Bourdain's No Reservations speaking tour came to our humble burg of Santa Rosa. No way was I going to miss this. The day before the show I caught an interview he gave to our local paper. I new the subject of our local Bette Noir of the foody world, Guy Fieri, would come up and I was curious as to what his reponse would be. Anthony admitted to a "grudging respect" for a family man working hard, doing what he wants to do (paraphrasing). It was possible Tony was softening around the edges - family man that he is now.
Soft, no. Bipolar perhaps but not soft. About 3 minutes into his presentation, it was clear that he still has his demons and the current source for his tortures is Sandra Lee - The Queen of Kitsch, Miss Smarm 2009. I find her unwatchable, though I have on occasion. I know others enjoy her show. Anthony was incapable of saying her name without attaching a few M-F bombs. His disgust was palpable: clenched teeth, the veins in his neck bulging, he was becoming Mr. Furious right there on stage. And in case any of us in attendance were in doubt regarding Sandra being the nexus of all things evil, Anthony dared us to google Kwanzaa Cake when we got home that evening. To save you the trouble, I've embedded the video for your viewing pleasure/horror.
For those who follow No Reservations routinely, Anthony's presentation delivered what one would expect. He's angry at the things he dislikes and passionate about the things he does. Vegans are still an object of derision and I don't see him backing off his recent comparison of Alice Waters to "Pol Pot in a muumuu". He's convinced Americans are eating better, that is to say enjoying the things that are truly good. He still sees the need for Americans to travel better. He described his horror at seeing a Mom accompanying her daughter into the Blue Mosque in Instanbul, during Ramadan, with the daughter looking like she had just come back from turning tricks. Perhaps that's why Anthony came to Santa Rosa. He didn't just want to play to the choir, he was hoping to impart some sorely needed wisdom upon the 1,600 folks in attendance. Following his presentation, Anthony devoted about an hour to a Q & A session which in no way felt obligatory, but there were just enough questions that made me groan. Anthony's work is not quite done.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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6 comments:
When Lucullus dines alone, Lucullus dines with Lucullus!
Having said that, I wish he had torn Fieri a new one.
Ha! I'm betting that when Lucullus drinks alone, he drinks with Johnny Walker and good friends Blacky and Red.
I got the feeling, that in more familiar quarters, Bourdain would most likely still bleed through the eyes at the mere concept of a Guy Fieri.
In Sandra's defense, she looks pretty damned good in a tight red sweater.
And Bourdain should spend more time in his restaurant; it has crappy food and cockroaches.
But...he is fantastic when he speaks from the heart about food. His description of eating oysters for the first time is almost perfect
Well then I will have to defend Bourdain to a point. I'm not sure how much input he has these days, if any. The current chef has been there for sometime. Perhaps Philippe should spend less time in Vietnamm, or maybe his thing was really just to bust Bourdain's balls as much as he could. I caught the 'Into the Fire' episode where Bourdain returns to Les Halles to work a double shift and even got a helping hand from Eric Ripert. Bourdain struggled while Eric seemed to sail through. It was a great episode and Bourdain admitted that his days at the grill station are done. He can cook, just not at volume. Heck, he couldn't even read the tickets as they came in! No country for old men, indeed
Lucullus!
I had a very good steak tartare at Les Halles about 5 years ago...they make it tableside and it's a nice production. There were only a few cockroaches as I recall. I would love to see the episode where he implodes at his own restaurant. But at least he admits it!
On the other hand, Fieri seems to think he is actually a chef. Can anybody explain why? I've never seen the guy with a sharp knife in his hand...just stuffing his face with an over-sized hamburger and bellowing "Now this is what I'm talking about!" right after he says "Let me at that bad boy!". Asswipe.
Go to Youtube and punch in "bourdain into the fire" for the search - someone has posted almost the entire episode in 5 parts. Definitely worth checking out.
Fieri is a personality - not a chef. Cooking is simply a medium for him these days. I did see the season of Next Food Network Star that he won - he can cook, but there's little discipline involved. He won largely on his camera presence, which the other contestants were desperately lacking.
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