- There's a lot of cameras around, there's a whole procedure, and then the minute you sit at the table and those big fancy lights go on, you know, people get nervous.

- Yeah, for - Sure.

Of course.

And so my job is to just say, all right, sit down.

Forget about those people with the cameras.

Actually, they're robotic now.

But forget about those people behind there.

It, it's a wall to you.

And it's actually - Scarier, - Honestly.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

You don't know where they're gonna - Go.

Right.

You know where they're gonna go.

And there's people telling you what to do and not to do.

And you know, I always say just have fun.

Yeah.

Just have fun.

And then I really break the ice with them and get them comfortable.

And, and so that's my, that's my number one job.

- Yeah.

- And then we get the best out of them.

- Welcome to Forum, I'm Alexis Madrigal.

If you have not seen, "Check, Please!

Bay Area" the concept is simple.

Three locals each recommend a restaurant.

Everyone tries the places out.

They meet for a spirited conversation about what they liked, what they loved, what they could do without the restaurants reviewed range from mom and pop shops to Michelin Award winning.

But one thing they have in common is at least one passionate fan.

The show has been winning awards and fans for 20 years.

And host Leslie Sbrocco and producer Lori Halloran.

Join us to talk about the imprint.

The show is made on local dining.

Welcome to Forum Leslie.

- Thank you.

Hi, Alexis.

How you doing?

- Always.

I'm good.

I'm good.

Also, always delighted to have a producer on Lori.

Thanks so much for joining us.

- My pleasure.

Thanks for having us.

She's the one that makes everything wrong.

- Yeah, right.

Yeah, we know.

We know the know, you know, just - That's right.

- So, why don't we talk a little bit about the origin of Check, Please?

Right?

As I understand it, the concept first got got going in Chicago, right?

- It did.

It was created by David Manilow, who's still involved with the other shows that are airing.

And it was, I believe, started in 2001.

And I'm a Chicago girl.

I was raised in Chicago before I went to college, then moved out here.

So I'm a big Chicago, - You - Know, lover, - Promoter, - Yes.

Big.

So it was very, very popular.

My friend Alpana Singh, who's also in the wine business, ended up as their long term host.

But the show ended due to COVID pretty much.

Oh, yeah.

- Our ours kept going.

- Ours kept going.

- That's good.

That show also had some famous guests.

We're just gonna listen to a cut, and you, you're gonna recognize this voice, I think.

- What about you at Dixie Kitchen?

Barack?

- You know, I ordered the Southern Sampler just because I, I couldn't make up my mind since, as I said, I, you know, I eat there quite a bit, so, you know, I, I wasn't sure what I was in the mood for.

I said, well, you just bring me a little, little, little something that, you know, it's not gourmet cuisine, but that's not why I go to Dixie Kitchen.

You know, I, I'm not looking for some fancy presentation or, you know, extraordinarily subtle flavors - Barack!

Yeah.

Woo!

That was then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama appeared on "Check, Please!

Chicago" in 2001.

I mean, that is part of what makes this show right, is that it kind of puts all these restaurants kind of on equal footing.

Right?

- It does.

And, and as you said, it's from mom and pop to, you know, larger.

We don't have chain restaurants on the show.

- No.

- TGI Fridays.

- No, no.

I think once we had Abeka di Buppo, right?

- Buca di Beppo.

That's it.

- Thank you.

It's too early in the morning for me.

Yeah.

And, but that was it.

I think over 20 years, I think it's really been a focus on these smaller restaurants, family owned.

- And when I hear him, I mean, that's really setting the tone.

That is exactly.

It is.

I mean, we had Sister Roma on talking about it too.

I want a place that throws down, like, I want a hole in the wall.

I don't, I don't, you know what I mean?

- And that's what our guests and our viewers want is what is that little discovery, that spot that's nearby or or far away that I haven't heard about?

I haven't heard about many of the restaurants that are recommended.

- Right, right.

- Yeah.

- So how does it work?

Like, how many suggestions get filtered down?

I mean, there've been 850 restaurants in the show.

- By the end of this season it will be 850.

- Oh man.

- And that means how many guests?

- 850 - About that.

There was, we do like to spread the love.

So like we will have people who come on who just absolutely they love it so much and they want to be on again.

But that has always been our policy.

Like, no, we gotta spread the love.

Like, you know, we want, we don't go to the same restaurant twice.

We don't have the same guest twice.

There was one - Slipped through the crack.

This is, yes.

We've kept this quiet for many years.

So this is an internal secret, - Right?

Who, do you know who it is?

Do you remember it?

It was prior to my time as series producer, I'll say.

But somehow just maybe he snuck in.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He came on twice.

Yeah.

And he didn't tell, I think you didn't find out until he was sitting right next to you.

Right.

And I'm like, this, he looks familiar.

Like, right.

Again, - Is there a place you think gets overrepresented or underrepresented, or do you have like a big map and you're like, no, we're gonna make sure from Healdsburg to, you know, Half Moon Bay, we've got it all down.

- That's what we try for.

Yeah, absolutely.

I would say we have been expanding, the coolest thing that we've done in the past couple years is actually thanks to Leslie as well, happened to be down in Monterey for an event.

Absolutely.

And all these people were coming up to you, right, saying like, how come we don't come down here?

- Yeah.

Because they're part of the Bay - quote.

Yeah.

They think of, yeah.

- And they, the show goes all the way down the show to Paso Robles, you know?

So, so I was doing a couple of events down there a few years ago, and I was amazed at how many people came up to me and said, oh, we love this show, why don't you come down here?

And so I said to Lori, I think we have a, a pretty big fan base down in Monterey area.

- Yeah.

So we stretched our budget and we went down there, and now we've done like five episodes.

- And there's, in that area, there's great restaurants.

- Pretty cool from Santa - Cruz to Yeah, for sure.

