The Anthony Bourdain thread

Well, when they put it in front of you, just try not eating it.

Texas is all about the unnecessary

I think I would be totally fine with not eating that. But I can be picky about cheese products.

I would totally eat that.

I can't believe how many people haven't had queso! Surely most of you have at least had, like, a jar of crappy queso dip from the supermarket? Cause it would be sad if processed nacho cheese was as close as someone had come.

Anyway: it's not an authenticity battle, I'm just saying that when you're used to awesome American-regional versions of Mexican food, other versions can throw you, for a second. But yeah, I'd say that the bulk of decent Chicago Mexican falls into one of two camps: (a) the tacqueria-style basics, and (b) sit-down restaurants, catering to a good share of actually Mexican patrons, serving actual Mexican entrees -- you know, not just enchiladas and stuff but the seafood dishes and fried things and whatnot.

There's plenty of both in Chicago that's pretty good, and this is even ignoring "nice" places. But it's true, if you're used to Southern California style, or New Mexican style, or Texan style, or something like that ... some of these might seem blander or drier or less mind-blowingly delicious, I guess?

The queso home game is a bowl of melted velveeta mixed with salsa. It ain't art, but it's quality slumming.

Anyway, someone let me know when Bourdain goes to Ethiopia, please

Well, when they put it in front of you, just try not eating it.

yeah, you obviously don't know me at all.

he will never never eat the queso
oooooooooooo

if someone puts it front of me i pretty much have to eat it all

I think that's what Kenan meant -- like, you just try not eating it.

My mom will often bust out a block of Velveeta mixed with a can of Rotel tomatoes, melted in a crock pot and served up for an event of some sort with a bag of Tostitos. This dish is referred to as "Rotel". My mother-in-law was known to do a similar thing with a can of Hormel chili instead of the Rotel tomatoes. Authenticity, regionalism, whatever be damned - I'd eat both of them.

I love Rotel cheese dip, esp. with a strong shot of sriracha added.

velveeta and canned chili, which sounds awesome in a drunkfoods sort of way, becomes incredibly disgusting after about five chips worth. had it at a party last year, was at first psyched. then not.

My Texan friend likes to mix a small quantity of Velveeta with real cheese just so the queso has a better consistency.

I think that's what Kenan meant -- like, you just try not eating it.

this.

wouldn't have to

I was in Russ & Daughters today getting lunch, and the folks behind the counter told me that there's a No Reservations airing tonight where he goes to Russ & Daughters. !!!!

I had a pumpernickel with plain cream cheese and Gaspe salmon. (One of the only lunches I'll willingly pay $9 for, since it's SOOOO GOOOOD. Any other lunch over $6 is mad overpriced.) We'll see what Mr Bourdain eats tonight. ;-)

No Reservations is great television. Even when it's lying it's telling the truth. The Vancouver episode was so ineptly done that it accidentally revealed the truth about the city: it's based on stock footage of people snowboarding and doing "outdoor activities," a film industry nobody really cares about, and bullshit quality of life rankings in International Magazines.

Good episode except he kept saying non-ironic over and over. WE GET IT!

That was Bourdain at his Morbsiest.

I had never thought of it, but Bourdain is pretty Morbsy every week. But almost always in a "charming curmudgeon" way.

I hug them both.

Come on! Katz's is OK but dude, SARGE'S! You'd think being a midtowner, even if all the way left instead of right, he'd know better.

I crave Sarge's so bad at all times. I make sure to go every single time in NYC.

Sarge's. 36th and Third. Sit-down. Huge menu. Flawless matzoh ball soup. Best pickles and cole slaw on earth. Best pastrami in New York. (That's from our old friend Paul Eater--does he still post?) Open 24 hours. Almost nobody I meet in New York has heard of it or been there, because it's in midtown where there is basically nothing. I want to live there. Every one of you reading this owes it to yourself.

I don't think I've ever seen him take such giddy delight in anything as he does the Chinese meal.

ooh, def. checking that out. not too far from workplace and my immediate vicinity's lunch options are kind of a culinary wasteland so this is good to hear. thx matos!

i've faulted him in the past for being too idiosyncratic in his takes on places, but a few of the recent ones feel a little too greatest hits-y. i mean, i admit i'd rather watch NY and DC than, say, Ghana and Vietnam, and i can't really fault him for knocking off an easy episode at home with the young kid over a cold winter, but it does seem like he might be getting a little too comfortable in the job.

36th and Third is what, 3-4 blocks from the 2nd Ave Deli now?

where is the outcry about the Upper East Side content in this one?

the pink press threat file, I used to work in midtown, and yes, it's pretty dire. btw, Sarge's also delivers.

maybe they just feel greatest hits-y because i know the places

I don't think I've ever seen him take such giddy delight in anything as he does the Chinese meal.

I don't think I've ever seen ME take so much delight in a meal as Chinese food in NYC, because you can't get it anywhere else.

It's one of those rare and still dirt-cheap regional cuisines, like Mexican food in Houston.

haha I now regularly go with my girlfriend's family to the Allen/Delancey Congee Village whenever I visit. It really is amazing.

(but srsly, visit one west coast)

ok ok I need a guide to the Mexican food of LA, maybe. Last time I was there I was too busy kvetching to eat much.

I'm watching his episode on Laos now, and it's kinda heartbreaking.

(but srsly, visit one west coast)

Yeah. Seattle has awesomely delicious chinese, japanese, and vietnamese. Seven Stars Peppers, for one, has the best hand shaven noodles I've ever had anywhere. My favorite dishes there from a few years ago:
chong gin chicken
house special chicken
hot pepper fish
sizzling rice shrimp special
hand shaven noodles beef chow mein
hand shaven noodles shrimp chow mein
baby bok
choy and mushrooms
mongolian beef

I ended up Tivo-ing this episode last night, so I still haven't seen it; hopefully this evening.

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/10/ten_things_anthony_bourdain_an.html

awesome. Love the cupcake hatred.

I don't know who David Chang is, but I love everything about that article.

great nyer profile of chang: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/24/080324fa_fact_macfarquhar

Hating cupcakes? What's the point of that?

there is a proliferation of cupcakeries these days

When I can get super fancy cupcakes at the small town farmer's market in northern Idaho I imagine the saturation level is probably exasperating in big cities. It doesn't mean they're not good, but still.

are ppl forgetting that cupcakes are fucking delicious?

i mean this seems like a good problem to have imo. OH NO THERE ARE TOO MANY GODDAMN CUPCAKES, WE WILL HAVE TO EAT OUR WAY OUT OF THIS.

Actually cake is fucking delicious. Cupcakes are for children's birthday parties and moments when whimsy matters more than taste or texture, because they're basically all exterior from a baking standpoint and are nearly impossible to keep from drying out.