Best Food Ever

The Food Network, among other examples, is testament to the fact that watching others prepare and consume food has become a major spectator sport. Best Food Ever, a five-episode series that aired on TLC, adds more to the plate, along the way unwittingly spotlighting some of the more disturbing aspects of contemporary American culture. Each of the segments (narrated, fittingly, by the hefty John Goodman) purports to show the top 10 in a category—sandwiches, bakeries, diners, food carts, barbecue, etc. The exemplars cluster in certain areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, and Seattle, among other locales, while the offerings are intriguing: a $100 Philly cheese steak sandwich, booze-laden cupcakes dubbed “cuptails,” and a triple-decker sandwich so hefty (weighing in at 10 pounds) that waitresses have had to quit because they couldn't handle it. Viewers can't help but notice that a lot of the diners and some of the chefs are wide people, and giant servings seem to be a serious aspect of the appeal here. In one scene, a regular customer at a Seattle eatery downs a 12-egg stuffed omelet (too big for a plate, it's served on a pizza pan) with a huge bed of hash browns, drowned in ketchup, as other customers cheer him on. Amazingly, he even finishes the toast. Foodies will likely appreciate this series for its entertainment (but not nutritional) value. Recommended. Aud: P. (F. Gardner)