several years ago, i saw this documentary about the nyc rat problem entitled "rats" and there is a segment with bourdain who shows how he took out revenge on a bleeped out but supposedly well known Manhattan eatery by releasing a bunch of rats into their kitchen.
the best cooking show ever wasnt on cable. it was on pbs. in the late 80s early 90s. it was a show called "great chefs" and it revolutionized cooking shows. it was the first cooking show that took the camera out of the studio kitchen and into an actual working restaurant kitchen. it was full on no bullshit. here's the chef. here's the city he works in. here's his restaurant. here's him at work. no fucken backstory. no witty banter. i had never really seen the inside of a restaurant kitchen up until that point. it was truly badass.
Most of the great cooking shows were from PBS. That "Great Chefs" program was still in rotation up until a few years ago, but I haven't seen it in a while. I think it might've been on the Travel Channel most recently?
very true. i think most cable programming owes a great deal to pbs. in fact pbs was my cable. my town didnt even get cable access until i was in jr. high. and my parents werent gon pay for tv. that was abusrd!
in any case, i wish there was a cooking show on chinese and se asian cooking. its such an aesthetically different style and approach. and im not at all talking about the food or presentation. im talking patio kitchens and cooking styles. bourdain is pretty much the only dude holding it down in this area. but as a passing fancy. i want a dedicated show to this shit.
in any case, i wish there was a cooking show on chinese and se asian cooking.
Secret is a VERY SHARP KNIFE!
one of my roommates in college was the son of a chinese chef in la chinatown. not no fancy named chef, just a dude working a spot in chinatown for minimum wage. anyways, his family knew martin yan and he said that accent thing is fake. he does it for the tv.
anyways, my roommate dude never cooked. never. he hated it. however, this one time these cute chicks had us over for a housewarming so he made some chinese food and i swear to god it took him 5 minutes to bang out one of the best chinese dishes i ever had and these chicks couldnt stop talking about it. all it was, was greens. however, he never cooked again.
you might want to look into Kylie Kwong's shows. She's from Australia....
hey aser! yeah, thats not what i meant. im not interested in knowing how to cook chinese food. im interested in how they make it. like when u catch a glimpse of a kitchen in chinatown. most these tv restaurant kitchens i see there is a sort of ordered chaos to it all. but in chinatown the edge of chaos is right where they want to be. chillen. smoking a cigarette over your mabo. its loud, fast, theyre often times rough with the hardware and the food IS the presentation. i mean its totally rad to cut flowers out of carrots and shit, but a bowl of noodles or a dish of greens is elegant. thats what i want to see. some C graded chinatown dive where the cook is a ninja with that shit.
and wow dude. is this jokes? sweet and sour pork, seriously? i couldnt make it past that.
im interested in how they make it. like when u catch a glimpse of a kitchen in chinatown.
Haha...that reminds me of my trip to Hong Kong 10 years ago. Walking past an open door to a back alley kitchen and seeing 30 chickens in a pile on the floor. Waiting for my first-ever bowl of jook and watching the cook chop green onions with a long-ashed Marlboro hanging out of his mouth. Food was all great, though.
that is all part of the experience. youre gonna eat some food thats prolly fallen on the ground. and youre gonna like it cuz its gonna be damn good.
There was some highly rated Chinese restaurant in NYC that got busted a while ago when a health inspector showed up and went out back to find a whole bunch of guys from the place breaking garlic bulbs by stomping on them with their feet in the alley.
I met Mr. Bourdain a few weeks ago...kinda surreal, and a lot of drinks...whew. The conversation was pretty fast, but he was nice to me...hey hey! Basically we talked about how people suck
I was so nervous before I left (cause of the opportunity and the menu) that I forgot my camera, so I used my phone...ugh.
I had dinner at Incanto and enjoyed the 'Head to Tail' menu thoroughly. I refused to take the fan girl pic, and I am happy I didn't. But I have some photos I took of the meal, and quick snap of him in Incanto. I felt so guilty taking pics of him--I would hate that shit.
Through the whole experience, years of questioning my life purpose,and influence of great friends (Waxjunky--I'm looking at you!!) I have enrolled for a Culinary Arts program here in SF, and am so excited!
I just ordered this yesterday; looking forward to reading it.
Bourdain is the only travel/food personality I can stand to watch. Samantha Brown makes me want to reach through the TV and choke a bitch. This no-neck ex-NFL retard they just threw in the mix is an embarrasment, and Mr. Bizarre Foods a.k.a. Chef Scrotum is possibly the most obnoxious and, albeit unintentionally, insulting human on the planet.
I'm really big on the Asian shows for the most part. Bourdain obviously has a special affinity and respect for Asian culture and cuisine and it makes for good unpretentious viewing.
I'm a huge fan of Bourdain but I have one problem with him. He wears a thumb ring.
