Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Seasons 1-5

[Louisa Chu]

The Bourdain Experience is the working title of Tony's new show. It's scheduled to start airing on the Travel Channel in the States in April. This show will go beyond food - beyond the perfect meal of A Cook's Tour. It still starts with the food but it's the next chapter - the next chapter of Tony's life. It's a global exploration for personal discovery. There will be three pilots - Paris, Iceland, and New Jersey - I'm not kidding.

I was hired as Tony's Paris "fixer" - we finished shooting yesterday morning.

[goshi]

So there will be a book accompanying the show? Yesssssssssssss!

His cookbook reads like a feature article (well a whole bunch of feature articles) rather than a recipe book. And I cannot tell you how much reading his Kitchen Confidential brought back memories of growing up in my parent's restaurant.

Looks like i got my answer, as I am dining at Les Halles Park Ave. this holiday...he won't be there but his frites will.

[bourdain]

Just wanted to say that the fantastically well-connected Louisa did a tremendous job as "fixer" for the new (as yet officially untitled show). She showed herself as well to be possessed of Herculean endurance; knocking back early morning Calvas and more than keeping up with our wine-swilling ways through lunch and into the wee hours.

Outstanding work. She made it all "video gold".

[ronnie_suburban]

Not sure, but I believe this is some new information. I scrolled back a ways and didn't see a link for it, but I may have missed it. My apologies if this has already been posted:

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

"As always, the food, the table is the best way into an unfamiliar culture. It’s there that I get to see people and places at their best and most guileless. But food is simply a vehicle, my way in to explore larger subjects. Once I’m in, I quickly move away from strictly food/chef concerns - to other areas of compelling interest…” -Anthony Bourdain

=R=

[aprilmei]

He's coming to Hong Kong in about two weeks - I'm very excited about that. From what I've been told, he'll be doing some filming and then he'll be at a private dinner where guests (including me!!) will be served dishes from his cookbook.

[dfq]

The Travel Channel has put up a website with some info on the show. Be sure to watch the sneak preview: Anthony Bourdain No Reservations

[Dave the Cook]

The inimitable Bourdain answers a number of questions about his new show, about the Fox series Kitchen Confidential, and many other things -- including his attempted murder by Mario Batali -- in an exclusive interview by Rachel Perlow in the Daily Gullet.

Read all about it.

[Xando Head]

I was lucky enough to see a preview of this show recently, and to have a lovely long conversation with Chef Bourdain about it. The show looks fascinating on many levels, and while I was at first a little dubious about the whole chef/Travel Channel, it really does seem to be a great fit once you've seen an episode.

I, too, wish we could get this series in Canada.

They are still filming, by the way. Bourdain mentioned that he was headed to one of the "istans" (can't remember which one -- sorry) to shoot the next episode.

Edited July 18, 2005 by Xando Head (log)

[jhlurie]

As he recently revealed to our own Rachel Perlow, that "istan" would be Uzbeckistan. He also recently finished shooting a Las Vegas episode, which apparently included him jumping out of a plane with an Elvis impersonator.

[Rachel Perlow]

Show premieres tonight.

First episode? "Why the French Don't Suck" -- I love that title!

[Rachel Perlow]

Here's a link to the NYT review, it won't last long.

Referring to his mocking Rocco DiSpirito: "Because it's such a mean thing to do, with no context and no explanation." Ah, the no context or explanation part is what makes it so good for those of us in the know. We watched The Restaurant, we know what he's talking about. It makes the show extra special for Tony's fans. The lack of exposition is a slight risk when it comes to attracting a new audience, however.

[Louisa Chu]

The NYT review read to me like she liked it. Yeah, she said the Rocco-mocking was mean, but in the end she said it was "satisfying" and "empowering" too. Rachel, I know you're just watching out for our lovable Tony, but is "lack of exposition" any riskier for a new audience than subjecting them to Tony being subjected to ingesting putrified shark? I think not!

[Music]

Here's a link to the NYT review, it won't last long.

Referring to his mocking Rocco DiSpirito: "Because it's such a mean thing to do, with no context and no explanation." Ah, the no context or explanation part is what makes it so good for those of us in the know. We watched The Restaurant, we know what he's talking about. It makes the show extra special for Tony's fans. The lack of exposition is a slight risk when it comes to attracting a new audience, however.

←

I read the NY Times review and thought that if I had never heard of Anthony Bourdain, the man she was writing about didn't sound like anyone likeable and I probably would have skipped the show. I think the reviewer either doesn't like Tony or she just doesn't "get" him. Luckily, we do -- I can't wait to see the show!

[rose_ayn]

Although the review may not have been a glowing rave, I came away thinking she liked it - inside jokes and all. You do have to "know" Bourdain to get it a little but the last couple lines of the review summed up the show perfectly.

It's about a mind-set that's beyond the doing what's right and proper. It's about having fun and enjoying life. About living outside the safety bubble and getting your hands dirty.

I know where I'm going to be on Monday nights.

[ingridsf]

What with Hell's Kitchen and NR both on Monday nights (if only for a couple of weeks), we need to name this, er, special evening of programming. Suggestions? "Must-Eat TV" is way too tame for these two. How about "Hell and Back Mondays"?

[BuzzDraft]

What with Hell's Kitchen and NR both on Monday nights (if only for a couple of weeks), we need to name this, er, special evening of programming.  Suggestions?  "Must-Eat TV" is way too tame for these two.  How about "Hell and Back Mondays"?

