I Love Anthony Bourdain

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

I hope this link stays up;
http://tv.msn.com/culinary-picks-and-pans/?photoidx=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
His critique on some food shows. He tells it like it is. [give_heart.gif]

2

Fascinating. I think Bourdain is very funny. I’m not sure I would like Les Halles, but he is the most entertaining food writer I’ve read. My daughter, who is in the food business, loves him. And she TIVO’s the cake show and plays it over and over.

3

Tony sure has toned down his commentary. He was able to find something redeeming
for each show that that my friend is not the Tony I have grown to love…

4

We had dinner at Les Halles in, hmm… 2005? Solid bistro food… and I like the Les Halles cookbook. I love his books (esp. Kitchen Confidential and Typhoid Mary) but his shtick has become SO overdone on TV that I can’t bear to watch anymore.

5

Yep.

6

Once you realize it’s shtick it becomes much more entertaining to watch the exotic lands and off the beaten path viewpoint of the host. No?
Sure he’s acerbic and sarky, so what?
Would you rather have Bobby Flay walking through the streets of Sai Gon? I like Bobby, but Bourdain is most surely in his element. He walks the edge and parties hard. Now with the baby and Mrs. I am sure he will calm tone even more.

He sure loves porky pig though.

I’m a fan. TiVo every show.

7

I like his shows and love his shtick. He seems down-to-earth and travels and eats the way I do (or want to). That said I did find his commentary at this website pretty tame compared to some of the things he’s said in the past (especially about Paula Deene… shudder). I did love his quip about Sandra Lee, too.

8

I’ll disagree with you here curly. Went in 06, I believe, to the Park Avenue location and thought it was pretty mediocre and terribly over-priced. My office is a couple of blocks away from the downtown branch on John Street (which happens to have a 50% off the entire wine list special on Mondays) so I may give it anothe shot some day.

9

The food at Les Halles is OK, the frites are good, but they have on/off nights. I prefer going for brunch, they make a decent omelette (something hard to find, amazingly, in this city) that’s not burnt to a crisp. If I get a French waiter, especially, I can ask for an “omelette baveuse” (runny omelette) and they’ll comply.

Les Halles used to be much better when it was smaller, and man they used to have the hottest hostesses. [diablo.gif]

10

Come to think of it, wavy, the prices were on the high side, at least by our Portland standards. We were only there once, at the Park Ave (17th or so?) branch, and we had something predictable like steak-frites. The fries were pretty good, but all I remember was that we enjoyed ourselves and it was about what we expected. If you go back, I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts. Maybe your first visit was an off night and ours was an on night, as Michel suggested. Either way, I didn’t mean to overstate my impressions- by “solid” I just meant that the experience was fine. We weren’t blown away or disappointed.

11

Mike, that’s how I felt in the early day of a Cook’s Tour, but after so many years, those acerbic and snarky glares look so practiced. It’s just his TV persona that bugs me, though. I could read Kitchen Confidential a dozen more times and never tire of his wit.

12

Michel, Andrews Diner on Hylan Blvd handles that one just right… [berserker.gif]
Just had it on Saturday. $6.85 with coffee, juice and toast. :slight_smile:

BTW, you are snooth tonight?

13

True. Last night I happened to see the New Orleans episode where he eats with of all people, Emeril. He has given him much shyte through the years, and you can see his act melt real quick. He did go on to say Rachel still sucks though.

Yeah Tony, we get it: A subculture only available to restaurant people and only after 12 hour shifts, and surely not available to us ‘civilians’ [beatoff.gif] . He never fails to re-establish his place in that subculture. and that really seems to be my only problem with him if at all it is one.

14

Can’t make it, though I’ll be nearby.

15

I love Tony Bourdain. Dan likes to watch the Monday Bourdain marathons …

When I was a forum host for eGullet (back in the day when it was wild and wooly), Bourdain and Ruhlman used to have these hateful-sounding Hunter Thompson-esque verbal wars, like they despised each other, stole each others leather jackets, posed the other unconscious with prostitutes, etc etc. It really alarmed the posting populace who didn’t know that they are really friends. Hilarious.

When I ordered the Les Halles cookbook, it arrived while I was serving customers in the tasting room, but I just couldn’t wait. I tore the box open and opened the cookbook. It fell open to the lobster bisque recipe, where Bourdain urges the cook to pick up a “bad ass knife” and skewer the lobsters in the brain, assuring us that they are just “big fucking bugs.” I busted up, and of course the foursome in the winery had to know, so I loaned them the book. Ma and grandma took it down the barrel aisle, whereand I could hear them furtively tittering at Bourdain’s recipes.

16

He’s hot. He’s kind of a bad boy. Love it!

17

He is so much cooler than The Todd. What do you say, ladies, shall we all change our avatars for a week?

18

I like what he said about rachel ray…

“Rachael Ray now is a talk-show host. My wife watches her, I hate to admit it. She’s America’s little sister, because she’s a likable person. I think people respond to her because of her personality and not her cooking, which is pretty damned awful. She’s very nice, and I base this on no inside information: She’s big now, like Oprah big; the sooner she stops cooking, the happier we’ll both be.”

19

Oh my. That’s a large bone. [shock.gif]