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What We Talk About, When We Talk About Food
By Anthony Bourdain on October 16, 2008 5:48 PM | Permalink | 244 Comments
No. It's not a new series.
And no. I'm not suffering from some kind of weird, late-in-life, delusional Arsenio-esque urges . Monday night's AT THE TABLE thing is a one-off (or maybe a two or three-off) idea where I get to sit down, talk about a lot of pretty obscure, insider food and travel-related issues with some opinionated friends--and at the same time--eat for free at a restaurant I respect and find intensely interesting. We may repeat may do a couple more down the road--locally based and with local chefs and guests in other cities, but this does not signify some strange new direction.
It took about five hours of my time to shoot AT THE TABLE (nice!), yet the format requires (I found) a mammoth production. WD-50, the restaurant where we filmed the show, was jammed with an invading army of camera operators, sound techs, lighting guys, portable control room, bonobo-trainers, mink-wranglers, hair and make-up -- and a crackhead to operate the smoke machine .... It was like a real television show -- something I'm not used to.
In the strangely bright center of an otherwise empty restaurant, me and four guests gathered round and ate and drank and discussed such burning issues as: "What's the butt-ugliest behavior you've ever seen in a restaurant? Or taken part in?" And the issue on everybody's mind -- at a moment when the economy teeters on the precipice: "Is it ethically okay to blow $1,800 bucks on dinner?"
Pondering these questions were four people well-suited to answer them, worldly -- some might say jaded -- veterans of many high end restaurant meals, people for whom the free dinner and comped bottle of vintage wine are no strangers: Nightclub owner/proprietor, Amy Sacco of New York City's Bungalow 8 ... author of that excellent, bestselling account of working as Mario Batali's "kitchen bitch," Heat, New Yorker editor and founder of Granta Magazine, Bill Buford ... writer, TV personality, fellow judge on Top Chef, Ted Allen .... and notorious nightcrawler, former gossip columnist for Page Six and current editor at Maxim Magazine, Chris Wilson.
Am I any good at leading and moderating a televised discussion? I don't know. I've jumped out of an airplane and eaten warthog rectum -- so I figured ... why not try this too? Frankly, after watching the rough cut, I think I come off like a drunk version of John McLaughlin -- you know, that loud, douchebag on the McLaughlin Group?
On the bright side, I got to eat -- and you get to see -- a truly extraordinary and important chef at work; Wylie Dufresne. About that, I feel unreservedly good. If you haven't eaten at WD-50? Do so at first opportunity. It's truly an adventure. I hope that comes across in the show.
By the time you read this, me, Todd, Zach, Jared, Alex and contest runner-up Augusto should be halfway across the Pacific, on our way to the Philippines. I see balut in my future.
244 Comments
Anthony Bourdain
Meet Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain is a 28-year veteran of professional kitchens, having worked as a dishwasher, line cook and chef in places good, bad and horrible -- most of them in New York City. Read Anthony Bourdain's full biography.
About No Reservations
"No Reservations" dives headfirst into life's colorful and rich pageant. Join Anthony Bourdain as he circumnavigates the globe on his conquest to discover the cities, villages and countries that provide life's truest surprises. Learn more about the show.
- Alternate Universe
- I Told You I Smelled Emmy!
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- FOR PARENTS ONLY
- Big Sky ... Thick Jungle ... Zero Tolerance (and Diane Saves The Day)
- State of Siege
- I'm Not Angry
- A Drive by Shooting
- Tony 'n' Zamir's Excellent Adventure
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- Dear Rachael
- How Can I Miss You, When You Won't Go Away?
- Not Fade Away
- Hierarchy of Pork
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warthog rectum, eh. Not overly devastated that I missed that episode...looking forward to this one!
Hey, Tony. This is Evan, one of the waiters who took care you all that night--you know, the guy who left the shitty restaurant in CT (thanks, in part, to your wise councel) to work at wd~50. Glad to hear that the episode will be airing soon. Question, though: did they edit out the shot where Wylie spilled a whole vat of liquid nitrogen on you? I hope not--it was, as they say, 'tv gold'. How did those massive skin grafts go for you, by the way? Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you, and hopefully I'll see you around.
-Evan
I be watching! I just got my shirt cook free or die from grillbitch.com, nice.
Tony, I will for sure be looking forward to seeing this episode. I cant wait for the Philippines one either. Have you done an episode in Istanbul? I will be living there over the summer (2009) and I have never been!
Keep up all the great work.
Hey Tony.
I'm tired of seeing Americans feature, Balut, in Manila, and I know your viewers are too. After all, you can only talk so much about an unfertilized duck egg.
Each specific region of the Philippines has their own dialect and thus, their own food heritage. You also have to consider that Manila was colonized by Spain, America, and Japan, with additional influences from all across Asia. Simultaneously, there has been a lot of cool restaurants and chefs around Metro Manila and nearby provinces, that you and the crew would be grateful to hang-out, PLUS a huge influx of Filipino bloggers voicing their passion about great food.
Now that's something less revolting and more interesting than a Balut egg.
Hey Chef...Thanks for continually giving us your best shot...Just saw you in Atlantic City on the 12th...still lovin your sense of humor after all these years, as I still surprisingly have mine after 25 years in the biz...now I hump books for a living...hope to see you at a book signing sometime...keep on truckin...suenewjersey
Hey I miss it have to wait till it's on again.
Love you, great entertainment, also you gave me a healthy way to look at food. Keep it up Tones.
Hi Tony,
I've seen the previews for this show and it looks like it will be fun to watch.
I'll have my McLaughlin filter set on high-LOL!
Jeff
Okay, I plan on watching, but I just have to ask. Where did this blog go for like the past six weeks? Every time I clicked on it, I got website for a marketing firm in Brooklyn?
Meant to add, that I'm enjoying Bill's book, "Heat" very much, and hope he has resolved his polenta issues and which came first, "the pasta or the egg" ;0) I stand in awe that he hauled a whole pig up an apartment elevator! Sheesh.
I like John McLaughlin! Saw u in A/C took some pics posted an account in the Catsworking.com blog. Carlos is a doll and he said you can't cook anymore. You're the first to admit that anyway. Up close you still look cool dude.
So excited to see the Philippines episode...don't forget the dinaguan!
I can't wait to see the new show - it sounds really interesting. I've been in "No Reservations" withdrawal ever since the season ended and they've been showing repeats.
I must say this latest season has been your best. Can't wait till the new one comes out!
Looking forward to the format as well as seeing Wylie's food in action and what you guys have to say about it...
Hear you're headed to Houston next month...good time to come, as it's cooled down tremedously!
Cheers
j~
Hi Tony,
As a proud Filipino-American, nothing would please me more than for you to try my 'last meal' dish: SISIG. (pronounced SEE-SIG). Can you say chopped up pork parts marinated with juices & spices on a sizzling platter?
Best served with a cold beer. Congrats on the enormity of your show's success. Peace.
"Insider food?"
Goodness. What peculiar terminology. Would this be the tastebud-affecting equivalent of, say, The Shagg's "Philosophy of the World" or Romanian ukelele music?
Man, am I looking forward to this show even more now that you AND Bill Buford will be there. I loved Heat. It's pretty thrilling to you, I would expect. I'll have to enjoy the meal vicariously, I guess. (Sigh...)
gosh my dear antoine, can i be a groupie as u roam around my bayang magiliw? yes please, do eat balut, and sisig. But don't forget to sample also fern salad in Kusina Salud, the different "kinilaw" from different region, eggplant ensalada in KKK resto, dried danggit tuyo, monggo & tuyo flakes in Cafe Ten Titas', among others.. am sure, augusto will bring u to the sinuglaw restos of mactan island. am curious to see how our "lechon" (roasted pig) would grade from the so many other lechons u have tasted around the world.. i hope u like adobo..and halohalo.. and guinomis, and Razon's palabok.. and so many other culinary delights only a country with mix heritage can offer you..
i'll be watching ur "at the table" show.. while i try to finish my major work project..
hey, try soup no.5 when u are in the Philippines. Ask Augusto or his relatives in Cebu what it is and watch for their reaction.. :)
Where, oh where in the Philippines could you be? Would you have a media appearance or something like that? Meet-up with fans for an hour maybe?
Can't wait to watch the Philippines episode :-) As I type this, I'm watching "A Cook's tour": Portugal Episode on Asian Food Channel (via Skycable).
Good luck, Tony. Enjoy our country and welcome, it's yours!:-)
Nice to see you're back.
I hope this upcoming show is one I can let my daughter watch (she's 10) - we visit family in NY frequently and she's been dying to go to WD-50 - says the food sounds "fun", and I have to agree.
But $1,800? That IS steep. I'm glad they started doing lunch! And yes, of course it raises ethical questions.
I assume it's $1,800 for all 4 of you...that's $450/person. We paid half that - which is still steep - for dinner at The Herbfarm a few years ago (when Traunfeld was still there) and I thought that was probably reasonable for the quality and creativity shown through the evening. Hell - people paid $1K (and up) for a freakin' Hannah Montana concert...at least at WD-50 the $$ goes to support someone who is (IMHO) a true artist, not to mention some fine producers/suppliers that he buys from.
If it was $1,800/EACH, then yeah - I have some ethical problems with that. But I guess we each draw the line in a different place.
Hello from Manila. You're such a bad*** and I enjoy watching you. Looking forward to the WD~50 episode, one of the restaurants I hope to try in this lifetime. Alas, a third world native girl can dream. haha.
There's more to the Philippines than the balut! Enjoy :)
Great concept!
I think this has potential and is a great way for Tony to get out of his own "world" so to speak; in other words, let others, with ulitmately differing or interesting opinions, stimulate his mind. It will be a nice change from NR (which is a great show, but can sometimes cause Tony to go into his own mind.) Safe travels as always to you and your crew, Tony. Have some celebration drinks on me; my bday was yesterday and I'm sure there's no way I could top whatever you are doing! Cheers, artnlit (Bonnie from Pgh.)
PS> How about wearing that DeadBoys or Keith R. shirt soon that you got for YOUR bday?!
Tony! I'm super excited about the new show! It was great to meet you at the Adria TimesTalk last weekend as well! I had a chance to dine at Le Bernardin and meet with Eric too. What a weekend! Be sure to check out our site for my coverage of the show (and my unabashed photos of your book signing!).
Thanks again! ~Jennifer
I really excited about your new show and I watch No Reservations religiously and i can't wait.
Tony, you re the best!! I m from Mexico an i love your program. Sorry, my english is so bad but i love you. When you come to Mexico? Good luck!
