There are a couple of sure things in life. There's the old stand-by, "Death & Taxes." There's day following night. And there's the fact that, when Anthony Bourdain has something to say about anything food related, it will cause a stir within the blogging community.

Recently, it was his guest post at ruhlman.com wherein he revealed that, he is beginning to find The Next Food Network Star pretty compelling. This post comes after bashing the show and much of Food Network for quite sometime. He even had some love for TVFF's Favorite FN Exec® Bob Tuschman and thoughts on JAG (or, as he calls him, "Rambo Junior"):

I find Tuschman's comments refreshingly honest, acknowledging the gruesome reality of network realpolitik over cooking ability with unflinching candor--yet erring on the side of mercy for the devastated JAG. Which, by the way, paints the judges into a real corner:

JAG can't be allowed win. His alleged problems remembering whether or not he's a war hero--or whether he graduated from culinary school could be...controversial. In a bad way. He comes off as an unstable fantasist--already referring to himself in the third person (which is NEVER a good sign). And his overloading of the grill with chicken parts--causing (surprise!) smoke and flame--was something any backyard griller knows to avoid.

Personally, I'm really glad he has arrived at this viewpoint, because I have much the same outlook on what TNFNS is and what it's not. Check out the rest of the post...unless you're not a big fan of some salty language. Obviously, this was a big surprise and it was reflected and recounted in posts here, here and here, as well as many, many other places.

Why is that? Why does he have this ability to send food bloggers (present company included) into a frenzy? The simple answer (and, I believe, the correct one) is that Bourdain is the preeminent food writer around. It's true. His knowledge is unsurpassed, his experiences many and varied and his bona fides fully documented, thanks to his own writings. And all of this is true whether he's talking about food in general, the way restaurants are run or the state of food writing and entertainment. So there is every reason in the world to pay attention to what he says.

But there is another thing about Tony Bourdain that makes not reacting impossible. He is a master at manipulating your expectations. This is only natural. This is what chefs do. They manipulate.

Banish the pejorative nature of that word for a moment. What chefs do...what any artist does...is take the raw materials and manipulate them until they become something else -- something bigger, better or more meaningful than they were before. Rodin manipulated bronze. Picasso manipulated paint.

Bourdain has the dual gifts of being able to manipulate both food and words. And, in both cases, the way the impact is felt is similar. It's all about how that food and those words make you, the observer, feel when you encounter them. In the case of his writing, he revels in confronting the reader with the truth (or the truth as he sees it, I suppose), disquieting and discomforting the way we think about food. And so what better way to up the ante than to recognize and present a point of view on this that the reader never sees coming? Again, none of this is to say that he's waffling or being disingenuous in his beliefs. A true intellectual always challenges his or her own beliefs. There is real value in being a contrarian, even if you are the person you're contradicting.

It's no big surprise to see him in his Ramones t-shirt or hear him talking about the Clash. Punk rock was a backlash, an explicitly and emphatic contradiction of the prevalent music scene. At its best, it was a thoughtful indictment of the status quo and the "go along to get along" crowd. Punk rock is the very essence of Bourdain's writing.

So, when we're hanging on his every word and he offers up a post that plays the rhetorical equivalent of "crack the whip" with our expectations, we're all left off-balance and scrambling to recapture the Anthony Bourdain we thought we knew.

On second thought, maybe he's less like the Clash or the Ramones and more like Bob Dylan, the folk rock poster-boy who confounded both his fans and his critics by embracing electric rock on Bringing It All Back Home, country music with John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline and deeply personal and emotional songwriting with Blood on the Tracks...all within a period of ten years (with a motorcycle accident, possibly the greatest rock song of all time and seven other albums thrown in for good measure).

Regardless of who he most resembles, if you can make comparisons to the Ramones, Clash and Dylan, then there's probably one really good way to characterize someone:

Rock Star

Labels: Anthony Bourdain, Bob Tuschman

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Batali and Bourdain Dish to Grub Street

Friday, May 18, 2007 | posted by Mike

Looks like we missed a good one by not making an effort to get into Manhattan for the Borders appearance of Marco Pierre White. It wasn't that White's appearance has us regretting it...it's the fact that Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain showed up. Grub Street, the fantastic food blog from New York Magazine, got them to sit down and chat. And chat they did...

Be sure to check this out for their thoughts on Top Chef contestant Marcel Vigneron's penchant for borrowing heavily from Wylie Dufresne (they don't approve) and their estimation of food bloggers (I'm sure they'd both love TV Food Fan!).