You know, to Carmel.

- But we definitely, you know, I think early on the show was very San Francisco centric.

That was kind of how it started.

And then gradually kept pushing out, pushing out, pushing out those boundaries where it was like, oh my gosh, we're going to Livermore.

Which is cool.

Like, that's - How everyone always says it.

They're - Like, oh my gosh, I'm going - to Livermore.

Yeah.

- Livermore's great.

- Wonderful wineries and restaurants.

- Yeah.

Let's hear a little bit about what guests sound like on the show.

We've got Bay Area musical artist, Ruby Ibarra, talking about Panchita's pupusas, which were recommended by fellow guests.

Let's listen, - Hands down.

The Mushroom and Garlic one that I had at Titas has to be, for me, my personal opinion, the best pupusas I've ever had.

And it was just creamy, cheesy.

The mushrooms inside were seasoned very well.

So I appreciated also how there was a nice kind of char on the outside of the pupusas.

I think there was also some excess cheese, which gave it a nice crisp, so when you bit into it, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is so good.

Isn't there really a excess cheese though?

There's, you can never have too much cheese.

- That was great.

Ruby Ibarra, obviously on "Check, Please!

Bay Area," talking with Leslie Sbrocco.

One of the things I love about, it's like the show, and people always comment on this, right?

That the show has a very loose vibe, which may be like in the modern era where there's so much video, like, makes a lot of sense.

But I feel like, especially when the show started in the 2000s did a lot of shows sound like that?

Or it feels like things were a lot more buttoned up - In the beginning?

- No, not your show, but I mean, like in general, like restaurant shows, you know?

Absolutely.

And critic and - Oh, absolutely.

It was, it was primarily print, you know, and critics were doing writing about restaurants in print and, and when we had newspapers basically.

- Yeah.

- And so I think, yes, we did really come on the scene quite strong because there was nothing like our show around, it was before Yelp, and, you know, and we were listening to real people - Yeah.

And real people also talking about what they love about food, not what critics or or gourmands love.

- And I think that's one of the connections that's made us so popular is, you know, a viewer can relate to one of those people or one of those restaurants and leave saying, oh, I wanna try that.

- Yeah.

- You know?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

We're talking about KQED's "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Just turned 20 years old.

We're with the host of the show, Leslie Sbrocco, and producer Lori Halloran, we wanna hear from you.

I mean, if you were on "Check, Please!"

which restaurant would you recommend?

What's a restaurant trend that you love or could do without, or a cuisine you feel is missing from the Bay Area's scene?

You can give us a call.

The number is (866) 733-6786.

That's (866) 733-6786.

The email is forum@kqed.org.

You can find us on all the social media things, Bluesky, Instagram, discord, et cetera, or KQED Forum.

Do you have like a mission statement for the show?

Like as a producer, are you like, this is the mission of this show?

- Hmm.

I think we've sort of talked about it a little bit, but it's really, you know, we're not an ad for restaurants.

I think that's one thing too.

Like, it's a, it's a fine line.

Like we, we wanna show them at their best.

Absolutely.

We wanna uplift, we wanna uplift the people who are back there working really hard to bring you your food and do it, you know, in a fashion where we're gonna show the food in its best light.

So when we go out, we always want it to look, you know, as appealing and obviously mouthwatering as it can, but we're also gonna make the table be set.

Like, it's gonna be like when you get there, you know, if a burger comes in a basket, it'll be in the basket.

We're not gonna put it on a fancy plate.

So I think it's always that balance of like, letting the restaurant owner or chef tell the story in their own words is great.

You know?

And, and we'll put that together, but at the same time, we're not shooting in Slowmo and like, you know, we do nice lighting.

- Oh, admit it, it's a little food porn.

- It is a little food porn.

It is.

That's what draws people in They go, oh, that looks so good.

And, and so we're trying to uplift all the time.

Absolutely.

So that's, that's on that end.

And then, yeah, - But I get it.

It's not like Chef's Table or something.

- No.

Where they're sort of like, show the Chef Outdoor, you know, with an open fire, like for like three minutes of slomo shots.

We don't romanticize it in that way.

- Yeah, that's right.

- But we really, and, and I love when we get honest opinions, which is what we encourage, you know, tell us what you like, tell us what you didn't like.

- Hmm.

- And sometimes they get, the guests get a little nervous when they first get to the set, and you might not get as much negativity just because they just met the person who recommended the restaurant in the green room before.

- Yeah.

- So I really try to get their honest opinion.

You're like, what'd you really hate about it though?

Do you feel like you're able to get those out?

Like, how do, do you have any little techniques to like, nudge 'em into honesty?

Well, I, I, they are required for their application to write their experience.

So I've, I don't meet the guests before, except in the Green room before we show shoot the show.

But I have read what they think of each restaurant.

So sometimes, you know, I know that somebody really didn't like something and I might just gently say, and was there anything, you know, else and you do, again, I'm, I'm not pushing negativity or positivity.

Yeah.

I'm just trying to get their experience out so that when people go there, that that's what they expect.

- That's an honest experience.

- Yeah.

- We have some comments coming in.

This one is from Daniel Aderaw Yeshiwas, who is owner of Cafe Colucci.

- Ah.

- And Daniel says, I loved being part of "Check, Please!"

It came at such a meaningful time for us.

We had just moved from our original location where we'd been since 1991.

And honestly, we were nervous about how the community would respond.

About three months after our move, "Check, Please!"

reached out.

And once our episode aired, things took off.

It brought so many new guests through our doors and was a real turning point for us.

We've always loved participating in the "Check, Please!

Sip and Taste events every year.

Such a great way to connect with other chefs and restaurant folks.

It must feel good to hear that though, right?

- What we call it - it does feel good.

Yeah.

That's really what warms our heart is when we are giving a great experience to the viewer, but also to the restaurant.