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Think of Hell's Kitchen as the sorbet to cleanse the palette before viewing No Reservations.

By the way, I think the opening of NR was absolutely fantastic... the old Pan Am travelogue about travel to Paris, the french instructor with attitude because AB belittled the restaurant on the Eiffel Tower...

Every time I go to Paris, I try as hard as I can to disappear and hang out quietly in the more off locations searching for where the locals (workers and students) eat. I stay in hotels with a shared bathroom, far from the Holiday Inn clones (my place is a boarding monastery between the Seine and the St. Germain). I shop for snackies and incredible wines by the bottle in the local side-street markets. I butcher the French language with a cheerful effort, but feel good when the purveyors finally break down and admit they speak English better than I speak French (the KEY to it all, BTW).

I'm loving this show so far, and I'm not an AB groupie. If this is any indication for what's to come, I'm going to be very pleased, educated, and entertained.

The French suck, but so do I, and I can respect that!

[edsel]

We all knew that Louisa Chu was Bourdain's "fixer" for the Paris episode, but I wasn't expecting her to have major on-camera time. The marketplace scene was awesome! Yay Louisa!

[docsconz]

Great job, Louisa! It was a fun episode. I missed the name of the restaurant in which he had the entrecote and also the bakery. Anyone catch them?

[agbaber]

Amazing show.

The thing that most pleased me was that I basically forced all the people I'm living with to watch it, and by the end, they were "shusshing" me!

Along with that, there was very little information I felt I could add to it. Everything he talked about, he knew almost exactly as much about the topic as I did, and then some. (This probably is based on that fact that my most-quoted book is clearly Kitchen Confidential)

Great show. Amazing show. My favorite show!

[suzilightning]

kinda like a cross between "cooks tour" and dave atell.

cool to put a face with the name who's material i have enjoyed reading...

thank you louisa chu

loved the point of food being something appealing to all the senses. with an inlaw family whose idea is you eat whatever so you can carry on and have no pleasure out of it now i begin to understand some of my heritage(grandmother born in lyon)

also really liked the bakery stuff since i used to do that when i was much, much younger. the feel of the yeast dough, the smell of it as it proofs and rises, so wonderful...

now on to mad money with jim cramer

p.s. and i am happy that tony's pronunciation of the former market was more like mine than our aix en provence bookeeper's of the former meat market

genvieve: it's lays all- lays

suzi : i thought it was leh zahl

(all phoenetically written)

Edited July 26, 2005 by suzilightning (log)

[Okbrewer]

F**K Cheerios! I'm havin' a roast beef sandwich for breakfast! Regardless of what those young Frenchies might say, I wanna party with you, Cowboy! (But I think I might have to shy away from the absinthe!) I enjoyed the show, looking forward to next weeks!

[Daniel]

I would love to hear a first hand review of that roast beef sandwich. Interesting shots of Paris, not the typical stock film. Made the city look dark, secretive and magical.That hotel looked awesome. Would much rather hear about Oscar Wilde's 3 year bender and miles of tunnels filled with skeletons, over how many paintings the Louvre holds.. Cant wait for the next one.. ..

[BuzzDraft]

I'm watching the instant replay on my DVR...

The way I can describe "No Reservations" is... "Chef Bourdain meets 'Insomniac', with 'A Cook's Tour' locations, yet it was a very educational and a compelling travelogue"!

This was perfect tv... EVERYTHING I look for in a tv show: Humor. Food. Culture. Information. Travel. All from a master Smartass' perspective.

THIS is why I joined the eGullet community.

The post-absynth scene was hilarious... did he really say "See Tony. See Tony confused, standing around, freezing. I need a hot chocolate and a couple of fat chicks"?

"Rocco's Rats-a-riffic Restaurant... it's 'Rats-a-licious! Be sure to drop by our all-you-can-eat Mouse Bar - your choice of dressing!"

Holy Crappe, I laughed so hard!

I'll be up all night reading my travel books on France now, planning a new trip maybe this fall. Thank you for this show's outstanding concept.

But, if next week's show is anything like the premiere, maybe I'll change my flight to Iceland?

GREAT show.

[suzilightning]

I would love to hear a first hand review of that roast beef sandwich. Interesting shots of Paris, not the typical stock film. Made the city look dark, secretive and magical.That hotel looked awesome. Would much rather hear about Oscar Wilde's 3 year bender and miles of tunnels filled with skeletons, over how many paintings the Louvre holds.. Cant wait for the next one.. ..

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oh, yeah that roast beef sandwich. love meat for breakfast and since you are in the middle of a meat market - no brainer. though i might have gone for the kidneys or maybe a quick liver fry. on a plate with some bread and cheese and onions. remember these guys are in the middle of their work day, though. 7-9 am when you probably got up about 2 - so you have a sandwich and a glass of wine then go back to cutting meat...i see no problem with that. couse i am a morning woman

[OnlyTheBest]

OH MY G O D !!!

I just saw Tonys new show !

HOW FABULOUS!!! He captured what living is all about....how to eat !

A reminder of just how special Paris is !

All the comments about Roco and rats.... come on! whats the problem !!!! it was CLASSIC TONY !!!!

The NYT needs to GET OVER ITSELF!!!

There is NOTHING like THIS on television...and ONLY Tony could do it!

A BIG sexy man ...... with BIG appetites in a dark seductive city and LOTS of ways to get yourself into trouble....be it food or otherwise....

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT TONY !!!

I AM PACKING MY BAGS !!!!