TV briefs: 'Atlanta Eats' in Vegas, AMHQ at Atlanta Botanical Garden, local 'Shark Tank' connection airing tonight
"Atlanta Eats," Steven "Steak" Shapiro's creation, is opening its fourth season this weekend on Peachtree TV by trying out restaurants... in Vegas.
The episode runs at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, and Sunday, April 13, on Peachtree TV.
"We decided to try something out of the box," Steak said Friday. "We felt like that's one of those cities many people travel to and don't really know where to eat."
He was already doing some production work for the Venetian so he decided to tie that in with "Atlanta Eats." He spent a half day each with Thomas Keller, "The Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro and Emeril Lagasse. Each celebrity food personality has a restaurant at the Venetian.
"It's like a very special Brady Bunch when they go to Hawaii and the Grand Canyon," Shapiro said.
He is also traveling around the country as a new lead judge for Food Network's "Food Truck Face Off," a new show set to debut in the fall. Food Network has aired in the past another food truck themed show hosted by Tyler Florence called "The Great Food Truck Race."
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In its fourth week, the Weather Channel's new AMHQ show led by Sam Champion made its first trip on the road Friday - down the street to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, where the stunning tulips are blossoming.
He and his new morning team - Anaridis Rodriguez, Maria LaRosa, and Mike Bettes - sat in the rose garden early on, then the great lawn. In between, they did pieces about endangered frogs and how to pot orchids. The Smokey's Farmland Band provided spirited bluegrass music. Rodriguez was especially into the music, joining the upright bassist Justin Roberts, then dancing with LaRosa.
The "AMHQ" show has seen steadily increasing ratings over its first four weeks and they had exposure to 20 million DirecTV subscribers after a three-month carriage battle. Soon, the show will travel to New Orleans, Oklahoma and Champion's former town New York City.
Here are some photos I took this morning:
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Tonight's "Shark Tank" will feature a first: Atlanta businesswoman Patty Everette is buying one of the "Shark Tank" companies from Barbara Corcoran. She can't say which one but it was a medical device featured in the very first 'Shark Tank" episode in 2009.
Everette already runs Healthpons, a medical coupon system that enables people to get discounted medical services from doctors who are outside their network.
UPDATE: It was Ava the Elephant, a device meant to make it easier for kids to take their medicine. Everette bought out the company and Corcoran's share in it.
TV tonight
"Shark Tank,' 9 p.m. Fridays, ABC
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
