NFT: Anthony Bourdain

I always enjoyed the show, haven't seen it in years. The episode in NJ goes to Bobolink Dairy, which is a great place.

At times, it veers pretty far away from food though.

Is a great show.

His other show The Layover is really good too.

His book Kitchen confidential is a great read. Pretty sure that his earlier show No Reservations is also shown in syndication.

Not to make this political but Obama is supposed to be on an upcoming show with him in Vietnam.

than Parts Unknown. No doubt that guy has one of the best jobs on the planet. Fly around the world on someone else's dime, meet interesting people, eat great food, and get wasted. And you know his night doesn't end when the cameras stop filming. You can guaranty he is capping his night with a "happy ending. "

but I liked Man vs Food better.

I think that guy, Adam Richmond or something like that, would have had a short life if he didn't end that show.

I especially liked his "Americas best sandwiches" series which focused on the best regional sandwiches around the US and had a bracket format to name a winner.

I've made many of the sandwiches that were competitive in his show like the Blackened Grouper Ruben (when the Giants played Tampa) the shrimp po boy (when the Giants played the Saints), Primanti bros sandiwches (go ahead and complain about them or criticize them when I made them when the Giants played the Steelers they were incredible), and Cheesesteak when the Giants play the Eagles and more.

Some of the challenges he did were just fun to watch.

Bourdain, parts unknown is definitely interesting, but it's not like I see myself in those situations eating that food anytime. Unlike Man vs Food.

Maybe that's why he's currently going through a divorce.

In comment 13146955 CRinCA said:

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His book Kitchen confidential is a great read. Pretty sure that his earlier show No Reservations is also shown in syndication. Not to make this political but Obama is supposed to be on an upcoming show with him in Vietnam.

I thought they were doing Cuba?

Bourdain hates him with a passion. He's mentioned it several times on No Reservations.

Boardains shows are way better than stuff like Man vs Food because he adds a good bit of culture - which is what the show is ultimately about.

M vs F is about some guy who tries to show just how gluttonous he can be.

and "food celebrities" (a term that would probably make Bourdain cringe). Its part travel, part social commentary, part history, part food, and part show about people. A perfect mix for me. I also really like the way the show is filmed and edited. Much more interesting than your average "watch me eat this" run of the mill crap you can find everywhere on TV.

Could be wrong but I thought sure it is Vietnam

Pretty amazing.
Hurt - ( New Window )

and being in the food business, I can really relate to it a lot more than most.

He seems to lean towards the far east which is also my preference. I do enjoy the culture that he sprinkles into it. Like the fact that he does not go to a country and go right to the five star locations that are not indicative of what the commoners in that country would experience.

He does eat a lot of "street food" which also infuses more culture.

He has been doing this for a very long time. I just watched a show where he went back to Borneo and there was a picture of him there from when he was in his 20's basically doing the same thing. So it looks like he has been traveling around having these experiences long before he got himself a gig on TV.

Agreed. It is one of the great shows on TV precisely for the reasons you mentioned. The cross-disciplinary approach (food, wine, history, culture, politics) makes for a truly substantive view.

Toss in the fact that Bourdain is such an interesting guy and the show is so well produced, and you have one of the few things on TV worth watching.

In comment 13146969 B in ALB said:

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Bourdain hates him with a passion. He's mentioned it several times on No Reservations. Boardains shows are way better than stuff like Man vs Food because he adds a good bit of culture - which is what the show is ultimately about. M vs F is about some guy who tries to show just how gluttonous he can be.

I remember Bourdain saying that M vs F made him want to root for Richman to croak.

and some of his stuff after M vs. F has been entertaining. I like Bourdain but he takes himself too seriously sometimes. For those of us who aren't going to hop on a plane and go to Beirut there's nothing wrong with Richman showcasing holes in the wall in college towns and little cities that the Zimmerns and Bourdains of the world aren't likely to stop in. Especially after he dropped the gimmicky stuff from his initial show, Richman is much less over the top and obnoxious than Guy Fieri. I like Bourdain and I like Zimmern but I don't think snobbery is really necessary.

In comment 13146969 B in ALB said:

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Bourdain hates him with a passion. He's mentioned it several times on No Reservations. Boardains shows are way better than stuff like Man vs Food because he adds a good bit of culture - which is what the show is ultimately about. M vs F is about some guy who tries to show just how gluttonous he can be.

I know, I watch(ed) both, I just found it easier to relate to a man trying to eat 12 ghost pepper chicken wings in 5 minutes or drink a 2 gallon milkshake in 5 minutes than someone eating dried shark in Thailand or fetal duck egg in the Philippines.

