Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Season 6

[johnnyd]

Next week's episode is set in Maine.

With the way some foodies flock and stalk Bourdain, there's no way he could view them the same way.

Portland is bloated with average-quality food blogs. When Tony hit town in January, he was mobbed. I asked a fishmonger friend who had dinner with him how it went and he said there was a line of food-geeks at his table that went out the door.

Apparently he had a much better time up in Milo (where a producer hails from) at a communal bean supper, and on the coast where he went for a little sail and met some more indigenous folks.

Watch for a meal with Melissa Kelly, chef/owner of Rockland area Primo Restaurant.

[ellevan]

I was thinking the same thing! Trying to teach people to cook at home using a restaurant deep fryer I love you Tony ,but this part of the episode was plain ridiculous!

[violetfox]

I'm pretty thoroughly disgusted with his dismissive attitude toward Maine. I guess the powers that be decided it was time for a "Bad Tony" episode. I mean, seriously - J's Oyster Bar? I've had good luck at Street and Co. but he made short work of that. Yes, Primo has wonderful food. Yes, Melissa Kelly is a great chef. The idiots at the sailing lunch, however, who acted as if everyone outside of the "civilized" south and mid-coast are godless heathens about food is stupid, wrong, and unfortunate. Very, very disappointing, and a long way from Andrew Zimmern's wonderful episode in Maine.

[johnnyd]

There is no shortage of local opinion about this episode here in Portland.

Most view the city's restaurant choices as half-baked, but I see Street & Co and J's Oyster as a nod to Portland's established Old Port restaurant scene rather than choosing among the flurry of newer, and arguably better, places that command most of the attention these days.

The sailing crew was awkward - I know characters like these - but I felt the segment was edited in because it demonstrated a rugged determination that people up here have to do shit like go sailing in January, or trek up to their camp to chill out in the snow, and basically enjoy their vast backyard in a way people to the South and West can't come close to doing, or even imagining.

Conte's Restaurant is a known love-it-or-hate-it dump, but the man himself is hard-core. Personally, I would treat those scallops differently.

The episode spoke to me about the people in Maine, not the food. In that sense, I'm happy about it - especially the folks in pairs that bookend the segments. Sure, lots of worthy coverage was missed - stuff way beyond blueberries and lobster like hard-working organic farmers and innovative Portland cuisine, but I sense Tony was trying to get to what Maine was about, and for that I applaud him, and his team.

[Claudia Greco]

Me, too. I LIKED all those people. I really liked Zack and the Zamboni family camp - great stuff! Hardy, self-sufficient, salt-of-the-earth folks. Wish we'd have had a moose or two, though (aside from as a breakfast item.) Now I know that I usually make just a "jag" of baked beans, as opposed to a "slew" or a "mess". Ayuh!

[violetfox]

I absolutely liked the "locals," and Zack and his family.

[mcohen]

Next week's episode is set in Maine.

With the way some foodies flock and stalk Bourdain, there's no way he could view them the same way.

Portland is bloated with average-quality food blogs. When Tony hit town in January, he was mobbed. I asked a fishmonger friend who had dinner with him how it went and he said there was a line of food-geeks at his table that went out the door.

Did anybody offer him a boiled rabbit?

Its scary how obsessed some of his fans can get. Its even gotten to the point that one of his fans has become short hand for a crazy stalker on the TWOP forum-he/she is obsessed with Bourdain, knows every little detail about him, and acts like they're best friends.

[Holly Moore]

Checked DirecTV search - not yet but I hope they replay Cleveland featuring Bourdain v. Harvey Pekar soon.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Holly Moore (log)

[djbeers]

Holly, the Cleveland episode is on tomorrow (Monday), also after midnight.

[FoodMan]

I never wanted to visit Dubai, or any country in that area for that matter, much. Last night's NR episode did not change my mind and re-affirmed my belief that the place is nothing more than a disney world for rich adults, complete with a fake ski slope in a mall, minus the greenery and with no Mickey Mouse.

In contrast to that, I very much enjoyed the previous episode, the one that was a condensed version of the doc "Out of the Frying pan and into the fire". The contrast fo the old-Tony Vs. the younger-Tony was staggering. It's amazing what 10 years and fame can do (I a guess a baby has something to do with it too. LOL)

[jsmeeker]

I never wanted to visit Dubai, or any country in that area for that matter, much. Last night's NR episode did not change my mind and re-affirmed my belief that the place is nothing more than a disney world for rich adults, complete with a fake ski slope in a mall, minus the greenery and with no Mickey Mouse.

If it only had casinos.....

[ElsieD]

I am reading this book and am finding it spectacularly boring. Hopefully it will get better, but it's got a loooooooooooooong way to go.

[jk1002]

I think when visiting dubai it might be very easy to get lost and just end up with a miami southbeach like experience less the booze.

But i do feel it is a very unique chance to experience a startup like this, may it prosper or fail.

It is certsinly on my list of places to visit.

[Chris Amirault]

I spent a lot of time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before and after 2001, and it was a real trick to get anyone to take you into neighborhoods or restaurants frequented by the massive Indonesian, Pakistani, Syrian, Egyptian, Malaysian, etc. etc. community that built and maintained the city. You could swing a stick and have spaghetti carbonara with fakon far more easily than you could have Islamabad or Jakartan street food. You can guess which was better.