Hey Tony,
My boyfriend and I watch you religiously..so does our kitten! We are absolutely fascinated by the cultures that you experience. I am currently reading Kitchen Confidential and you are hilarious! I really appreciate your knack for telling it like it is. My boyfriend thought it was weird that I was watching a show such as yours, but after the first episode I made him watch (Vietnam), he was completely hooked! Anyways, we were walking around a liquor store here in the Twin Cities today and I kept thinking, "Wouldn't it be awesome if Anthony Bourdain had his own brand of beer?" So, my boyfriend told me that I should suggest it to you, because I'm sure it would be marketing gold! Can't wait to see what the new season has in store for you and your crew and we will most definitely be watching your At The Table tomorrow night!
Very fine......................................
"Is it ethically okay to blow $1,800 bucks on dinner?"
Eh? This is like asking if it's ethically okay to blow $1,800 on cocaine....people do that too.
I'm no big foodie, but hey, if the meal's worth it...then it's worth it.
Hey Anthony,
Love your show! The sociological aspects of it are the crux of the plate of food. I got to ask you to come to Berkeley, CA. The sociological meet the plate here with places like Cafe Gratitude, a non-cooked vegan place where bigots for the left (Annie Hall) can graze without harming the environment and the cooks (?) can't get their hair burned from stoves. I ate there and have had gas for a few months now. I have no gratitude for such a meal although it wasn't bad. What was it if it wasn't bad? I really can't say except that it hangs in my brain as a cultural experience, and this seems to be where the rubber meets the road of your show.
By the way, I am an astonishing guitarist/composer, you seem to like music of the post-sixties kind. Sure a wealth of that in Berkeley.
Stay healthy. Glad you quit smoking cigarettes.
hey tony
I find your great show, I try to see him whenever I can, and the show would not be the same with your comments and all that,
and well, greetings from chile Latin America.
bye
Hi Tony, I am such a fan of yours. When are you going though Colorado? You have a lot of admirers here in Pueblo, Co. Love ya lots! Your the greatest.
I got stuck on whether it was OK to blow $1800 on food. After much mulling I think that the correct answer is: Only if the food was bad. There are much worse ways in which to spend money than on a great meal. I for one should rather do as Babette in this.
Off topic: This is only because I sometimes I've got my reading glasses on - In your first paragraph fix the phrase -
"We may repeat may do a couple more..."
Finally, can't wait for the Philippines show. Like everyone else, I'll be watching.
Mr Bourdain,
I have viewed your show for a couple a seasons and other shows also...no one seems to want to go to Portugal. I admit, I like you best...Portugal is a country of great tradition and history...my father in-law has been a fisherman since he was 10 years olds,(forty plus years)...I am an artist,(painter), my wife is pexita, (fish girl)...my mother in-law is crazy, (REALLY)...I have a home in Portugal and the States and have many friends of distinshed backgrounds in Sesimbra,Portugal...just south of Lisboa...you should go to Sesimbra and see what Portugal and her people are all about...food is great...girls are beautiful...and I'll even paint you something to rememnber your trip...beijos...sparky
Tony,
Looking forward to Monday night. Since it's not some "new concept," I imagine it will be as free-form and free-wheeling as you'd conceived it. It's in complete keeping with your overall candor to discuss the economic ethics of a high-ticket meal. You're one of very few with the stones to make the inquiry.
I hope you can find time for another conversation sometime in the future on "Head-On With Bob Kincaid." The H.O.R.N. audience has become devoted No Res fans and your name keeps sneaking into conversations.
Tony,
I look forward to At The Table. I enjoy seeing the various fares that the world has to offer but I also enjoy seeing and getting to know those that are eating it as well. I think it will be intriguing to get a glimpse of how various chefs relate to their culture. I would really love to see some of those chefs sharing some of their favorite foods and recipes. I think your fans would enjoy seeing describe how to make your favorite laksa. Enjoy that well-earned family time Mr. Bourdain.
Tony, Ive loved your series since the first time I saw it. Ive been fortunate to have been able to travel more than most and am now in the process of relocating to Northern Thailand soon to raise my beautiful two kids and ex wife while I work with the sick. Going Bamboo as I recall you referring to it, what the hell it will certainly be better than sitting aroun watching the stock market shrink eh... Well if your in Thailand in the next few years look me up I know some great out of the way places you would love and maybe we could toss back a cold one or two. Best Regards... Kevin Nichols, Arlington, WA
I really do hope you guys will get a good itinerary when you arrive in the Philippines. The Philippines has so much to offer when it comes to food. Please stay clear of the commercial places!!!
love no reservations, keep up the good work! will tune into at the table but a little apprehensive! good luck tony
Dear Tony:
Will be tuning in tonight, but have to admit, I'm a purist--No Reservations has got me hooked. I get to vicariously travel the world and see new foods and trends. Whenever, I say "gee, that looks interesting," the kids just stare at me with their "don't even think about it" glare. Good luck with the new venture.
Sue W.--The Hamster
I so love your writing and narrations. But it's a love/hate relationship. But... um... Tony, I know it's the Travel Channel and all but, could you give as a little more food coverage and a little less vacation video?
"No Reservations" wouldn't want to live without it. Thanks for bringing that hilarious personality to television.
Tony and Bill:
FYI I'm a literature/creative writing teacher, editor, and accomplished home cook. Heat and Kitchen Confidential are the only two books that I've actually recommended to others recently. KC I read twice. Every dollar and accolade you two have earned were so well deserved. Just some friends and "I" is more gramatically correct, however. Ted Allen one of the few celebrities I truly admire--even when he judges Top Chef. Other typically civil people seem to regress there--but never Ted. Thank you for giving us something worthy to watch on TV and to read.
Hello Anthony,
I didnt find any travel guide for Prague! - you should come over, I will show you some real Prague and nightlife and drive you in my Trabant :o)
Martina Prague Guide
Mr Bourdain,
I can show you Cabo Esphical; where people drive their cars off the cliff at the empty Monastery and Chapel...my Mom will cook you great meals, ( she is crazy, but a great cook)...my friends can take you sailing to private coves...I can show you Serra de Santana, ( a beautiful coast just outside Sesimbra)...Great food at Albotroz... a Church in Evora which is built from bones... the Gyspy Market and winery of Jose Maria de Fonseca in Azeitao...the mouth of hell, ( Boca de Inferno) in Cascais...we can even go fishing for polvo...trust on this, you should go and see what a real fishing village and life is like in Sesimbra...beijos...sparky
Anthony,
Looking forward to "At The Table". It should be a hoot. And I took my parents to see you in A.C. at Caesars, we had a great time watching you make the duck.
May your days be long upon the earth.
Mr. Bordain,
I am absolutely in awe of the experiences you have had and the ability to share them with the rest of us. I enjoy every aspect of your show, the exotic foods the interesting people and that little pinch of history about the culture you throw in to the mix. Your narration of the events is what keeps me watching, laughing and coming back for more.
Anthony you are a trip!
Anthony!
I am a huge fan of your show and your books, I have always wondered if you have ever visited Portland Maine. Not only is it a beautiful and historical coastal city, it has a wide variety of amazing restaurants. Hopefully you will find your way here sometime.
safe travels!
Cool. I was worried this was going to be a new series, and then I was worried about how that would go. One or two or three episodes sounds good.
I know I speak for many others (women especially!) when I say, it doesn't matter what you're talking about, as long as we get to see you! You could read the newspaper and I wouldn't miss it.
Tony, I am watching your show right now on travel channel. I've heard of you before but have never seen your show until today, it's a marathon! The episode that's on is of you looking for someone to travel to or with? I am a 23 year old Filipina, currently living in the Iowa US! I've been here for about 13 years but have family in Cebu City in the Philippines. I recently visited about over a year ago. The Philippines is a beautiful country and a beautiful culture. I know that you mentioned in this episode that you would like to go there in the near future, maybe you have already but if you haven't PLEASE visit, it's an amazing place to be and from watching this show, you would fit right in! -Elwie
Tony, I have been a fan for a long time and appreciate your honest approach to food and travel writing and broadcasting. After spending time waiting tables at a French bistro and then a contemporary American restaurant in Westchester, I have found my home at a small craft brewery. We have been having great success providing fresh beer produced in small batches to the local area. In the two and a half years since we opened our doors, our beers have won many regional awards a gold medal for our American Sour Ale at the 2007 GABF, a bronze for our Oak Aged Strong Ale and a gold medal for our American-Belgo Ale at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Drop us a line at the brewery and we would love to show you the brewery, share our brews, and perhaps even see what dishes they inspire in you. We are located right outside of Manhattan. This is a serious offer available in perpetuity with no strings attached. Keep up the good work, Tony, and hopefully we'll share a brew.
-Erik Bagen
Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Pleasantville, NY
Wow, an impressive group of egotistical snobs. Don't let yourself fall into the wrong crowd Tony!
Thank you for making the high-brows you "sat" with look stupid by asking "is $1900 too much for sushi?" Hell yes it is! Then they had the nerve by blaming KFC as the reason we don't have good street food! What arrogant fools. Get over yourselves, its just food. I just got back from a tour of Laos and Cambodia and it was some of the best (and cheapest) food I have ever had. I would gladly eat on the streets then say I sat in some stupid restaurant where celebrities go. This is why people hate NYC
I'm sorry to say, but 'At the Table' was a truly awful show!
I think I understand the concept - to discuss darker, road- less-traveled, food-related issues - but what an awful, effete group to try to do that with! Those people don't reflect - they indulge, and could give a damn about anyone else.
If there are going to be followup shows, try a multi-culti cast that you feel comfortable with. It was painful to watch your discomfort - like being forced to watch someone in a sitz bath.
Instead of trying to force contemplation and reflection from people unaccustomed to such solitude - seek people to whom thought comes naturally.
Best of luck,
Laura
Hi Tony,
WTF are you doing - Big Bad Idea !!!
You are a guy with a lot of class, a world traveller, your No Reservations show is viewed by millions of people. I and many of my friends have been following your shows since it began with "A Cook's Tour" many years ago.
Please get off of the table and get back on the road.
There are a lot of countries left in the world that deserve to have Anthony Bourdain dine at their tables and share their cultures with you and us.
Thank You and All the Best,
Raffi
You should do a show like this with fans. I think it would be much more interesting to take people from around the country and all backgrounds to a place like wd~50.
It shouldn't be too difficult to find some articulate and unafraid viewers willing to answer your questions while trying new and exciting food.
Tony,
*Loved* tonight's show. But when you say that you're "intimidated by the waiter," my bride says, "he just says that because he wants better service."
And then she and I shared a high-five.
Kudos, Tony. Loved the experimental show. And if you don't try doing another similar episode, then at least promise us at least to keep experimenting.
Cheers!
-S.
Were did you find those pseudointellectuals? Boring TV at best, is my opinion. Please show a rerun, or travel to Denny's in Kansas, before you do this again.
Tony, I like you so I watched the show but as a "normal" person, it sucked. Even the food...normal folk would never have any of that stuff. That's for rich people. Step down a few notches. You talked about getting into resturants because of who all of you are. Get out of New York to "Joe, the plumber" neck of the woods LOL
OMG you owe me Tony! You owe me an hour of my life I can never get back. That was the worst piece of *** I've ever seen! Please for the love of God tell me you havent turned into a tool! Stop this madness and do what you do best! That show was plain and simple!
