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."

We can't wait.

[Via Youtube]

Each of us hold in our hearts the secret crushes of our lives -- whether it's that barista who flashes you an adorable smile every morning with your nonfat soy decaf latte or an unrequited crush on some B-list celeb. I, however, am not so subtle, and proudly proclaim my utter adoration for Anthony Bourdain. I love the man.

So, I can't tell you how absolutely edamame-green with envy I was to read about LA foodblogger Dylan's encounter with the object of my affection. Dylan writes at Eat, Drink n Be Merry, and also has a food blog on the side dedicated to noodles called Noodle Whore. It was via a post about Sapp Coffee Shop in LA's Thai Town that Tony Bourdain found Dylan, and from there...the rest is jealousy-inducing history. Dylan got to meet Tony while the chef was in LA filming for an episode of his show, which included Sapp Coffee Shop.

Lucky.

A supporter of the Minuteman Project, a group that protects U.S. borders from such dangerous individuals as maids and Tony Bourdain's Pueblan chefs, has found the real enemy. Foreign-made salsa. Thank heavens someone has the courage to stand up to this most insidious of threats to national security.

Texas entrepreneur Ryan Lambert introduced his Minuteman Salsa July 4. Lambert has pledged to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of what he has dubbed America's Patriotic Salsa. The condiment is made in America and uses only ingredients grown in the U.S.

Minuteman Salsa's web site sounds the battle cry urging true patriots "keep foreign-made salsa from slipping across the border into your pantry." God knows I regret ever letting two miniature bottles of El Yucateco hot sauce into my pantry. All they do is stay up all night singing Chalino Sánchez songs and swilling Tecate.

If you are into extreme cuisine, how does you top eating the still-beating heart of a cobra? Or what about going right up to Korea's DMZ and fishing for your lunch?

If you're Tony Bourdain, you party in war-ravaged Beirut while airports are bombed and all ports are blockaded.

Bourdain flew to Beirut a week ago to do an episode on the local cuisine of Lebanon for his Travel channel show, No Reservations. He and his crew ate and partied Monday and Tuesday, but were holed up in their hotels after the bombings started, waiting for instructions on evacuation. I haven't seen any more news recently if Bourdain and his crew have left yet, but according to the New York Post, he's "not getting a show out of this . . . I just wanna hang out and drink at the bar. The mojitos here are great."

Sure, sure, Tony. We know you're a tough guy. Get home safely.

Sarah was pretty critical – and with good reason – of Anthony Bourdain's recent trip to Korea, which was featured on the Travel Channel's No Reservations. Along with many of the commenters, she felt that there was not enough food and too much traveling. But it takes a lot of filming to put the show together and the crew is always trying to find the right balance of food, adventure and travel.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was able to get behind the cameras when the show was being filmed in the Pacific Northwest. It takes up to 100 hours of footage to make the hour-long program, so there is a lot for the editor to choose from. While they try to concentrate primarily on food, stories about locals or unique travel situations are what keep the program moving and interesting to viewers because No Reservations is not a cooking/food show, but a travel/food show.

Check out the whole article if you're interested in reading about Tony's geoduck hunt or how the crew has to bribe him to eat particularly distasteful foods. Otherwise, just wait until the episode airs later this season.

Did anyone else catch Tony Bourdain's No Reservations last night? I did. He went to Korea and I was slightly disappointed.

First, let's do a little recap of the episode.

Tony has been to several places in Asia, both for the show he did for the other network, and for No Reservations. He's been to Vietnam, Japan, China, and India. Nari Kye, a producer on the show, has been hounding Tony about going to Korea, her Mother Land, so he decided to go, and takes her along as his tour guide.

I admit that this isn't a cookbook, but The Nasty Bits, Anthony Bourdain's newest book, is worth a look if you are a fan of his culinary adventures and up-front tone. Officially released today, it is a collection of essays and articles by Bourdain and each one is a stand alone piece, like a separate menu item. Many, if not all, of the pieces have previously been published, but that didn't take anything away from Steingarten's essays and it shouldn't diminish the entertainment value of Bourdain's forays into the various forms of gastronomy, from "the nether regions of unusual beasties" to celebrity chef-owned Vegas venues.

If you're looking for a cookbook, try Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook, which is full of classic French bistro recipes and pick up a copy of The Nasty Bits for some entertaining reading the next time you travel.

 

The Epi-log, at Epicurious, has a lead on what music celebrity chefs are listening to. Chef and author Anthony Bourdain has a No Reservations playlist that you can download from Rhapsody. The mix is described as being "a dash of classic soul with some tasty pre-punk nuggets and flavorful jazz pieces" and includes songs like David Bowie's I'm Deranged, William S. Burroughs' The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz, and Memo from Turner by the Rolling Stones.

I'm not all that surprised to see the picks from Tony Bourdain, but it does make me wonder what other chefs listen to. Of course, I start to wonder about that only after I wonder how a chef got a playlist up alongside the ones from celebs like Ashlee Simpson and Lindsay Lohan.

As many of you know, I am not shy about my lusty chef crushes, and Tony Bourdain could tie me up with his apron strings any day. I absolutely love his fast-talking, four-letter-word spewing, smoking, drinking personality, and the fact that he cooks? Well, let's not get me all worked up now, okay?

We have been afforded the rare opportunity to exchange a few questions and answers next week with the celebrity chef, writer, traveler, and king of all food media (at least in my eyes) as we await Season Two of his show, No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

We may be able to slip a few questions in at the end from readers, so if you have any burning questions you want to ask my dream chef dinner date, leave us a comment, and we'll do our best next week.

The two-hour season premiere of the show airs this coming Monday, March 27, 2006, with Tony traipsing through China and Japan. Please, don’t call me between the hours of 9 and 11 pm, because I won’t answer.