Jim:     Emeril Lagasse, welcome to Mad Money!... There's a man that never comes empty-handed (as Emeril walks on the set carrying a plate of food for Jim)...

Emeril:       Good to see you. Listen, when's the last time somebody cooked for you... on here... right on the show?...

Jim:     No, I mean, not ever...

Emeril:       Well this is a grilled flank steak Panini that I made for you...

Jim:     Holy Cow! Alright, put that over there... Alright, here's the deal... There is no one who understands the American psyche more than you. I've been to many of your restaurants. I've been to Vegas and I've been to the one in Florida... and I admit that it's a fine-dining experience and it costs money... It's something you do to treat yourself...

Emeril:       That's right...

Jim:     But I also know that, if I stay home, I can treat myself with Emeril's stuff right on Emeril's cookware and eat Emeril's stuff, and it's cheaper. Where is the balance right now versus a year ago?

Emeril:       Well, it's lightening up, okay... It's getting better...

Jim:     People are spending a little more?...

Emeril:       They're spending a little more. They're dining out a little bit more... They pulled back a little bit. That's why this business (pointed to some of his home goods' packages) increased.

Jim:     You are actually what I call "counter cyclical" at times...

Emeril:       Exactly, exactly... My pasta business... my pasta sauce business... on fire... Seasonings... on fire... Cookware... on fire... What does that tell me? People are cooking at home... But, my restaurant side of things... Finally, finally... New Orleans is back... Our business at Emeril's, at NOLA, at Emeril's Del Monaco... thriving. It's that time of the year... JazzFest, French Quarter Fest, etc... But people are going out and they're spending money... Maybe not the $250 bottle of wine... but that's why we created "wines for the times"... We created a whole page with just incredible selections for under $75 bucks...

Jim:     But think about that Emeril... you had to do that because times are tougher... I mean, normally... I look at DRI, which has Capital Grille... and that's got the double-digit declines... Now, that was the place that I liked to go to to celebrate, okay... But, you know what?... It's a $200 bottle of wine is really the preferred one... So you've adjusted...

Emeril:       Yes. Not only that... In the restaurants what we've done... people have adjusted... they're eating different, Cramer... Let me tell you... Here's what we did...

Jim:     They had a couple of cocktails before?...

Emeril:       Maybe one... But here's what they're doing... They're eating different, and here's what they're doing... and we adjusted to this... Small plates, medium plates, and large plates... People are coming in, they're eating one or two small plates, and then maybe a salad... So they're eating different...

Jim:     And that's them thinking about it, right...

Emeril:       They're thinking about it...

Jim:     They're not being cheap. They're just thinking, look, I'm out for a nice time, but I can't blow...

Emeril:       Well, they're still out to have a nice time, because there's this thing called "service" that's provided, right?... Great service is provided... and an experience... so they are doing that... maybe not as much as they were... but they are doing it.

Jim:     Okay... Now, you are opening a restaurant... I happen to have, at one point, lived maybe 10 minutes from the gigantic Bethlehem Steel Mill, which is where they made the steel for like the Verrazano Narrows (bridge in New York, which connects Brooklyn with Staten Island)... It's an amazing, hulking facility... That area is not doing well...

Emeril:       Yup...

Jim:     In economics, it's just not. Why take that gamble? What happens?

Emeril:       So, what happens is... my friends from Las Vegas... the relationship that we've had for 14 years... decide, you know what?... I'm going to spend $700 million and go build a casino project in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania... and we're going to use an old steel mill and convert it into this project, but we've got to have restaurants... So they said, Emeril... would you do a restaurant?... Would you do two restaurants... maybe even three restaurants?... So we start with one... Emeril's Chophouse... You're from that area...

Jim:     Yes, I am... There isn't a good steak place for 80 miles, I've got to tell you...

Emeril:       Good steak. We're going to have fish flown in everyday. And... we're going to use the backyard. The backyard... I love the backyard... I'm so inspired, Cramer... It's just... agriculture, what they grow there...

