By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com
Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations
Another one of my favorite food television programs is Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations that is shown on the Travel Channel. First of all, what can you possibly not like about a television show that has a parental content warning at the beginning? That’s how the show starts and the warning is necessary given the prose Anthony narrates throughout.
Bourdain travels all around the World and sometimes even stays within the borders of the United States. He always hooks up with a local guide who lives in the area he is traveling to and they provide much of the cultural anchoring. I really enjoy listening to the stories the guides tell about their areas and the history of the food there as well as the general history of the location. It’s fitting that the show is on the Travel Channel given it’s as much about the location as it is about the cuisine. But foodies of the World, no need to despair, there is plenty of coverage on the cuisines of each area and the food gets top billing.
Some of his more memorable trips have been right here in the United States and I especially liked his Hunter S. Thompson throwbacks on his show about Las Vegas, Nevada. He went south of the border once to Mexico City and after watching the show I can’t wait to go there on a food journey. Safety issues aside, the Mexico City food looked simply amazing. I could almost smell the street-side tacos and wanted to reach through the television to grab a few while I watched the episode.
Bourdain, while covering the food of the areas, also ventures into fun side stories along the way. In the Mexico City episode I mentioned earlier he ends up taking a boat ride into the middle of nowhere. In the location he finds a guy who runs a “museum” out of a shack surrounded by doll heads hanging from the trees. It’s a surreal scene and has the sort of funky vibe I love to see in his show.
Bourdain goes on to visit war-torn countries, was even evacuated by the US Marines via hovercraft in one episode, and tries some of the strangest food you can imagine. From the kim chi in Korea to the salted shark in Iceland there isn’t much Anthony doesn’t at least try to eat. For the most part he says he enjoys and likes the food he tries although sometimes I’ve seen him say something is horrible. He drinks too much, eats too much, and used to smoke too much on the shows but he gave up smoking recently.
Anthony got his start as a cook and eventually a chef in New York and has the credentials to back up his show. He knows what he is talking about and it shows in every episode. He got his start in show business by writing a book that became hugely popular (according to him.) I suggest you pickup a copy if you haven’t read it yet. It’s one of my favorite books on the food world.
As I said in the beginning, the writing used in the show makes for wonderful television and I look forward to every new episode even though I don’t always look forward to the food I will hear about. Just don’t watch the show with young children. 🙂
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