All Episodes Talk: Tony Eats and Drinks

[Rhondinella]

Discuss the show. Generally.

[Saint TV]

I managed to miss most of the first season so imagine my surprise to see that it's already on Netflix streaming. I am very pleased.

[Lillybee]

AB has my dream job. What could be better than traveling the world and tasting the food there.

[Athena]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[AuntiePam]

I'm new to the show and I don't know if Tony says this at the end of every episode or if it was just once, but when he encourages us to "get out there and move around", I want to say "Sure, if someone else will pay for it and if I can have someone to carry my bags, arrange transportation, and line up knowledgeable people to show me around."

 

What a lucky bastard that guy is.  :-)

 

 

[annzeepark914]

The one thing that annoys me about AB and his travels around the world to sample different cuisines, is that wherever he is, whatever he's eating, it's always OMG This Is The Best Thing Ever. 

 

I just find it annoying and not quite real.  Surely, someone, somewhere has served him something that tastes awful & he's had to smile & keep munching, right?

[Athena]

The one thing that annoys me about AB and his travels around the world to sample different cuisines, is that wherever he is, whatever he's eating,

it's always OMG This Is The Best Thing Ever. 

 

I just find it annoying and not quite real.  Surely, someone, somewhere has served him something that tastes awful & he's had to smile & keep munching, right?

 

There are a few episodes of "No Reservations" where this has happened namely ones featuring Zamir like the awful Romania episode. The Namibia episode was another one. 

 

Tony is quite diplomatic and he does have decent fixers (most of the time), but I think I can tell when he is just being polite now. He can be quite respectful to his hosts and the country that way, but yeah, there are rare instances where you can tell he doesn't enjoy it. 

[Julia]

In his first food travel book, he says that the single most disgusting thing he's ever eaten was natto made of mountain yams in Japan. 

[mousie]

 

Surely, someone, somewhere has served him something that tastes awful & he's had to smile & keep munching, right?

 

Athena, the Namibia episode was the one where he was served warthog anus, correct?

I also remember the fermented shark in Iceland and iguana in Mexico.

 

But aside from those true oddities, I think he does have a wider palate than most Americans. This is probably partially due to his cooking training and partially due to having spent a lot of time in France growing up. So part of the message of his shows is to get the audience to see that these unusual foods (to us) are good and worth trying when you are traveling or maybe just visiting an ethnic restaurant in your own city.

[Athena]

Athena, the Namibia episode was the one where he was served warthog anus, correct?

I also remember the fermented shark in Iceland and iguana in Mexico.

 

Yep! He was not happy at all with that warthog dish. He's had some bad meals, but I agree, he does have a wider palate. There is a reason he's had a travel food show for ten years now. I'm still mostly enjoying it.

[biakbiak]

Also, it's just plain rude to insult someone's food to their faces; particularly, in countries where they are putting on a feast for him or their delicacies. He often qualifies that he didn't enjoy the food in the voiceover. But you can also tell it on his face and when just something is just okay he often doesn't say anything about the taste of the food just says what is in it or asks questions about other things.

[glow]

Gosh, I'm hating the Columbia episode. It's like he was forced to go there. He couldn't stand the altitude, spend half the show talking about the corruption, and barely showcased the food (e.g. his host ordered a snack for them and he took it and kept moving with no comment). It feel like a documentary on Columbia's issues, NOT a celebration of the food. And I know what he's like when he enjoys the food (see Vietnam or China). Food was just served while they talked issues. And every venue he picked was so low class and poverty-stricken. 

Edited January 2, 2015 by glow

[aguabella]

We enjoyed the more food-centric episodes but got burned out on this after the prior season (3rd?) and didn't see many episodes of the latest (4th?).  One thing, however, had enough "street food" just from watching Tony almost every episode.  Sorry but it just looks like grease ... and more grease, to me.

Edited January 6, 2015 by aguabella

[Ffiferoo]

Was the Sicily episode that aired last night new?  My DVR taped it, but I know I've seen at least some parts of it before (the diving for dead seafood and the couple of scenes following that).  I don't remember the rest of it though.  

[biakbiak]

No, it was from season 2.

[Padma]

Well, it's been a year since this thread had a post, but it looks like the right place to vent.\

 

For some reason or other (perhaps because I usually avoid CNN), I've missed many shows since AB switched over to the new show.  But I caught one rerun a couple of months ago--can't remember where, maybe Brazil?--and had to turn it off because of the heavy focus on martial arts.

 

Then last night, I saw he was back to San Francisco and thought "This will be good".  Some was, but then.... again....martial arts. I turned it off after a few minutes because...I don't care and none of that says "San Francisco" to me, certainly not as a priority of being there. But it was followed by his return to South Korea. That, too, started promisingly.

 

And then that one also became about Korean martial arts. Blech. I know these places all have martial arts places and are identified with them (SF far less so than Brazil or Korea).  But I think the reason he emphasizes it now (imo to a ridiculous extent) is because of his wife's training--and now his training as well.

 

Seriously, I wish he'd married a painter or a musician so he would bring an interest to -that- aspect of a nation's culture. There's so much to learn about and it seems his purpose in going anywhere these days is "food + martial arts". (Since the emphasis from what I saw isn't even on the culture & history & variety of the marital art but on the training itself--i.e. watching Tony train--it is, for me, Boring with a capital "B").  Then again, I know I'm in the minority in thinking "Parts Unknown" is generally inferior to "No Reservations", even when they're visiting the same places.

[blueray]

I've never notice that he talks about Martial arts all that much. I remember it in the Brazil episode and enjoyed learning about it. But then again I'm a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I would agree that No Reservations was slightly better but I like both shows. I also don't catch it very often as I don't watch CNN. Didn't even realize a new season started.

[Kira53]

I can believe how slim he is with all the eating and drinking.  And the drinking.  And the eating again.  And the greasy street food and ethnic fast food.  How does he do it?  I'm so jealous!  

[pastafarian]

I still watch (most of) his show(s)for the interesting locales, have read his books (Kitchen Confidential is still a fav), even dined at the shockingly ordinary and overpriced Le Halles.  I lost all respect for him when he went full on hypocrite and did that cooking game show, the kind of thing he relentlessly attacked other 'celebrity' chefs for doing.   I understand that it's about the benjamins, but he lost all credibility with me.  I don't notice a whole lot of difference between the Parts Unknown and No Reservations except that the new shows theme music annoys me.  I look forward to the day he's announced by his best bud Rachel Ray as the executive chef for "TGI McFunsters", making his hypocrisy complete.

[Athena]

On 12/25/2016 at 0:01 AM, Kira53 said:

I can believe how slim he is with all the eating and drinking.  And the drinking.  And the eating again.  And the greasy street food and ethnic fast food.  How does he do it?  I'm so jealous!  

Back when he started the show, he was still smoking. He quit when his daughter was born, From what I read in the interviews, he also cut down on drinking off the show and special occasions. He drinks a lot more on TV than he probably does in real life. I think he said that he is/was on high blood pressure or cholesterol medication at some point.

Bourdain is tall so it hides the fat. You can be skinny on the outside and fat inside. He now trains daily in BJJ and I've definitely noticed that he is much more toned and also a bit older face wise (toning up can do that in later years).