I thought about that today, and WHY?
so I looked it up, and this is what he says:
"The thumb ring was a gift from my sous chef ??? back in the old days. All the cooks in my kitchen had them. Now, it's a trashy reminder of 30 years in a basically working-class profession."
Comments
Most of the great cooking shows were from PBS. That "Great Chefs" program was still in rotation up until a few years ago, but I haven't seen it in a while. I think it might've been on the Travel Channel most recently?
He was especially douchey in that episode.
in any case, i wish there was a cooking show on chinese and se asian cooking. its such an aesthetically different style and approach. and im not at all talking about the food or presentation. im talking patio kitchens and cooking styles. bourdain is pretty much the only dude holding it down in this area. but as a passing fancy. i want a dedicated show to this shit.
Secret is a VERY SHARP KNIFE!
one of my roommates in college was the son of a chinese chef in la chinatown. not no fancy named chef, just a dude working a spot in chinatown for minimum wage. anyways, his family knew martin yan and he said that accent thing is fake. he does it for the tv.
anyways, my roommate dude never cooked. never. he hated it. however, this one time these cute chicks had us over for a housewarming so he made some chinese food and i swear to god it took him 5 minutes to bang out one of the best chinese dishes i ever had and these chicks couldnt stop talking about it. all it was, was greens. however, he never cooked again.
hey aser! yeah, thats not what i meant. im not interested in knowing how to cook chinese food. im interested in how they make it. like when u catch a glimpse of a kitchen in chinatown. most these tv restaurant kitchens i see there is a sort of ordered chaos to it all. but in chinatown the edge of chaos is right where they want to be. chillen. smoking a cigarette over your mabo. its loud, fast, theyre often times rough with the hardware and the food IS the presentation. i mean its totally rad to cut flowers out of carrots and shit, but a bowl of noodles or a dish of greens is elegant. thats what i want to see. some C graded chinatown dive where the cook is a ninja with that shit.
and wow dude. is this jokes? sweet and sour pork, seriously?
Haha...that reminds me of my trip to Hong Kong 10 years ago. Walking past an open door to a back alley kitchen and seeing 30 chickens in a pile on the floor. Waiting for my first-ever bowl of jook and watching the cook chop green onions with a long-ashed Marlboro hanging out of his mouth. Food was all great, though.
that is all part of the experience. youre gonna eat some food thats prolly fallen on the ground. and youre gonna like it cuz its gonna be damn good.
There was some highly rated Chinese restaurant in NYC that got busted a while ago when a health inspector showed up and went out back to find a whole bunch of guys from the place breaking garlic bulbs by stomping on them with their feet in the alley.
I was so nervous before I left (cause of the opportunity and the menu) that I forgot my camera, so I used my phone...ugh.
I had dinner at Incanto and enjoyed the 'Head to Tail' menu thoroughly. I refused to take the fan girl pic, and I am happy I didn't. But I have some photos I took of the meal, and quick snap of him in Incanto. I felt so guilty taking pics of him--I would hate that shit.
secret phone pic
Venison heart tartare, foie gras & ciccioli brioche
Goose intestines with fava beans & artichokes
Big brain, little brain with asparagus (little brain was a bulls testicle
Cordedda with peas, mint & sheep's milk polenta
and...for dessert...
Coffee & Doughnuts: pork liver, blood, chocolate, espresso
Through the whole experience, years of questioning my life purpose,and influence of great friends (Waxjunky--I'm looking at you!!) I have enrolled for a Culinary Arts program here in SF, and am so excited!
Cooks rule.
That was a great episode.
Super happy for ya...purpous found (for now
I just ordered this yesterday; looking forward to reading it.
Bourdain is the only travel/food personality I can stand to watch. Samantha Brown makes me want to reach through the TV and choke a bitch. This no-neck ex-NFL retard they just threw in the mix is an embarrasment, and Mr. Bizarre Foods a.k.a. Chef Scrotum is possibly the most obnoxious and, albeit unintentionally, insulting human on the planet.
I'm really big on the Asian shows for the most part. Bourdain obviously has a special affinity and respect for Asian culture and cuisine and it makes for good unpretentious viewing.
Shit is terrible. Dude's "Oh" face makes me uncomfortable and his descriptions don't even really make sense.
- takes morsel into mouth
- rolls eyes
- "Oh! Oh. THAT'S good. You can really taste the dirt and sawdust."
or substitute
- "Gamey. Chewy. But when you get a bit of the bone marrow... Oh. Oh! It's like... forest flavored... paint chips."
- Speak very slowly to hosts. They no speaki no english!
Rinse, repeat.
Very well put.
thank you
My fiance refuses to believe he's straight for this reason alone.
I thought about that today, and WHY?
so I looked it up, and this is what he says:
"The thumb ring was a gift from my sous chef ??? back in the old days. All the cooks in my kitchen had them. Now, it's a trashy reminder of 30 years in a basically working-class profession."