Two Words, One Answer.
Anthony Bourdain:
 Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Collection Four $24.98 Great collection... espescially the Laos show.. Bourdain is insightful and as usual extremely funny.. the only problem is i could not view the third disc.. some malfunction or whatever... does this happen lot ?  Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations 2010 $12.99 Love his show and sense of humor, Bought this as a gift for another loyal fan!  A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines $14.99 I'm a huge Bourdain fan. Kitchen Confidential is one of my favorite books of all time. His initial foray into TV on the Food Network was ok at best. This book reveals some of why that was the case, giving insights into the tv production process here and there. However, what I love about this book is that it has a soul and is revealing and emotional in ways that Food Network probably wasn't interested in. This book is much more akin to what No Reservations has become - a show about exploring food and foreign cultures and being open to learning and experiencing new things in the world. This book is at times moving (the chapter in France - if you've lost a parent, you'll feel the same way) funny and always interesting. A great read, which I've returned to many times over the years.  The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones $15.95 So, the name lies. Instead of "nasty" bits it is more like the tagline of "collected varietal cuts, usuable...", cute but true. This is a collection of articles tossed out by Bourdain to a variety of receptacles. Esquire, Gourmet, LA Times. Not a bad batch of random stuff. They hit on every angle Bourdain has had in his career. Early musings on the nature of being a chef and the kitchen. Many mirror his travels in his two food shows. He name drops the masters of Hi-Fi restaurateurs. There are some gems: his trip through Las Vegas with Michael Ruhlman that was a great follow up to the episode it detailed, the decoding of the high end aesthetics in American restaurants, his ode to Viet Nam, the people and its food, as well his takes on food culture (TV, celebrity, the nature of food as a bit of culture). The but... it is only great if you love Bourdain as much as you love food. His style is set and often in the way (too many mafia references to count). He has prejudice against some of his fellow celebrity food types and a bit of self loathing about the whole thing. If you're bored by the stick or truly love Emeril, stay away. The original publishers are all fine institutions that have good editors and voices that must be maintained. The usual acerbic wit from most are missing, presumably edited away little by little. Reading you know that it could be a bit more colorful and a tad funnier in the New York way one digs in Bourdain. Honestly, Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles" Cookbook: Classic Bistro Cooking has a better, funnier foodie take on life and Kitchen Confidential Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.) is better slice of a cooks life. For the fan, The Nasty Bits hits the spot. |
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