Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Seasons 1-5

[jesteinf]

Nancy - too funny they showed you as the walking wounded. The juxtaposition of you in a morphine induced haze and Cathy2 across from you in pizza induced ecstacy was pretty priceless.

Me? I'm happy with my split second shot seated next to Fat Guy.

Great episode. Tony did our city proud.

[Kevin72]

It seems like in eps where it's nonstop food and restaurants and very few gimmicks, like, say, wandering around a natural hot spring pool, Tony's enjoying himself and having a good time. If there's enough of a food scene to fill a whole ep then it just writes itself. I thought the Azores ep was interesting, b/c I have no experience at all with the New England towns that have such a heavy population from that area. But it does seem like they ran out of things to do/eat and had to load it up with gimmicks. That always makes for some primo Tony quips but not necessarily a memorable episode as a whole.

Chicago by comparison, was a lot of fun and you could tell Tony was having a blast as well. I went there a couple years ago and had a lousy time and not much memorable in the way of food, and now of course I'm kicking myself for missing all these great places. I'm curious though if there was any talk of going to Alinea or a reason for not going there . . . ?

[Elizabeth Clauser]

  I'm curious though if there was any talk of going to Alinea or a reason for not going there . . . ?

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I TIVO'd the Chicago ep and haven't had a chance to watch it yet. We were really hoping he would go to Alinea; bummer that doesn't seem to have happened.

[Kevin72]

I TIVO'd the Chicago ep and haven't had a chance to watch it yet.  We were really hoping he would go to Alinea; bummer that doesn't seem to have happened. 

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He name checked it, and then went to a similar type place but I forgot the name.

I forgot to mention how much I loved the L20 sequence and the discussion. That totally should be the blueprint for the roundtable show he attempted last fall. I'd watch that all day.

[jesteinf]

The "similar type place" was Moto.

I think it was fine he didn't go to Alinea. So much has been written and discussed about it...it was nice to see some exposure for places that you don't necessarily hear about all the time.

[biskuit]

Bourdain did mispronounce Grant Achatz, which I'm guessing was an intentional dig!

[Claudia Greco]

I don't think he deliberately mispronounced "Achatz" - Tony always mispronounces Ferran Adria's name (it's "Ah-dree-AHH", not "AH-dree-ah" - yes, I asked!), and he has known him and admired him for years . . .

[Florida]

I've also have to wonder why there was no Alinea, though I would say Moto seems more Tony's style than Alinea. While Achatz can be very playful with his dishes, Alinea does have a very formal feel to it. Though I'd imagine there wasn't enough airtime for another molecular gastronomy restaurant. Furthermore, it's not like he even went to Blackbird or Avec, but instead made Kahan cook him something in (what I will presume) is his own backyard.

Personally, I enjoyed the show, though I was a little put off by the whole foie gras rant. Just seemed unnecessary to me, but Tony loves his soap box.....

What's the general opinion regarding Burt's? I've wanted to try it ever since Savuer gave it a mention, but every time I speak with someone who has been there, I get the "it's really no better than anywhere else" answer.

[jesteinf]

I think Burt's is outstanding. I'm not really a deep dish fan, but Burt's is just on an entirely different level than typical deep dish. The crust is great and, at least for the genre, the whole think is actually pretty restrained in terms of cheese, toppings, etc.

[docsconz]

Tony and Marco Pierre White dissed Alinea at the Starchefs ICC this past fall. I'm not surprised he didn't go there.

[Claudia Greco]

Tony and Marco Pierre White dissed Alinea at the Starchefs ICC this past fall. I'm not surprised he didn't go there.

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"Dissed"? Really?! What did they say? I find that a bit surprising . . . mystifying, too.

[edsel]

Tony and Marco Pierre White dissed Alinea at the Starchefs ICC this past fall. I'm not surprised he didn't go there.

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"Dissed"? Really?! What did they say? I find that a bit surprising . . . mystifying, too.

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Here's a bit more from docsconz at the time: ICC post.

And here's the Ruhlman blog post: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? (CAPS are Bourdain's)

It seems the more dismissive tone may have come from MPW rather than Bourdain. Or that's how I read Bourdain's comments there...

[Fat Guy]

The opening monologue explains that the theme of the episode is "unfinished business" -- places Bourdain has not been. Perhaps he had already been to Alinea?

I suppose it's also possible that he just thought Alinea had received enough attention already and that L2O and Moto were therefore more unique coverage-wise.

[docsconz]

Tony and Marco Pierre White dissed Alinea at the Starchefs ICC this past fall. I'm not surprised he didn't go there.

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"Dissed"? Really?! What did they say? I find that a bit surprising . . . mystifying, too.

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Here's a bit more from docsconz at the time: ICC post.

And here's the Ruhlman blog post: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? (CAPS are Bourdain's)

It seems the more dismissive tone may have come from MPW rather than Bourdain. Or that's how I read Bourdain's comments there...

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While MPW was indeed more dismissive and downright rude, Tony clearly sided with him. The whole event resulted in a rebuttal from Grant Achatz several days later. Whatever, it was clear that AB was not a huge admirer of Alinea - either that or he played up to MPW. It is what it is and that appeared to be his opinion. As such, for whatever reason, I was not surprised that Alinea was not part of the show. I can't recall him ever having a show with Alinea before. Fortunately, Alinea does not appear to need the publicity at this time. None of this should take anything away from the restaurants that were on the show or the show itself.