Great show! I love the concept - love the guests - love the chef. Everyone seemed really stiff. More booze next time ;)
Then again - I devour everything you do, so who am I to judge.
Must make the trip into the city soon - wd-50 yum.
Now to watch you cook in rerun - thanks Stud!
Wow, did this show suck! Tony off script is really boring. The guests tried to sound intellectual and witty, but were all blowhards. As the virtual guest at the table, I couldn't wait for the check!
Please dont do another episode of this. Better yet, give someone with some appeal a show.
I think that you need "a Rube" in the mix to comment on what your "rich" food looks and tastes like!
The people on your show forgot all about their roots (even though they talk about it.) You need to have an everyday person to look and taste all the foods that you show. You talk about the "poorman's version" yet none of you are and have no idea what you are saying. One at the table should always be an actual down to earth everyday person (someone who makes under 60grand a year!) to review the food with you and tell their feelings as well. Are you scared to do so? I would love to see the truth in that!!! I don't care what your parents or grandparents made... where are you now!~
Damn, that was a good show. I have a bunch of stuff to put onto my blog! I enjoyed ALL of the conversation, but I would have liked to hear you talk about the food you were eating a little more, not just the yummy noises. I'm going to see if I can find the whole crab next time I buy one so I can try to find the tail meat. Maybe a few more shots of the chef in the kitchen as well. One hour was not enough!!!
To Anthony:
I am a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, an amateur chef, world traveler, and a fan of your shows and ideas. I have lived in Japan, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Israel; I have been all over Europe and South America. I love food and let my gastronomical instincts guide me on my travels. I was watching your show “At The Table” and I felt that an element missing from the conversation was that of the culinary un-elite. I don’t consider my self an expert or even enthusiast of culinary philosophy but I felt that many of the questions and answers of both you and your guests could have been explored more deeply and in different directions to appeal to the average travel/food television watcher. You might want to consider having one guest that can represent more of the non-professional attitude towards food and philosophy. I feel that (not me specifically) but they could help open the show up to a wider audience range and invite more controversial and pragmatic conversation.
The show was to put it gently.....s***. High brow nonsense in a restaurant few people watching the show would ever go to or be able to afford. If the goal was to disenfranchise your loyal viewers...mission accomplished. No witty reparte. No ascerbic commentary. WTF happened?
Wow - I would have rather seen you dancing around in a frilly pink blouse. The idea is a good one but you need to mix up the guests. Just because someone has a fine palate doesn't necessarily make them remotely interesting or capable of deep thought. Keep Ted lose the rest. And you need to invite me, after all I did stick my hand in the mouth of a man-eating squirrel for you.
I've loved your work until now. A bunch of elitist NYers dining at WD-50 dissing us regular folk about our restaurant/cooking habits. Out of touch much? Women don't cook as much any more???! Why not dine with some foodies who aren't part of the media and have kids who are over the age of three? Tony you need to tweek this concept which given the right people and setting, could be very compelling.
As an avid viewer of "No Reservation", I was looking forward to another version of "you." I was extrememly disappointed in this format. I thought that the conversation/questions, if that's how it can be described, could have been discussed/asked in someone's living room. Wylie presented some amazing food combinations and for all the work put forth in his kitchen, very little was said of this efforts. In all honesty, I am not sure that I would order/eat any of that!
Why would any chef open up to host this, with so little attention paid to their labors? His token appearance at the table was just that. Your table mates were egotistical and not sure if their performances were worse than your own??? I doubt that I will watch this again.
Love your books, love your shows. Simply put, I think when you look back on this show in a year or in five you will be embarrassed. Embarrassed by the conversation, embarrassed by the utter arrogance of it all. Maybe this "insider" view of a New York meal should have remained confidential for it revealed and confirmed what New Yorkers think of themselves and of others. And it wasn't pretty. Best of luck in the future.
Sincerely,
Steve
Disliked the show, deleted it after the first commercial. I have really enjoyed No Reservations, started watching after having seen you as a judge on T.C. I hope At The Table was a one-time thing and you got it out of your system. Stick to traveling the world.
Anthony...what were you thinking? people love you for "No Reservations", "cooks tour" etc. What was that show all about? i think i vomited a little in my mouth - Did you jump the shark? say it isn't so!!!!!
Hey, Tony- I thought the show was interesting for a 1st shot, but you looked so uncomfortable. I was hoping for more interesting repartee- and liked when you asked for the "last meal"---good to know that you enjoy Popeye's fried chicken and orange mac& cheese. Maybe you should consider having a more varied table of guests, from all sorts of backgrounds, not just restaurant veterans, just think of how interesting the conversations could be?
What the hell was that? Good thing I was folding my socks and underwear or I would have changed it early on. I appreciate the concept and respect trying to be innovative (and stay close to home) but listening to guilt-ridden, self-conscious, privileged celebrities all obviously afraid of dishing on what got them there was just disgusting Tony. I mean if you're gonna eat nearly $2,000 work of Sushi then just love it and tell me what it was like as I eat my leftover steamed veggies. the question format limited a natural discussion, you and Ted dominated everything and the food was barely part of it all. Before you think I'm a jealous looser--I'm not jealous (the looser part is debatable) I am a fan who has read your books, even the crime ones, and look forward to 'all' your shows...but this. This I can do without. Yuck! Where's my tequila palate cleanser?
OMG bring back the old format quick! Watching a bunch of people from NYC chop on....huh? what the hell was that s***....spilling their food philosophies, just isn't entertaining.
Hey Tony,
Just caught the episode and I loved it. I am a big fan of no reservations in general..
I loved this as it was a nice change to see you more on your home turf even if you were all awkward about having cameras around...
It is great to see people involved with Food in the way you and your guests are when you are in a completely different world as I am.. it's nice to get a true and honest inside view from you and your guests.
I haven't and probably never will spend $1,800 on a meal..
However, I recently took a trip to Portugal for my first trip to europe.. and tried to put a similar view to my trip as you do on no reservations. I was lucky enough to have a Lisbon Born local to show me around for 2 simple reasons.
1. because my portuguese.... não muito bem.
2. I wanted a real feel of Portugal and it's food/culture.
it was amazing.. and I thank you for opening my eyes to a new look on food and it's impact on culture.
I would also like to compliment your musical taste... the Stooges funhouse is perhaps one of the most influental albums for me.. both as a listener as well as a musician.. love it.. love the show.. loved the at the table episode.. thank you for being a true rock n roller and an inspiration in unexpected ways my friend.
hey tony, I dont know who your guests are, but they are pretty annoying, they dont seem like your kinda people either; are they? If you do this again, some more down to earth folks would be more entertaining. you know, people with deeper souls and consciousness that would answer your first question with a little more seriousness. I personally love your show because its on site engagement with true world conditions, working class people cooking good food on a jamaican street in order to feed the family a little better or a peasant farmer family in Laos offering you meat for supper because you are a guest, a privilege they rarely treat themselves with. Those are 1800 dollar meals. keep reaching out good brother, you do a great job.
Hey Tony, really don't like the new show. I could care less about upper middle class white people yammering about their bourgeois perspective on food. We all know about the ridiculously priced places that dominate urban life globally and their mind-numbing sameness and that fast food is better everywhere on the planet than the US.
So, give us something we don't know. And I mean something off the Faran Adria trend wave. Oh yawn, another foam, super frozen whatever. Who cares?
Everything that I LOVE about No Reservation is missing from this current, ah, well you know what I mean.
I have read all these comments and I think "shay" said it best- "travel to Denny's in Kansas , before you do this again"-- haha damm that **** is funny. TONY- you are still THE MAN- no doubt- just please tell me that these are not the people you are surrounding yourself with. COOK FREE OR DIE!!!!!!!
Dear Mr. Bourdain,
I would first of all like to offer my sincerest congratulations on accomplishing what I would (mistakenly perhaps) never have considered possible; that is, the furtherance of understanding between the world's peoples through the inescapable, universal common human currency that is food. Although I am certain that you understand the importance of the role that you play (and have indeed created) I fear that your program may sink into that lamentable abyss of unrealized television promise and we, all of us, may lose that rare and fragile thread that you in your honesty seem to have so skillfully woven. These are dark times, and if the promise of a brighter tomorrow be served from a cart on a dark street corner in monterrey then so be it.
All the best...
This show was a joke! The panel were pretentious and privileged. Let's start with Amy Sacco. She was so full of herself that it clouded the truth. Like "she" is going to wait in line outside a restaurant! And to ask her if she felt guilty about it! When she shows up it is like Moses was parting the Red Sea. Ted Allen would not tell the truth either. Believe me he has seen and done the most indescribable lewd acts imaginable in a restaurant or bar. And the grandpa writer character guy, hmmmm? Is it strange to have kids when your age is in the 70's? By the time the kids are in high school he will be almost 90. Selfish people do strange things. He will just pay someone to teach them how to throw a football. And lastly the page 6 writer. C'mon let's be real here. A gay guy with a hair lip has no clue about reality except for how he got his position and status. There is no way he shops and cooks his meals. He eats out more than 20 times a week, minimum. This panel was the biggest bunch of non hard working, non good moral, so far from reality bunch of prima donnas I have ever seen. The sad thing is that I think Anthony Bourdain is the most real, down to earth guy who has paid his dues. He even admitted feeling bad, when all these snobs lied. I have read his book and seen every episode of No Reservations. Take this little nugget of info from 39 year old who cooks, cleans, and is raising 4 boys ages from 2, 5, 16 and 18, and is married. Whose only debt in life is my house payment. No wonder this country is going down the toilet financially cause these snobs spend over a grand for dinner and then charge it. Like I said, WHAT A JOKE!!!! I will still be Anthony's biggest fan.
Juraxell@live.com
Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
I enjoyed the show. Sort of brightened my dreary Monday evening. Although it was pure escapism for me. I'm so broke right now that we are having beans and cornbread for supper tomorrow night. Wich isn't a bad thing. I seem to recall one of the men saying something about cornbread slathered with butter being a good last meal. I thought the conversation was good, intelligent, entertaining. And the food was certainly fun to look at. Next time, I would just mix it up a bit. Let some real chefs or people who actually cook do the talking. It's nice to hear from the guy behind the curtain once in a while. Remember that show on PBS where the gal interviewed a different chef each week? Well, I would like to see something like that again. I like Patrick O'connell, and Alice Waters, and Mario, and Thomas Keller. I want to hear what these guys have to say. Pick their brains.
One more thing ...