I got them for what they were which is why when Richman shifted from eating contest to America's best sandwiches the show became more interesting. I could see myself visiting some of the places and actually trying some of the foods.

Eating the foods Bourdain tries is a reach for me.

The episode with Obama was last Sunday. About 5-10 minutes with him in a restaurant in Hanoi.

... and certainly there are many of his shows where he travels into deep shit for his stories ... but the show where he is in Lyon is, dare I say it ... emotional. He meets his idol, and the man cooks for him. You can feel Bourdain's reverence and how he really does feel that he is "not worthy." It's quite an episode. Don't think you can fake that kind of thing.

and find his banned Xmas special with Norah Jones and Christopher Walken... it's wild.

she liked for me to DVR all the Rick Steves episodes. I sat with her a few times, and all in all, it really isn't a bad show. Food, wine, culture. A nice mix. But Steves is such a dweeb, lol, it gets a bit grating. Bourdain is just a guy I'd want to drink good bourbon with.

is trying to gross anyone out. He simply samples what a culture has to offer, whether it's an old, traditional dish, or the most popular thing on the street menus. Yeah, a few things are a bit over the top, but I don't get the feeling they're trying to push any envelope that way.

He went to Paul Bocuse's restaurant in the episode. I had the great thrill to dine at Bocuse's place on my honeymoon. Yes, it is touristy, and damn it was expensive, but Holy God it was a great experience.

Agreed, big difference between Bourdain and Zimmerman in terms of the truly culturally authentic v. the Fringe Gross Out factor.

has a new show highlighting "hidden" restaurants/speakeasys etc. He had another show that never made it to air thanks to a social media meltdown where he fought with woman quasi accusing him of fatshaming.

and I enjoy his irreverence. But in some ways he has become the sort of thing he detested in taking himself too seriously. I can't help but think that the guy who wrote Kitchen Confidential would recoil in horror at some of the self-indulgent sequences in the later episodes of No Reservations and Parts Unknown.

Although Netflix has made Parts Unknown so much more watchable, no CNN political commercials to interrupt.

will say as a Bourdain fan, any time he's been asked to cook on his show I've been underwhelmed by what he comes up with/produces. I feel like he's a better personality than chef. His food hall down here should be interesting (should it ever happen).

Layover sucks/is a waste of time. There is another food/travel show people really enjoy from the guy who created Everybody Loves Raymond, I think it's on Netflix.

In comment 13146990 EricJ said:

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and being in the food business, I can really relate to it a lot more than most. He seems to lean towards the far east which is also my preference. I do enjoy the culture that he sprinkles into it. Like the fact that he does not go to a country and go right to the five star locations that are not indicative of what the commoners in that country would experience. He does eat a lot of "street food" which also infuses more culture. He has been doing this for a very long time. I just watched a show where he went back to Borneo and there was a picture of him there from when he was in his 20's basically doing the same thing. So it looks like he has been traveling around having these experiences long before he got himself a gig on TV.

He fell in love when he went to Japan. Try reading his book, "Gone Bamboo" and he explains it. He's actually done quite a lot of fiction; not great by any means, but quite readable. Try "Bone in the Throat" for a good restaurant/mob grinder.

In comment 13147038 Beezer said:

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is trying to gross anyone out. He simply samples what a culture has to offer, whether it's an old, traditional dish, or the most popular thing on the street menus. Yeah, a few things are a bit over the top, but I don't get the feeling they're trying to push any envelope that way.

I didn't mean to imply he did, simply the locales and local food in most of his travels while interesting and good TV are not places I see myself going.

you like food/travel shows or documentaries (like Jiro dreams of sushi), I HIGHLY recommend watching this
Link - ( New Window )

"Oh, I'm also no big fan of the judgmental barista and beer nerds. I mean, I like a good craft, but don't make me feel bad about my beer choices. You know what kind of beer I like? I like cold beer."




Link to full Reddit Interview - ( New Window )

In comment 13147046 DanMetroMan said:

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will say as a Bourdain fan, any time he's been asked to cook on his show I've been underwhelmed by what he comes up with/produces. I feel like he's a better personality than chef. His food hall down here should be interesting (should it ever happen).

He admits that himself; he isn't a great chef. However, his broad knowledge of cuisines/prep/how kitchens run afford his fans a real insider's view of what's happening on his shows.

And yes, he's very self-deprecating and pulls no punches when talking about where he wound up.

In comment 13147063 BMac said:

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In comment 13147046 DanMetroMan said: Quote: will say as a Bourdain fan, any time he's been asked to cook on his show I've been underwhelmed by what he comes up with/produces. I feel like he's a better personality than chef. His food hall down here should be interesting (should it ever happen). He admits that himself; he isn't a great chef. However, his broad knowledge of cuisines/prep/how kitchens run afford his fans a real insider's view of what's happening on his shows. And yes, he's very self-deprecating and pulls no punches when talking about where he wound up.