And I, we call it the Check, Please Effect.

- And we've heard from, - Or the bump - Yeah.

- That we've heard from so many restaurateurs and owners that, you know, as soon as "Check, Please" runs, there are lines out the door.

That's so great.

We've actually had restaurants turn us down to be on the show, because we always check with them before.

- Yeah.

- Because they did.

They were afraid they couldn't handle the rush.

Oh man.

That would come afterwards.

- We're talking about the 20th anniversary of KQED'S "Check, Please!

Bay Area" with host Leslie Sbrocco, and producer Lori Halloran.

Of course, we're gonna get to your calls and comments when we come back from the break.

The number is (866) 733-6786.

Maybe you can shout out your favorite "Check, Please!"

Episode, the email's forum@kqed.org.

I'm Alexis Madrigal, stay tuned.

Welcome back to Forum.

I'm Alexis Madrigal.

We're talking about the 20th anniversary of KQEDs.

"Check, Please!

Bay Area" We've got the host of the show, Leslie Sbrocco, of course.

And producer Lori Halloran.

We, let's get to some folks.

Let's get to some people on the phones here.

Let's get Jamaica in Woodland.

Welcome.

- Oh my gosh, it's a pleasure to be on.

Hello, hello.

I have, I have loved check, please.

I used to live in Alameda, and I probably saw those 20-year-old episodes.

I most treasure the, the range of participants.

And one of my favorite episodes, somebody mentioned that their favorite restaurant was a food truck in South San Francisco.

And the participant that went was a well-heeled surgeon, very wealthy, and kind of nervous to go to that area.

He said he circled around and then he stopped and he watched from a distance for a long time.

And when he finally went and got the courage to go, it was one of the best meals he'd ever had.

- That sounds like a "Check, Please!"

guest.

Yeah.

- I really enjoy that.

So thank you very much for all the years.

Yeah.

- Oh, thank you for calling in.

We really appreciate it.

- So appreciate it.

We also know it's not easy to run a restaurant, particularly after the "Check, Please!"

Effect has hit.

We've got Laura Magu, who's owner of Reve Bistro in Lafayette.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Laura.

Laura, you there?

Do you remember that episode out there in Lafayette?

- Oh my gosh, absolutely.

Yeah.

Chef Paul I am here.

Oh, there you're, oh, there we're perfect.

Perfect.

Hi.

- Thank you so much for having me on.

- Yeah, well, why don't you tell us for, what do you remember of the episode, Lori?

- Oh my goodness.

So it was in May of 2018, and, you know, we got an email from the producer saying that someone had nominated us and to kind of be on alert for the next 30 days, people would be coming in.

So of course we spent the next 30 days checking out all of our regulars.

Is it you?

Is it you?

And we actually had a suspicion because the guest that nominated us, he and his wife had a pattern for when they came in.

And we saw them three times in a month and we're like, oh, maybe it's Peter.

Okay.

- It was the KQED hat, wasn't it the KQED hat over and over.

You were like, I know who did this.

Yeah.

- You know, but this is very, this is a question we get a lot is does the restaurant know?

Well, yes, the restaurant has to know and agree, but they don't know who nominated them.

And that's the mystery part of it.

Right?

- Yeah.

Laura, were, were you right though?

Was it, was it Peter?

You said it was - It was him.

It was him.

And you know, Leslie, I will say that other people also think that the reviews are done live during the taping.

When you, when you show people, people think that they're actually dining when the cameras are there for their reviews.

And so I have to tell people, no, no, no, we don't know who these people are exactly.

When they're coming in the taping when they're live, there is a whole other session.

And that was one of the most chaotic days ever.

You know, it's a long day for restaurants, a lot of photos, a lot of interviews.

So our restaurant was just packed.

And a little secret that you may not know is the taping took a little bit longer than we had anticipated.

And so by the time all of the lighting and everything got removed, and we got set up for dinner, we opened about 30 minutes late.

And so we had all these reservations backed up, and so the kitchen got behind and there's actually one scene where there's a guest basically telling me off as the camera's in my face, because he was mad.

And I was like, smiling.

And I'm like, well, you know, this is for "Check, Please!"

And we're just so excited.

We're lovely to have you over here.

Sorry bud.

We're excited.

Yeah, so does, but, you know, and then you wait for the episode to air, right?

And the thing about "Check, Please!"

is guests are so authentic, and I think that's why people love it.

And so as a restaurateur, it's nervous.

It's like, oh my gosh, we're not perfect.

I hope we didn't, you know, screw something up or, and I was actually on a flight and had to watch the episode on my phone and then Yeah.

And then what happened next?

Packed.

Packed for three months.

- Isn't that wonderful again?

That's, that's absolutely makes us so happy.

That's why we do the show.

Sorry, we ran late that day, Laura - Yeah.

Producer over here sweating.

- But you get that, the interesting part is you get Yes, the, the, you know, the guests that are at the table with me talking about it, but we also hear from Lori and team goes and shoots at the restaurant, gets the background of the restaurant, gets all that beautiful food footage.

So you're really getting, as we said, both sides of it.

You're getting the history from the, from the chef or, or owner themselves.

And then you're getting these guest - Opinions.

Yeah.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

Laura Magu, thank you so much for joining us.

Owner Reve Bistro in Lafayette, - Head out there.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

- Thanks, Laura.

Really appreciate it.

Let's hear, this is a fun, this is a fun call.

You know, Peter in San Francisco, you were a guest on the very, one of the guests in the very first season.

- I was, Hi Alexis and Leslie, and to the producers.

Congratulations.

I was a guest on the very first season.

I had actually been a TV producer of cooking shows at KQED in the nineties.

And I left.

And the wonderful team - We know who this is, - The first year production team, Tina Salter and June Willette.

Yeah.