New Jersey readers will also get a kick out of Mario taking a bit of a swipe at The Mall at Short Hills. I've never been there, so I'm not sure if it's deserving of his dismissive comment. The only thing I know about it is that, when Mrs. TVFF goes there, she always returns with three new pairs of shoes and a dress. For that reason alone, I'm not a fan.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Top Chef

 

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Anthony Bourdain is Expecting a Tiny Curmugeonly Gourmond

Friday, February 16, 2007 | posted by Mike

Sorry about the spotty posting in the past day or so. I could lie to you and tell you that I've been busy doing something to improve the site. Instead, I'll just go ahead and admit that I passed out on the sofa last night until Mrs. TVFF came home. She pointed me in the direction of the bedroom and that was it for me.

Most of the online conversation that goes around about having babies involves either Rachael Ray or Giada De Laurentiis. I'm guessing it is all part of the larger celebrity baby thing that everyone gets all revved up about.

But the latest news on food celebrity offspring comes from a slightly more unlikely source: Tony Bourdain.

Celebrity Baby Blog (no, really) has a report that chef Anthony Bourdain is expecting his first child. He dropped this bit of information on the Fresno Bee, which would explain why this Jersey boy is getting his info from Celebrity Baby Blog instead of straight from the horse's mouth.

Tony's very excited to be a dad. He said,

I'm absolutely thrilled and taking it very seriously. I'm thrilled, delighted, excited and just dancing on the ceiling.

As the kind of dad he thinks he'll be, he said,

Maybe I'm being a bit naive, but I always loved the idea of raising a little wild child. You know, somebody who grew up playing with Vietnamese kids and Indonesian kids. I love the idea of a kid who grows up speaking both Italian and English and maybe a little Bahasa. You know, a street smart, tough little ragamuffin with sunburned hair who suddenly shows up in the American school system with kung fu skills and multiple languages.

Little Known Fact: Lil' TVFF got straight As in his elective kung fu classes in high school.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain

 

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Anthony Bourdain Has a Few Thoughts on the Food NetworkYou know, Anthony Bourdain should really learn to speak his mind...

Friday, February 09, 2007 | posted by Mike

You know, Anthony Bourdain should really learn to speak his mind...

If you give chef Bourdain an outlet, you're almost certainly going to get his candid, honest opinion on whatever topic he's thinking about. Today, he has the outlet (in the form of a guest blogging stint over at Michael Ruhlman's site) and he has some thoughts on what's good and what's not so good about the Food Network, and he wasn't afraid to name names.

His post, which runs under the title "Nobody Asked Me, But..." gives a full rundown of many of the big names on the Network and an accompanying paragraph containing his thoughts on each. Or, as he puts it, "Some thoughts on the Newer, Younger, More Male-Oriented, More Dumb-Ass Food Network."

Basically, he likes Mario, Alton and Giada. He feels that complaining about Rachael is no longer worth it. I might be mistaken, but I don't think he likes Sandra Lee.

SANDRA LEE: Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see. This is simply irresponsible programming.

Now, I know about the whole "Rachael Ray Sux" group. From the coverage that they get, you would think that Rachael is the most reviled person in food TV. But, if you look around on the web, the one person that really gets everyone's toque in a twist is Sandra Lee. If it's not the pre-packaged food and the over-the-top tablescapes, it's the constant presence of cocktails on the menu or the "Stepford Wife" references to her appearance. I know that the whole Semi-Homemade thing is a bit of cottage industry these days, but I would put the vitriol she draws up there with the criticism of either Rachael or Martha.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain, Sandra Lee

 

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My Trip to Les Halles

Monday, January 01, 2007 | posted by Mike

Happy New Year, everyone!

I mentioned a while back that one of the gifts that I received as a wedding shower present was a copy of Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook and a gift certificate to Les Halles. Mrs. TVFF.com and I were in New York this past weekend and, after spending the afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we headed down to the Park Avenue location.

I had done a bit of reading online about the restaurant and, although I saw a number of reviews that said it was loud and cramped, we arrived fairly early in the evening and were seated in a quiet area right at the front of the restaurant. We decided against a bottle of wine and we each got a pint of Kronenbourg and took a look at the menu. The waiter was very nice to the people at the next table who asked if they had any white zinfandel.

Actually, that's not completely true. I had been looking at the menu and reading through the cookbook, so I was pretty sure what I would be getting. Mrs. TVFF.com, however, reviewed the menu and decided to go with escargot for the appetizer. She enjoyed them, with the garlic parsley butter sufficiently garlicky and tasty enough to dip some of the bread in after the escargot was gone.