[Fat Guy]

What he says in the voiceover is:

But this is not a Chicago show, or even a "My Chicago" show. This isn't about the newest, or the oldest. It's about unfinished business. By that, I mean it's about places I have not been yet, things I have not eaten, and unpaid debts.

[Florida]

The opening monologue explains that the theme of the episode is "unfinished business" -- places Bourdain has not been. Perhaps he had already been to Alinea?

I suppose it's also possible that he just thought Alinea had received enough attention already and that L2O and Moto were therefore more unique coverage-wise.

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I just read the ICC post. Interesting stuff.

Ironically, Moto has a 10 and a 20 course tasting menu and L20 has a tasting menu as well. While L20's tasting menu is listed as either 6 or 12 courses, it's well known there are many "surprise" courses throughout the meal.

I had lunch at Blackbird earlier this week and got to talking about the show with our server. He noted remembered when TB was in town and he was looking forward to this episode. He mentioned it was "over the summer," but the ICC discourse was not until September.

Really much more of a molehile than a mountain, but would still say Alinea is the surperior restaurant and is rightfully deserving of the additional coverage it receives. However, it's TB's show and I guess he can say what he wants.

[Shinboners]

Anthony Bourdain has recently shot an episode of No Reservations in Melbourne, Australia. It's gives me a good dose of the warm fuzzies that he enjoys my town so much. Matt Preston seems to have done a better job of bonding with Bourdain than John Lethlean did in a previous visit. Looking at the list of places that Bourdain visited, he ate very well from the top end (Royal Mail) to the street food (A1) - but I do wonder if he made it to the Queen Victoria Market for one of those bratwurst sausages.

For those who follow the linages of chefs, Preston mentions a chef named Joe Abboud. He was trained by Donovan Cooke, who was trained by Marco Pierre White.

Matt Preston on Bourdain:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainmen...3423402141.html

John Lethlean on Bourdain (from Bourdain's first visit to Melbourne a few years ago)

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/...0172798982.html

And here's a few pictures of Bourdain playing a game called Trugo.

http://blog.trugo.org.au/2009/01/anthony-b...ations-has.html

Edited February 8, 2009 by Shinboners (log)

[rcianci]

Loved the food porn show. I want, want, want that taleggio and short rib sandwich. I want everything at David Chang's place with a side of onion rings. And it was a genuine thrill to see Martin Picard and his crew; Hugue, Mehdi, and Emily. I am a huge fan of those people. They are the culinary equivalent of rock stars to me.

Edited February 10, 2009 by rcianci (log)

[FoodMan]

Tony at his self indulgent best. Not sure I liked it though...too hokey. For my money I would rather see the whole show divided evenly among Chang, Ripert, Picard and Brennan and dispense of all the rest.

[Claudia Greco]

Of course I cracked up last night during the Food Porn episode - wonderfully cheesy, grainy 70s sexploitation/porno cinema verite, and I love how each chef got his own porno "nom de guerre" - including "Tony BonClair". Too funny! But Tony makes a good point about food as porn, as fetish - and why not? Pleasure is pleasure. And he lined up some of the guiltiest pleasures on the planet - from the high-end classiness of Eric The Ripper, to the porcine decadence of Au Pied de Cochon to Momofuku's - and, oh God, I can testify to the crackaliciousness of the Momofuku Noodle Bar steamed pork bun, in particular. It's my regular guilty pleasure grab n' go (!)

[Kevin72]

I guess I'm just a sucker for these goofball eps so I loved it all, like Claudia said: the grainy footage, the entendre-laden promos, the porn names, etc. I must have that deep fried pork and oyster thingie from Momofuku before I die (which, conversely, may be WHY I die if I ever eat it).

I just like that Tony's got enough clout to do these sort of eps and dig down deeper into why so many people love the show and that there's faith enough in the audience to put it on the air.

[Prawncrackers]

Personally, i think i may have actually shot too soon with Eric's Sea Urchin & Caviar pasta....

[budrichard]

I think that Tony 'hit one out of the park' with his 'Food Porn' show!

Food/dining has become a pleasure that is sometimes glorified out of all relationship to its actual function. When people drop restaurant and chef names, photograph and publish pictures of each course with glowing descriptions on the Internet in efforts that must take vast amounts of time, then its time to call it 'porn'.

I particularly like Martin Picard and his no nonsense dining routine of bare chests. Dining is not just about the ingrediants, preperation or the chef, its about having a get together with friends and good conversation, the food/prep and wine/beer or whatever, is an adjunct.-Dick

Edited February 14, 2009 by budrichard (log)

[Peter the eater]

Last night was a AB:NR six hour marathon for me -- trapped indoors in sunny Florida with a sick child. We watched Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Chicago, French Polynesia and The Philippines, and all were worthy as usual. I also recognized a few faces in Chicago.

I've never been to the Philippines but look forward to hearing what the experts here have to say.

[RAHiggins1]

I'm surprised to see TB did not showcase "Balut" a fermented duck egg. I also have fond remembrances of a beer called "Red Horse". Ah.. The good ol Marine Corps days..