Guy Fieri Review Was Uncalled For, Guy Fieri Says

A Guy Fieri review in the New York Times earlier this week went viral on social media due to its (well, above all, bitchiness) candor and no-holds-barred send up of the Food Network personality and his branded joint in Times Square, but not everyone is laughing.

Namely, Guy Fieri did not find the whole review that funny, actually. Any native New Yorker will tell you that aside from sublime barbeque wings at Virgil’s BBQ, the area in which Fieri’s new biz is situated is a fetid cesspool of tourists and subpar, overpriced food, so it’s not like anyone was expecting a haute cuisine experience.

But the Guy Fieri review was in the influential Times, and, even for a dis track, the piece really creatively slammed the restaurant as well as the genre in which Fieri’s joint lives. Fieri talked about the review everyone is talking about this morning with Savannah Guthrie, saying that the article unfairly ragged on his brand:

“I just thought it was ridiculous. I’ve read reviews. There’s good and there’s bad in the restaurant business … That one went overboard … Why [is] the kind of cooking you celebrate on television … treated with so little respect at Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar?”

Fieri continued:

“I’ve been in the restaurant business 25 years. Do we do it perfect? No. Do we strive to do it perfect? Yes … Do I think I’ve fallen short? By no means. [But] do we make mistakes? Absolutely.”

He concluded:

“People see me as a TV guy. I’m really a chef.”

Did you read the original Guy Fieri review? Was the Times unfair to call out the Food TV host for what is par-for-the-course Times Square dining?