Couldn't help but notice the negative reviews. It is difficult to watch affluent, pompous snobs glop down plate after plate of fancy food while countless others go hungry in the world. It is a bit ostentatious. And Tony realized this. That's why he addressed it at the very beginning of the show. He mentioned the poor state of the world and the economy. He gets it. Television is about entertainment. I for one would love to sit down and chat with those guys. They are interesting. The show did what it was supposed to do. Like a train wreck, it captured our attention and kept it there for one hour. Or less, if you recorded it on the DVR and sped through the commercials like me. And that's the beauty of Tony, we like him and are happy to trod along wherever he goes, whether it be a dirt floor hut in Indonesia, or a fancy restaurant in NYC, just for fun.
I liked the format from last night.
One topic they discussed was the idea of the Celebrity Chef and has the phenomena changed how people cook? Well HELL YES it has! I'm finding items at my local store that, ten years ago would have never dreamed of finding. Miso Paste at the local Italian deli? (I live in NYC, so finding some of the more exotic ingredients is not impossible, BTW, they sell Durian in Chinatown now.) And shows like yours and Zimmern's are fantastic windows onto a new world of tastes, smells and flavors. All the cooking shows give people like me ideas on new things to make for dinner. And watching shows like yours from Singapore are an inspiration to try to make these dishes for dinner. Like you episode from Singapore -> Chicken-Rice, I went out got the ingredients, made it, now a family favorite! Thank you!
As for the "elitist NY'er" comments above all I say is this, if you're from (not some import from out of state) here you get it, if your not, you won't. Please come visit, get a local to take you where the real food is, not some over priced cathedral to molecular gastronomy. My city has so much of the greatest quality and variety of food choices in the world. And if you do run into some "elitist foodie snob" just tell'em, shut-up and pass the **** salt.
tony you should have invited the bizarre food guy and your buddy zamir!! cant wait for the new season of no reservations!
Very disappointing. Pretentious, self-important, and turned off at our house in favor of a "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" rerun.
I am a huge fan of "No Reservations," and I thought especially due to your position to allow me to escape into a world that is polar opposite to my own. Great Monday night entertainment!
Tony, let me be the first to say that I am a fan, and have been for a long time but you were kind of douche-baggy in this. No perhaps it's not ethically wrong to eat 1900 worth of sushi- it's your money-you've earned it..but to tell the average viewer who is at home watching your show eating ramen noodles right now? Definite DB factor. No reservations is a great, great show and I hope you are putting your whole heart in that, that's what I will be watching, visitng places I can't, talking to people I will never meet and showing the viewer something we wouldnt normally get to see- that's great TV! Sitting around watching a bunch of NYC elite dine on food that costs more than my rent? BORING and exclusive.
Tony,
I love No Reservations, I watch as many reruns as I can and alway look forward to catching the new episodes, but last night's foray into something different was, in a word, terrible.
I would rather watch you do a show at McDonald's than listen to those other blowtoads. Glad to know that this is a not a permanent thing. I would miss watching you on Monday nights.
I don't know where to start. This was sh***. Your guests came across like a bunch of elite New York foodie wankers. Wylie's efforts were ignored! He was humping for you guys and every time they sat a plate down, it was like, "What is this again? Okay, fine." Wolf it down, on to the next. Everybody seemed aloof and jaded, like something out of a Fitzgerald short story. Bill and Ted ;) were fine, but those other two HAVE to go. I was rolling my eyes at Amy Sacco’s comments so much I got cramps! Bill Buford's remarks were the *only* bright spot in this abysmal effort. He is right about this being the first generation that won't be able to pass down recipes. And I did laugh at his cornbread comments - guess his fixation on polenta isn't over... What a total waste of one hour that I'll never get back. Tony, PLEASE. No more episodes of this. You're worth more. This felt like you phoned it in.
Tony, if this is what we get "in between seasons" forget it. I'll hold out
Truly awful show. Amy Sacco was vapid and the most annoying. It was painful. This is what an old party girl looks like. The really old guy who is a writer came in second for being annoying. He took himself so seriously and had not much wisdom for someone so advanced in age. The guy from Queer Eye took third place for annoyance. He kept trying to interject something witty to try and ingratiate himself to the morons around him but fell flat everytime. Lastly, the other guy who was so insignificant I can't even describe him....he doesnt even place. OK, so there is the problem of the guests.
The food? Seemed like a promo for the restaurant. The problem? It's not food that appeals to the current sensibility. Tiny little corn beads with some sauce squirted onto a plate. So 1980's. I would go to Popeyes myself afterword to feel like a really ate a meal. That restaurant is out of touch.
Ok then the problem of Tony. Everyone is going to hate me on this. I actually watch No Reservations to learn about different cuisine and cultures from around the world. The show is unique in that aspect. I do not watch it to see Tony. In fact, I don't find him appealing at all. I find myself putting up with his presence in order to see the real star of the show, location.
At The Table just proved that to me. Take out the star, location, and you're left with someone, Tony, you wouldnt want to have dinner with. Not even for $1,800. Ok maybe if it were dinner in Egypt.
Watched the show--like I said before, I'm a purist. Don't quit the day job Tony, this format left me wanting!! Good try, but a miss. Dining with the common folk would have been much more entertaining--and that was the idea, wasn't it? To entertain, not bore! Major yawn--not your fault. I could watch you clip your toenails and be entertained by it, I'm sure, but leave the other foodies out, please, please! Still a fan--No Reservations.
Sue W-The Hamster
Tony,
I love your show, but the "at the table" deal seemed like a poorly edited group of epicurian jerk-offs. You excluded of course. I wish Zimmer was there eating a chicken head.
Tony-I adore you and No Reservations, but...
I agree completely with previous comments-around the table was extraordinarily pretentious. It left me feeling like my culinary endeavors and minor successes have been plebian at best.
What no cigars? No brandy snifters? Where were the mink coats and top hats? With that kind of arrogance, I felt like I had been transported to a contemporaneous Gosford Park.
Agreed-spending $1900 on a sushi dinner raises some obvious moral dilemmas, but the previous writer who remarked that you were discussing this to people who were sitting at home ramen noodles for dinner (in my case, spaghetti) brought up an even better point.
Aren't you supposed to be the working man's hero? I hope you aren't like that in real life. I hope those people aren't actually your friends either. They seemed like horrible human beings.
Loved it, as it was a very funny informative gathering.
Tony,
Ugh!! Horrible, boring, dull, pretentious. What were you thinking? I am a fan, but I have my limits, and At The Table only made it about 20 minutes before I had to erase the recording. I found your opening question regarding spending 1800 bucks on sushi was little more than your attempt to make sure everybody realizes your level of wealth. If that's what you want to spend your bucks on, you ain't gonna be wealthy very long, my friend. Perhaps if you had some of your fan base as guests rather than the boring, self absorbed mucky-mucks it may have been fun. And as for the food presented, I had to put my glasses on to see the portions. Hope the sushi portions were more substantial so at least the $1800 spent wasn't quite the rip. As it stands, I'd prefer to watch Andrew Zimmer swallow a giant worm than try to swallow the another episode of At The Table....
Your officially one of them. This show is painful and annoying of all people YOU should know that 1900 dollars for a meal is ludicrous. You are so into yourself, stuffy, privileged, and boring. I hope you enjoy your reverse mid life crisis Marie-Antoinetting around with the fake celebrities of the world.
Almost forgot Wylie Dufresne was brilliant.
I ENJOYED THE SHOW, BUT WHY AMY SACCO??? SHE IS HARD ON THE EYES AND BRINGS NOTHING! TO THE TABLE.
PS--I STILL LOVE NO RESERVATIONS BETTER!
I turned the channel at the first break, couldn't take it.
As to the 1800 dollar meal question. In a way, thats what your paid to do. Go places and eat things. High dollar or low dollar,I want to hear about it.
I absolutely loved "At the Table". It was different, raw and real. I know you say you have no plan to make a series out of it...but it's something new and original that I would watch every week.
As to the the lack of female chefs on the Food Network, well...I have lost interest in most of their shows. They used to showcase real chefs, now it seems like their focusing on the kids. I, as a woman and a pastry chef and chocolatier, would love to see more women chefs back on tv. It seems like we've gone full circle and now we're back to mainly men in the kitchen. Where DID the women go???
I have to admit that your shows are among the most exciting & intersting shows I have ever seen . I enjoy them all very much.
Awful. Just. Plain. Awful.
dear Tony, I am a huge fan of urs been cooking for about 11 years. I really like all the places and food that u get to taste on all ur adventures. at the table was the raw real deal about cooking and the cullinary proffesion. there are alot of men chefs out there but slowly but surely the women and starting to follow in the art of cooking profesionally which i think is awsome. i watch all ur shows every chance i get with my life being a chef and raising my little girl that is 14 months with my wife. thank you for all ur great shows and more to come so i can see all the different cultures.
I couldn't care less if you dine on gold-leaf covered baby seals or bathe in angel's tears, but please spare me your New Yorker's assumption that the rest of the world craves news of every thought and action of the denizens of your foul smelling rat maze. What IS that? Texans are the same way. Do you assume that everone that doesn't aspire to live in Manhattan is ignorant of it's charms or too dumb to make it there? Think again, city mice. Now go to Guatemala and eat fresh tortillas on a street corner, or something. Thanks!
Ummm, wow this was godawful. Love Bourdain, love Ted Allen, like that Chris Wilson guy, but you could not pay me to watch this trainwreck again. Could you just have gone to a cheap Chinese joint and spent the dinner allowance on some decent lighting and sound? And I really don't understand why you ate at WD-50 and didn't discuss the food! It looked very intriguing but despite the fact that there were 5 people who loved to hear themselves talk at the table, I didn't learn anything about how it tasted. I expected way better from Bourdain. Please learn from your mistakes on this one or don't do this again.
Really glad to hear this is a one-off (or maybe a two or three).... didn't enjoy it as much as the travel-filled shows.
Hey Tony when you wanted to know the effect that tv cooking shows had on the public I just wanted you to know that not only has it inspired me but my entire family to try the local restaurants and skip the chains on our travels. Even my children 10 and 8 have caught on that while we are on trips they AREN'T getting Mcdonald's and have been more adventurous in the type of foods they try while we go to these new restaurants. We also are having fun recreating some of these dishes plus others we have seen on tv here at home. I think the shows have opened a lot of people up to trying new things instead of the same old/same old stuff. So thank you for your shows!
I'm a big fan of your food, your books and shows.
Glad to see you settle into New York City.
Hope you'll go to Le Bernadin, my favorite New York Restaurant.
LOve the show, love the concept
It's nice to hear the stories behind the food
My only suggestion is to sack Sacco.What a self absorbed, contentious bitch. I'm sure she was somebody in her day but that was yesterday.Please tell her it's us regular people that keep restaurants in business, not her celebrities.
I gotta go check Zimmerns blog comments to see if he has anything like this mountain of bad reviews that you have Tony. I havent seen anything like this. Hope someone is reading this in your camp and never lets you host what is destined to be a mess again.
I have been warming to Zimmern more and more and Tony less and less.
