Saturday Night Live included a faux cooking show last night featuring Food Network mainstay Guy Fieri's (played by Bobby Moynihan) death by avian evisceration. Whether that was more or less painful than his limb-from-limb shredding administered by Friday night's "I Call Bullsh*t" panelists Anthony Bourdain and Momofuku's David Chang at the New York Wine & Food Festival remains to be seen.
"Who chaps your ass?" asked Bourdain, and Chang was quick to rake Fieri over the coals, citing his "douche glasses," and "stupid f***ing armband," and went on to ask a gleefully obliging Bourdain to "catch me and kick me in the ass" should he ever find him similarly adorned. Chang went on to add, "I'm sure he's a swell fella."
We're sure that Fieri, upon hearing of this, sobbed big, hot, manly tears into a solid platinum handkerchief and drove away in his diamond-encrusted dune buggy to have his frosted tips replaced with actual 24-karat gold.
Anthony Bourdain.
Photo: New York City
Wine & Food Festival.
When we got our hands on a coveted ticket to the Frank Bruni/Anthony Bourdain TimesTalks event, we were psyched to attend. What could be more fun than witnessing the outgoing New York Times restaurant critic participating in a culinary spar with the preeminent enfant terrible of the chef world?
Not surprisingly, Bourdain is a natural and answered practically every Bruni question with a clever, brutally honest quip. Bruni began by inquiring about one of the more unusual things he had seen Bourdain eat on his Travel Channel show, "No Reservations." The delicacy in question was a warthog's rectum. After firing off a few expletives, Bourdain admitted that while he was eating the warthog delicacy, he knew he was "in trouble," adding he humbly tries to eat everything that people around the globe offer him.
"Where we're going is based on directors we like and want to dupe," Bourdain said of the show. "We want to make something along the lines of films we admire." Of course, he capped the exchange off with a self-mocking, "But, it's all about me in the end."
With more upscale restaurants open for breakfast, doughnuts are popping on many of their menus.
Celebrity chefs, including Guy Fieri, Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain, hit the road like rock stars on tour.
A Sydney restaurant has been fined for topless food handlers, just one of many food safety infractions on New South Wales Government's Name and Shame Web site.
One of the most popular faces of the Canadian Food Network scene is Ricardo Larrivée -- a wonderfully flamboyant Montreal native who whips up unending piles of deliciousness. While promoting his new book "Meals for Every Occasion," Tourisme Montreal chatted with him about the notable foodie destinations in the French-Canadian city.
Of course, the first things on the docket were the classic smoked meat and poutine. While he stuck to the roots of the curds and gravy grandeur by stressing the pleasure of simple fry stands, Larrivée also made sure to mention the succulent wonder of Au Pied du Cochon's foie gras poutine. (If you follow Anthony Bourdain's show, you definitely know what we're talking about.) From there, he mentions foods and destinations such as the excellent local brew, Blanche de Chambly, French feasting at Restaurant Julien and Jean-Talon Market -- which Larrivée says is the largest open market in North America.
Beloved Anthony Bourdain, in his show "No Reservations", hops back on the tube tonight, with a season premiere that looks pretty darn delicious -- and fattening -- if this preview video is to be believed.
In it, Tony tucks into a 12-inch-long Chilean hot dog covered with sauerkraut, guacamole and an avert-thine-eyes-health-care-professionals incredible slop of mayo. His thoughts? "I don't know whether to eat this thing or conceal it in a brown paper bag."
Another day, another list. This time, it's Anthony Bourdain's "13 Places to Eat Before You Die," which appears in the June issue of Men's Health. Bourdain's article shouts out restaurants and stores across the globe, from New York's smoked fish shrine Russ & Daughters to Spain's gourmand ground zero, elBulli.
Bourdain acknowledges that as "any seasoned traveler can tell you, the 'best' meals on the planet are the result of an ephemeral confluence of circumstances," and makes convincing arguments for each of his picks, which also include Kansas City, Kan.'s Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue, Tokyo's Sukiyabashi Jiro and London's St. John.
But even with the disclaimer and rationale behind Bourdain's choices, plenty are as likely to find fault with his logic (and apparently abundant frequent flier miles) as they are with a list proclaiming, say, the best pizza places in the U.S. We have the text of the article so you can weigh in on Bourdain's hits -- and misses -- after the jump.
So it's 5 o'clock EST. Did you make your last widget for the day? Answer the boss's last e-mail?
If "yes," read on. If "no," you've been warned. Because it's totally possible you'll lose the next 24 hours of your life to Endless Simmer's fantastically obsessive Top 10 Top 10 Food Lists.
Yeah, you read that correctly: For better or for worse, it's all there, from The Frisky's Top 10 Songs with Sexually Suggestive Food Metaphors (props for the Cibo Matto, guys -- but no Def Leppard?) to Lifehacker's genius Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks (we can open a beer bottle using a piece of paper?!). There's even a nod to the Creepiest Mascots and Bad Boy Bourdain's best takedowns.
