Hmm, that's odd - I just yesterday read an article about Mr. Bourdain's new book. I had never heard of him before.

What amused me was that of all the stuff he had eaten - haggis, bile mixed with wine, durian, sauteed grubs , the still-beating heart of a cobra - there were only two foods he said he couldn't tolerate. That would be iguana and natto.

And I've had natto. At a sushi bar in Berkeley. It's fermented soybeans. But, trust me, it tastes much worse than it sounds. I used most of the wasabi I had to get through half of the rolls, and that was all I could do.

Mental note: it's not good when the sushi chef admits that most Japanese people think a particular food "sucks".

Yeah -- the nasty-food parts of his writing (and TV performing) are always the best.

Just after I wrote this entry, the episode I was watching redeemed itself somewhat: Bourdain tried this soup in Vietnam that was made out of duck heads and strings of bird mucus. It's supposed to make you strong and energized, but after he finished it they showed him laying around on his bed, moaning loudly and trying not to vomit.

Ha ha. People eating gross things. Ha ha.

Couldn't agree more. I loved Kitchen Confidential. There is a reviewer's comment on the paperback edition that says something to the effect of "you'll want to share pieces of this with your friends and coworkers." And every time I sat down to read, I came across at least one passage that would send me running hysterically into the other room to read to my roommmates. (Vegans= the Hezbollah of Vegetarians! That's good stuff.)

But the TV show, at least the first episode, was pathetic. He had no personality and little useful information. Stick to writing, Tony!

Bourdain expressed contempt for celebrity chefs in Kitchen Confidential, so maybe he just spent as little effort as possible on the show (but enjoyed the travel and the perks), and collected a fat paycheck. I haven't seen the show yet, though...

Uh oh. Not to always be messing up but... I really like the show so far. I feel like I can almost taste the foods he is experiencing. Perhaps I may be more familiar with the particular foods he has dealt with so far -- natto, uni, fugu, chanko, etc. -- so the show arouses more concrete sensations in me... but I would be surprised if that were true, given the worldwide eating habits of Pohadka's readership.

I also had read an exerpt from Bourdain's book and felt he was so bent on revealing the seamy side of restaurant life that he didn't express enough of the tenderness and reverence towards food that I've seen so often in better chefs. I feel that part of him is coming out very effectively in the TV show. He's practically moved to tears by the Tokyo fish market! I was worried the show would be one big gross-out fest, but that aspect has been kept under control so far.

Get off my blog, iconoclast!

Ha ha. Just kidding.

I agree that the show has done a good job of showing that Bourdain truly adores food and its preparation... but I would argue that his first book also *did* do a good job of that. Not many would describe tasting their first oyster as a religious experience, especially if they were practially a tot when it happened.

But I'm definitely lacking the sensory and even emotional response that troutgirl is experiencing, but I don't think it's completely due to lack of familiarity with the cuisines. And anyway, what good is a food show without communicating that sense to its entire audience?

While the local contexts of the dishes are well presented, to me the show seems generally light on discussions of the food itself -- preparation, ingredients, presentation, taste -- and heavy on shots of Bourdain hamming it up. I can only watch a sultry man eat weird, exotic food for so long. (There's a sentence I never thought I'd say.)

Hey all.
Does anyone know if Chef Tony's gone back to cooking?
Missed out on Les Halles; apparently he'd already started his research/tour for ACT and left LH in shambles. Anyway, I can have frenchy french burger and fries anytime but what I really want is to tell the man to his face how great Kitch Con is. ACT ain't half bad either - but for someone who was born and raised in SEAsia, half the things he describes eating don't affect me. I mean, has anyone here had "gummi bears" snack in Kowloon? Do you know what "gummi bears" are? He he he. Later =]