Anthony Bourdain is One of My Favorite People — Here’s Why

“No Reservations” is on the Food Network in Canada… but I’m more of a “Good Eats” guy. Any guy who makes his own marshmallows while explaining the process of breaking down long chain starch molecules into the proper mix of glucose and fructose molecules is just the right combination of chef and geek for me.

Gregg,

Well, it’s nice to see we share something besides great taste in Detective Fiction.

Good Eats is my absolute favorite show on the Food Network. Maybe on all of TV (if you don’t count Basketball and Football.)

In fact, now that I think about it — B-ball, F-ball and Food Shows are just about all I watch on TV. Prefer Podcasts myself.

But you’re right — Alton is the coolest. He’s the Uber-Geek. Being a Food Geek myself, I love the science part thrown in.

He’s the best part of Iron Chef America, too. Although Micheal Simon is fun to watch.

My favorite Good Eats show was when Alton was on vacation and smoked a whole Salmon in his hotel room (on the patio actually) in a Cardboard Box. How cool is that?

Anthony is up there with Alton though on “having the coolest job” and has him beat just a smidge on attitude. Sorta — Alton doesn’t care what you think about him, Anthony doesn’t give a Sh## what you think and you can Piss Off!

Mark

Talking food science: check out Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/perfection/). He has a kitchen lab, and does some outrageous tests to find the best… whatever it is he is looking for. I like watching him.

Also, props to Brown and Bourdain - both men are top-class, of course.

Hey Night,

Thanks for the recomendation — but you are too late.

I just watched the last episode of Season One (Spaghetti Bolognese) just last Sunday night. I get them from the BBC site and watch them on my PPC.

The Black Forrest Cake was my favorite episode.

I really like Heston (for the same reasons I like Anthony and Alton.) He is very down to earth for such a High End Chef. He understands that real ingredients are NEITHER high end or low end. An apple is just as fine as a truffle. Catfish is just as good as Caviar. It’s what you do with them that counts.

Love the theme song, too. You wouldn’t know what it is, would you?

Gonna start on season 2 soon. Must pace myself so I can savor each one.

This seems like a perfect opportunity to mention one of my favorite podcasts — The Restaurant Guys. It’s a commercial radio program podcast — but don’t hold that against them.

The two guys on the show own a couple of higher-end restaurants in New Jersey right outside Manhattan. Each day they talk about “Food, Wine and the Finer Things in Life.” They love to talk about $1,000 bottles of wine, Fois Gras and Truffles for lunch at 3 star French Restaurants. But like the guys up above, they are also just regular guys — and to them the finer things also include BBQ, Hot Dogs, Cheese Steak and French Fries as well as motorcycles, football and gin martinis.

Each day they have a guest and they (somehow) get some of the biggest — no, make that THE biggest — names in food. No Heston yet — but they have had Thomas Keller, Mario Batali, Ruth Riechl, Tom Colicchio, Charlie Trotter and Danny Meyer as well as my buddy Anthony Bourdain.

Do youself a favor and check it out at http://www.restaurantguysradio.com You’ll thank me.

Mark

‘Di Gue Ding Ding’ by Michel Legrand.

My Google-Fu is very strong.

Thank you.

Guess I could have “Googled” it.

But why should I — when I can “Nightshade” it?

Mark

PS Just bought it and listened to the whole song. Unlike some of those Volkswagon commercial songs I got a few years ago, this one is actully pretty good.

Thanks again.

It’s a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion song, though I can’t find which one. Anyone???