My question is this-Did Travel Channel viewers do something that required punishment? I found At The Table to be pretentious and hollow and these are the kindest words I can use to describe it. I am a fan of No Reservations and Anthony Bourdain and I looked forward to watching him try something different. Well, after about 15 minutes in and several “What the’s” later I quickly turned the channel. I just could not get away fast enough. I was left wondering what that was. An attempt at.... What? Tony I don’t believe I have ever seen you look so uncomfortable. It was painfully obvious to the viewer that you were out of your element. You were glancing around the table as if you were afraid the others were going to start eyeing you up as the main course.
I enjoy No Reservations immensely. You truly take the viewer with you on your journey and I love your snarky musings about the wonderful people you meet along the way. So broaden our horizons, take us with you as you explore other countries and cultures and their cuisine. But in my opinion, I would rather not join you at THAT table.
Let’s hope it was the last supper....
WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY EATING????
Just watched the Bourdain and friends show. Lively conversation, good topics.
But what in heavens name were they eating. I have no idea what they charge for a tasting menu at WD50 but to these eyes it all looked like foam and rainbows.
There was only one dish that I could vaguely comprehend and that was the tongue course. At least I think it was tongue. Well that and the Crab, that looked Yummy.
But talk about UBER portion control, there was so much white from the plates that It nearly blinded me.
I like inventive food, but believe you me if I have to plunk down serious cash for a meal I had better leave full.
Sigh... there's always going to be people who hate things just because it's something different... I for one loved it, and would definitely watch a few more shows in a similar format. Thanks for all your great work.
For all the people so caught up in this supposed pretentiousness... did nobody hear the conversations about their last meals? Meatballs, BBQ, pasta, Shake N Bake... yes, these are professional foodies, enjoying a spectacular meal... but I thought this part of the show really made it more honest and personable.
Tony,
I'm twisted over the show.
Part of me liked the idea of the show, but another part of me was totally annoyed by the guests.
This type of show would be interesting with fans or other chefs that are like you(like Roman). People who don't have their nose stuck so far up the New York restaurant scene and can relate to your viewers.
I felt like it was not the type of show you were keen on doing. Or at least part of it may of not been something you were happy with.
And please kick Amy Sacco in the ***, if she thinks the regular joe is more of an asshole than a celebrity at times, then I'll fry up my shoe and eat with a bolognese sauce.
Anyways, keep up the great work with No Reservations.
i didn't mind the show at all--it was fine! uh, don't we all read/watch/listen to Tony for, Tony? we should be happy! it's like getting a bonus--a macaron ON TOP of the souffle. sheesh. yeah no reservations is better--so what? I guarantee you there was NOTHING BETTER on television at the time--unless i dunno you prefer to watch Gossip Girl. but eh i'm not judging.
Tony said some great things, Ted Allen was, well himself, the guy who dumped out the cacao beans was interesting, the other two---well they didn't quite fit.
If I were a writer on the show---next time i would have on a chef, a no-body whose only connection to food is its consumption, a food blogger (because i'm biased) and of course MYSELF.
The dry ice foie gras was AMAZING!! come on you guys you have to admit even if you hated the show that it was worth watching for that!
I've been asked about the "your last meal," many times before. Like you Tony, I travel the world and party with people abroad. I'd have to say for me is a plate of OHH TORO NIGIRI SUSHI. As we say in Japan when eating "brings tears to my eyes and now I can go to heaven," kinda thing. I think you also mentioned that. take care enjoy your show! ENO
like many of the previous commentators, I also enjoy No Reservations so eagerly tuned into At the Table. What a disappointment. This show showcases the worst of New Yorkers and cutting edge dining or experimental food. While the show dabbles in the ethics of haute cusine (is there something wrong with eating a $1,800 dinner when so many are struggling? Certainly a question worth asking) it quickly forgoes true intellectual consideration and moves to a chance for the participants to talk about their privilege and cool-food club chops. The conversation was just as self-absorbed as the participants, all of them waiting for their chance to talk about how qualified they are to be eating a $1,800 dinner and how well traveled they are. Picking cacao beans in Brazil? Then talking about filthy bathrooms? Unfunny, uninteresting and smacks of insecurity and false bravado and the worst of what experimental anything attracts. It's unclear who they are trying harder to impress, each other or the audience. I've only heard of Bill Buford because I read the New Yorker, and he isn't one of the best minds they have. Amy Sacco owns Bungalow 8? She's the perfect host for the desperate-for-attention celebrities who go there, hoping that someone is looking at them.
In this sort of venue, experimental food seems much like experimental poetry; more posturing and proving your brilliance and sneering at what the normal people think is good or interesting ("I hate eggs Benedict" or "I haven't eaten street food since I was a kid") and the comments about Rachel Ray fit right into this genre. While I am no Rachel Ray fan, it said a lot more about the guests than it did about the you-too-can-cook oeuvre. Sure this is banal, but the simpering masses who want to watch and learn to cook are in large part the same audience who watches food shows on the Travel channel and watches the shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy who made one of the guests semi-recognizable. Those who have achieved true fame don't bite the hand that holds the remote to tune into their show. These guests are all "F" list spokespeople at best telling us how hip they were before hip was cool: regular at a bar so cool it's no longer there? Check. Fan of a band before it was cool to be into them? Check. Already been everywhere people have heard of (and probably lived there before it was cool to do so) so now you've moved onto the "undiscovered" places? Check. It must be exhausting to be you. I loved the comment who said they were folding socks to this show, the perfect activity to counter the self-proclaimed superiority of your guests.
The entire show is this: it's totally boring, quibbling, insecure and self-absorbed. It's like listening to ivy league frat boys reminisce too loudly about their college days hoping others will overhear and envy them. Ugh! I hope this was a one time show and not a pilot.
Bourdain should stick to what you're good at: going to out of the way places, smoking and drinking and learning show after show in an only slightly meta critical musing, that people are the same everywhere: they eat, they celebrate, they share with friends and families. Keep this heinous brand of New Yorkers in the city that deserves them, the agony of listening to each other whine and posture should be punishment enough.
Hated the new format...at the table...
But - I'm a huge fan of yours...definitely prefer the original format
About the $1800 meal, I think this quote from an article on the front page of the NY Times puts it in perspective:
"in a 'disturbing' trend, Castro-Wright said Wal-Mart for the first time is seeing a paycheck-related spike in sales of baby formula, suggesting consumers are rushing to buy such necessities as soon as they have the cash."
Tony, I've watched every episode of "No Reservations." The show about Spain, I watched three or four times. As for "At the Table," I could not make it past the first five minutes. Cognitive dissonance reverberating from every corner of my skull would not permit me to continue.
You are perfectly aware of the ethical implications of an obscene dinner tab. Otherwise, you wouldn't have posed the question.
What a crock of deep merde when you said people were starving here in America and in the next breath you dropped $1900.00 on Sushi, at Mastif or whatever. You appeared to be looking for acceptance from your colleagues to justify the hypocracy of spending that kind of greed for fish and rice and veggies. And they prolifically backed you up. I've always loved your shows..........this show's pretensiousness was disgusting.
Did you have anything to show for this art as you call it, but to sit with the food snobs and discuss how you will never forget the experience.............geeze....who are you? You were off of my screen after that statement......
never to return maybe.........
You know, the new show I am not so sure about. Not being a hater, but a bunch of affluent white people complaining about eating well, while eating a meal I could never afford. On a good note, the show reminded me of a culinary Bert Sugar sports reporter roundtable. BTW, if I had the cash for a used Honda Civic and spent it on a fantastic Sushi meal, I would not look for justification. Just live life man.
Chef-Loved the latest episode of you all sitting down at WD-50. your discusion was very enlighning. I to have dropped alot of money for dinner before. $800 dollars at Trotters, it was worth every penny, and so was the experience. Next stop hopefully is Blackbird or the new restaurant in Chicago L2O. It would be so cool to disscus those same points with you over dinner with others. Anyways keep up the good work Chef, looking forward to the next season.
In general, my wife love "No Reservations" but...
You have often shown a real empathy for the "less fortunate" without condescending to their cultures. I have enjoyed your open attitudes to "vices" and dismissal of pretension. Here you appeared to be drowning in it.
As example: your first question regarding any guilt that might accrue from your spending $1800 on one meal, while others in the world are starving, or maybe just working too hard for too little was answered very badly by the group. It ISN'T a matter of not being guilt as long as it wasn't you spending your daughter's college fund, but that there is a direct connection between your ability to spend such obscene amounts of cash on trifles (no matter how delicious or luxuriously ornate) and the fact that others are eating little or nothing. There actually are limited resources in the world, and if one person gets too much, it is precisely because someone else must settle for too little. I don't care if it generates a lifetime (or several lifetimes) of memories for you and yours. Your pleasure isn't really the point in an economic discussion. Perhaps you realized this (you certainly seemed dissatisfied with the answers), but - perhaps because you are not an economist - you failed to bring them to task for their "luxury blindness". I know there are people in the world like them, but - frankly - I wish there were not.
The "500 pound anchovy" in the pizza is - of course - the fact that in America (and with such a group of "incestuous culture hounds" - capitalism itself either can not or will not be critiqued, thus rendering any such discussion merely pretentious and self-serving. It was as if ancient Roman Senators were discussing whether or not they should feel bad because they dine on larks' tongue while their slaves eat shit and die. If you have to ask...
Still, I am a great admirer of you and the show, and the many times (as in the Mexican border town show) you have shown a real and rugged appreciation of other cultures, and of the less "advantaged". This show...my wife and I turned away in queasiness after twenty minutes or so. It is perhaps the worst time possible for this show to air. Perhaps, even a few months ago, it might have been less of a bother. But now it seems ugly in its indulgence.
Hey Tony when you wanted to know what effect tv cooking shows has had on the public I thought I would let you know that since we started watching we now find the local places to eat at when we travel vs. the chain places. It has not only made me and my husband more adventurous but our 10&8 y/o as well. The best part of the fun is coming home and trying to recreate these dishes in our own kitchen. So keep the ideas coming please!
Yeah Tony. They were all ****s. Would had liked Wylie to talk more about his business instead of these boring **** acting like they're cool.
Next time get some real people.
Tony, please skip the balut. There's more to Philippine cuisine than this and I hope you'll experience this when you're here.
Tony, We all realize that you're making a little more money now but please remember how you got where you are. The show SUCKED and the tv was turned off at the first break...what a complete waste of time for your fans. This would have fared better maybe on the "Fine Living" Channel. Please go back to your roots with "real people". Hated the show.
Tony,
I actually think the format was great, I just didn't like the guests. Ted was fine, but the other 3 sucked. Wilson was bland, the old guy was boringly pretentious, and Sacco was a vapid ****.