They knew that I spent, you know, years after I had left KQED that I, I still loved food and cooking.

And so they said, would you mind, would you be a guest?

And what would you choose?

And you know, I had my own thoughts.

I didn't wanna choose fine dining.

I didn't wanna choose a place in San Francisco, even though I live here.

So I chose to go out and, and enjoy Vik's Chaat, which that's, many of us know, it's just a wonderful kind of rowdy to go Indian street food place.

- Yeah.

- And so I was excited to bring, to bring that, those ideas to the, to the show.

But, but this is what's so interesting about how food tastes and food knowledge has changed so much in the Bay Area.

And the other guests on that show, I don't know if you remember this, Leslie, one of them had never had Indian food before.

Absolutely.

I remember that.

And, and that's heard that and - The other person - A lot, especially at the beginning.

I'm sorry.

You're right Peter, especially at the beginning, in the beginning years of the show, we didn't have as much diversity as we do now.

- And we had multiple guests on, oh, I've never tried that kind of cuisine.

I've never tried, you know, and, and we just spun it as a good thing.

That's great.

We've introduced you now to it.

Yeah, - Exactly.

And the, the, the other person who, who enjoyed the food there, but she only wanted it to kind of judge Vik's Chaat by how their chicken tikka masala compared to others.

And they don't really do Right.

tikka masala Anyway, it was an, an education for all of us, and this was before you brought out crew to do all that beautiful, you know, chef interviews and background.

It was, it was really a delight and really fun to see how the show has evolved.

The one thing I can say is that I think now, as some of your other callers have said, you know, the restaurants are so thrilled and grateful.

Yeah.

And I've heard from other guests over the years that when they return to the restaurant that they reviewed, they're greeted like heroes, which is wonderful.

I have to say, I've been in, I've been at the Vix's Chaat many times since I was on the show.

They don't even know who I am.

- No VIP treatment for you.

Yeah, that's right Back of the line, Peter.

Yeah, - No VIP treatment whatsoever.

Congratulations on to hear from you Peter.

- Great call.

- 20 years.

- So fun.

Thank you so much for that.

Yeah, thank you.

- I don't, do you wanna, do you wanna reflect on that?

Just like how much do you think the show has changed season one to season 20?

- Well, my hair has changed a lot.

Lemme go there.

But I think at the beginning when we were getting our footing on, we did have a format to follow.

Again, this was a show created by David Manilow in Chicago.

So we had a format that we knew to follow.

It was just getting a feel of, of how to do that and how to pull off each show.

And I think, you know, for me it was learning, I'm very opinionated myself, but my job is not to be opinionated.

It's to, to bring the best out of the guest, to really listen and guide the show in a way that, that turn, you know, sort of ties everybody together.

And as you know, as a radio host that you, you really gotta listen to, to, and, and be present.

So I think it was, you know, learning those first few years how to do that and make guests comfortable on set because - We're, 'cause you've been to some of those restaurants.

- Yes, absolutely.

- So you have an opinion, - I have an opinion - Just to stay neutral, like you said, Switzerland.

- Right.

It was really hard.

But I think, you know, we certainly, and Lori can talk to this more, we just, in the nuts and bolts, we used to shoot on a real set, a big set.

And one of the funniest stories I have is that I, multiple times I use my hands a lot to speak.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And multiple times I hit a guest and, and their wine went all over their shirt and we had to, you know, so they built me a special table with kind of a bump on it that kept me away from the guests.

So we did have that, and now we're shooting on a green screen.

But I think diversity is really the answer to that, the long-winded answer.

And I'll let Lori approach that.

- Yeah.

I mean, and we've also done some fun changes, you know, kid shows.

I was the first one to produce the kid shows.

We've done like 13 of them, I think.

I love - Those shows.

Feed a Nepo baby.

My kids are stand at the Ready, I promise you.

- That's great.

Yeah, My kids did not - from KQED to ask me, like, but yeah, the kids shows were super fun.

We started, you know, I think with Tina who started, I did Wine Tips with Sister Roma.

Oh yeah.

And BeBe Sweetbriar and Chef Ryan.

That was like our first celebrity show.

- Right.

- Actually inviting certain people on, you know, we did the cast of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child.

Tonight's show, I'll just give a plug with two former Golden State Warriors - Festus and the Adonal Foyle - Festus is - and then a current player.

- Great.

- That's tonight's show.

So those are the ways that we've changed it a bit.

I I've definitely upped the pacing a bit, I think and, and added more B roll.

Yeah.

We've got, and again, we've, we've - Tried different expressions of things, so, so responding to viewers' comments and things that we experienced, like the Monterey shows, the kids shows were a fabulous, you know, turn.

I loved doing those.

Love, love and you know, I think we've expanded the diversity of the guests.

We've expanded the diversity of kind of cuisines that, that they will recommend.

And again, regionally we've expanded so, and try different things during COVID.

- Yeah.

- We had to, we, you know, we had to quickly scramble and modify and go, oh, - That's a whole other, that can take an hour - Of that story - Of shift.

Well, and luckily for you, we have one of your guests who participated in one of your pandemic era episodes, Gypsy Love, welcome to the show.

Gypsy.

- Ah Gypsy.

Hello.

Thank you for having me, and congrats on 20 years.

- Thank you.

Can you believe it?

- Oh, I'm so pleased.

I'm so happy that this show has been thriving so long.

We consider it a part of our family.

- Oh, thank you.

And I haven't aged a day.

- Yeah, no, not at all.

So what motivated you to apply to be on the show, Gypsy?

- Oh my goodness.

Well, gosh, years ago my husband started a tradition of watching the show together to choose our date night destinations.

Oh, that's great.

And now we get to enjoy every episode with our young daughter who's nine now.

I can't believe it, but it really truly is our favorite show.

It, I think it celebrates the diverse and vibrant and innovative culinary culture that really makes our community so special.