These types of lists make all other tasks sort of disappear. So if we've just sent you hustling to iTunes to start typing out retorts to The Frisky or hunting for a sheet of 8 1/2-by-11 and a Negro Modelo, we apologize.
Just this week, Bravo announced the host and judges for the new series that's a Top Chef spin-off - Top Chef Masters. The host will be food journalist Kelly Choi and the judges will include restaurant critic Gael Greene (pictured on the right), culinary expert James Oseland, and food critic Jay Rayner. Unlike Top Chef, the show will feature 24 chefs that have already made it big.
These world-renowned chefs will compete against each other in a series of weekly challenges, and only one chef will win a prize for the charity of their choice. Their food will not only be tasted and evaluated by the judges, but also by a wide range of tasters for whom the challenge is aimed. This can include patrons at a five-star restaurant or a room full of hungry kids.
As exciting as it is to see Gael Greene, NYC food critic institution, star as one of the judges, I'm dying to know which chefs will be competing on the show. Entertainment Weekly predicts that the series will probably cast chefs, like Anthony Bourdain, who have guest-judged on Top Chef in the past. Who are some chefs that you'd like to see compete?
He took Anthony Bourdain through Russia and Uzbekistan, but when Zamir took Tony to Romania, the s**t hit the fan. Even people who never watched No Reservations were talking about the mess that was Romania. Instead of real foreign life and food, Bourdain traveled through a world of shtick that even rivaled Las Vegas and Lundy's Lane. It certainly wasn't the best episode for learning about other cultures, but it definitely succeeded with the buzz factor.
And it seems the show is not yet done with the ever-popular Zamir. In fact, it looks like the Eastern European guide is getting a taste of things Stateside. Bourdain's latest blog post, From Russia with Love, talks all about Zamir seeing "a side of this country in Baltimore, Detroit, and Buffalo very different from New York City." There's been talk of a Detroit episode, so I guess Zamir is along for the ride, with added snowy stops in the land of John Waters and fiery armpits? You can check out the details in the blog.
No Reservations fans: Are you ready for more Zamir?
The more I read by Anthony Bourdain and the more I see him on television, the more I like him. He's not always an instantly appealing character (he can be downright prickly at times) but I love that he does not fear saying what is exactly on his mind, and in the vast expanse of watered down pap that is the Food Network these days, the fact that they are replaying A Cook's Tour gives me hope.
TV Guide currently has an interview up with Bourdain that is a fun read. He comes off as honest and forthright, but without as much of the biting snark that he is known for. I found it especially endearing that he quit smoking because he didn't want to smoke around his baby daughter (I realize that that is what all good parents should do, but with his tough exterior, it's nice to see that he wants to change for his child).
This is an announcement primarily for those of you in the Philadelphia area (where I happen to be). Anthony Bourdain, that globe-trotting chef and writer, is going to be appearing at the main branch of the Philadelphia Free Library this Saturday (December 1st) for free. He'll be reading from his book, No Reservations, and answering some audience questions as well. His talk starts at 2 pm, but I'm guessing that there will be something of a line for this one, so it is probably best to arrive early.
Interesting piece over at Slate from Paul Levy, about the state of food writing. He says that food writing today is too "macho," and filled with too many "foodie shock jocks" who swear and write too casually (he singles out Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and Bill Buford).
The food writing that's in vogue today consists chiefly of a bellow of bravado. It's a guy thing, sure, but (with a few honorably hungry exceptions) these scribblers mostly ignore what's on the plate. They view themselves as boy hunters and despise sissy gatherers, thrive on the undertow of violence they detect in the professional kitchen, and like to linger on the unappetizing aspects of food preparation. The gross-out factor trumps tasting good as well as good taste.
Hmmm...really? I think one of the good thing about this increased interest in food and all the food blogs is that you hear a lot of different voices. There's plenty of the stuff Levy likes still be written. Even here at Slashfood we try to mix up the voices a bit.
Tonight, another season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations begins on the Travel Channel, and our sister site Gadling managed to track down the busy host in between shoots for an interview.
If you have ever seen the show, you'll know that their primary goal is to seek out authentic experiences in regards to the food and flavor of a particular culture, often traveling off the beaten track in order to find it. They aren't interested in what the local Tourist Board has to say, they'd rather take the word of a street vendor who actually feeds vast amounts of the population on a day-to-day basis. Yes, this sometimes leads to sore stomachs (among other things), but at least you know you are finding out the real deal about a particular locale.
Bourdain reveals how the show chooses their destinations, what they look for in a local guide (or "fixer" as he calls them), as well as divulges some of the locations they will be visiting this coming season. If that alone weren't quite enough for you, he also talks about his love of traveling, and what he really thinks about places like Vietnam and Uzbekistan.
You can read the entire interview via the "read" link below.
He took Anthony Bourdain through Russia and Uzbekistan, but when Zamir took Tony to Romania, 
Interesting 
Tonight, another season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations begins on the Travel Channel, and our sister site 
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