Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Seasons 1-5

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

Re: Puerto Rico - Lucky for Tony, Jacinto seems to be hard of hearing. He kept asking for la vaca and getting el puerco. Didn't seem to mind, though.

I think a good subtitle for No Reservations would be "Makeover for the Ugly American." Even folks like little old me who thought I was "enlightened" about other cultures learn about little leftover ideas that are still in the back of our minds. And I say "Ugly American" not as an indictment but as a recognition of a way of thinking that's automatic unless you're confronted with it. Tony's easygoing style makes it easier to swallow the gentle corrections as they come.

[Jason Perlow]

I seriously want some of that Mofungo.

The Pina Colada, by the way, was NOT invented at the Barrachina. It was invented at the bar at the Caribe Hilton (in the 50's, not 1963 -- I believe in 1954) where if Tony had chosen that outlet instead, would have gotten a nice freshly made one. I've had the Caribe Hilton's Pina Coladas and they are fantastic. Whoever told him Barrachina was probably playing with his head. The Caribe Hilton story is very well documented, just Google "Caribe Hilton" and "Colada" and you'll get lots of accounts.

http://slammedmagazine.com/inthisissue/05m...inacoladas.html

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/humop/pinacoloda.cfm

Edited May 2, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[bourdain]

I have found that ANY scene purporting to show the "Birthplace of the.." ANYTHING is a guaranteed clusterfuck. That the plaque on the wall and various sources claim that particular joint as the originator is besides the point. The words "Hilton" and "my show" shall never meet--unless I'm making a cruel joke about the brain-dead daughter. I don't care HOW good the product might be.

The above principle is further proven on the coming soon Mexican border show--where a "Birthplace of The Nacho" scene is rescued only by a cameraman accidentally splitting his skull open to dramatic and picturesque effect.

Recent studies indicate that any drink with an umbrella in it may cause penile shrinkage.

[Jason Perlow]

Despite our shared distaste for Paris and her annyoing Chihuahua, Tony, the Hilton Caribe claim is verifyable and they are known for how good their coladas are. It's too bad you didn't go there, its a gorgeous hotel bar, the resort also recently underwent like a $20M renovation.

Another nice thing about the Caribe, which should appeal to paranoid freaks like Tony, is that it has the distinction of being the only hotel resort which has a private beach in San Juan. That means no beach bums panhandling you, excellent security (something you really want to be sure of in San Juan) and no surprises like hypodermics, broken glass and used prophylactics to walk over in the sand. The beach there is maintained very well.

Recent studies indicate that any drink with an umbrella in it may cause penile shrinkage.

I think that's the effect of the Whiskey Dick from the full two shots of Bacardi Anejo they use at the Caribe, Tony, not the umbrella.

The above principle is further proven on the coming soon Mexican border show--where a "Birthplace of The Nacho" scene is rescued only by a cameraman accidentally splitting his skull open to dramatic and picturesque effect.

Excellent.

Edited May 3, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Claudia Greco]

Recent studies indicate that any drink with an umbrella in it may cause penile shrinkage.

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All the more reason to avoid the girly drinks, then - especially the bucket-sized one you downed in Las Vegas (!)

[cowpati]

I have found that ANY scene purporting to show the "Birthplace of the.." ANYTHING is a guaranteed clusterfuck.  That the plaque on the wall and various sources claim that particular joint as the originator is besides the point. The words "Hilton" and "my show" shall never meet--unless I'm making a cruel joke about the brain-dead daughter. I don't care HOW good the product might be.

The above principle is further proven on the coming soon  Mexican border show--where a "Birthplace of The Nacho" scene is rescued only by a cameraman accidentally splitting his skull open to dramatic and picturesque effect.

Recent studies indicate that any drink with an umbrella in it may cause penile shrinkage.

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I thought the puerto rico program was great! I smiled through the entire show. The horses... so neat. And you riding them was a riot! Those long legs of yours and those little tiny steps they take, how cute!

Your somewhat insolent attitude toward the 'cow' story was pure nyc.

And understandable in light of a local tradition. (Maybe they will work on that.)

I must say I'm not surprized at your comment on the 'umbrella'. Watching you try to manipulate it and the look in your eye gave away your true feelings.

You show an aspect of the real life in your drama. Something most tourists never see. You can find the resorts online, but not the places you visited. And isn't that the point? If someone wants something other than the different, tell 'em to get their own show, ha!

Kudos, my friend, and on to next weeks adventure.

p.s., there is a tiny piece of meat in the ear that is the best part of the hog.

[Shannon_Elise]

Recent studies indicate that any drink with an umbrella in it may cause penile shrinkage.

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I believe the same principals apply to brain shrinkage in sorority chicks except that it must be a neon drink with an umbrella.

Puerto Rico kicked ass. Unfortunately I had to watch it at my grandmother's house (I'm a poor 23 year old working as an editor at a community newspaper, I make precisely jack ergo no cable) and she was quite grossed out by the pig. I was drooling. The only truly icky thing in that episode was the ass shot of the girl at the counter on the beach when you saw her thong.

Other than that, does anyone know where I can find Mofungo in Columbus, Ohio? All we have are fast-food test markets.