So kudos to Tony for finding a few spots where, what, 75% of Dubai's population are eating. I ate a few of those places in Riyadh, and, trust me, you'd never be able to get footage of them out of the Kingdom (if you could shoot it in the first place).

[johnnyd]

Thoroughly enjoyed last night's 100th episode. The pace was actually exciting for a bunch of respected chefs chatting about the state of food affairs at the moment. Tony posed a question, held back and let these guys take over. The venues were wonderful, the food - stunning. For me, it was engaging television in spite of the absence of Tony on a zipline or some such enjoyable lunacy. He's probably decided to take better care of his knees.

[Claudia Greco]

I, too, am glad the 100th was devoid of stunts, and that Tony reiterated his show's continued homage to iconic films - that was fun. I was on vacation for a few weeks last month, and spent the last week catching up on NR - Dubai, Kerala, the making of Kerala, the Grenadines, the 100th and last night's return to Paris. Did I miss Rome, somehow?

[Doodad]

Rome is on Comcast on demand and is a great episode along with the 100th one last night.

[KD1191]

I generally love Tony, and the Paris show last night was stellar, but one of the themes of the Rome show (and some of the online outtakes of the Paris show) irks me. It's the idea of, "I'm not going to tell you because you'll all come and ruin it." It's cropped up several times throughout his career, and it's extremely annoying. I understand that there is a degree of truth to it, but the idea that a restaurant isn't on the map until he graces it is beyond silly. Even some of the most out of the way places he visits are already well known to those who would seek them out. (For example, I ate at the phở stall in Hanoi that he deigned to visit in Food Porn II several weeks before he did...it had a healthy reputation online as one of the best in the city.) Do the places he raves about become more popular? Surely, but if he really thinks he's killing what he loves, he needs to get into another business. He's insulting his viewers and doing them a disservice when he adopts this attitude.

[Chris Amirault]

I didn't see the show and thus can't comment on what he said. However, in re this subject, he said the following in a chat he had with the Guardian recently:

On one hand, I love traveling around the world, on the other hand, I do feel ambivalent about the fact that my eating there with a camera crew shooting me changes the dynamic--and has an effect on changing the character of the place--as others--having seen it on TV , often follow. But the owners of these usually small, independent businesses are rarely so conflicted. They LIKE being busy. There's a cultural imperialism at play when relatively wealthy people from industrialized nations like myself, complain about unspoiled places being "ruined" by traffic, satellite dishes, tourism. Unfortunately, the alternative is often poverty. And that ain't so great. This is an issue we often come up against--and try very hard to walk a delicate line.

[KD1191]

I didn't see the show and thus can't comment on what he said. However, in re this subject, he said the following in a chat he had with the Guardian recently:

On one hand, I love traveling around the world, on the other hand, I do feel ambivalent about the fact that my eating there with a camera crew shooting me changes the dynamic--and has an effect on changing the character of the place--as others--having seen it on TV , often follow. But the owners of these usually small, independent businesses are rarely so conflicted. They LIKE being busy. There's a cultural imperialism at play when relatively wealthy people from industrialized nations like myself, complain about unspoiled places being "ruined" by traffic, satellite dishes, tourism. Unfortunately, the alternative is often poverty. And that ain't so great. This is an issue we often come up against--and try very hard to walk a delicate line.

What happened in the Rome episode was very different. This was a bustling restaurant in a cosmopolitan city that he refused to name as anything other than Restaurant X for apparently no other reason than he was afraid of a fanny-pack clad horde descending on it and ruining the Italian vibe. At first I thought it was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, an almost David Chang-esque "It's just food," for the followers who are a bit too obsessed with eating where Tony eats, and I could forgive him his secrets, but he said something very similar in one of the web-clips for the Paris episode...basically, 'I'm not telling you my favorite places in Paris because they'd immediately stop being my favorites.' These are not some 3-seat Caribbean fish shack, it's a major metropolitan area...it's simply selfishness or pomposity.

Edited September 7, 2010 by KD1191 (log)

[Holly Moore]

Earlier today, RuthBourdain tweeted,

Saw this great travel show last night on the Paris food scene. Name escapes me right now, but it was hosted by a silver-haired gay couple.

[johnnyd]

Earlier today, RuthBourdain tweeted,

Saw this great travel show last night on the Paris food scene. Name escapes me right now, but it was hosted by a silver-haired gay couple.

Hilarious!

[DanM]

Earlier today, RuthBourdain tweeted,

Saw this great travel show last night on the Paris food scene. Name escapes me right now, but it was hosted by a silver-haired gay couple.

Frickin hillarious!

I think Eric Ripert was fundamentally moved by eating at these simpler restaurants where the menus changed daily. Is it possible that a casual dining restaurant may be coming from him? I would love that!

Dan

[percival]

Just came back from Hawaii and watched 100 on the DVR. Great eps purely about the food. It was really Paris through the eyes/mouth of Ripert.

Ripert is on TV all the time now, and I must say, I've never seen him so happy or humbled. I mean, he raved about the food, the fish especially. If you watch Ripert on TV, you know the worst thing you could ever do is serve Eric Ripert fish. But here, in his homeland, there is a difference. I'm sure the food from Le Bernardin has felt the impact of this last visit home.

[Claudia Greco]

Sounds like EVERYBODY went to Hawai'i and has now had to catch up on their missed eps (hahaha)! (Just got back myself.)