"travel channel" news and stories

We're still not quite sure what we watched last night when we flipped on the Travel Channel. Like some sort of weird food-TV hangover, our memories of the evening are vague: loud hooting and hollering; bright neon lights; low, guttural noises. And cheerleaders -- yes, we're pretty sure there were cheerleaders.

When we finally came to this morning, we had a splitting headache and a general feeling of shame and embarrassment. One thing's for certain: We don't think we should've been there.

In a feat of self-promotion that would make P.T. Barnum proud, Adam Richman -- he of "Man v. Food" quasi-fame -- staged a live, televised eatathon in Miami, just in time for Super Bowl XLIV. We don't know about you, but we love us some competitive (a.k.a. speed) eating: men and women with names like Crazy Legs and Crazy Bear wearing weird masks and/or sunglasses, stuffing their faces with as many hot dogs, doughnuts or deep-fried appetizers as possible in just minutes.

But what Richman does isn't quite the same as these Guinness Record-busting fanatics. In case you're not familiar, "MVF" is less of an eat-off than it is the Travel Channel's attempt to spawn their very own Guy Fieri. Looking a little like a cross between John Belushi and Jonah Hill -- although not as funny as either -- Richman travels the nation looking for notable dives featuring super-sized burgers, inhumanly spicy chicken wings or 7-pound burritos.

Former chef and best-selling author of 'Kitchen Confidential,' Anthony Bourdain has been traversing the globe for several years for the Travel Channel's show, 'No Reservations.' Today, a new season begins.

Slashfood: What can we expect in this season?
AB: New destinations, returns to some old ones, better production values, as our shooters are getting better, better-looking shows and some fairly wild destinations.



Find out who Anthony Bourdain respects on the Food Network and more after the jump.

You might already know this is you've clicked on any of the No Reservations ads on our site, but I just found out myself that Anthony Bourdain has a new blog. It's over at the Travel Channel site.

Bourdain has kept blogs before. He's been writing about Top Chef and has entries at other food blogs once in a while, but if I'm not mistaken this is the first permanent blog that he's had. Hopefully he'll keep it up even after the season of No Reservations is over. If the first few entries are any indication, it might be fun.

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.

Source

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.