Media Alert

This is mainly of interest to readers in Los Angeles. But it will still be entertaining for others.

There's a show on the Food Network called Mystery Diners.  When a restaurant thinks it’s having employee problems, they call the investigators in who set up hidden camera, send in "mystery diners" or have "mystery employees" with hidden cameras hired by the owner, and check things out.  I only watch it on occasion, since it’s a bit forced and overly confrontational for my taste, and I find the pay-offs at the end tend to be a bit unsatisfying.  But I watched tonight because, scrolling through the program guide, I saw that they were called in a place called Lenny’s Deli -- that's a delicatessen in Westwood that that took over Junior’s a few years ago..

It’s actually a fairly good episode, more directly dramatic than most and with a fairly acceptable ending.  (It also has one of the greatest lines I've seen on the show, when someone under "investigation" (and caught on camera in a big way) comes into the Control Center, sees all the monitors and asks, "What's going on here??"  Another employee, also in trouble, but who's been already called into the Control Center and seen her entire meltdown, slowly turns and tells her in as dry a voice as you can imagine, "It doesn't look good."  

Anyway, they’re repeating it tonight (Wednesday night/ Thursday morning) at 12:30 AM, Los Angeles time.  Set the DVR.

One quibble:  the new owner comments how they took over a failing restaurant, and my understanding is that it was more of a lease dispute between Junior's and the landlord.)