthplace of haute cuisine, he actually did have a stint on Sunset Blvd. with culinary vunderkint Ken Frank at the short-lived and trendy Argyle. He worked at Checkers in Los Angeles under Thomas Keller, now of The French Laundry as well as at Ma Maison where Wolfgang Puck got his start. The Bel-Air Hotel and the revolving door at Sherwood Country Club also appear on his resume. Capturing the attention of the culinary tenderfeet in Moorpark- Simi and hopefully Westlake-North Ranch would seem to be as easy as roping a calf in a corral. Well, as it turns out, not quite.

It is true that under Bardavid’s rein, the dishes are now easily remembered but no longer pricey. Many main courses are under $20. For $2 you can add a wonderfully dressed remarkably fresh and ample baby green salad with a lemon vinaigrette. My wife had a perfectly pan seared Mahi-Mahi over a medley of vegetables with truffle essence (19.50). I love bouillabaisse and am a hard marker. The copious portions of fresh clams, shrimp, salmon and whitefish (25.00) were poached perfectly moist in a reduced lobster broth, Provence style. Fresh herbs are grown behind the main dining room in The Secret Garden.

Secret Garden

And - you can STILL maybe win a Gordon Ramsay Cookbook! Even if you’re just here for the political videos!

It’s totally free and so easy to enter! It’s totally free and so easy to enter! Plus, your odds of winnning are good right now because we only about a fifteen or so entries. Complete details are here.

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