London Calling: Bourdain's Trip to the Culinary Capital Leaves Me Hungry

I love the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. It's a travelogue with a bit of snark, a love letter to the culinary world from a guy you'd sooner expect to sneer than smile. So why did last night's episode, in which Tony traveled to London and Edinburgh, leave me so cold?

At the start of the episode (in addition to footage of Tony recording a song with British trip hop group Morcheeba), Tony posed an interesting question: what happened to British cooking? With the very best traditional ingredients, centuries of good food, and a history of uniting those two things, where did British cuisine go wrong? It's an intriguing thought to ponder, even if it does seem, in the age of London gastronomy, a little outdated. But still, in a land that can produce Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater, Tom Aikens, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, and a slew of other celebrity chefs, why does the turkey twizzler exist?

I was excited to see Tony tackle the London restaurant scene. After all, for nearly two decades England has been my home away from home and I hoped to see Tony heading off the beaten path for some novel culinary explorations before jetting off to Edinburgh to do the same up north.

Sadly, I was really let down by this episode. I think it was a bit of a misstep to combine the London and Edinburgh chapters into one episode (both could have been expanded into their own separate entities) and I don't think that the question was ever answered, not fully anyway.

Yes, British cuisine saw a downward turn a few decades back and somehow became entrenched in the minds of Americans (not this one, mind) as synonymous with overcooked, boiled foods. Since then, London has become one of the world's great gastronomic capitals but I wanted to Tony to really cut away the gristle from the meat and answer that query: how did it happen and why?

I wanted answers, not just the sight of Tony eating a deep-fried haggis with crime writer Ian Rankin. For an episode that I had anticipating for so long, I do have to say that I felt let down and disappointed, as though Bourdain had missed the point of London, missed the opportunity to explore its backstreets, farmers markets, haute cuisine temples, and its pub grub.

What did you think? Was the episode another sterling example of Bourdain's chic and smart foodie travel series? Or were you too let down by this sub-par installment? Discuss.

New Year's Resolution: Watch More "No Reservations"

Welcome back, folks, to the 2007 edition of Televisionary. I'm now just back from the tropical paradise that is the Big Island of Hawaii and ready to start another year of highlighting my favorite television series... and perhaps making a few choice scathing remarks at the ones that don't quite match up to my expectations.

It's New Year's Day, a day for all of us to recover from the previous evening's debauchery and what better way to do that than with the launch of the third season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel? For those of you not immediately in the know, Bourdain is the enfant terrible of chefs/travel writers/food writers, a recovering addict and unrepentant bad boy famous for blowing the lid off of what was really going down in the kitchens in his bestselling book "Kitchen Confidential." He's a sarcastic (and at times caustic) personality with a genuine love for food, from fine cuisine to street food to what's traditionally thought of as peasant food, offal and all. He's a god among foodies and he's back on the Travel Channel with a slew of new episodes.

No Reservations is not your average food/travel show. For one thing, Bourdain (or Tony as I like to call him) isn't your average host; he's prone to making snide comments as often as he is effusive ones and he's sincerely jaded and pessimistic about some of the places that the show's producers send him to. But give him an artisanal sausage or some much-sought-after delicacy (say, geoduck clams in the Pacific Northwest) and he's in heaven. Tony is a food explorer, a Cortez of cuisine, a Magellan of munchies... you get the idea.

The Travel Channel was kind enough to send me two upcoming episodes to review of this third season of No Reservations, which launches tonight. This season, Tony will travel to such diverse locales as Ireland, Ghana, Namibia, the Pacific Northwest (i.e., Portland and Seattle), Russia, and Los Angeles. On tonight's episode ("Ireland"), Tony travels to the heart of The Troubles, namely formerly war-torn Belfast, the site of numerous bloody skirmishes between the city's Protestants and Catholics. Since the signing of the Good Friday Peace Accord, Belfast has become, quite surprisingly, a city on the move, a new culinary star in the new Europe and Tony embarks on a quest to explore the burgeoning scene in Belfast, attempts to get a handle on the divisive relationship between feuding Catholics and Protestants, and visits a heartbreaking sight at the wall, now covered with graffiti echoing sentiments of peace, that runs through Belfast.

It's a moving and intelligent sequence that shows both humanity's capacity to destroy as well as to create and a reminder that bloody war is not the domain of far-off lands, but perhaps even in our own backyard. But this is a food show, after all, so bring on the grub: at white-hot Belfast eatery Cayenne, lobster-chicken wontons in lobster jus with tomatoes and spinach; Irish beef fillet with wild rice potato pancake and Asian herb salad; Irish lamb with potatoes and kimchi. It's a blend of fresher than fresh Irish ingredients and some Asian fusion influences, resulting in a mix of cultures that's not unlike the cross-cultural mix that Ireland has become in recent years.

