Bourdain's "A Cook's Tour" vs. "No Reservations." Winner?

I am quite the fan of Anthony Bourdain. His sense of humor, his care free attitude, and the fact that he did his bit as a NYC chef make him into a very interesting person, in my humble opinion. Having recently acquired the full series of A Cook's Tour, I must say that it is much, much better than No Reservations. No Reservations seems too polished, the very ridiculous comedic setups make me cringe, and it just seems very anti-Bourdain. A Cook's Tour, on the other hand, is just him going somewhere and experiencing the culture, something that I can relate to and envy to an extent.

What are your thoughts?

Tony's snark-fu was much stronger on "A Cook's Tour", but he's much more relaxed and enjoying what's there. It's more real, less staged, especially after the first season with it's weekly "Let's torture Tony" segment.

The show isn't all that different, but he's certainly having a lot more fun. Read the book of "A Cook's Tour" and you'll understand how nasty things got at times, and how little he got along with Food Network.

Yes, I miss the snark (it reared its head in the Azores), but some of the recent shows have been stellar, especially Bolivia. Make sure you subscribe to his blog at the Travel Channel -- you'll get the snark that doesn't make it on TV (search for Vic Chanko for the real vitriol -- it's his petulant alter ego).

neither. sarcasm without substance is always a loser.

jpschust wrote:neither. sarcasm without substance is always a loser.

I don't know... I thought the most recent "Food Porn" show was both substantive and very funny, but I'm both voyeuristic and sophomoric.

jpschust wrote:neither. sarcasm without substance is always a loser.

I would have to disagree. I can think of no better person than Anthony Bourdain to travel the world, eat exotic foods, and present information in an informative, yet humorous manner. I feel that he possesses all of the talents required: chef of a major restaurant, successful author, inquisitive nature, and a seemingly iron coated stomach.

jpschust wrote:neither. sarcasm without substance is always a loser.

*groan*

It's pretty inarguable that both shows provide quite a bit of substance. Like him or not, that much is clear. I wish I were worldly enough that I didn't learn something from watching the episodes in which destinations I've never visited are covered, but I'm not. I guess I'm just not very sophisticated.

=R=

Wow-- is Cook's Tour really not available on DVD? I just checked Amazon and a couple other places. I missed it when it was on and would really like to see it now.

I agree with Ron that there is plenty of substance on that show. The snark gets a bit tiresome. The past year or two I've noticed he does it less, and in some cases he seems to be apologizing for how much he's done it in the past. (He was downright earnest in the Saudi Arabia episode.) I've always thought his best writing was the stuff where he's explaining more and striking a pose less, like the cookbook and even the Typhoid Mary book.

Priceless, absolutely priceless!

pwn

Oh that's just *fabulous* C2! Tnx sooo much for posting it. Who IS that little girl? Can I get her to register for my logic class??!!

Geo

She's in the Hudson Valley episode.