Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Seasons 1-5


Louisa Chu

Recommended Posts

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Jason Perlow (log)

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

abourdain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Jason Perlow (log)

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

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. :hmmm:

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

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.

my new blog: http://uninvitedleftovers.blogspot.com

"...but I'm good at being uncomfortable, so I can't stop changing all the time...be kind to me, or treat me mean...I'll make the most of it I'm an extraordinary machine."

-Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted...he lived happily ever after. -- Willy Wonka

eGullet foodblog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

:unsure: 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!

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?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

-------------------------

Water Boils Roughly

Cold Eggs Coagulating

Egg Salad On Rye

-------------------------

Gregg Robinson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Jason Perlow (log)

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

What disease did cured ham actually have?

Megan sandwich: White bread, Miracle Whip and Italian submarine dressing. {Megan is 4 y.o.}

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

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.

"She would of been a good woman," The Misfit said, "if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."

--Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

France again? Meh...

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! :raz:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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) :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

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

Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing and scouring, and a drop of water added to a clear liquid like Absinthe, muddles it." ALFRED JARRY

blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by Matthew Sievert (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by hazardnc (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

abourdain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...