Bourdain Has "No Reservations" About War-Torn Beirut

Anthony Bourdain: War Correspondent?

The New York Post's Page Six has an interview today with Anthony Bourdain, the famed Les Halles chef and host of the Travel Channel's No Reservations (a fave here at Televisionary HQ), who appears to have gotten himself and his crew stranded while filming an upcoming episode of the series. According to Page Six:

"Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was stranded in war-ravaged Beirut yesterday after Israeli forces bombed the city's international airport and blockaded all of Lebanon's ports. [...]

After the thunderous assault on the city in response to Islamic extremist group Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers, Bourdain and his crew holed up at the Moevenpick Hotel while they waited for evacuation instructions from the State Department.

'Our network, our friends and our families just want us out of here as soon as possible,' Bourdain told Page Six yesterday afternoon, as Israeli shells exploded in the distance. 'We're not getting a show out of this . . . I just wanna hang out and drink at the bar. The mojitos here are great.'"

Leave it to Tony to somehow find the best mojitos in a war zone.

While Bourdain typically travels to some far-out places, I never imagined the chef and author of "Kitchen Confidential" would find himself in the middle of a war. According to Bourdain, however, Beirut is apparently a pretty happening city. "This is a party town," Bourdain told Page Six. "Everyone in this city is [bleeping] gorgeous. It's like L.A. It's a totally international, sophisticated city."

If ever there was someone you'd want to hang out with while bombs are raining down around you, it's Tony Bourdain. At the very least, the conversation, cuisine, and cocktails will of the highest possible quality. Even if there are mortar attacks going on right next door.

I wouldn't expect to see the No Reservations: Beirut episode air anytime soon on the Travel Channel and can only hope that things are calmer when Tony visits the Pacific Northwest...