Adam Richman sniffs out restaurant secrets

By Andrew Warren TV Media

Restaurants! They’re seriously everywhere. They’re on street corners in every neighborhood, they’re found in hotels and hospitals, they can even be found underground in subway stations.

In fact, a study done in 2012 found that there are well over 600,000 restaurants in America, which means that you pretty much can’t go anywhere without practically tripping over one of the things.

With that many eateries, there are definitely hits and misses — and sometimes those hits can be tricky to find. That’s where Adam Richman comes in with his Travel Channel show “Man Finds Food.”

Currently airing Wednesday evenings and partway through its first season, “Man Finds Food” follows the former “Man v. Food” host as he travels around the country to discover some of the nation’s best food secrets. Whether it’s a house specialty that doesn’t appear on the menu or an amazing diner that’s almost impossible to find, Richman and his camera crew are digging them up and showing them off.

If it seems like you’ve heard about this show before, you probably have. “Man Finds Food,” which premiered back in April, had originally been scheduled to air in the summer of 2014, but after Richman stirred up some controversy with an outburst on social media, the show was quietly shelved. Though it came very close to never airing at all, Trav- el Channel just as quietly added it back to the schedule for spring 2015.

All of that aside, “Man Finds Food” is definitely Richman back in his element. Like a good ingredient, he’s a versatile guy: he’s an actor (appearing in “Guiding Light” and “All My Children”), an author and a trained sushi chef.

His biggest claim to fame, though, has probably been “Man v. Food.” The Travel Channel show lasted for four seasons (it was rebranded as “Man v. Food Nation” for the final season) and featured him taking on various eating challenges around the country. Fans of that show tuning into “Man Finds Food” may be in for a surprise. Since giving up competitive eating, Richman has lost a considerable amount of weight — shedding 60 pounds will transform how anyone looks! After a brief hiccup, it looks like the network still has faith in Richman, and he certainly has his many fans behind him. “Man Finds Food” currently airs Wednesdays on Travel Channel.

Sunday, June 21

9:30 a.m. (23) WUCW Mad Dogg and Merrill’s Midwestern Grill’n

1:00 p.m. (9) KAWE Pati’s Mexican Table

TRAV Bizarre Foods

1:30 p.m. (9) KAWE Lidia’s Kitchen

2:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

2:30 p.m. (8) WDSE The Mind of a Chef

3:00 p.m. (8) WDSE A Chef’s Life

TRAV Bizarre Foods

4:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

4:30 p.m. (9) KAWE Food Forward

5:00 p.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

6:30 p.m. (2) KTCA New Scandinavian Cooking

Monday, June 22

10:00 a.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

11:00 a.m. TRAV Bizarre Foods

Noon TRAV Bizarre Foods

1:00 p.m. TRAV

Video releases

The Forger

Blue-collar thug Ray Cutter (Travolta) is an art forger of such skill that even the world’s foremost art experts have difficulty distinguishing his forgeries from the originals. With his son Will (Sheridan) dying of terminal cancer, Ray cuts a deal with a crime boss that gets him released from prison early so that he can spend time at his son’s side during his final days. Along with his own father (Plummer), who’s been looking after Will during Ray’s incarceration, the ex-con tries to make the most of his son’s remaining time on Earth. However, the crime boss who got him released from prison in the first place still has a job for Ray to do in return: forging a Monet masterpiece and swapping it for the original without getting caught. With detectives keeping an eye on him and his emotions on a roller-coaster, Ray sets out to pull off what may be the most important forgery of his career.

Director:PhilipMartin.Stars: JohnTravolta,ChristopherPlummer,TyeSheridan,AbigailSpencer,Anson Mount.2014.92 min. Crime.