Bourdain - Parts Unknown

Bourdain's new CNN show has been quite entertaining, but the last eposide, set in Quebec, is a blow out I'll keep on my DVR for awhile. You can't view the whole thing online, but take a look at

http://www.cnn.com/video/shows/anthony- ... n/episode4

Heavy lush food isn't our style out here on the coast, but watching them slather foie gras all over meat and then shave black truffle over it all was a guilty pleasure even if one wouldn't like to indulge in that sort of cooking very often.

Take a look if you want to see Tony eating beaver (Bourdain: 'There's a play on words here somewhere, but I'm going to pass it by, this food is so good")

Coming up - Tangiers, Libya, Peru and the Congo!

Hey - found the whole episode on Youtube. Tell me what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWpFH14fJyg

[Jenise]

We finally caught up with the Koreatown (Los Angeles) episode last night. The new series really isn't any different from the old, it's just on a different channel. Which means some episodes will be extremely entertaining and thought-provoking, and others will leave you wondering what in the heck happened (from No Reservations, I can name Romania, Greece and Buffalo NY as some of the worst). If Koreatown and Columbia (the two from PU I've seen so far) are any indication, then the new shows differ only in being more food-centric. More eating and fewer set-ups by the local Chamber of Commerce, or its equivalent, will be a very very good thing. Oh, and no more of that Russian guy, PLEASE.

Watch the Canadian episode at the link I posted if you have time. Be interested to hear what you think.

"Parts Unknown" sounds like an attempt to describe what's used to make Chicken McNuggets.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Watch the Canadian episode at the link I posted if you have time. Be interested to hear what you think.

I'll do better--I've got it on DVR, I'll watch it on the big teeve.

Prepare for food overload!

Last week he recorded a show in Buffalo. At least one of my friends, Jonathan Oakes, from Leonard Oakes Winery will be on the show with his Steampunk Hard Cider. I don't know when it will be aired.

[Jenise]

Last week he recorded a show in Buffalo. At least one of my friends, Jonathan Oakes, from Leonard Oakes Winery will be on the show with his Steampunk Hard Cider. I don't know when it will be aired.

That will be cool. I hope you understood that my criticism of that show had anything to do with Buffalo not being a great place to visit, it was just too much hanging around bars and not enough visiting!

Jenice said "Oh, and no more of that Russian guy, PLEASE".d:

So true, Jenice, He's nothing but a drunk and free food loader!

Somehow, I've never seen his earlier visit to Buffalo. Apparently, at that time I was just laid off and looking for work, so I had other priorities. I did a search and found this local review of his last visit and Jenise, I can see why you didn't like the show. http://www.buffalochow.com/2009/07/how_anthony_bourdain_blew_it_o.html
Trust me, Buffalo and the area have a lot to offer.

[Jenise]

Somehow, I've never seen his earlier visit to Buffalo. Apparently, at that time I was just laid off and looking for work, so I had other priorities. I did a search and found this local review of his last visit and Jenise, I can see why you didn't like the show. http://www.buffalochow.com/2009/07/how_anthony_bourdain_blew_it_o.html
Trust me, Buffalo and the area have a lot to offer.

I know. Btw, that's a very fair and well-written review. Another plus for Buffalo!

[Jenise]

Jenice said "Oh, and no more of that Russian guy, PLEASE".d:

So true, Jenice, He's nothing but a drunk and free food loader!

He's stikes me as the kind of guy that if he showed up at your house for a night he'd stay a month. You wouldn't be able to get rid of him--or leave him alone with your daughter.

Caught his Moroccan show last night. The food looked fantastic, but the rest was like an old movie rerun.

We liked the food we had in Montréal, but really loved the food we had in Quebec.

So I am interested in watching this show when I can find the time, thanks for the tip.

Would love to get back up there.

[Jenise]

Watched the Quebec episode this weekend. What fun--the food was as over the top as anything I've ever seen on one of his shows. A blast to watch, though I can't say I'd want to eat everything I saw!

