jpschust wrote:Here's the ultimate thing for me- there are so many food writers out there who are writing about food in a genuine way, not in a extremely sarcastic, negative way, that I just can't figure out why Tony Bourdain is so popular. He's mean spirited, offers very little insight, and is often angry for the sake of being angry. I get that he was a cook in a kitchen, and I get that he was a chef de cuisine (I still have a hard time considering him an executive chef), .

Agree with you completely.

He reminded me of the worst elements of the kitchen life - the cokeheads who were running around the kitchen with either a manic/depressive or paranoid personality during the 80s and 90s.

Noone was happier than me wen they instituted drug testing on the jobsite.

I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

I think it's easy to overexaggerate how "vitriolic" or "angry" or whatever his persona is. More recently, especially, I haven't really got that vibe from him at all. On the last couple of seasons of his show, he's seemed to be pretty pleasant, happy to have the chance to be doing what he's doing, happy to be travelling, meeting new people, etc. etc. Sure, I'm sure there's a few exceptions to this (like that blog post that was posted - although that seemed somewhat tounge-in-cheek to me) but I think he basically seems like a nice guy.

Naturally, his more sycophanic fans can be a little annoying - but isn't that generally always the case?

jpschust wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

Good point!

Also, for people who think Bourdain is over the top negative, I would urge you to watch his show on Beirut. Thought provoking, disturbing, and emotional. It's an outstanding hour of television. Nominated for an Emmy, but didn't win.

jesteinf wrote:

jpschust wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

Good point!

Also, for people who think Bourdain is over the top negative, I would urge you to watch his show on Beirut. Thought provoking, disturbing, and emotional. It's an outstanding hour of television. Nominated for an Emmy, but didn't win.

I watched it. I'm not sure I found it really any of those, except confusing and full of muddled mixed messages. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Among his better work though.

he's always very cordial with the people he meets.

I dont hate, or like Bourdain, but I think his t.v. show should stick to the food of the places he goes to not attempt to get into the whole political issues that may be involved in the different areas he visits.

Example: his simpleton take on the Protestant vs Catholics issue on his visit to Belfast during his Ireland episode was laughable.

jimswside wrote:I dont hate, or like Bourdain, but I think his t.v. show should stick to the food of the places he goes to not attempt to get into the whole political issues that may be involved in the different areas he visits.

Example: his simpleton take on the Protestant vs Catholics issue on his visit to Belfast during his Ireland episode was laughable.

I don't have any problem with Bourdain drifting from food into other topics (it is a Travel Channel show after all), but I agree that the Belfast episode was cringe-inducing. His attitude (often a common one, I think) seemed to be: The pain and suffering of all those affected by the Troubles, while no doubt tragic, provides fascinating local color for the fun-loving tourist.

(Please note that I'm generally a big fan of "No Reservations" and think that Bourdain is genuinely respectful of whatever culture he is visiting. This episode just really rubbed me the wrong way.)

very well put ksbeck.

you are right it is a travel show as well, so I can see your point about items other than just the food.

jpschust wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

What's the difference? Most of the ocean fish is caught 7-10 days before it gets to the market. It us ALL in the handling. Good operators do it well.

jlawrence01 wrote:

jpschust wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

What's the difference? Most of the ocean fish is caught 7-10 days before it gets to the market. It us ALL in the handling. Good operators do it well.

It was more a reference to Bourdain who claims you get better fish on Wednesday than on Monday- my point was more that the same places I won't eat fish on Monday I generally won't eat their fish any day of the week due to the quality of their fish, their kitchen, etc.

I thought the episode they did on Beirut was excellant. I like his shows because he delves in to the background of places, I like the travel aspects and I have learned a lot from them. I don't enjoy him eating beating hearts and such but that's part of local color and things the average tourist would not see.

jlawrence01 wrote:

jpschust wrote:

jesteinf wrote:I'm a big fan of Bourdain. What I don't like are the "foodies" who spout of about, "I don't eat fish in restaurants on Mondays" because of Bourdain.

I've only seen him in person once at a book reading. I thought he came off as genuine, quick, smart, and the vitriol was really only aimed at those who deserve it.

There are plenty of places not to eat fish on Monday, though generally these are the same places I wouldn't eat fish on wednesday either

What's the difference? Most of the ocean fish is caught 7-10 days before it gets to the market. It us ALL in the handling. Good operators do it well.

Bourdain's point was essentially the same thing.

He gave a very specific example -- if I recall, he wrote about restaurants that receive seafood deliveries on (say) Tuesday and Friday. The fish that was served on Monday was therefore leftover from the weekend, while the fish on Wednesday was a fresh batch.

While the differences between Monday and Wednesday fish may be imperceptible at a restaurant that handles fish properly, the differences may be larger at other restaurants. Certainly, the example isn't relevant to restaurants that receive deliveries every day.

Darren72 wrote:While the differences between Monday and Wednesday fish may be imperceptible at a restaurant that handles fish properly, the differences may be larger at other restaurants. Certainly, the example isn't relevant to restaurants that receive deliveries every day.

And my point is that if you keep the fish on ice, you will not have much difference between Friday and Monday. If mishable a trout filet and leave it out for as little as thirty minutes, it will spoil.

I am not real keen on Bourdain's "wisdom", whether it is on the Food TV or the Travel Network.

jlawrence01 wrote:I am not real keen on Bourdain's "wisdom", whether it is on the Food TV or the Travel Network.

. . . or in a book you haven't read, either. Regardless of whether you agree with them or not, you don't seem to understand the context in which the comments were originally made.

=R=