I think Bourdain is a pretentious ass and I don’t think Zimmern eats stuff for the shock value. He doesn’t just do Fear Factor eating, he eats stuff that is commonly eaten in other cultures and I believe he respects those cultures. Even if the food is nasty he still manages to be tactful about it. I think he’s kind if charming.
I end up hoping to see the man choke. The food is an innocent victim.
I like them both. I wouldn’t want to be friends with Bourdain, but I find him an engaging and intelligent writer and commentator and it’s plain amusing to watch him being cranky.
I can see that. For me I think it’s because he reminds me of Fred Savage (the hair, the eyes, c’mon!) and I used to adore FS back in the day.
Other than that, I like the show – I think he’s funny.
I like MvF. Last time I went to the movie theater I ordered the biggest popcorn they had and tried to eat it all. Food won. 
I love Katzy’s sides, their cheeses, the gourmet oil and vinegar selection, their breads, pretty much everything but most of their sandwiches, which are overpriced. Try the reubens at Barry’s or Danny’s and you’ll see why Katzy’s just doesn’t measure up in that department. They’re a couple bucks cheaper, about 50% bigger, and taste better. Hell, Barry slices the rye right off the loaf. You can’t beat that. Dude’s as New York as they get without actually being there. I’d rather have Barry’s reuben than the one I had at the Carnegie Deli.
I’m not big on reubens. I’m also not looking for a sandwich that’s 50 percent bigger. But I have never been disappointed by anything I’ve ordered at Katzinger’s.
Man vs Food is pretty much the same premise as Guy Fierelli de Italiano’s dumbass Drive-ins, Diners, and Bullshit show, but the difference is in the hosts. Guy is the most obnoxious prick on the planet who seems hollow about everything and can’t wait to collect his paycheck and move on.
Adam, on the other hand, just seems so giddy with delight to be getting paid to eat. The eating contest at the end can be gross sometimes, but Adam is always genuine and earnest about participating. He’s just a lovable fool who’s having fun, and it shows.
The show is great because you could put a camera on Adam doing anything, and as long as he’s enjoying it, you would, too.
They also have a program called “Food Wars”. You should email them. They set up a competition between eateries that have local followings to decide who is the best.
I like Man V Food. But I watch the hot dog competition on 4th on July too.
Didn’t like him at first, but he developed a better personality as time went on, and he’s gotten better at showing the food made. Frankly, the fact that he tends to lose the challenges fairly often makes the show more palatable for me.
The Food Wars host has about zero charisma but dammit if she doesn’t put the fizz in my seltzer!
My thoughts exactly.
Yeah, I figure that doing this show must wreak havoc on his digestive system.
I agree about Zimmern. I love his show and the whole “fish out of water” aspect of it when he’s eating lungfish with a tribe in Uganda, wearing their native dress, attempting to dance with them, etc. I like that he celebrates the diversity of cultures and the common connection amongst all cultures via food.
Its neat to see that common denominator be the bridge over the gaps between societies and bring people together…even if it is staged for television.
His show also makes me wish that I could travel as he does and try the amazing array of diverse, bizarre and genuinely tasty foods across the globe. It isn’t like he only eats bugs and fish guts. He tries everything, some of it good, some of it not.
Bourdain, yeah, he can be an ass, but he’s entertaining too, like ascenray says.
Honestly, the smart-ass and jerkish things Bourdain says on the show are in the voiceovers that only we hear. Whenever I watch any episodes, he’s always respectful and appreciative to the people he meets, even if later on (in the voiceover), he admits that what he just ate was disgusting.
Yes, Bourdain takes on the persona of misanthrope, but in his interactions with people, he seems to be very gracious and is always touched by the generosity of people who offer to share their food/culture/lives with him. He never flatly refused to try anything, even if he feels repulsed. I seem to recall his choking down pieces of the intestines of a barely charred bush pig, which not only had not been cleaned well, but had been cooked right next to a pile of the bush pig’s own feces.
Last night, I saw Zimmern check his revulsion at fish that had been cleaned in a dirty river and actually enjoy the meal he was offered by a very poor Cambodian family (although I think he was careful to avoid the outside of the fish).
If I may get all mushy for a minute Bourdain and Zimmern are both men of great heart, at least what we see of them on their shows. I think I read that Bourdain’s experiences traveling the world plunged him into a life crisis, which in part led to his divorce (of course, one can’t discount the benefits of celebrity and a young Italian babe from the equation).
To some extent, I feel the same way about Dhani Jones, although I’m not so interested in the sports and athletics stuff. Travel hosts like these are a real contrast to others, like Samantha Brown, who are really just like tourists with a camera crew. I used to like Jeff Corwin, too, until I saw him totally blow off a bowl of pho prepared for him by a Vietnamese lady who sells pho from her canoe. He took one pretend sip and then said he was full. It was totally unconvincing. I love the way that Zimmern and Bourdain talk through their revulsion, but often come to an understanding of how to the people around them, this stuff in their mouths really represents life.
I still hate the way Zimmern makes us listen to forks and chopsticks clattering against his teeth, though. I hate that sound!
Oh man, the one thing that disgusts me about Bizarre is surprisingly not the food, but the way that Zimmern eats. The noise and his mouth action is just so obscene and annoying… That jowly clack of molars- the chomping- that sweaty, proud, and broad philtrum and thin lips. What a shlemil!
OK, I don’t know what a philtrum or a shlemil are, but this was pretty damn funny. I don’t know but I suspect Zimmern is Jewish and these are Jewish terms of ah, endearment?
“Philtrum” isn’t Jewish or endearing or disparaging for that matter. It’s simply anatomy.
okay, I suppose I must now google “shlemil”!
