Anthony Bourdain
There's this show on the Travel Channel called Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and it has been running for about five years I think. I recall noticing it in the guide while flipping through but I had never checked it out. But I watched a few episodes over the recent holiday break and now I'm completely addicted.
This is a great show on many levels. It allows you to travel vicariously through the eyes of a witty and interesting and bullshit-free chef, who takes you through a city's "high-end" experiences as well as the down-to-earth, everyday, "real" experiences that are available to anybody. And it's these experiences that are usually the highlight of each episode.
This guy will eat anything. Live bugs in the desert, grilled boar rectum, rotting shark, etc. But it's not a "look at the gross things this guy will eat" show. He simply adheres to the "When in Rome" principle, and it makes for some pretty amazing teevee. More than any travel show I've seen, you really get a feel for each destination. You'll know if you want to check out a place or not after watching Bourdain's experience there.
So if you haven't seen it, check it out. Record a few episodes if you have a DVR/Tivo. You likee.
Oh, and this is Bourdain's blog
5 Comments:
I can vouch for how good it is. We just watched the one on Sicily and it was hilarious and informative at once. And no BS, either. If something is boring, he calls it boring. Like the salt factory.
8:23 AM
Awesome show. Been watching from the start. He's a good writer too.
Watching the Vancouver show a couple weeks ago makes me wonder if I'm wasting my life away in western NY.
9:09 AM
Matt, I had the same reaction to the Vancouver episode. It looks like a really cool place to live, let alone visit. Conversely, I had always been curious about Iceland. Well, not so much anymore.
10:00 AM
The little bit i saw for free on itunes (i don't have cable) seemed perfectly perspicacious: "A lot of beer; a lot of pork; no exercise." What else is there to know? I'd like to know what he thinks of chef Ramsay (the kitchen nightmares guy).
3:50 PM
Ahhh Chef Bourdain. No Reservations, if you haven't followed his career, is the "hit" to his "miss" on the Food Network and he often refers to it with Bour-disdain:
FoodTV Execs: "Tony, can you stop smoking and drinking so much?"
Chef: "No. Bye"
My hero.
9:47 PM
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