Caught his Moroccan show last night. The food looked fantastic, but the rest was like an old movie rerun.

I watched this show and was thoroughly disappointed. I have never been a fan of drug culture, and I thought this show spent entirely too much time with Bourdain too enthralled in the memory of his glory days as a druggie. Did he have to visit the old hippie hang-out to see if he could still get a contact high? And, was it necessary for him to get a show of hands from the over 50 crowd about how many of them were still smoking hash? I found the show juvenile and lacking in any real review about the food scene in Tangiers -- an afterthought. It did not encourage my enthusiasm about any other shows.

Caught his Moroccan show last night. The food looked fantastic, but the rest was like an old movie rerun.

I watched this show and was thoroughly disappointed. I have never been a fan of drug culture, and I thought this show spent entirely too much time with Bourdain too enthralled in the memory of his glory days as a druggie. Did he have to visit the old hippie hang-out to see if he could still get a contact high? And, was it necessary for him to get a show of hands from the over 50 crowd about how many of them were still smoking hash? I found the show juvenile and lacking in any real review about the food scene in Tangiers -- an afterthought. It did not encourage my enthusiasm about any other shows.

I like Bourdain but I have to agree pretty much with your review of the Morocco show. I think they have to come up with some new format if that's possible? The show he has now has just run out of ideas and places, etc.

Caught his Moroccan show last night. The food looked fantastic, but the rest was like an old movie rerun.

I watched this show and was thoroughly disappointed. I have never been a fan of drug culture, and I thought this show spent entirely too much time with Bourdain too enthralled in the memory of his glory days as a druggie. Did he have to visit the old hippie hang-out to see if he could still get a contact high? And, was it necessary for him to get a show of hands from the over 50 crowd about how many of them were still smoking hash? I found the show juvenile and lacking in any real review about the food scene in Tangiers -- an afterthought. It did not encourage my enthusiasm about any other shows.

I like Bourdain but I have to agree pretty much with your review of the Morocco show. I think they have to come up with some new format if that's possible? The show he has now has just run out of ideas and places, etc.

It's too bad to hear reviews like this, but it's been a steady progression, hasn't it? "A Cook's Tour" was in most regards superior to "No Reservations" and now "Parts Unknown" is a step (or two) further downward. It's a familiar progression, but a shame nonetheless.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Caught his Moroccan show last night. The food looked fantastic, but the rest was like an old movie rerun.

I watched this show and was thoroughly disappointed. I have never been a fan of drug culture, and I thought this show spent entirely too much time with Bourdain too enthralled in the memory of his glory days as a druggie. Did he have to visit the old hippie hang-out to see if he could still get a contact high? And, was it necessary for him to get a show of hands from the over 50 crowd about how many of them were still smoking hash? I found the show juvenile and lacking in any real review about the food scene in Tangiers -- an afterthought. It did not encourage my enthusiasm about any other shows.

Jo Ann,

I finally caught up with the Morroccan episode last night. I was never part of that drug culture and have no affection for William S. Burroughs so I wasn't any more enamored of that, or the fact that the food he sampled seemed to be what you do after you get high, than you were. However,I do appreciate that what Tony brings to everything he sees is a point of view--as compared to Rick Steves' cliche-driven descriptions of popular tourist destinations--and this episode did make me aware of an aspect of Morrocco I didn't understand. I certainly wasn't bored.

Anyway, don't give up on old Tony. The Libya episode is terriffic. It's a most realistic and current portrayal of who/what Libya is today and it offers a privileged insight most of us have no other access to.

The Libya episode was intersting even though I felt Bourdain was limited in material because of the situation in the country.

[Jenise]

The Libya episode was intersting even though I felt Bourdain was limited in material because of the situation in the country.

Sure was. But it fit the description "Parts Unknown" about as well as anything could. Pretty relevant for a network like CNN, too.