- Oh, sweet.

That's a beautiful way of putting it, because that's really what we strive for.

And I love the, the multi-generational aspect of the show.

- Yeah.

- You know, kids watch with their grandmas, with their family, then they grow up watching it, you know?

- Yeah.

- So it's so true.

Yeah.

It's wonderful.

- You were on during the Pandemic though, right?

I mean, this was a brutal time for restaurants.

How did you decide like, who you were gonna try and direct some of this attention to given it was like, you know, high pressure for all restaurants?

- Oh my goodness, yes.

It was high pressure.

And I come from a family.

My godfather ran a restaurant for many years.

I've seen firsthand, it's really a calling, you know, food service is a calling.

It's noble, honorable work, and it's vital to the tapestry of our community.

So that was my first motivation.

But of course, with the pandemic impacting so many of these local restaurants who I realized that the, you know, the overhead is, is quite high with whatever kind of a restaurant you're running.

And so they relied on customers.

And I had hoped that by promoting my favorite restaurants in the neighborhood, it would inspire others to do the same.

- And I think that, that it did, and we had to pivot so quickly.

We, we called ourselves the Pivot Pros, as everybody did during, during the pandemic.

We did not wanna stop production.

- Yeah.

- But we couldn't figure out how to do it.

So we brainstormed and brainstormed came up with this idea of, You Gotta Try It!

Check, Please!

You've Gotta Try It.

Yeah.

Which is, is what Gypsy was on.

And I'll let Lori tell the, the sort of, you know, how we did that Sure.

Because it was, - It was something you couldn't, you didn't know what kind of service restaurants were gonna be able to offer.

You know, their takeout mostly eating outside, all of that.

So we kind of, and we're like, okay, we'll pick one dish.

What's your favorite dish at that restaurant?

And we'll talk mostly about that dish.

And so Gypsy, yours was Ravioli House.

- Yes.

I come from an Italian family, so I like to say my bolognese bar is very high.

- And I, I gotta tell you, Gypsy, I think I said it on the show, I make my own homemade ravioli.

Oh my God.

I'm married an Italian, I'm Italian by marriage - Too.

What time should I, what time should I be there - For?

Exactly.

So when I went to that, because I used to check out almost all the restaurants.

- Yeah.

- It's gotten less and less, but, you know, and harder and harder to do it.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- But that, the Ravioli House was awesome.

It was a great discovery.

So - It really was.

Thank you.

Yeah.

They make their own ravioli in-house, which is pretty rare.

- Gypsy.

Also, this seems to happen with Check, Please!

Bay Area guests.

People become friends when they go on the show.

Are you one of those people?

- Oh my goodness.

When I met Latonya and Ravi on the show, I knew instantly I met my foodie soulmates.

- And this was via video, remember?

We, - The shows were, were, - Well, zoom or Zoom, that's what I'm saying.

It was, you didn't actually meet them in person until later.

Gypsy, like You, it was by know basically everybody.

You were out at Merse.

We had, we were shipping container.

Yeah.

Anyway, it's a long story.

But basically all those were very different shows, you know, and you had to establish that rapport that we'd normally have here around the table.

Had to be over Zoom, but somehow Yeah.

These, these three became lifelong friends afterwards.

- Yeah, - We sure are.

I mean, we continue to keep in close touch.

We support each other's projects.

We meet for lunch.

Honestly, I I, I'm so grateful for Check, Please!

for many reasons.

But, but the friendships that I've made have been really beautiful.

- You know, that puts the hugest smile - On my - Face - Because I can see it.

Yeah, - It really does.

That just is a wonderful, and I see it too after, you know, they might be a little contentious when they get to the table after we have a great show and they're having fun.

They've forgotten the cameras are there, they're chatting back and forth.

Few glasses of wine - Yeah.

- A couple glasses of wine home.

And they all say, let's go out to lunch.

You know, let's go out to lunch.

It has happened.

Yeah.

Multiple tables have done that.

Become friends after.

- That is so cute.

We're talking about KQED's "Check, Please!

Bay Area" 20th anniversary.

We've got the host of the show, Leslie Sbrocco, producer Lori Halloran.

We of course, are taking your calls and comments, the restaurants you would recommend.

We hear a lot of dates are planned around Check Please Bay Area.

So let's, I'd love to hear those stories as well.

You know, date gone awry, bad bad Choice.

Give us call number's.

(866) 733-6786.

The email is forum@kqd.org.

You can find us on social media, blue Sky, Instagram, et cetera.

We're there.

Fun comments here: Gina writes, I was the manager of Cha-ya in San Francisco many, many years ago.

Check, please.

Reached out to film an episode and I was thrilled.

It was so much fun to film and to watch the restaurant be critiqued, not only by the one who nominated us, but two new people who had never dined with us before.

So glad Check Please.

Is still thriving and making people happy.

It's a fun one too, right?

Vegan sushi in the, in the mission.

I mean, who knows?

I went to Cha-ya a lot in those years.

Maybe that was why I didn't even know, you know, the kind of halo effect.

Here's a, a service question too for a listener.

Jovi writes in to say, do you know what percentage of the restaurants reviewed are now closed?

Is there a handy online database or guide where all the reviewed restaurants that are still open, or are mapped and categorized?

Yeah.

- So we do have an A to Z list that you can find if you navigate or even, you know, you'll find it on our website, I would say, yeah.

Of these, what will be 850 restaurants, sadly about, we were counting it up, about 240 have closed.

And that is the, that just like gets us, because, you know, it's part of our Check Please.

Family.

We really, you know, myself and the other producers who go out, we, we connect with the restaurants and we just like, oh, - I may imagine most of that's the pandemic.

Yeah.

Or a big chunk of - It.

Oh, it's all of it.

It's all of it's Sometimes a place can be open for six months and then all of a sudden they close.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- We're talking about KQED's Check, Please!