After Belfast, Tony heads out to the Republic of Ireland, where he encounters a Dublin that has exploded into a modern metropolis in the last ten years or so (after all, there's a reason why U2 opened their famous Clarence Hotel there). Unsurprisingly, Tony encounters a burgeoning culinary scene, some rough-and-tumble rugby, and the freshest fish you could ever imagine at King Sitric. (Just take a look at those razor clams, prawns, periwinkles, and lobster.)

Plus, the mere sight of gastronomic god Anthony Bourdain wearing a lobster bib is enough to send anyone into paroxysms of laughter. Seriously. Which might just be the perfect antidote following a rough night of New Year's Eve partying.

"Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on the Travel Channel.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: How I Met Your Mother/The Class (CBS); Heroes (NBC); Parade (CW; 8-10 pm); America's Funniest Home Videos/America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC); Wicked Wicked Games (MyNet)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); Heroes (NBC); Supernanny (ABC); Watch Over Me (MyNet)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); Heroes (NBC); Supernanny (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9:30 pm: Old Christine.

I can't tell you why I like watching this traditional sitcom, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus is like a warm blanket of coziness after a long Monday. On tonight's first season repeat episode ("Supertramp"), Christine decides to compete with ex-hubby Richard by getting back into the dating game again.

10 pm: Anthony Bourdain: No Reseverations on the Travel Channel.

It's the launch of new episodes of No Reservations, just in time for 2007. On tonight's episode, Tony travels to Ireland where he explores the rift between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast, samples some truly fresh fish, and uncovers a new wave of creative Irish cuisine.

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...

No Los Angeles "Reservations" for Anthony Bourdain

I was feeling a bit glum when I noticed (via my TiVo's To Do List) that tonight's episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations would be the last original episode for a while. Bourdain's show is, after all, the highlight of my Monday evening television. So I was quite excited to run into Tony himself yesterday morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market (the one on Ivar), signing copies of his latest book, "The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones."

Anyone who watches No Reservations (or has read "Kitchen Confidential") knows that Tony is not the most, um, people-friendly person around. So it was quite a sight to see the man that once ate a cobra's still-beating heart looking a little out of his element: too-wide smile plastered on his face, posing for the cameras, greeting fans, and signing copies of his latest book. You could tell just by looking at him that he was simply dying inside for a cigarette. Or a large drink. Or both. But Tony Bourdain, celebrity chef, television host, and author is, above all else, a professional and I have to say that he was a great sport about the whole thing. Especially considering that he arrived at the farmers market at 9 am, had to sit in the sweltering heat, and had another engagement at 2 pm across town. This man deserves a medal.

Tony confirmed my worst fears: yes, tonight's installment of No Reservations would be the last for a little while as the Travel Channel will most likely air a selection of repeats from this season in subsequent weeks. I also asked him if he was going to check out any restaurants during his trip to LA. Tony said that he probably won't be able to venture "off of campus" and unfortunately the only meal he'd have time for on this leg of his tour would be "some Pringles from his [hotel] mini-bar."

Ouch.

Tony signed my book with a flourish and a nifty little drawing of a chef's knife. I think it's fitting that the man who has traveled around the world and eaten some pretty, um, interesting animal organs along the way would name his latest book "The Nasty Bits." While he may have ingested quite a lot of nasty bits himself, there's happily nothing nasty about Bourdain himself.

So while No Reservations might be airing repeats from here on out, at least I'll still have Bourdain's trademark acerbic wit, in the form of his new book, to keep me company on Monday nights.

UPDATE: The Travel Channel has confirmed that new episodes of No Reservations will make it onto the airwaves in January 2007, with Tony traveling to such diverse locales as Ireland, South Africa, Beirut, and the Pacific Northwest.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: The King of Queens/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); 7th Heaven (WB); Wife Swap (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX); One on One/All of Us (UPN)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); Dateline (NBC; 9-11 pm); 7th Heaven (WB); Supernanny (ABC); Hell's Kitchen (FOX); Girlfriends/Half & Half (UPN)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); How to Get the Guy (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: Hell's Kitchen.

On tonight's installment ("9 Chefs"), Gordon Ramsay is forced to watch as the two teams continue to struggle, a fact which isn't helped that the men and the women are squabbling like little kids on a playground. Maybe you should stop talking trash and shape up, kids. Or you can just pack your knives and go. (Who else has missed hearing that?)

10 pm: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

See above. In this week's installment ("Indonesia"), Tony heads off to Indonesia in the final episode of the Travel Channel favorite (for now, anyway). Sniffle.

11 pm: Lovespring International on Lifetime.

On tonight's episode, executive producer Eric McCormack calls in a favor from former Will & Grace castmate Sean Hayes, who guest stars as a man looking to find a new love of his life after the, um, tragic death of his wife.