I got the pork rillettes, which was just as good as described in the cookbook. The shredded pork melted in my mouth and the cornichons that were served with it provided a nice contrast in taste and texture. My only criticism was that I could have used a few more croutons, as the three that came with it were not nearly enough for the hockey puck sized serving of the pork. Fortunately, I still had some of the bread left, so that filled the bill.

For the main course, we switched to wine (Côtes du Rhône for me, Châteauneuf-du-Pape for her). Mrs. TVFF.com ordered the steak au poivre with the frites. The steak was perfectly done, and the sauce was packed with black pepper flavor. The fries were delicious, crunchy but light as a feather, with a tremendous flavor from the peanut oil. I had more than a few bites of both the steak and the fries and we both thought it was very good.

After reading the cookbook and after repeated recommendations by Dan of PhilaFoodie, I decided to go with the cassoulet. I'm so glad that I did.

The beans were perfectly done, with the sauce full of herbed flavor. Each meat was better than the last, with the duck rich in flavor and extremely tender. The sausage was an extremely pleasant surprise, wonderfully spiced and extremely juicy. I would have gladly picked the duck bone clean, but there was no need as the bone easily slid out of the meat. I finished each of the pork, sausage and duck, but the generous portion meant that I left some of the beans, but it pained me to do so.

Although both Mrs. TVFF.com and I were fairly close to bursting, we did have to at least try a desert, so we decided to split a crème brûlée, with her having a glass of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and me a café au lait. The custard was thick and velvety, flecked with the black of the vanilla and with a crust that was not too thick. We struggled to finish the whole thing, but it was too good to leave.

In all, we were thrilled with the meal that we had. I certainly went the "comfort food" route with my choices, and that is exactly how it felt when I was done. The leisurely stroll back to Penn Station for the ride home was the perfect end to a great day and a great meal.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain

 

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Five Things I Learned from Food TV: Day 4 - Enjoy Your Mistakes

Thursday, December 14, 2006 | posted by Mike

I get frustrated easily. (Mrs. TVFF.com is nodding her head as she reads this)

I like when things go according to plan and everyone is happy with the outcome. This is true at work, at home and, especially, in the kitchen. Of course, the world being what it is and me being somewhat less skilled than Thomas Keller, sometime my attempts at dinner turn out a bit less than perfect.

When I am cooking with the aforementioned Mrs. TVFF.com, there is sometimes a bit of confusion when we try to tag team a particular recipe. Something or other will be simmering away and I'll say, "Toss in a teaspoon of dried thyme."

Now, Mrs. TVFF.com is, by nature, a baker. I do the majority of the cooking in the house. So, as a baker, when I tell her that we need a teaspoon of something to be added, she reaches for the measuring spoon. Of course...if a cake recipe calls for a level tablespoon of baking soda, you put in exactly one level tablespoon. If baking is a science, then cooking is an art. And an art where the cook can feel free to color within the lines only when it suits his or her whim.

I'll usually grab the thyme, measure out something vaguely resembling a teaspoon and toss it into the pan. But I'm only confident enough to do this because I have learned to embrace the mistakes I have made in the kitchen.

I would love to be able to sit down, memorize a recipe out of a book or off of the Internet and recreate it perfectly in my own kitchen. I can't do that, though, and the reason for it is one that I heard time and again from TV chefs. You have to take into account a million different variables and apply your own judgement. And then, if something goes wrong, throw it out and try again.

As I said, I've internalized this mindset and become at peace with the continued mistakes and missteps that happen from time to time. But the point was really reinforced when I was reading through Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, which I recently received. After explaining how to make Bearnaise sauce, he tells you that, if this is your first time making it, you probably screwed it up, so go ahead and throw it out and try again. Bourdain does not think any less of you as a chef for this and he's not assuming that you're incompetent (although you may be).

He just knows that becoming a good cook is a task that requires both successes and failures. The important thing, and the thing that I have learned, is to make sure that you enjoy the process of cooking and that you can appreciate when things go well and when things go wrong. When it comes to my cooking "mindset," this might be the most important lesson I've learned.

And I learned it by watching food TV.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain

 

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Five Things I Learned from Food TV: Day 3 - Try Something New

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 | posted by Mike

When it comes to food, I'm constantly surprised by the fact that I like a lot more than I think I do. I know that tastes change over the years. And it wasn't surprising for me to find that the broccoli I wouldn't go near as a child is now one of my favorite vegetable accompaniments. And yet the mental block is still there for some things.

Once upon a time, things like sushi and carpaccio were well beyond where I would be willing to go. I had no rational reason not to eat raw fish, and I knew that, logically, it can't be bad for you since plenty of healthy men and women in Japan and around the world were eating it daily. And yet, I never worked up the nerve to try it. And the, one day, I did. And I loved it.

