Just last week, Jim's new brick-and-mortar, Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs, was the subject of Ludo Bites America, a new show on the Cooking Channel hosted by Ludo Lefebvre, the sexy chef with the French accent who took a bite of a bison heart -- oh, the drama -- insinuated that Jim was perpetually stoned (for the record, he's been alcohol- and drug free for nearly thirty years) and kicked everything within reach of his feet.
"I had a great couple of days with Ludo, he's a fantastic chef, and I loved hanging out with him, but I wish they would have concentrated more on the dishes we put out during the pop-up dinner and all the fun we had, rather than putting so much emphasis on what a challenge it seemed to be for them," muses Jim, adding that, unlike some people, he has a "relaxed attitude toward life," which may not make for heart-palpitating theatricals, but when you're swaggering hot dogs all day long, to the tune of hundreds, that's an attribute.
And Jim was just as easygoing a few months ago, when a production crew buzzed around him -- and his cart -- for hours on the 16th Street Mall, while capturing footage for the Best Thing I Ever Ate, which airs on the Food Network. And tonight, on the Denver episode, celebrity chef Susan Feniger, who's a huge proponent of street food, goes all giddy for Jim's elk-and-jalapeno dog, which, she insists, is the best thing she's ever eaten. "She was here in 2006, during the Parade of Lights, and found her way to the cart," recalls Jim, adding that Feniger even got behind the grill and slung dogs. "She had the elk dog, and I guess she liked it a lot, since we're going to be featured on the show tonight."
And you can watch it at Biker Jim's during a viewing party tonight, beginning at 8 p.m. which is when the episode hits the television screen. "Susan is actually supposed to call in tonight during the show," says Jim, who will mark the occasion by serving elk-and-jalapeno dogs with a can of Dale's Pale Ale for $7.50.
But his fifteen minutes of stardom doesn't end tonight. Later this week, the filming crew from Unique Eats, which airs on the Cooking Channel, will touch down in Denver to to shoot footage at Euclid Hall, the Denver Biscuit Company, Vesta Dipping Grill, Frasca Food & Wine, Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Palace and Biker Jim's. The camera crew will descend upon his storefront on Friday and film throughout the day, beginning at 5:30 a.m. "I need to get some sleep before then," jokes Jim.