"No Reservations" About Watching Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain is commonly referred to as the enfant terrible of the culinary set. The author of the critically acclaimed foodie memoir "Kitchen Confidential" (itself the basis for an unfortunately failed FOX single camera comedy this season), Bourdain is a chef (at the world famous Brasserie Les Halles restaurant in Manhattan), writer, critic, and life-long cynic. He's also the host of the Travel Channel's brilliant series No Reservations (gotta love that culinary pun).

No Reservations isn't a cooking show or a travel show. Really, it's a travel show about cooking. But even that designation doesn't really capture the essence of the show. Bourdain's previous show, A Cook's Tour, on the Food Network also depicted Bourdain traveling the world in search of exotic foodstuffs. But that series relied more heavily on the shock value of witnessing Bourdain eat anything that came his way (see Anthony eat a still-beating cobra heart!) than No Reservations, which is about the culture, people, and traditions of the places Bourdain visits as much as it is about the food he eats. Bourdain realizes this and revels in it and this notion frees him up to explore the alleys of Osaka or the Amalfi Coast with the same zeal and hunger.

Which is not to say that Bourdain now shies away from injesting the exotic or unusual. Last night's premiere of brand new episodes on the Travel Channel brought us a two-hour block of Bourdain's adventures in Asia, or more specifically to Japan (this time to Osaka and the countryside) and China (a first for Bourdain). In Osaka, Tony nearly eats himself to ruin (a longstanding Osaka tradition) as he eats searingly hot octopus dumplings, sweet-and-savory stuffed pancakes, and cow and pig organs... in fact, it's as though Tony has organs on his brain as in China he eats raw cow liver and an assortment of entrails and odds and ends of a number of farmyard animals.

But unlike most travel or cooking shows, Tony interacts with the people of the places he visits. In Japan, he joins a Japanese family for the festival of Obun, the highlight of the Japanese religious year and a celebration of the dead, where the spirits of the ancestors join the living for a holiday of lights and food. Asking the family what dish they would request if they knew they were about to die the following day (probably not the wisest of questions given the holiday in question) yields some interesting answers: a young man pines for a chocolate eclair while his mother, having lived her whole life in the countryside, seeks the childhood pleasure of eating a delicacy in those parts: small birds (sort of like a variation of the French ortolan or drowned bird).

Similarly, in China, Bourdain ends his gastronomic trip by visiting a farmhouse in the Chinese province of Sichuan, where--after enduring the spiciness of black flower petal peppers and searing hot pots--Bourdain eats the simplest peasant food, all grown or obtained locally on the farm, and in the presence of the kind people who have invited him into their home, eats one of the most delicious meals he has eaten.

It's moments like those that make No Reservations such a television gem, taking the series away from the self-promotional travelogue and into a level--informative, touching, and hysterical--all its own. Granted Bourdain isn't touchy-feely at all. He's a chain smoking, sarcastic drunkard most of the time and don't get him started on his hate for TV chefs Rachael Ray or Rocco DiSpirito. (Personally, I agree with Bourdain on both counts and love his diatribes or ongoing jests at their expense.)

But in the end, that's why I love him. He's not afraid to speak his mind or bare his heart for what he thinks or believes in. Or really to do the potentially embarassing things he does in this series. Bourdain genuinely loves food and new experiences and it's apparent from the very first moment of each episode to the closing credits.

And, ultimately, that's why I've got no reservations about watching him.

"No Reservations" airs Monday evenings at 9 pm on the Travel Channel.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Scrubs (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); According to Jim/Hope & Faith (ABC); American Idol (FOX); America's Next Top Model (UPN)

9 pm: The Unit (CBS); Scrubs/Teachers (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); Sons & Daughters/Sons & Daughters (ABC); House (FOX); Veronica Mars (UPN)

10 pm: The Amazing Race (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8:30 pm: Scrubs.

Gilmore Girls is yet another repeat in a long line of repeats (fret not, GG fans, it FINALLY returns with a new episode next week) and I don't do American Idol anymore, so I will probably catch Scrubs, one of the single best written and acted comedies currently on television. I'm behind on my Scrubs watching by several seasons (I got hooked on the DVDs), but I'll catch it tonight.

9 pm: The Unit.

Tonight, Mamet, Ryan, and Co. bring us an episode entitled, "True Believers" (written by Shawn Ryan), in which the team must protect the Mexican drug minister, whom a cartel targets for death. Which would be difficult enough, but then the minister's family is also kidnapped, raising the stakes significantly for everyone involved. Could they protect puppies just once? You know, for a change of scenery?

10 pm: The Amazing Race.

On The Amazing Race ("Good Thing I Took That Human Anatomy Class in High School"), nothing goes right for several teams: one pair gets lost on their way to the road block... only to end up at the pit stop; Lori has a meltdown trying to assemble a statue; and the teams must locate a marked piece of clothing from more than 2000 pieces of laundry. Meanwhile, Phil acts dignified in the face of stupidity from Eric and Jeremy and maybe even points at an approaching team. Sounds like another brilliant episode of the sophisticated granddaddy of reality series.