Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

[stan4d_steph]

Since the old thread is almost a year old, I'll start a new one. The new season premieres tonight at 10 PM. Bourdain visits Singapore. Can't wait! I may pass through there this year, so I'm going to pay attention.

[Finz729]

I recorded it but haven't watched it yet. How was Singapore? I saw the very begining where he said it may be the best place for food ever.

Tonight on Food Network, they're going to rerun the episode of A Cook's Tour where Tony eats the still-beating cobra heart. Mm mmm!

[Alex S.]

Singapore is the only place I've ever eaten food that actually made me throw up. But I don't blame Singapore, overall wonderful food (even the food that made me throw up was good while I was eating it).

[brazen wench]

Thanks for the heads up, which I read last night at 10:30. My tv book doesn't list the Travel Channel anymore, so I didn't know NR was starting.

I did make it in time to see the, imo, unappealing surgical restaurant. I liked how Bourdain handled that one :D.

[Finz729]

That was a great episode. And I have to admit it's one of the few Asian countries he's gone to (and this is not an indictment of Asia, but of my own finicky eating) that I thought "man that food looks good."

I felt that way about the Osaka episode too.

So far the new season looks good. Last season was a little bit of a let-down. Especially Cleveland. Not slamming Cleveland, but if you're going to hit a midwestern food town and you don't do Chicago . . . come on now. though I could be biased about my own city! But I'd love to see Tony walk into Mr. Beef and order a beef san'wich, wet, and run tru da garden!

I second about that hospital themed restaurant. Ugh! How unappetizing! I would have walked right out. Some things do not go well together. Especially when they squeeze food items out of medical syringes. Check please. I'm done.

I love Bourdain! If you haven't, pick up his most recent book - The Nasty Bits. A lot of the chapters are the written portion of episodes from the show, but in more detail. And there's a short fiction story at the end that's really good.

[Finz729]

Sidebar: Just read this on Wikipedia when I searched Anthony's name.

"Bourdain has been an unrepentant smoker and drinker. However, because of the birth of his daughter, he states that he has now stopped smoking."

Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing him smoke once on this week's episode.

I always thought he'd be buried with an ash tray.

[stan4d_steph]

That's great news! Good for him.

I do remember the funny moment where he was in the Himalayas and he lit up a cigarette, but I'm glad he's thinking of his daughter. It will be better if he's around for her.

[Finz729]

It's still a little hard to picture Anthony Bourdain changing a diaper! lol!

I wish I had more info about what role he played in the production of Ratatouille. I know it's been discussed here before that he was a consulant on it.

I find that fascinating that the guy who slammed both Las Vegas and Times Square with the same comment "when Mickey Mouse is the baddest dude on the block . . . forget about it." worked in some capacity on a Disney film.
I guess that's not so bad. He said alot worse about Jimmy Buffett on the Key West episode, and I still love the guy!

This is cool (and not too off subject, in a way): Chef Thomas Keller (featured on No Res) created the dish that was featured at the end of Ratatouille. Here is it's Wikipedia page. I wondered what it would look like in the real world. Here it is, not exactly same but still interesting. Maybe only if you're a foodie and a Disney fan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confit_byaldi

[june1st1997]

Thomas Keller ( of French Laundry fame) was a consultant on Spanglish and also created the egg sandwich in that movie. He said it is what he wants to eat when he gets off work.

I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting Keller at a book signing. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Truly lovely. Not what you might expect from someone regarded as one of the top chefs in the country.

I have also met Ina Garten and Tyler Florence... Both of whom I cannot stand. I still love Ina's food... But what a dismissive witch... and Tyler Florence thinks he is very cool.. But not so much.

And it's not like I was someone who approached them on the street. These were all book signings.

I read Kitchen Confid. (for work) and HATED Anthony B. Ugh. But I must admit watching him on TOP CHEF is GOOOOOD TV. And I have liked the NO RES. I have seen.

[Drince88]

I started to watch one episode of this a while back, and got really turned off by it - but when I saw an episode in the Pacific Northwest on the lineup, I decided to give it another try.

Yea, I'm hooked. But I still had to look away when he was eating the blood sausage in Berlin. Not being able to eat/watch people eat food that looks icky to me is the big reason I could never sign up to be on the Amazing Race.

I'm interested to see what he does for his New Orleans episode.

[Klutch]

^^ If Bourdain wandered out of the French Quarter and into the "real" NOL, would he find some good eats? Or, would people just tell him to get lost because he's an outsider?

[Drince88]

^^ If Bourdain wandered out of the French Quarter and into the "real" NOL, would he find some good eats? Or, would people just tell him to get lost because he's an outsider?

There are some 'real NOLA' stuff in the Quarter, just generally not on Bourbon Street. And they'd tell him - because even though they don't sound like "Southerners", New Orleanians are Southerners at heart and are very hospitable.

[Klutch]

Good to know! Thanks, Cathy. As I've mentioned, the impressions of NOL we get from the media are very inaccurate.

