Guy Fieri fires back at searing 'NYT' restaurant review

Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY | USATODAY

The old saying is that any publicity is good publicity.

Celeb chef Guy Fieri better hope that's true because there has been big buzz building about Tuesday's New York Times review of his new Manhattan restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar.

He got raked over the coals. Skewered. Burned.

Big time.

The opening sentence: "GUY FIERI, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square?"

Writer Pete Wells goes on to say (in 34 rhetorical questions) that a drink tastes like "radiator fluid and formaldehyde." He notes that French fries arrive "limp and oil-sogged" and "served cold." He attacks the service, the sides, even the nachos ("deeply unlovable"). His overall rating: "Poor."

Many commenters on the piece loved it (one woman asked Wells to marry her). Supporters on Fieri's Facebook page urge him to ignore it.

Today on the Today show, Fieri defended himself in an interview with Savannah Guthrie. The Food Network star's reaction to the piece? "I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, I've read reviews —- there's good and there's bad in the restaurant business, but that to me went so overboard, it really seemed like there was another agenda."

He went on to say, "The tone, the sarcasm, the question style." Fieri didn't think it was fair to visit the restaurant four times in two months. "That's tough times, especially this size of a restaurant."

Did any of it strike a chord as sounding accurate? "Without question. I've been in the restaurant (business) 25 years. This is an ever-changing, evolving process." He added, "Do we do it perfect? No. Are we striving to do it perfect? Yes."

Savannah noted that 56 reviews on Yelp give Guy's American Kitchen and Bar an average of 2.5 stars out of five, so it's not knocking people's socks off. "At two months? Not really expecting to," said Fieri. "I mean, we're trying to. We're trying as hard as we can to make it right, to do it right. ... Is it perfect right now? No. ... Let's see where we are in six months."

He mentioned he has 11 restaurants and he's into being a hands-on chef and manager, from creating the menu to training the staff, not just putting a "stamp" on the place.

And he said, "To me, it's impossible to come in and have a dining experience and have every single thing is wrong, unless you come in with a different agenda and you want to sensationalize something and you want to blow it out of the water. It's a great way to make a name for yourself — go after a celebrity chef that's not a New Yorker that's doing big concept in his second month. Great way to hit it," he said, punching his hand.

His words for Wells: "You're welcome."

And Fieri added, "I stand by my food. I stand by my team."