Check Please Season 10 Begins Friday, All Stars Coming Back

Long before there was Yelp, there was Check, Please!, the PBS show that brings real people into restaurants and onto the small screen to share their thoughts and criticisms about Chicago-area restaurants.

The 10th—and first "all star"—season begins on Friday at 8 p.m. with guests reviewing Isla Pilipina, Demera Ethiopian and Hachi's Kitchen. To select the all stars, host Alpana Singh and the Check, Please! staff picked their favorite 25 past guests and let the general public vote and whittle the list down to 12 all stars, who will each return, one per show, to once-again give their feedback on new restaurants.

Former guest President Barack Obama (who appeared when he was still a state senator for Illinois) was voted up, but obviously won't be able to attend. "I am sure he has more important items on his plate," host Singh said.

"We have some very memorable guests returning. Fred "they invented fire several million years ago" Solomon, who had recommended Myron and Phil's from Season 6 is back and he is as adorable and feisty as ever," Singh said. "Also returning is fashion designer Tommy Walton who was so funny during this last taping, he made me spit my water out. I also could not wait to see composer Faiz Razi from Season 8 as I had a bit of interesting information to share with him: Out of all the guests we've had on the show, he is the one single women inquire about the most.

UPDATE: If you can't wait until the show airs tomorrow, Check, Please! just posted a preview for Friday night's show on their Facebook page.

Complete list of the Check, Please! All Stars [WTTW]