[Finz729]

Ok, this week in Greece was ok - didnt' blow my hair back. BUT . . . I can not wait til next week in New Orleans. If for nothing else, the fact that in the commercial Tony is sitting down with Emeril Lagasse.

Anyone who has followed Tony B for any period of time knows he's had a habit of busting Emeril's chops, sometimes a little beyond friendly ribbing. I'd read that he had recently made his amends to Emeril. I'm stoked to see these two greats together, talking about N'awlins.

Should be great!


Of course, if we ever see a promo for Bourdain visiting the set of Rachel Ray, I believe that's a sign of the Apocalypse.

[stan4d_steph]

Ok, this week in Greece was ok - didnt' blow my hair back. BUT . . . I can not wait til next week in New Orleans. If for nothing else, the fact that in the commercial Tony is sitting down with Emeril Lagasse.Agreed! Thankfully I will still be in the US so will be able to see it. I will miss the Travel Channel a lot while in France.


Of course, if we ever see a promo for Bourdain visiting the set of Rachel Ray, I believe that's a sign of the Apocalypse.Hehe. Yes! I loved the bit when he got tasered on the LA episode and said something about his reaction making all the Rachael Ray fans very happy.

[Finz729]

Agreed! Thankfully I will still be in the US so will be able to see it. I will miss the Travel Channel a lot while in France.

Wow! France? I'm jealous.

I want to go. I wish I knew the name of that one little restaurant Anthony went to in the Paris episode. The one that he counted all the U.S. health code violations in: the cheese and meat left out, and the dog in the kitchen.

The food actually looked amazing - aside from the blood sausage anyway. People eating good food in a warm, cozy atmosphere, drinking good French wine, eating moldy cheese and thick cuts of meat. Singing "La Vie En Rose."
Ok, I'm embellishing now . . . but it sure sounds nice!

Have a good trip! Say hi to Remy for us!

[3894]

Hehe. Yes! I loved the bit when he got tasered on the LA episode and said something about his reaction making all the Rachael Ray fans very happy.

Hmmm, dinner with Bourdain or Rachel Ray? Oh, how to decide. ;)

[Finz729]

Listen, I actually like Rachel Ray. I even think she's really cute. But I think after the fifth or sixth "Yum-O" I'd be wanting to shove a dinner roll in her mouth!

[Drince88]

I think Bordain did a nice job with the New Orleans visit. I wish he would have said when he'd visited, though. I think he painted a bit bleaker picture than reality - but not a whole lot, especially when he was in St. Bernard Parish (with the oysterman/lawyer) and in the lower 9th.

I LOVE that he had Po Boys with Chris Rose. And I highly recommend Chris' book for anyone that's interested in a community psychy after something like Katrina and the levee breaches. ("1 Dead in Attic (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781416552987&itm=1)" ) If you don't laugh and cry while reading it, I'll be surprised. It's a collection of newspaper columns, so the individual chapters are quite short. The ending voice-over at the end was part of one of the articles.

I was a little disappointed his visit seemd fairly fair-skinned, aside from the guys in the kitchens. I think visiting Dooky Chase's and chatting with Miss Leah could have fit in with him.

[brazen wench]

And I highly recommend Chris' book for anyone that's interested in a community psychy after something like Katrina and the levee breaches.
As soon as I saw this part of the show, I put this book on my 'gotta read' list. I fell asleep and missed the second half, hope I catch a rerun sometime.

[Lani]

Hmmm, dinner with Bourdain or Rachel Ray? Oh, how to decide. ;)
Rachael Ray has a smile that reminds me of The Joker. I used to think she was fun and perky, but she shills for everybody and her daytime talk show is terrible. Bourdain would be fun for his entertainment factor but I don't think I'd want to dine with Rachael Ray.

[Finz729]

I hate to say it, but over all I'm getting bored with this season. Singapore was great, but I kind of think it's been downhill since, with the exception maybe of New Orleans. Even last night . . . how the heck do you make Jamaica boring???

Listen, I will admit I hate Jamaica so I'm biased. But I certainly will say the one thing Jamaica is not is boring. Being spit at because I didn't want a tee shirt and the fear of having my throat slit around each corner when I tried to go off wandering was more than enough excitement for me. The cave scene was kind of interesting and made me feel very claustrophobic, but otherwise I felt like we'd seen it all before. The rastafari poet was unintelligable and his food looked vile. The most entertaining part was the dancehall segment, and I hate that stuff!

Even Greece and London/Edinburgh were boring. Maybe it's just that they aren't showing enough interesting food. It was like "We're in Jamaica, here's jerk chicken." "We're in London, here's a pint of ale and boiled meat." "We're in Scotland. Here's haggis." Seen it.

Maybe it's just me but while I'll always find Tony fascinating, the show is declining this season. My wife says I need to submit a tape to their new contest to convince Tony to come to my town. I laughed at her, but maybe she's right . . . Chicago seems like a Bourdain kinda town. It was good enough for Frank to sing about . . . twice . . .!