BMac,
Totally understood and part of his appeal... that he likes what he likes and doesn't have to have rhyme or reason. I just find the rare times he actually does cook tend up being like over the top underwhelming. He made some egg dish anyone could make, some boiled beef dish etc. I'm a big fan of him as an "entertainer".

It seems like every chef, cook, and kitchen-worker in the world, even in the swankiest of restaurants is a drug-addled, sex-crazed drunk and all during working hours. I had this imagine of effete guys in white hats, or Mel from Alice.

but I'm the opposite of most here. I watched it for the different foods, despite the culture and geography. When he strayed outside of the kitchen or restaurant, I lost interest. Eventually, it seemed like it was more travelogue and less food, so I quit it.

I also heard the Bourdain does a great one-man stage show. Alton Brown as well.

WRT those kind of food shows, I liked Bourdain more the Richman, although I could see myself being pals with neither. But, on the touring food shows, I'm still an old school "Great Chefs of..." kind of guy.

whenever I carp about AB's shortcomings in his making conversation with his many hosts in exotic and non-exotic locales, my wife says to me, "that's just because you'd like to be him and doing what he does...", and she's 100% right. If he was a "star" chef in his day, I never knew it, but this is a fun travelogue...who among us could not say we would turn up our nose at some of these superb mountainside ranch hosts, hole-in-the-wall Hong Kong or Shanghai family restaurants, in-the-know eateries in rural SC outside Charleston, etc., etc.

Great location scouts and finding these local bastions of down-home culinary artistry...and he produces and writes these shows. Dream job.

But Bourdain is a pretentious self-righteous condescending prick.

Who doesn't take himself seriously and has probably done more for small restaurants than anybody else this century.

Andrew Zimern is the best, Bourdain is better than most. DIners, drive ins and dives is a good show, even if you don't like Fierri.

At the end he did a Q & A session. I asked him if he had spoken to Ted Nugent since the election. He burst out laughing and said, "Ahh Uncle Ted. Yeah." but he wouldn't elaborate. It turns out Nugent was in the next episode of his show.

the last couple of seasons of Parts Unknown are particularly good TV.

In comment 13147260 RicFlair said:

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But Bourdain is a pretentious self-righteous condescending prick.

You've obviously completely missed the point. Congratulations!

in one of his shows. They were spearing fish at night when he knocked Woodrell over in the boat. Woodrell was KOed and broke his shoulder. Anthony was afraid he was dead.

In comment 13147003 David in LA said:

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In comment 13146969 B in ALB said: Quote: Bourdain hates him with a passion. He's mentioned it several times on No Reservations. Boardains shows are way better than stuff like Man vs Food because he adds a good bit of culture - which is what the show is ultimately about. M vs F is about some guy who tries to show just how gluttonous he can be. I remember Bourdain saying that M vs F made him want to root for Richman to croak.

Whenever that show was on I would root for food.

In comment 13147287 Walt in MD said:

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Andrew Zimern is the best, Bourdain is better than most. DIners, drive ins and dives is a good show, even if you don't like Fierri.

Fieri is the most annoying person on the planet. His show is unwatchable. Bourdain hates him.

While I would agree that he is a douche, I would totally eat at pretty much every DDD joint that is on the show. Love those places.

In comment 13147262 RicFlair said:

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Who doesn't take himself seriously and has probably done more for small restaurants than anybody else this century.

Seems like a nice enough guy. But he has an amazingly irritating personality, and he loves everything ever cooked. Similar appeal to Rachel Ray.

With Rachel Ray (whose discount travel show was pretty practical) over her endorsing crap, and Fieri is annoying. But the smugness about those two is a little off-putting just because most of what Bourdain does is way, way outside the price range of a lot of us. I'd love to go eat street food in Saigon but it ain't gonna happen until the kids are grown. I can, however, take a trip to flavor town and bring the kids along for the ride. Annoying? Sure. But well-intentioned and practical at the same time.

.

Bourdain. the Bobby Flay challenges are very good

which I don't mind since I really like food. Bourdain's show now is less about the food though. As for his food hall, I don't think it's ever going to happen, I'll believe it when I actually see it. The idea sounds terrific, but you can get most ethnic cuisines in the outer boroughs now anyway.

The series on Netflix Chef's Table is really good. The Evolution of Steak is quite good also.

But he goes to interesting places and eats interesting food and I like the travelogue-y quality of his shows, so I suffer through his overbearing, smug self-satisfaction.