Bay Area" 20th anniversary, as well as the restaurant scene here in the Bay Area.

We'll be back with more right after the break.

I'm Alexis Madrigal.

Stay tuned.

Welcome back to Forum, Alexis Madrigal.

Here.

We're here with Leslie Sbrocco and producer Lori Halloran of KQED's.

"Check, Please!

Bay Area" of course.

Let's bring in another caller here.

Maxine in Berkeley.

Welcome.

- Hi.

Good morning.

I'm so excited to be on the show.

Hi, Leslie.

- Hi Maxine.

How are you?

- Good.

I wanted to share that I have a spiral bound notebook that I have kept from the onset of the show.

And I even have it organized where I have it different colors so I can find something easily.

'cause there's been so many shows and I keep it in my coffee table and whenever my husband and I wanna do something adventurous, I pull out the book and we choose a restaurant.

I'm very proud of it.

- That is wonderful.

Can you take a picture and send it to us?

I wanna see you.

I think that's fabulous.

- That's awesome.

Better than a website.

I, I, - Okay.

Okay.

Well, I'm not, I'm not sure where to send it to, but I'll figure it out.

- We'll figure, yeah.

See here, here at the station.

We'll, we can take it, you can actually just email it to our producers too.

You can forum@kqed.org.

Maxine, tell us your favorite current restaurant, though.

Maybe one from the book.

- Oh, gee, you know, there's been a lot and you're asking a bad question because I can't that she just go - Get the book.

If she went and got the book - Yeah, that's right.

She'd be okay, then we'd have it, then we'd have it.

- I'm with you Maxina.

People ask me what my favorite restaurant is and I think, oh my God, I've got 800 restaurants from the - Show - I eat at other restaurants, I travel, I go, usually it's the last one I ate - At.

That was good.

That's a good one.

- Yeah.

But I can attest to the fact that after there is the "Check, Please!"

effect, as you call it, it, it does get quite difficult to go to a specific restaurant.

Sorry.

So that that's the, that's the downside.

That's right.

- You gotta go, you gotta go a few pages back and then call those ones up.

Hey Maxine, thank you so much.

What a fun call.

- Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Such a pleasure.

- Let's, let's talk a little bit about your kinda life and, and story.

I mean, how, how'd you get this job?

Was it just like a cold audition?

You came in and they were like, that's - Who, you know, they called me because at the time I had done, I was running, I had opened the internet site about wine for the New York Times Company through the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa.

And, you know, was, was going down the wine path with that.

I had worked and done a wine minute for CBS tv and then I got a call to be on a, on a KQED show, a cooking show, and be the wine expert.

And there's a lot of stories about that we shot up in Vancouver.

It was crazy.

Anyway, somebody from the station saw me in that and they had interviewed quite a lot of people as I understood it for the host position.

Sure.

And so I think they were at the bottom of the barrel.

I dunno, a lot of people went before, where else can we go?

And somebody had, one of the producers had seen me on that cooking show and called me in and I was certainly one of the last people to be interviewed.

Yeah.

And I, I remember just sitting at a table and them turning the camera on and asking me some questions.

And we had a fun rapport and I got a call the next day and said, you're hired.

- Yeah.

Wow.

And are, did you still keep doing other stuff and, you know, keep up wine endeavors and all that?

Oh, - Yes, yes, yes.

I've written books about wine.

I've, I produce another show on PBS called 100 Days, Drinks, Dishes and Destinations, more of a travel and food show along with, with sips and regular appearances on the Today Show in New York.

I speak quite a bit.

- Yeah.

- Educate as well as inspirational speaking.

And so, oh, I, there's, I do a lot, don't I, Lori, - It's you too.

- Always trying to find shoot dates that we schedule around.

Absolutely.

Yeah, - Yeah, yeah.

You know, last thing, I mean, people may or may not know this, but you have been in, you know, five year battle with colon cancer.

How has the show kind of, what, what has this show meant for you during that This show has meant so much to me during this journey.

I was diagnosed in March of 2021 after being misdiagnosed for nearly two years.

So get your colonoscopies, everybody.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- And we had to shoot, it was during the pandemic the next week, and we had to shoot, and we were up at Jordan Winery shooting.

I remember the intros to some of the compilation shows we were putting together.

And I got a call that they determined it had spread.

And I was with you and, and David Marcus, our, our other boss who's recently retired, but they were, you know, I was crying on their shoulder.

And then I'd say, okay, wipe away the tears.

We're gonna go shoot, let's go, let's go shoot.

Yeah.

- The crew didn't even know.

- No, no.

And I just, I, it has made my night life so normal during this, you know, time is, it's an anchor for me.

And I consider my KQED and check please cohorts really my family.

Mm.

So it's meant an incredible amount to me, and I love doing the show.

I just, I can feel terrible and the minute I get on that set, I smile and I'm so happy to be there and talk to these people.

So I think that's what you see is my love of the show coming through.

- Yeah.

Let's go to Tom in San Francisco.

Welcome Tom.

- Hi.

Good morning.

I just wanted to say that I've been watching the show for 20 years and I had the honor and pleasure to be on it in 2016, and I just wanted to reach out to Leslie and, and speak to her about her charm and charisma.

She could make anybody feel comfortable.

- Go on.

- Yeah.

I won't stop you.

I, I think a room full of recalcitrant teenagers could be made comfortable and talkative with you.

So I just wanted to say thank you for 20 years of pleasure.

- Oh, thank you so much, Tom.

That is, is a real compliment to me.

Thank you.

And that's really what I consider my job is to make people comfortable on the set - Because you, you know, it's interesting, you know, and if I interview a mayor, it's one thing, but if I'm interviewing just a person, you know, who's been done something in the community, it's a really different kind of feeling and, and requires a different kind of hosting.