[purplewiz]

I watched them hack into the pig, I turned to my husband, pointed at the screen and said "I want that."

He looked and said "Good, when are we going?"

Are there any questions about why I love the man?

Marcia.

[johnsmith45678]

Are there still cannibals in New Guinea? Hmm...future episode!

[cowpati]

Are there still cannibals in New Guinea? Hmm...future episode!

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Oh, Lord! Don't get him started! If it is something he can chew and swallow, he will want to give it a try, ha!

[Claudia Greco]

Are there still cannibals in New Guinea? Hmm...future episode!

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Oh, Lord! Don't get him started! If it is something he can chew and swallow, he will want to give it a try, ha!

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Fortunately, I believe they've given up cannibalism in Papua New Guinea - a lot more people are Christians, and even the more remote tribes have had enough expose to Christianity and . . . ummm . . . polite discouragement from the government to refrain from eating human flesh. Although . . . . Tony drinking that fermented Peruvian yuca drink from the skull of a dead vegetarian MIGHT hold some appeal. Maybe if they offered it to him with a little paper umbrella? A little cross-cultural fusion thing? (!!) If he goes, I think Tony can look forward to a lot of yam and a primate entree related to lemurs - "cuscus" (yes, sounds like couscous"), I believe it is?

[YoChefGregg]

I have heard somewhere that Crutchfield Jacobs disease became a problem in some headhunter communities, another very good reason to leave your neighbors alone!

[Jason Perlow]

I think it was Kuru, not Creutzfeldt-Jacobs. However like C-J it is also a Prion-based disease.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kuru/kuru.htm

http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant570/Pap...ath/McGrath.htm

Edited May 3, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

Are there still cannibals in New Guinea? Hmm...future episode!

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Hope they don't run out of ancestorshire sauce. It's like a starter... once you run out you have to start over.

[elfin]

Birthplace drinks are over-rated. Havana's La Bodeguita del Medio (mojito) and La Floridita (daquiri) are fine but somehow the combination of the tourist crowds and premium price taint the experience. Pat O'Brian's' Hurricanes suck.

[Philanthrophobe]

Are there still cannibals in New Guinea? Hmm...future episode!

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Not since 1963.

Small bit of OT: This is a great movie about a man who lived among them for a time. It's amazing.

[Collins]

France again? Meh...

[cowpati]

France again? Meh...

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I hadn't seen the one on France, and only part of the one on japan, so both were great! I see that dvd's are available on some of the series at discovery.com.

Everyone of the sets are going to be good to watch again. Each time you will catch something you missed before.

"OK, Let's go eat some guts..." this is funny stuff!

[srhcb]

I think Tony Bourdain in Japan is one of those instances where contrasts compliment each other.

The producers apparently understood this. Very few people are as naturally irreverent as Tony, and few people are as reverent as the Japanese, especially when it comes to honoring their ancestors.

The visit with the Japanese family on their special day to honor the dead, complete with a traditional meal and visit to the cemetary, was very sensitvely done, while still being entertaining and amusing in Bourdain's unique fashion.

SB (would like to visit Japan)

[fresh_a]

Great, but how can I get it here in France?? iTunes has Travel Channel stuff now, but only the crap...

[Matthew Sievert]

The Mexican border show is very timely and nicely done.

Thank you Tony and the gang for once again letting the suburbinites know that we don't live in a world only infested with brightly lit Wal Mart Super Centers. Which are chucked full of frozen "ethnic" food.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Matthew Sievert (log)

[hazardnc]

The Mexico episode is my favorite thus far and the SO wants to know how you could be so timely on the fence/no fence issue given your production schedule. As a kid in Houston in the 70's, the joke was that if you walked into any restaurant and flashed an INS badge, the kitchen would be emptied in seconds.

Oh - and those tacos. Yum - we have a couple of hole-in-the-wall joints here in Charlotte, NC that serve those. Still a great deal at $1.25 apiece.

Edited May 24, 2006 by hazardnc (log)

[Papaya]

Recent magazine ads for the show talk about Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico... is this its own episode? Has it shown already? I don't get that channel but I would try to watch somehow to see that episode. Thanks.

[bourdain]

Very, very proud of the Border episode--and taking a lot of shit for it. We shot the thing a few months ago--before the full xenophobic furor--and I couldn't be happier about the timing.

I had long planned a show where we meet the chef at Les Halles--and the cooks--and then relate that back to the whole Mexico/US relationship--as it exists on the ground and near the border. It was very striking and encouraging to see how many Texans speak fluent Spanish and consider the people a few feet across the river to be neighbors, relatives, friends...I found a very different attitude locally than is prevalent among blowhard politicos who live nowhere NEAR Mexico.

I'd really planned to do nothing more than explore the "Who's actually doing the cooking" thing--something of a personal cause for me--and look at another side of Texas and Texans than the stereotypical one--and was surprised at the blowback from some really angry angry people...

I also wanted to learn how to ride a big motorcycle and hang out in the locations where they shot El Mariachi. Sweet.

[coquus]

Arriba, abajo, por centro, por dentro, or whatever it is, cheers on the timing of this episode. Got to think several old-middle-old aged men could be hunkered down in Congressional Committee meeting rooms watching this right now. Keep up the good "work".