Not surprisingly, this was right about the same time I became a self-confessed foodie and started working food TV into my diet. Seeing the variety of strange and intimidating ingredients that these chefs were using was a bit of a revelation for me. Not only do people eat all of this, but they're willing to pay big bucks if it is done well. So I realized that there had to be something beyond the meat and potatoes that I was so used to eating.

Nobody in the world of food entertainment has been a bigger influence on my culinary adventures than Anthony Bourdain. This is a man who, I am convinced, would eat his own foot if he knew it was good enough. And, although I seriously doubt I will ever go anywhere near a cobra heart, Bourdain has, in some small way, made me a more adventurous eater.

Watching his show, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, you quickly understand that, as much as it is about the food, it's just as much about using the food as way to get into another culture, another mindset. This is reinforced if you read any of his writing, and I strenuously recommend that you seek out Kitchen Confidential. When he's given the room to stretch his legs and really get into how it feels to eat, what it is like to experience a dish, you get an even greater understanding of why he loves food so much. To him, food is life, and enjoying one goes hand-in-hand with enjoying the other.

As I said, I'm not going to Bangkok for fried rat or anything like that, so I'm content to make incremental changes in my culinary lifestyle. For instance, I grew up never having something as simple as duck, and now I can't get enough of it. (N.B. There is nothing better than good duck, and nothing worse than bad duck.)

If I weren't lazy, I'd look up Bourdain's quote about chicken. Basically, he says that chicken is on the menu for people who can't decide what they want. Not to denigrate the fair bird that suffers and dies for you McNuggets, but there is a reason that they say that everything tastes like chicken. It's because chicken (particularly in these days of corporate farms) don't really taste like anything.

So, what Anthony Bourdain is saying, and which I have learned to appreciate, is to not be afraid of flavor. Yes, it might come in the form of tripe or chicken liver in his dishes, but to have shut myself out of the experience because I wasn't willing to try something different was silly. Again, I might not be ready for calf brains, but I can say that, without a doubt, I have learned to be a more adventurous eater.

And I learned it by watching food TV.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain

 

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Gordon Ramsay Opens New York Restaurant

Friday, November 17, 2006 | posted by Mike

The Gordon Ramsay era has now begun in New York City with the opening of Gordon Ramsay at The London last night. The AP story describes it as an “elegant restaurant with its French-influenced menu is located inside the London NYC Hotel in midtown.”

Predicting the success (or, more to the point, the failure) of Gordon Ramsay in New York has become a bit of a parlor game among food writers in the press and on the Internet, with particular questions about whether his autocratic management style will work here on our side of the pond. And, of course, Ramsay chose the biggest stage in the United States for his debut, so we’ll soon get to find out “if he can make it there…”

A quick look around has yet to yield any reviews or comments, but we’ll be sure to let you know once the reviews are in.

In other celebrity-chef-New-York-restaurant news, Soon-to-Be-Mrs. TVFF.com and I received a gift certificate to Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles (which, if I’m not mistaken, is French for “The Halles”) as a wedding shower gift. THANKS MARIA!!! I’ll be sure to let you know all about it. I’ll probably go for the steak frites, but anyone with another Les Halles menu recommendation should let me know I the comments or at tvfoodfan@gmail.com.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay

 

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Friday Happy Fun Time – 11/10/06

Friday, November 10, 2006 | posted by Mike

We haven’t had a FHFT in quite some time.

I also haven’t done this in a while, but just like PBS had its pledge drives and political parties have their get-out-the-vote efforts that come around every so often, I’m going to ask all of you who enjoy reading TVFoodFan.com to take a moment and mention the site to one of your foodie friends who doesn’t know about us. I’m thrilled with the growth of the site and I’m thankful to all of our “regulars,” but I’d love to see us grow even more.

Our “regulars” know that I’m a big fan of Anthony Bourdain. He obviously knows his food inside and out, but that’s not what makes him interesting. It’s his point of view, his willingness to state said opinion anywhere and everywhere he can and his tremendously funny prose. Seriously, if there were a food comedy show, he’d be the perfect writer. (Actually, there was a food comedy show…and it was based on his book! Kitchen Confidential was pretty good…right up until FOX cancelled it. Sigh.)

That wit is on display in the video below, taken from an appearance in Santa Monica some time back. He’s reading from The Nasty Bits and the piece is about a visit to a pub and the disastrous effects of seeing the menu on the wall. Credit for the video goes to starbright31, whoever that is.

The topic of conversation in the clip is fine, but the language gets R-rated once or twice, so consider yourself NSFW’d.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain

 

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