- Absolutely.

These are people, 95% of them who've never been, never on television or more.

There's a lot of cameras around, there's a whole procedure and then the minute you sit at the table and those big fancy lights go on, you know, people get nervous.

- Yeah, for - Sure.

Of course.

And so my job is to just say, alright, sit down, forget about those people with the cameras.

Actually, they're robotic now, but forget about those people behind there.

It, it's a wall to you.

And that's - Actually scarier, honestly.

Yeah.

You don't know where they're gonna - Go.

Right.

You know where they're gonna go.

And there's people telling you what to do and not to do.

And you know, I always say just have fun.

Just have fun and then I really break the ice with them and get them comfortable.

And, and so that's my, that's my number one job.

- Yeah.

- And then we get the best out of them.

- Yeah.

That's cool.

Let's, let's go to Jacob in San Francisco.

Welcome, Jacob.

- Hey, welcome.

How you guys doing?

Love both shows.

- Thank you.

- Yeah, I just wanna say I was, I had the fortunate fortune of being on one of the episodes I was taped at the restaurant for a local place.

- Oh.

- Here in the mission.

It was So you - Had a cameo.

- Such, such a fun experience.

Yeah, I had several.

I can't show my parents the episode because it's usually with a drink in my hand, cheersing the staff.

So - We love that.

We love that.

That adds to Thank you so much for doing that.

- Actually, my son, when hewas little was on, was in kind of the restaurant when they were taping it.

Mustard Grill.

There's been some cameos for sure by KQED kids.

- Oh, that's funny.

Jacob, can you say which restaurant it was or no?

Is it still around?

- Oh yeah, it was Emmy's Spaghetti Shack over in Mission Oh yeah, that was great.

One of the all time grand places.

Yeah.

Emmy's Spaghetti Shack.

- It was fantastic.

Fantastic time.

- Yeah.

Thanks so much, Jacob.

When my wife and I were living in the mission, when we would go away on a trip, you know, you kind of come home and you're getting in off the airplane, you want like, some grounding meal.

We'd go to Emmy's Spaghetti Shack.

Yeah.

That was always our spot.

Let's go to Paul in El Cerrito.

Welcome Paul.

- Hi.

Thank you for having me.

I was fortunate to be a guest reviewer reviewing the Kensington Circus Pub.

Oh, that's right.

That was, - That was a good show.

Absolutely.

And - That was great.

It was a lot of fun.

And it's so wonderful because it was kind of right after COVID times and they were struggling And now they are thriving.

Awesome.

They said they got such a rush of customers after the show, and they treat me like a king.

I call them, they should have a portrait of me up above the bar.

And every time I come in, the Chef Pepe makes me these delightful corn poppers and just brings them out to me.

So it was, it was really, I think your show does a lot for restaurants and, and just for the public of the Bay Area.

And, and Leslie, you have the most wonderful skill at making people feel comfortable.

Oh, thank you so much on the show.

I mean, I was totally nervous.

I'd never been on television and I just felt like I was in somebody's home.

I mean, it was, it was really nice.

Thank you so much.

I'm thinking, I'm thinking about you and I'm in your court.

- Oh.

So I wanted you to know that.

So, so great to hear from you.

Thank you Paul.

And thank you.

I'm gonna ask my bosses for a raise now.

- Yes.

That's, - It's on tape.

- Yes, that's right.

That's right.

Thank you so much.

We would love to hear a few other calls that are about what restaurant you would recommend.

If you were on "Check, Please!"

those would be really fun.

(866) 73-6786.

That's (866) 733-6786.

The email is forum@KQED.org.

Carol's got one for us in San Francisco.

Welcome.

- Good morning.

I love Bay Area Check please.

Thank you so much.

And Leslie, I couldn't agree more with some of the other callers, Joe in particular regarding your enormous charisma.

And, and I also wish you courage and grace as you walk through this health challenge that, that, that you're working with.

In terms of a restaurant recommendation.

A local neighborhood place is Roti Indian Bistro on West Portal in San Francisco.

And I just, I just love this place.

My son, probably like 15 years ago, he and his prom date and, and, and others went there on prom night and were just treated royally.

The food uses really high quality ingredients.

Much of them are local and organic.

And in particular, I love the salmon.

I might mispronounce this, but it's the machi chi masala - Sounds great.

And also their naans are fabulous.

The naan that is stuffed with raisins and nuts and cherries is, is just fabulous.

- Great description.

Anyway, thank you so much for your kind words.

Oh, really?

Thank you so much for your kind words.

It means everything.

- Also, Carol a pro, she's ready to go.

Absolutely.

That's what - I'm saying, great's.

That's what I'm always listening - For.

Fly.

Describe - The - Food.

Do you have a We call people, we talk about it.

They're a talker.

You know, do you have that kind of thing too?

Oh yeah.

What do you, what do you, do you, is that the same word?

Talker.

Talker, - Yeah.

Well, well what I used to joke when we were sitting around a table, you know, in our old set and that was closer to them, which is why they may moved me further away.

I would tease them that if they went on too long, I would poke 'em with a fork.

You know, so, so I, I can't do that anymore, but - Well now as we have swivel chairs, - Yeah.

- So you'll poke 'em if they're swiveling too much because they get nervous.

- I go, I'm not being fresh here, but I'm gonna put my hand - On your leg.

- Yeah.

Stop, stop, stop moving.

Let's bring in Tim in Petaluma.

- Hi there.

My favorite restaurant is Hallie's.

It's a breakfast place I've been going to for years and they make an omelet that's absolutely out of this world.

- Well, listen, I live in Petaluma and I agree with you about Hallie's.

I can't tell you the amount of times I've eaten there.

Oh really?

You should apply to be on the show.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You need some Petaluma, some Petaluma - Time.

Well, I'll tell you, we've got some Petaluma love that - Has been on.

