Ray’s Mo-Fo burger to appear on the Food Network

Photo by Rachel Kilroy

Photo by Rachel Kilroy

Dwayne Yates

Cameras, cords and tripods filled Ray’s Place this morning to film a segment of “Best Thing I Ever Ate” for the Food Network.

The crew came to film footage of the restaurant’s Mo-Fo burger — a sandwich that has two buns, two patties, cheese, bacon and mushrooms. It’s so big that Robert Paone, Ray’s Place’s head cook, said he hasn’t even tried it.

Rebecca Roberts, director of photography and producer for “Best Thing I Ever Ate,” said it might be the biggest burger ever featured on the show — and the one with the most outlandish name.

One of the show’s chefs, Michael Symon, has mentioned the burger on air and has chosen it as one of his “old school” favorites. The segment, which will air in fall, is themed around foods at restaurants that remind Symon of old times.

Symon was born and raised in Cleveland and took classes at Kent State. While in Kent, he said he frequented Ray’s Place.

Day manager Mike D’Alessandro said he remembers Symon as “laid-back and personable.”

Roberts said Symon couldn’t make it to Ray’s Place this morning because he was a bit fatigued.

“We’ve been shooting with him five days this week, so he had to go back to his real life,” she said with a laugh.

The crew also filmed in Cleveland, where it featured the pasta primavera at Lucky’s Café and giant hotdogs at Happy Dog. The crew also stopped by Columbus’s Katzinger’s Delicatessen and Berea’s Buccis for a breakfast of biscuits and gravy.

Dalessandro and Paone are both regular viewers of the show. They said they hope the Ray’s Place feature attracts new customers as well as ones who haven’t been in a while.

In the past, Ray’s Place has been featured in Playboy and on WJW Fox 8 for its extensive beer selection. Drew Carey has also been in a few times. But even with these accomplishments, Dalessandro said he was still surprised by Food Network’s recognition.

“I was pretty amazed that little old Ray’s Place would be featured on national television,” he said.

Contact Dwayne Yates at [email protected]