I have read Kitchen Confidential * and A Cook’s Tour*, and I’m currently reading The Nasty Bits right now. I love Bourdain as a writer and TV personality. I was first introduced to him on late-night Food Network reruns of A Cook’s Tour, and now I watch No Reservations whenever I can. I admit I preferred the half-hour format with him, though.
I also like Andrew Zimmern, the “doughy” guy on Travel Channel’s Weird Foods. He is just so jolly and good-natured, so he is fun to watch as a counterpoint to Bourdain’s dry, sarcastic wit.
I am a food network fanatic and that is where I was first introduced to Bourdain on a Cook’s Tour. I have also seen him on Bravo’s Top chef too. I actually enjoy both show on the The Travel Channel. I have to say though I think that Bourdains wit is fun and very entertaining and one that most people can enjoy. Bourdain seems to have so much knowledge on food since he has had so much experience in life and in food! No Reservations is great.
I recently read his book on Typhoid Mary, and I was pretty irritated by it. I like history with a smidge of speculation, but this was speculation with a smidge of history. Except for the chapters of the book that consisted almost entirely of long passages excerpted from real books, interspersed with his pitiful snarky commentary on those passages. He spent a long time analyzing the character flaws of an historical figure based solely on a single photograph of the person. And in the end of the book he admits that he didn’t visit one of the most important sites in the Typhoid Mary saga, not because it was off-limits, but because he was too lazy a researcher to be arsed with going there.
Maybe his other books are better. I was disappointed.
I think Bourdain is an incredibly interesting a truly fascinating man. I have not read any of his books but a friend of mine has and she agrees too. From what I know about the man he has been through a lot, and those things (to me) make his show no reservations that much more interesting. I think his sarcasm and wit is funny and the people there don’t mind it either.
I love Bourdain’s show. He travels the way I like to travel - off-the-beaten-path and into the local markets, staying in local hotels/pensions, meeting up with locals.
I also like that he smokes and drinks and cusses and doesn’t take himself all that seriously. As if to say “this is a great gig, but if it ends, I am still gonna keep traveling like this 'cause it’s fun.”
I started to watch Andrew Zimmern, but watching what he eats makes me ill. Plus, I am not a thin guy, but watching a fat guy eat and smack his lips after every bite makes me even more nauseous. I know eating bizarre foods is the premise of the show - but both he and the food are very unappetizing, to say the least.
The Travel Channel has been showing a bunch of No Reservations, in preparation for the new show. Bourdain has been drinking several beers other than Heineken. In fact, I don’t remember seeing him drink one.
In Ireland, he was pretty faithful to the Guinness.
This. I wasn’t aware of him until I read Kitchen Confidential. I’ve tried to explain the attraction to Mr. Greywolf but it’s hard to do. It’s not that I find him all that attractive, it’s just that he’s just…sex. That’s the best I can come up with.
I don’t care for little doughy guy Zimmerman but Mr. Greywolf thinks he’s great. He can’t explain that attraction either so I guess we’re even.
Now, if Mike Rowe would replace Zimmerman on his show I think the universe would implode from sheer awesomeness. I also have a huge thing for Mike Rowe but Mr. Greywolf understands that one completely. It’s somehow manly to have a man-crush on Rowe, I guess.
I also have a man-crush on Bourdain. I love his show and I love his acid tongue. I, for one, think that his gratuitous attacks against people like Sarah Jessica Parker are just fine, mostly because, hey she’s a rich, famous actress and nothing Bourdain says can hurt her in any way. Ultimately, it’s entirely harmless and I’m sure if he met her face-to-face, he would apologize.
He’s also made some what I’d consider insensitive remarks about fat people, but I don’t think he means it personally.
I like his honest snarks against people like Rachel Ray and Emeril Lagasse.
But I love his full-blown broadsides against the raw food people and Woody Harrelson whose opinions on food should be stamped far into the ground lest they actually have any influence on anyone. Bleagh. Food is Culture. Culture is Humanity. Let’s not blandify ourselves with this raw salads-only crap.
But mostly, it’s great just because he has no compunction against offering his honest opinion and he usually states it in an entertaining manner.
The one show that kind of bored me was the recent Russia one, which spent too much time fantasizing about revenge on his buddy for a long-ago deadly massage, and far too little time on food.
Meh. He’s a food guy. So maybe he’s not a beer guy. You can’t have everything. But you have to give him the credit for drinking nearly anything he’s handed. He’s downed a lot of homebrew on that show, just not what you’d consider microbrewery beer, I guess.
He’s not a researcher and I think he’d be surprised that you would judge him by those standards. He’s a colorful commentator.
That is why this show is so great he is so real and can connect with people, all kinds of people making the show more entertaining to watch. I think his interactions with the locals pulls you in to the show. I know for me after watching this show when I travel it makes me want to check out the local stuff and see what I can discover!