Jim:     Absolutely...

Emeril:       It's phenomenal!

Jim:     But you know what I like about this idea... It is not that far a drive from either Philadelphia or New York... It's an 1:20 on I-78... yeah...

Emeril:       An hour and a half from New York City... I mean, it's not that... You know what... this is one of the things that really surprised me... This is now over a year that we've been going there, visiting there...

Jim:     But when they first had the idea, it was boon times Emeril... it was boon times. I don't know if they would do that right now, in this environment...

Emeril:       I don't know if they would do that in this environment, but they've got to now. They've scaled it back a little bit. I mean, the hotel is going to come later... the second phase is going to come later... This thing is going to be amazing... I really believe... Plus, I believe in Sands. I believe in those guys.

Jim:     I do too. They just reported a quarter... Everyone was doubting them... after the close... Everyone thought that they were going to go belly up (i.e., Las Vegas Sands (LVS)... Instead, they reported profits. They actually are doing much better... You're with the right outfit. Everyone says that Adelson (CEO) is an unbelievable businessman. I'm a believer...

Emeril:       Absolutely...

Jim:     We told people to stop selling the stock a couple of weeks ago, and they caught a nice gain...

Emeril:       Well, Las Vegas is just going through that little shuffle time...

Jim:     Look at this... You're in Vegas, you're in New Orleans, you're in Florida...

Emeril:       14 years...

Jim:     You were in ground zero for this decline...

Emeril:       And then Bethlehem!...

Jim:     Any bottom that's coming...

Emeril:       And Bethlehem!...

Jim:     Man, that's four 2's... Now, give me a sense of bottoming... Florida, New Orleans, Vegas... and we don't know Pennsylvania yet...

Emeril:       Our business overall is maybe 12% off...

Jim:     That's not so bad...

Emeril:       No. Because there are a lot of people that are more than 30%...

Jim:     Right! We know 'em...

Emeril:       So, I mean, you make adjustments...

Jim:     Let's compare to it to the in-house businesses (pointing to the retail products)...

Emeril:       Oh, this business is booming...

Jim:     It's actually up... Is MSO in on this?...

Emeril:       Yes.

Jim:     They own all the rights... Martha Stewart Omnimedia owns the rights... okay.

Emeril:       Everything but my restaurants, and the Emeril Lagasse Foundation...

Jim:     Okay, that business is...

Emeril:       She says hello, by the way...

Jim:     She's the best...

Emeril:       I was with her this morning. We did a show together. She's fantastic.

Jim:     She's the best. Yep... Okay... So this business is up. That business is only off 12%. That's rather remarkable in this environment... But, you know... Then again, you are the ultimate destination for a lot of people, when they come to this country...

Emeril:       I'm feeling the hook starting to bite again. I really am...

Jim:     And why the book right now...

Emeril:       Well, the perfect season for the grill book... okay... I haven't done a book... I love grilling... And, you know what? I've got a seafood section... you talk about things with the economy... I've got something in here called "Thighs and Wings"... It's a whole chicken thing... inexpensive... so I really figured this out...

Jim:     You really have. You've got the zeitgeist down... You know... I feel like, when I listen to you, I feel like it's really a microcosm for the country... that oil prices went up, everyone got very depressed, then we had the Lehman Brothers problem in September... We bottomed in March... Would that be similar to what you saw?...

Emeril:       Yes, yes...

Jim:     Ever since then, literally...

Emeril:       I do watch the show... I do watch the show, Cramer... I'm a fan...

Jim:     What else is there? I mean, it's at 6pm and 11pm. What else is there?... Now, is it every week... because you get tallies... is it every week, a little bit better?

Emeril:       Yes.

Jim:     That's what I thought...

Emeril:       The hook's a biting... the hook's a biting...

Jim:     That's what's happening in the country...

Emeril:       Yes.

Jim:     That's why the rally is not a false rally...

Emeril:       But it's going to be slow, as you know... It's going to be a slow, little ride here... But buckle in... put your seatbelts on...