If you could get more interesting guests, I'd love to see another "At The Table."
i loved it
but i kind of sensed all the guests held back
the thing i love about no reservations is that there really is no barriers (or it seems like that) to what tony experiences and thinks. and i missed that becuase it felt like everyone wasn't prepared to go with the brutal honesty or truth when peppered with questions
Tony, I am a 62year old granma and I am new to watching your show. I fell in love with it and ran out and bought your book, "No Reservations." It is great! You have such a great way of expressing yourself and are so down to earth. We tape all your shows and watch them in the evenings. I would love to meet you some day. Your ideas on life have really inspired me to make some big changes in my life. "Thank you for that". I would love to meet you someday just to say hi and maybe have you sign my book. Unlike the usual movie star, you seem like a real next door type neighbor! Keep true to yourself, Sammy
So I'll start off honestly by saying I didn't see the whole show...Having a 20 month little girl running around getting ready for bed is distracting...But man, have you even seen the comments on the discussion boards about Dinner At The Table...I've been a fan for years, read your books, in fact I'm reading "A Cook's Tour" right now,your in Mexico telling of where all the great chefs and sous come from...bought the full dvd set of Kitchen Confidential & even made my wife jealous when I run to the TV on Monday night...But, it was...Weird, You not meeting and experiencing far away lands that all us fans love to get lost in...I'm thrilled to hear you're on the move for a new No Reservations, at least that's how I took your blog...But for Gods sake stop them from airing another episode. And promise me you'll not hang out with the gay guy that started out on Queer Eye & somehow became a regular judge on Iron Chef and now has own odd chemistry show...Hurts my eyes to watch and my ears to listen to anything he says...So I really hope this little talk will get things back on course...Like the green hit off a nuggy bowl...
wd
Mr. Bourdain, my wife and I have enjoyed your show immensely over its course: its generous overview of other cultures, its avoidance of “best bathroom in Brussels” mentality (so common in many travel shows), and your open mind on matters of human “vices”. So many of your shows reveal a real empathy for the “have nots” and the disenfranchised: I recall your marvelous “Mexican border town” essay, and your discussion with the irascible Harvey Pekar as prime examples of this. All in all, an educational as well as entertaining stride across a multi-cultural landscape.
But – even though I do not believe in a human “soul” – this show crushed mine. It was everything about “food culture” that you have previously disdained or – at least – shown some healthy cynicism over. Your first question – about feeling guilt over having a dinner costing $1800 – was entirely misunderstood by your comrades: it isn’t that one can feel unguilty simply because you are not raiding your daughter’s college fund for some culinary pleasantry, but that you might realize that if one person has entirely too much of a good thing, then someone else must have entirely too littel: there is actually only so much to go around. The responses were revelatory of a (truly) elitist point of view, that seems to preclude reality. I know full well that there are people like this in the world, but – frankly – I wish there were not. This display of unthinking decadence (especially now) is perhaps at best un-nerving, and – at worst – almost criminally ignorant of the world outside the tiny food world of New York City. Which is not what I expect of and enjoy in you and your show. A disaster by any standard.
I know it is just entertainment, that you are not an economics major, but – once you brought up the idea of guilt in relation to conspicuous consumption – you should have pushed the point home a little more vociferously. As it was, the answers only illuminated the rather ugly arrogance of the too-rich and too-bored. It was like watching Roman Senators arguing over whether or not they should feel shame because they goirge themselves on larks’ tongues while their slaves eat shit and die.
I am not wealthy by any standard, but even though I have a diet that is more than adequate to my nutritional needs, I am fully aware that the fact I do means someone else probably doesn’t. It is fine to speak of “honoring the animal to be eaten” when you are chowing down on – say – ocelot intestines dipped in sweetened lamprey urine, but not so fine not to also understand the equally “sacred” notion that you are able to do such sumptuous things precisely because so many others are not.
This show (to bring up those pesky ancients Romans again) is why some Caesars enacted sumptuary laws to moderate public ostentation: they realized such displays promoted civil disgruntlement if I may. At the moment of viewing, I wished for the return of the Paris Communard, and a resort to a few judiciously placed guilloutines. I think this is not the effect you are going for, and – in fact – this show has undermined the rest of your work in presenting cuisine and the culture of cuisine in a favorable light.
I do not have any problem with the show’s basic concept: a few people having a lively discussion over food. But your choice of eating partners rendered it inevitable that the conversation would be both insulting to conscience and devoid of any viewpoint but that of a very small percentage of viewers. Amy Sacco was probably the worst offender, coming off as the Marie Antoinette of the table. But Chris Wilson’s use of the phrase “nanny state” (invented and used extensively by Rush Limbaugh) made me wonder what is the nature of his politics. You addressed this with your comments on Singapore, but he still came off bad.
Also – strictly from the viewpoint of your usually “catholic” approach to food – the food here represented to me the very worst of the “eating as artform” concept, an idea so beautifully handled in the Japanese cuisine show, where I finally got a grip on the value of sushi and presentation. Contrary to Chris’ comparison of paintings to food, the functionalities are entirely different, and to forget that along the way, and to elevate food mainly to a static culture item rather than a matter iof life-and-death is too much really, and quite pretentious.
Something needs to be said perhaps to ameliorate this horrible taste in people’s mouths.
I think – from what I have seen of you and your show – that you are more than fit for the job.
Well...a bit too restrained for me, but then again, this was only the first "episode". A little tweeking, some better guests, more free-flowing discussion (and wine for that matter), and hide the cameras and it might rectify itself. You started off well with the $1800 question, but it fell apart later. Guest were too stiff - or scared to say what they really wanted to. Try one in a dirty bar and see what happens. Never the less, a good try and will watch again. Cheers, artnlit (Bonnie)
To be honest, I found this utterly unwatchable. My wife and I watch No Reservations religiously and were trying to keep an open mind about this one.
It wasn't that Mr. Bourdain was a poor host or that the guests weren't trying hard enough. It was just highly pretentious and boring. I have no interest in listening to a bunch of rich people talk about the plight of the common folk as they drink $200 dollar bottles of wine. It was like an episode of Frasier without the punchlines.
I felt several questions were like lobbing softballs. Rather than asking how should you feel about eating an $1800 sushi meal, the questions might have been, what makes that sushi meal cost $1800, and what's involved in harvesting and transporting sushi worth charging $1800 and how would you feel about the meal after pondering the 'bigger picture' of an $1800 sushi meal.
I didn't get to see "At The Table" till this morning, and was a little uneasy, having seen some of these responses before actually viewing the show...so I was pleasantly surprised. It really was like being at a dinner party with Tony as one of the guests (or what I imagined that would be like)-- I enjoyed the conversation, and the expression on his face as he'd light the conversational stick of dynamite (and then toss it to one of the other guests) was priceless. I don't think this would fly week after week, as the novelty would wear off( at least compared to "No Reservations"), but I really enjoyed it as a stand-alone show. And I have to agree with the panel regarding why one might drop megabucks on a special dining experience...I did that at Bar Masa last January, and still mull over the unique tastes I experienced for the first time. Those are memories worth the cost...
"At the Table" was about the worst show I've ever seen. This is coming from a regular viewer of "No Reservations." As someone who was laid-off in January and unable to find work, it was painful to watch a bunch of swells pontificating about eating a $1,900 meal during the worst economic times in living memory. If you have that kind of money to burn, you should have eaten some street hot dogs and given the remaining $1,895 to charity. That kind of scratch could feed my wife and I for about nine weeks. In a few weeks, after my unemployment runs out, I'll think of you and your stupid, boring friends and the $1,900 meal and what I could have done with the money
Ok Tony, I just want to add that my husband and I watched "At the table" last night. I enjoyed it very much. My husband would have got bored and want to turn it had the phone not rang and had his attention, he knows better than to turn you off though! I really enjoyed your questions and as always your facial expressions when you blow some one's mind! it doesn't matter to me what you do on your show, you are so intertaining to me I would watch anything. I just purchased my second book of yours today and am in the process of reading it now. Keep me smiling, Sammy
I just had lunch at le halle in miami- hugely disappointing. The waitress forgot to order my entree- and then fought with us about our order. My friend ordered for me per my request but it just didn't seem to "stick" with the waitress- she served me the the appetizer he had ordered for me at the same time he served my friend his entree. We had previously questioned her regarding the service when someone at the table received his soup and the warm potato and olive salad did not come. She said it was on it's way... I just shut up and limped along with the salad while the others chowed down on their beef bourguignon.
I was comped my entree in a takeaway bag.
Not a great "at the table experience"
Heard your not affiliated with this restaurant anymore, Mr Bourdain.
Is that the truth?
I thoroughly enjoyed Monday's "At the Table". Normally, I am an insomniac, but this new show put me right to sleep. Bravo - a new drug-free treatment for sleeplessness. Might I suggest a litle more humor and irreverence. Humor, in fact, is one of the most appealing features of "No Reservations". And you, Tony, are a fungi.
I read a lot of the comments, before turning on the recording of "At the Table". I was prepared for the worst. Sorry all you other negatives, but I found a lot to like. Was it great? No, but it was good. Remember the first time you learned to talk on TV? I would love to see you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try again. Some of the literate, funny, bashful Tony came through, so I do not think you "sold Out", but whoever chose the guests failed on a couple. "Deadhead" on your right, Camera shy (frightened)on your left did not help. I can understand freezing of the mind when everywhere you looked there are cameras! For a moment, I thought the conversation would fly, but the moment passed. The food, however, was treated with offhandedness that I found disgraceful. So, my suggestion is to go back to the think tank and work out the snags and then go back and have fun.
Wow, this batch of comments has turned into a real cluster****, as Tony would say. I think the show's format would work better as a one-on-one with a dynamic food person who actually has something to say. Buford would come closest of those included in this particular show. But what was up with those ridiculous cuts to comments by individual guests? After a while I was expecting Dwight Schrute to pop up and say something.
Tony, my brother who is a chef and I just spent an enjoyable sushi lunch trying to top each others hyperbole on how bad this episode was. It's all from a place of love. He loves how respectful you are of the people who make restaurants work - as evidenced by your books and most recently your delightful return to the line at Les Halles after 8 years of celeb-ing it. We both love how deeply appreciative you are of other cultures. It is an art how you can balance your New York acid wit with absolutely genuine humility when you are helping us all to learn about other cultures. And you are teaching us, which is in service to the universe. We both loved your show on Japan. You are one of the only media elite who is truly in the "get it" club(as defined by people we'd like to smoke and drink with). But Jesus, Tony, what was this?? You are turning into all you have so artfully pilloried all these years. The guy whose books make me laugh so hard on airplanes that my seatmates ring for the flight attendant as cheap chardonnay comes out my nose - this same guy is letting Amy Sacco get away with saying things like "well I haven't eaten street food since I was a child." BLECH! We'll forgive you because our love is unconditional but don't let it happen again. You admitted you were wrong when you called the Ewok a sell out. Were we wrong when we staunchly defended you as being different? Hope not. PS I am so heartened to read how smart your fans are in these other postings. Couldn'ta said it better myself. All Best, Cate (food consumption) and Grant (food production)
Well, my comment has nothing at all to do with any of this. Just watched a rerun of your India show (Mombia, etc.) Not only are you a fascinating and hilarious character, your commentary is brilliant. If you are writing all this copy, as well as starring in the show, hats off to you. Keep em coming!