You have a good, amazing restaurant coming up, Brigitte Bistro that we're, that'll be on the show November 20th, so you'll have to see what people said about it.

- That'd a great one.

Yeah.

- Yeah, yeah, - Yeah.

- Hey, thanks so much, Tim.

How do people actually apply - Online?

- Just on the go.

Yeah, go to the website.

- Go to our website.

Fill out the application.

KQED.org, it's not hard check.

Just be sure.

Here's my tip, pro tip a couple of 'em.

Be sure to check where we've already been because we have been so many places.

So yeah, we ask for your top pick plus some backup picks just in case it doesn't work out.

Pick different types of cuisine, different price points.

That's always helpful as well.

- Mm.

Bob on Blue Sky writes Like others.

I look forward to every new show and I love the reruns.

Does Leslie have a most memorable disagreement about a restaurant or Lori can do it too?

- Yes, I do.

Actually.

It was one of our first seasons.

I can't remember what season it was.

What do you remember - What that season?

Well, which one are you talking about?

There were a few.

- I'm I'm talking about couple, the one that comes to mind first is Liam and - Oh yeah, yeah.

Liam Malin.

- Yeah.

- On the second season, actually it was the - Second.

- Yeah.

Had a restaurant named La Folie, - Which is world famous.

And, - And he was on the show with a dude in a satin shirt.

Really kind of cool guy.

- I think he was an Elvis impersonator.

- Yeah, no, he, he would do things like that.

He actually did Tom Jones on the show.

Yeah.

- Okay.

There we - Go.

Yeah, that was quite, that was a, that - Was a little battle.

I mean, the temperature was rising on the set, this was only season two, so I was a little less experienced than now at, at dealing with that.

But it was, you know, Liam recommended this really beautiful place, La Folie, the other gentleman disagreed completely.

- Yep.

- And they, you know, - We're actually including that clip in our anniversary show that we're still feverishly editing together.

But you'll see a little, a little hint of that.

Plus a couple other good examples of some debates that I think early on we saw more of.

- I think we did.

We did.

And, and my job then at that point is to, and again, we encourage all opinions.

If you had a bad experience, let us know.

Was it, but be specific, was it service?

Was it food?

Was it, but we've had a couple people say, that was just horrible.

That was it.

Okay.

And then my question is, what was horrible?

Was it the service?

You know, I try to get to the answer and then I try to keep it uplifted too.

Was there's something that you liked.

Yeah.

You know.

Exactly, exactly.

There's usually something.

- Yeah.

Let's bring in a last call here.

Let's bring in Sarah in Oakland.

Welcome.

- Hi.

Thank you so much for, for having me on.

I wanted to just talk a little bit about Leslie's willingness to disclose her current cancer experience.

And I, I'm a fellow cancer experience as well, and I just wanted to really give her kudos for showing people that you can actually thrive and have a nor a fairly normal life and do the things that you love while undergoing this experience.

I think it's really important for society to understand that being a cancer patient does not have to put boundaries on your life or your perspective.

And I just really appreciate her willingness to disclose that and talk about it.

I think it's super important for ourselves and for society to sort of shift the mindset.

So - Thank you for doing this.

Oh, I so agree with you.

And thank you very much for pointing that out.

Everybody's cancer journey is different and I've been affected by cancer.

My sister died of cancer.

My husband had cancer and recovered.

- Mm.

- There's, you know, so, so when I was faced with a diagnosis, which took me a long time to get there, I really said, it's up to me.

Okay.

It's up to me, - You - Know, to put together teams, medical teams that could deal with things.

It's up to me to know what's coming up, you know, and, and it's up to me to live life every day and thrive.

And that's why I call myself a cancer thriver because, you know, I live a fantastic life and yes, I have something I'm contending with, - But doesn't everybody, so, so I call myself the can in cancer and that's how I approach it daily.

So thank you.

- Shout out to my mom too, who had colon cancer overcame that was, you know it now, 20, 20 some years ago.

That's right.

You know, so, yeah.

And you're right.

Everyone's, everyone's path is different.

Last couple of great comms.

There's a bunch of people who wanna just say nice things to you, so we'll, we'll, we'll let you have a few.

- Thank you.

- Bring it on.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Lid on blue Sky writes, I've been aze Please fan since day one.

Even after moving to New Mexico.

I still tune in through KRWG.

I've seen versions in Arizona and DC but no one compares to the hosts.

Leslie Sbrocco, thanks for all the great episode.

- That's so awesome.

- David writes, when I moved to California 10 years ago, check please was my welcome wagon.

The first episode I ever saw.

Featured Sister Roma and Chef Ryan Scott.

- Yep.

- Beyond learning about the delicious food culture, it was a warm welcome demonstrating the inclusive and supportive environment for queer people like me.

I hope it is in the air another 20 years.

- Oh, that's so wonderful.

And I think that speaks to what we've talked about with diversity and trying to bring all communities together.

- Yeah.

- Because food brings people together.

- Yeah.

Everybody gotta eat.

Last one, Patrick writes, the show is authentic but also very positive.

It's enjoyable to watch the antithesis of reality tv.

We have been talking about KQED's "Check, Please!

Bay Area" just turned 20 years old, celebrating 20th anniversary here.

We've been here with Leslie Sbrocco, the host.

Of course.

Thank you so much, Leslie.

Thank - You.

- And we always love to bring a producer on Lori Halloran.

Thank you so much.

Cheers.

- Right, thank you.

- Thanks for joining us, Lori and the crew.

- Yeah, yeah.

Congratulations y'all.

Big milestone.

Thanks for shining a light on so many of the, the restaurants that I love too.

Thank you.

Also, listeners, callers, we loved all of your, all of your notes too.

I'm Alexis Madrigal.

Stay tuned for another hour of Forum ahead with Mina Kim.