Is a restaurant review worth $1M?

Is a positive restaurant review really worth $1 million?

Times of London critic Giles Coren chuckled over the phone. He does not seem sure.

"I've written something and I'd get a call saying, 'Your review cost me 250,000 in lost bookings.' "

That's 250,000 pounds - or about $375,000 U.S.

"It's probably one million Tasmanian," Coren suggested.

So the title of Coren's new series Million Dollar Critic, which documents his dining experiences in five restaurants in each of six cities he visits, is a bit of hyperbole.

But the show itself, jointly funded by Canada's W Network and BBC America, is a breath of fresh air. The show's conceit is that after Coren evaluates the five restaurants, he writes a (positive) review of the best restaurant.

The Philadelphia episode, which premieres at 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22 on BBC America, was shot last spring. (It was leaked onto several video-streaming sites last fall.)

Unlike the travelogues that generate video clips worthy of a Visit Philly sizzle reel, Million Dollar Critic has a slight edge.

You get Coren, playing the role of droll, cranky Brit. While enjoying the all-vegetable-based food at Vedge in Washington Square West, Coren talked behind the back of chef Rich Landau and referred to vegans as "simpering steak-swervers."

By phone, he clarified. "It looked like I didn't like it, when in fact I liked it a lot," he said, blaming the work in the editing bay for "adding drama."

He was snippy with a never-named waitress at the now-closed The Mildred in South Philadelphia, and shot arrows at a sweet but overeager chef/owner Laura Frangiosa of the Avenue Delicatessen in Lansdowne. (She hovered after serving him, and Coren told the camera: "Laura seems to be one of those lovely but slightly pester-y chefs.")

Coren also called Avenue Delicatessen's neighborhood "the wrong side of the tracks" while voicing fears for his safety during a van ride from the city.

The episode winked naturally at Rocky and cheesesteaks - familiar territory. Coren sampled the $100 cheesesteak at Barclay Prime on Rittenhouse Square and showed up at Pat's King of Steaks in South Philly to order a Whiz wit', pumping on sauce, ketchup and (heavens) mustard, taking a bite, and proclaiming: "That is terrible - and fantastic."

The Chinatown cocktail bar Hop Sing Laundromat made an unannounced cameo.

Coren, a Rocky fan, ran the Art Museum steps in a sweat suit. In a clever sequence, he and sidekick/"researcher" Julia Pileggi visited a meat locker in the Italian Market so he could pound a side of beef. Only they ended up at Cannuli's House of Pork, and who wants to hit a small pig? Coren came away from the butcher with an important prop: pork chops.

Coren, bearing the pork, arrived at Kanella, the BYOB in Washington Square West, seemingly prepared for a fight with chef-owner Konstantinos Pitsillides over whether he would cook it. Pitsillades, known not only for his cooking but his tough attitude and blue-eyed death stare, did not put up a fight.

Coren came away with an earthy Cypriot dining experience. "The kind of taverna that should be on every corner," Coren said by phone. (Incidentally, Pitsillades told me that he will open a larger Cypriot restaurant - a version of Kanella but with a bar - this April at 757 S. Front St. in Queen Village, where Frederick's and later The Village Belle were.)

Coren enjoyed the riffs on Asian cuisine at Cheu in Washington Square West, then asked chef Ben Puchowitz to prepare him something off the menu. Coren was exposed to scrapple.

At Cheu, Coren's lunch guest Ed Rendell (identified on-screen as "politician") rasped at Coren: "British food sucks!"

Coren grinned and rattled off the names of his homeland's dishes, concluding with steak and kidney pudding.

"I'd rather eat dirt," Rendell replied.

I'm not naming the winning restaurant to spare a spoiler.

The review of the winning restaurant is here.