Just putrid. I couldn't make it past the first few minutes.
The guests were pretentious if not downright moronic. And your discussion of the $1800 sushi dinner spoke for itself.
Where is the Tony Bourdain who reveled in the night markets of Africa? Where is that witty traveler who reflected so elegantly on the pleasures of roast pork and cold beer?
Does he still breathe below this awful veneer of false sophistication? Or has he slipped into a coma of masturbatory self-congratulation?
You need to get back to basics brother. Forget the pose and the whole "special knowledge" trip.
My wife and I didn't watch the show until this evening. Given the comments on this board we were prepared for the worst. Imagine our surprise to find the show mildly entertaining. I can't really say any new ground was broken. It was the kind of like a typical discussion one finds on a foodie board like Chowhound or eGullet. The only person who really intrigued me was Bill Buford. Everything that man says and writes makes me wonder what makes him tick.
What I really can't understand is the depth of the hating and resentment here. I don't think a lot of people here really get who Tony Bourdain is. I think maybe Tony is in danger of becoming a victim of his own success. People now only want to see him out in the bush snarking away while chomping away on roasted water beetles and knocking back shot after shot of the local hooch. If he still gets a kick out of doing that, fine, but ultimately getting trapped and limited by fans'expectations is the fate of many a "TV personality" and it's not a fate I'd like to see for a smart, savvy man like Tony Bourdain. I can't help but think that maybe it's getting time for Tony to disappear to Vietnam or Bali and write that book he always used to talk about.
I think the At The Table format has a lot of potential and I really enjoyed Tony, Ted Allen and Bill Buford. The cut away shots to the guests commenting about Tony and the show have to go, however, if you do this again. That unnecessary fluff made what could have been a smart, thoughtful discussion feel like one of those crappy Fox shows.
Have to agree with you Nathan. The cut-away comments distracted from the flow of the conversation and the meal. Judging from Tony's reaction to the comments here, I don't think there is going to be a next time. Also agree with Ben who thought Tony soft-peddled some of the questions. For example, does the sushi meal at Masa cost $1800, in part, because some of those species of fish aren't going to be with us much longer?
Tony, ignore the haters, I thought the show was great. I'd have loved to see the outtakes, though. Let's have some more of this. Of course, you COULD make everybody happy, and just do two series -- you weren't doing anything with those leftover hours between 2 and 6 am, were you?
The show was ok, but it needs "tweaking".
Guests: Loved all the guys. Did not like the woman. She was trying too hard.
Format: It didn't flow well. Asking "What are we eating now" cut into good conversations that were just beginning. The shots that cut away to the guests....well, they just weren't funny.
The food: In times like these where Average Joe is struggling to buy a loaf of bread, we see that extravagance and hear about an $1800 meal you had? Not feeling the love. The best part was when you all talked about "mom's spaghetti and meatballs", KFC; your "death row meals", etc. That's when the REAL side of you all came through.
You seemed uptight and that made things uncomfortable all the way around. It's a good concept but it definitely needs some work. Thanks for being real and admitting that....most people wouldn't.
With the exception of Buford who rules (and has since the "Among the Thugs" Days) this was an exercise in star-f***ing the star-F***ers. Painful. Remind me why I care what any of these people have to say about well, anything.
It was actually a very special episode of 'Real Housewives of New York'
Tony:
So, I did watch the show, and I was not disappointed. Duly noted, however, were the somewhat restrained responses to what was actually eaten "at table." Not surprising were the "last meal" scenarios. Simple comfort foods--mostly from Mom or (scandalously)KFC. Foods like Mom's spaghetti and meatballs, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac-n-cheese. It was validating. When I retire, my sons, who are both professionals, and I want to purchase a restaurant. The theme will be "high-end comfort food." I learned this term from you, Tony. Thank you. Thomas Keller will be 40 miles away. My fantasy is that he, and you, stop by for some bass fishing and come in for some grub. Hearing the two of you say, "This is really good," will be the greatest. Keep your creative juices flowing, and your mischieviousness intact.
I have to admit I am very bummed that I missed 'At The Table' Regardless if anyone else liked it or not. I dig making my own decisions about everything...
I would watch you if you were on a show reading to your little girl, some good Dr. Suess ~ always good for a laugh.
I think you are refreshing and your wit and sarcastic sense of humor are a huge draw for me.
I do like you Sam I Am (I'm sorry I couldn't resist)
I like to watch you on that box.
You are "really very good"
I think you are at your sexiest when you eat with your fingers!
Thank you for bringing us all the most interesting 'food' show on television.
As the song says, I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies... I think your show brings the real culture and important things in different countries into our lives. Showing us truth in the places you go, never being hollow, you always seem in the moment, full and as you say "Hungry for more" which is what I and most of your fans (from what I have read) dig the most about you.
Peace Baby! Stay Golden :o)
Tony
was entertaining but get back to what you do best
and watch who is on you coat tails
Tony,
Gotta love a man that will try anything at least once. ;o)
However... Ouch.
I'll consider *that* a hiccup, and look forward to your next trip.
So where is the last meal, Brussel Sprout, bacon and mayonnaise recipe? I have four stalks left in the garden to harvest, and thought I'd try that.
Tony -
I thought it was a fair first attempt, but I also hope it was the last attempt, at this round-table format. If you try it again, might I suggest what others have already... pick some real, down to earth people. A good guy who comes to mind is Mike Rowe from Discovery Channel. If he brought a couple friends with him, you'd be set.
Tony, I love you man! Keep up the good work. There's nothing I can say here that isn't cliche and that pisses me off.
I like food.
- Andy
Yee-ouch! I finally got around to watching this "At the Table" experiment over the weekend. Unable to come up with witty new ways of saying "snobbish", "pretentious" and "foodie wankers" to describe that , I'll just say "ditto" to what everyone else said.
You know the age-old question "what five people living or dead would you want to have dinner with?" After watching that episode, I can confidently scratch four possible names off the list of candidates.
Painful watching, my friend. Painful...
Next time you get the urge to try this format, drag the camera crew along on your next after hours binge at the Spotted Pig, and bring along Ripert and Ruhlman. It's guaranteed to be more entertaining than this train wreck. Whether it will pass Standards and Practices is another story . . .
bravo Anthony I just saw the first ep. of at the table and i love it. i love how you incorporate food and alcohol in everything that you do. By the way good meals are priceless
Seriously, I REALLY tried to like it. No Reservations is the only cooking/foodie show that my husband and I can truly enjoy together so we REALLY wanted to try to like the show. But it sucked. Mr. Anthony Bourdain himself looked like he was uncomfortable in his own skin. When does that happen? I think this is what happpens when you stray from your passion and go against your gut instinct. Hopefully there will be better adventures in the future! I still have faith/hope in Mr. Bourdain!
Please promise us you wont do this again!
The show was bad. I don't understand how someone who appreciates much of what this big globe has to offer can so quickly revert to the small, cliched NYC petri-dish of self-worshiping.
Anthony, I love No Reservations. My wife and I are travelers and when we want to travel somewhere, we use your show for ideas on what to do and where to go. As far as this new format goes, I love the idea of you and some people sitting down for a meal and talking about different subjects. I didn't like your guests. I thought they were annoying and full of hot air.
Tony, I thought the different format was interesting and I'd watch it again. The one criticism is that the show did have a "cultural elites on parade" feel to it, and I could tell the show felt uncomfortable sitting on my Tivo right next to the Hogan's Heros re-runs. The one bit of constructive advice: the show would be greatly improved if the female guests were topless. And please have Padma Lakshmi on next.
God, I hated everyone on your show except Tony and Ted (and the restaurant folks). What a bunch of self-indulgent pukes and boring to boot!
Well after watching your round table episode, I can't help but wonder when we'll be seeing you hawking your dinnerware on QVC.
I can hardly wait to see your show air. I am making dinner and then off to a well-known book store to get more of your books. Of all the cable stations we have wouldn't you know it the travel chanel has no sound today! Thats about all I watch when I am not working on my computer. Have fun.
Jeez Tony...what a pretentious bunch of gas-bags you had at that table. I guess if the cameras had panned down, we'd all have seen the human foot-stools that your guests were using.
And you really spent $1,800.00 on One MEAL???? In this time of financial insanity, you might want to keep statements like that to yourself.
Still love the [old] show, man.
Love,love,love,new show. One comment though, you and your guest said that New York no longer has good street food. Oh, are you so wrong!!! Every year the Vendies are held give awards for culinary excellence. There are street vendors that specialize in rotis,curry goat,asian, mexican,bar-b-que, etc. Some of the same street food you have eaten in Japan,India, and China I have eaten here. Food that represents the same diversity of this city. New York Mag even lists some of these same vendors and where to find them and rates their food. Hey, Tony why not do a show on these guys?
I guess Bourainophiles didn't really like this show. I agree it wasn't one of the more riviting episodes, but there was one moment that certainly made it worth seeing. That was when you confessed to being intimidated and made to feel like **** by your waitperson when you go to some high falutin' restaurant. That right there explained what this show is all about for me - a guy who came from humble beginnings, got rich and famous, and now does what he wants, but hasn't forgotten where he came from in the sense of how his viewpoint is expressed in every episode. I thought Anthony was out of place among those snobs. I know I would have been. But it was a good show - told us a lot about the man we love to follow around the world. Thanks Tony.
Awww... I didn't hate it that much. Maybe because I'm a food writer and deal with some of the topics discussed in pieces that I write, I have a different perspective than the other commenters, so it was interesting for me to hear the various opinions.
But I think the discussion would have worked better in a different setting, with different guests. It was stiff, and the addition of food and plenty of drink didn't seem to help. It just amounted to a bunch of stiff, pretentious people who were slightly drunk.
I also think most people had a hard time relating to the snobby New Yorker attitude that was typical of most of the guests. Your audience is far-reaching, from all walks of life - I suspect a question about by-passing the restaurant line-ups didn't play very well to anyone who isn't a NYC celebrity. And the answers made everyone come off looking like a bunch of jerks.
I don't think you guys should give up on it, Tony, the concept is a good one. But I think a more diverse panel, in a more relaxed setting, might go a long way to making a better show. Maybe a more Bill Maher kind of deal with guests ranging from celebrities to average folks - put Marco Pierre White on a panel with that lady who saves thousands a year from clipping coupons, or Jamie Oliver on a panel with the president of Smithfield Foods. People who will actually debate the issues instead of pat each other in a self-congratulatory manner because they're all so wonderful.
