Pint-size critics
From “Top Chef Junior” to “MasterChef Junior,” young foodies have been making their mark on television for some time, prepping, cooking and plating impressive dishes on the national screen. Watching them critique restaurants, however, is a fresh and binge-watchable enterprise. The team behind KQED’s “Check, Please! Bay Area,” the Emmywinning show hosted by Leslie Sbrocco, has turned the popular restaurant review format over to kids ages 10-14. And they’re dishing on way more than burgers and pizzas.
Now in its 13th season, the show’s typical format follows Sbrocco and a panel of three amateur reviewers as they critique each other’s Bay Area restaurant selections. This time, it’s kids sharing their favorite restaurants and analyzing everything from the quality and presentation of the food to the restaurant’s service, ambiance and affordability. They live in the Bay Area, after all. You’ll hear about the bibimbap and hash brown melts at Art’s Cafe in San Francisco; the pork chop, creme brulee and caviar at Perle Wine Bar in Oakland; and the Caesar salad and New York steak at Marin Joe’s in Corte Madera. Medium rare, all the way. These kids are savvy, honest, eloquent and impossibly cute, proclaiming “Service was an 11 out of 10” or “It’s old school, they take it way back.” Get ready to smile, nod and write down some solid restaurant recommendations. And that Caesar? “They, like, make it right in front of you!” “Check, Please! Bay Area Kids” airs 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on KQED through Dec. 20. Find details at www.kqed.org/checkplease.
—Linda Zavoral and Jessica Yadegaran, Staff