Let us now praise Anthony Bourdain!

[supernova]

I love watching No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

Like us, he's a fan of Hunter S Tompson and you can tell it in his writing.

From the Vietnam show:

"Surrounded 360-degrees by breathtaking, magnificent mountains, a tribe referred to as "White Tai" are largely sheltered from the outside world. There's a huge amount of food being prepared. And when I asked Linh if we can help out, he reminds me that we're not the only guests of honor, and I'll be needed elsewhere. I present the chairman of the local Peoples Committee, or more accurately, the central government's man. This guy is no bundle of fun. In fact, he's sucking the fun right out of the room.

The chairman is not pleased we're late. Worse, far, far worse an even more terrifying danger looms. Peoples Committee guy tells Linh we have to make things right. It turns out all the chairman wanted was to take us to dinner. And afterwards, he adds, he will join me in a test of skill. Linh says it involves dancing. Dancing? No way."

http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/bourdain/take/vietnam_02.html

From a show about Paris:
All right, now be careful. Since you slowed down, you'll start to notice all sorts of things around you. Once you allow your senses to guide you and not your itinerary, you may begin to find pleasure in many things you would ordinarily overlook, like the many sights, smells and tastes on the streets of Paris. Do try not to get run over while gawking at things. It's a dead giveaway you're an American. You are now ready to begin to graze through the wondrous, sensual feasts that elude so many of us when we take trips here. But first, you'll need a base of operations, like a cool hotel haunted by the ghost of a dead writer.

Me, I always stay at L'Hotel in the Saint Germain des Pres. A very discreet joint known for being a love shack to the tragically hip for ages. Even more importantly, it has the necessary distinction of having had famous people die there. In 1900, author Oscar Wilde kicked the bucket in Room 16. The same room I'm staying in, in fact. This was his last base of operations for a legendary three-year bender that ended badly. Oh well, I fully intend to honor Oscar Wilde's good example, but first a little shut-eye ...

http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/bourdain/take/paris_02.html

[miss_american_pie]

1. Oh, are we supposed to love him for his mind?

Okay. ;)

[supernova]

8. HAHA.

So true. He is the good stuff. :loveya:

[Left Is Write]

2. That's one of my husband's favorite shows.

[Metta]

3. I like all those quirky food shows. I miss him, the young English kid and

the two fat ladies.

[Bridget Burke]

5. Bourdain no longer works for FOOD TV....

He claims they wanted him to be "cuter."

So his show's now on the Travel network, even though Food & Drink (of course, drink) are still his major concerns.

[Metta]

9. Yeah, I seem to recall that. It's been awhile since we've seen his show.

Plus, we're on a tv fast these days.

[Shakespeare]

10. A Cook's Tour still airs in the wee hours mid-week....

I've set our DVR to record it; it's sometime in the middle of Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

[supernova]

11. I record it too

Thank heaven for the DVR.

I like that show a lot, there just isn't enough of it. No Reservations gets the formula right.

[Texasgal]

4. Yeah... he's great!

I love his show!!

[The empressof all]

6. Just so you all know

He is MY secret boyfriend. His show on New Jersey was brilliant...

And.....He can serve me cannolis any time......

[supernova]

7. No, He's my boyfriend!

:P :D

I want him to make me some of his organ meats!

:yoiks:

[NYCGirl]

12. Bourdain is merely the sexiest man on Earth! And he writes well, too.

[AwakeAtLast]

13. Love that man!

He certainly gets it about the idea that food is a journey. So many TV chefs are one dimensional.

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

I'm not partial to smokers, but for him I would probably make an exception! :D

[flamingyouth]

14. I love his show.

The Iceland episode is by far my favorite. OMG - that buried, fermented fish... :puke:

He's hilarious.