Oh Sweetheart, sounds like you stuffed up big time!
You're a proper hard working chef, step away from the Wankers, what were you thinking of?
This show will probably never make it to Australia which sounds like a good thing.
Bring something good back from Manilla.
Eh...I like you interacting with the public Tony, down in the street with los carnales. Sitting around a table with the bourgeoisie discussing the $1,800 meal treads on Louis XVI's territory. Looking forward to punk f'n rawk Tony to come back out in the new season.
And for God's sake, don't eat the balut.
I hope that you will continue with this venture of dinner and complain/discuss/inform your base of miserable, underdog, underprivileged, wretch fans. Where else can we perfect are on rant and raves to pile on to others. Seriously, loved the show with the insights of how great food minds think.
You can always find refuge in Romania, Tony! This time give us a call in advance, so we can save you from the Ministry of Tourism freaks. We have some other castles in the mountains where you can hide and prepare your comeback after such a disaster. P.S. We would appreciate if you leave you Russian sidekick home.
Hey Tony! Looking forward to seeing you when you get back! I agree with Brian, you need to include your fans more in your life! You need to pick them randomly, of course weeding out the nut bags. Hope you had a great trip. Sammy
I would love to see you do a show on Bakersfield, California and its six Basque restaurants. Pork lovers heaven......
Don't give up on this show format! Was it the best hour of talk I've ever seen on TV? "Not exactly." But you're not some upper-class pederast mumbling through clenched Eastern Establishment jowls (like William F. Buckley, say) or some vapid PBS wonk (names omitted). It was something real, and different. That's not gonna please the mob, and too effin' bad. Keep doing it; not every week, but give it a few goes.
hmm...as a through and through carnivore i've often thought about the issue and ethics of eating meats, especially those that may be raised and/or killed in ways that i find distasteful on a gut level. but i was actually quite surprised and offended by amy's response to one of tony's questions on the matter. to ask whether it's about "jewish" or "catholic" guilt isn't funny, it isn't pushing the envelope nor is it humorous, it's just crass and a little stupid. jews, muslims and catholics all refrain from eating certain foods for reasons that are based on both rational and emotionally ethical systems of reasoning. in fact sometimes it can be downright arbitrary, yet deeply ingrained in our sense of self, as much as our palate or any other factors that contribute to our preference for some foods and our avoidance of others. i think anthony's questions were thoughtful. her comments were not, and i was deeply offended by some of them.
Thanks
Hi, Tony. Your shows are amazingly superior than any of the other shows they have at the Travel Channel. I used to watch Emeril at the Food Network, but not anymore. My husband, Bill and I watch your show on the weekends. We record it during the week, and then on weekends while we are having our breakfast, we put them on, and enjoy your trips as well as your jokes. The India show was very funny. Just one question, are you going to be filming more Hawaii? One of the other islands? My husband and I love Hawaii. We spent two months out of the year there. Kauai has a lot of history. Coco Palms, the famous hotel that Elvis Presley used to stay and visit, right across the beach, were they filmed "Blue Hawaii". We believe it is haunted cite too. No one has been able to built anything there after the hurricane of 1992 when the hotel had to close down. Larry Rivera, a famous entertainer in Kauai, was Elvis best friend there, and has a lot of stories. He is still alive and performing, you can contact him. He is in the website. I would love to see a show filmed in Kauai. Anyway, good luck in the future. Your shows are wonderful, and we learn a lot.
TONY , I want to say I love watching the anthony bourdain channel , and , frankly , I am nominating you for american ambassador to the united nations . I can do that because I am , as you have known for a very long time , the president of earth . peace and sushi .
Tony:
I'd like to invite you down to Galveston, Texas as my wife has been trying to do, especially now. The Island has been decimated by Hurricane Ike, and it's slowly getting back on it's feet. It's not clear that it will EVER get back to the way that it once was, and currently only one-third of the restaurants that existed on the Island still exist.
You're showing up would add a tremendous amount to the rebuilding of the Island, and you're presence has long been requested there. If I can add anything to any of the former invitations, please accept this as an urgent appeal for your show to review the cuisine of the Island. Indeed, some of the finest chefs, restaurants, and eateries exist(ed) on Galveston Island, and they will be back again - expectedly - by June.
So, if at all possible, please come down and visit us. Your visit would be extremely appreciated. You have an opportunity to add "wonderful American humanitarian" to your long list of accolades. Thank you.
Mitchell Rappaport
I agree! The island needs some major help. Ike's devastation destroyed many fine locales but the islanders are pulling themselves up by their boot straps, trying their best to put things back together. After the storm went through, and the reporters left for their next assignment, it seems that all have forgotten. Great food, lots of cool stuff and the friendliest people around. Please Tony, help this little town get to where it once was.
Saw your name mentioned in a Kiva blog...
Then wondered if you have met this 'tamale lady' ?
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2008/11/28/pero-yo-hago-tamales/
Does anyone know when Tony will be back and his show will be aired? Thanks
You HAVE TO visit a couple of barbecue establishments in the Mobile County area. One is J. Rodgers in North Mobile County--Saraland; they have excellent 'home' cooked foods and fantastic barbecue. A bit pricey...but very good!
Now...we recently discovered a little 'dump' of a place in Prichard...yeah, I know not exactly a 'prime' location, BUT...you absolutely MUST try this barbecue!!! It is FANTASTIC!!! And prices are the most reasonable I have ever seen! Love this place--McMillan's Barbecue.
In regards to the At The Table show. I think Tony should be a guest in my house.
We live in a typical suburb of Washington DC but we are not your typical suburban Applebees or TGIMcFunster diners. We want him to come over, relax, have cocktails and talk about food, ingredients, techniques, and our take on the American way of life.
Its a different concept for a show I know, and may not appeal to all viewers but it does show that Americans are changing the way we eat. We are cooking more, demanding stores carry better ingredients and dining out at crappy places less. At least I think so.
We're fans but we're not crazy people. Well maybe a little crazy but in a good way.
Hey,
My husband and I have had several "douchebag, or ultimately endearing?" debates about you lately, as we find ourselves watching the endless reruns of No Reservations for the first time. After a brief flip away from NR to one of Guy Fieri's 400 shows...the answer was couldn't have been more clear. You deserved the hypothetical shared beer in the hypothetical bar.
I didn't catch this groupie special, but that may have swayed the debate in the other direction. What you're doing in No Reservations is too important - don't waste time pandering. And good luck avoiding the pox of rabid Rachel Ray fans...
-Stephanie
Tony, the reviews of your AT THE TABLE pilot are really mixed - which pretty much sums up my feelings about the episode. Interesting idea, and a good way to continue working without leaving your wife and daughter for more months on end - but you really REALLY need to tweak the format more, and find a LOT better guests.
Ted Allen wasn't bad, but he should be the least entertaining guest rather than the most entertaining one - the other three were unappealingly spoiled and obnoxious Noo Yawk elitists (and this from someone who lived on the Upper West Side for 25 years, and used to eat at the Grey's Papaya near your old apartment).
You need more working cooks as guests, and less fancy fine dining. Where's Mario Batali, or Michael Symon, or Eric Ripert or Michael Ruhlman (okay, not a working cook, but you and he have a good rapport)? Or better - pick the people you've snarked on for years like Rachel Ray, Jamie Oliver and Emeril Lagasse - and tell them over dinner what bothers you about what they do, and let them defend it. (Okay, that could be disastrous - or it could be great.) Get some of your most colorful local handlers like Zamir and that Sicilian film director, and swap war stories about making television over dinner. All those would be fascinating, I think.
Whoever suggested doing a show from a Denny's in Central Jersey is on the right track, I think, though you don't have to sink that low so long as it's someplace you and your guests can cut loose and have fun more. This felt like I feel most "fine dining" is - stiff and embalmed.
I'd love to see another episode, taking everybody's criticisms into account.
@sistervegas: Oh, WHY worry about silly old censorious Standards & Practices, anyway? They should just - DO it, man! And put the results up on the Internet! :) :) :)
= FINLAND, HELSINKI
I think this is a place Tony should look at visiting, as its one of the most preserved cultures in the world, maybe he could have some blood pancakes, karelian pasty, bread cheese, vorschmack, mämmi, kalakukko, lörtsy, black sausage etc. and visit Finnish sauna
I watched the beginning of the show when it aired. Yes, the panel was indeed a bunch of blowtoads. We deleted the DVR auto-record and changed the channel within the first 10 minutes.
Tony, your appeal is that you come across as the same as the rest of us. You don't carry false airs. We can't all manage or afford to travel the globe to experience foreign places and foods. We live vicariously through you for what we would do and we watch with amazement at what you do that we would not.
I look forward to the new season beginning Jan. 5 and that it returns to it's orginal format.
Happy Holidays to you, Tony and all your fans!
Next time you come to Puerto Rico let me know. Your contacts
who are they? In the meantime just read
endemismotrasnochado.blogspot.com and could we reduce
the amount of comments to fifty?
nice carver. try a john kennedy toole title next time and i'll really be impressed. and what's wrong with louisiana, why can the circus freak come but you can't? and smoke more!
and this was my captcha, if anyone cares: kinsella trusted
I have to admit, Tony, as a long-time watcher, and purchaser of all your episodes on ITunes, I was really disappointed in this show. This conversation would be good for you in private, as a person who started from nothing, worked his way through the ranks and now is lucky enough to have this great life. The average person doesn't care about the things brought forth at the table. If you have $1,500 and want to spend it on food, why not? Do we need to waste your wonderful and good looking talent on a show on it? No. No. No. Tony, please, for the love of everything Ramones, stick with the program, literally. We fans live and travel vicariously through you, so whether you are going to Thailand, or back to the basics in your old restaurant, keep it coming, but don't make a repeat of THAT mistake again! I can't wait for the new season! With much affection, Christa
I apologize, it was $1,800 bucks.
I posted a blog entry about your show today. I hope one of my two readers will turn you on, too.
While I was doing that, I had your show running. I was bummed to learn that I missed out the campaign to travel with you! 1300 submissions Wow!
Will you be doing that again? If so, please let me know so I can send you a disc. (Or maybe we can Skype or cam2cam a live interview) I'd love to visit anyplace with you! I'm an adventurous eater, too. I'm sure you can drink me under the table, but I'm willing to try to keep up with you.
I'd love to visit Sweden, since my grandma Andersson-Odstrom is from a town near Stockholm. I would love to drink lots of Svedka and sample smorgasbords during the summer. Var snäll och
Or maybe Holland, as my other grandma is Dutch. It would be fun to sample some smoke and check out the red light district while riding a bike beside you in Amsterdam. Alstublieft.
I have always wanted to visit anyplace in France and use my fantastic high school French. I would love to visit vineyards, vineyards, and more vineyards! And try fois gras for the first time. S'il vous plait.
Please host another contest and give this sweet (and sane, no criminal record at all) 36-year-old mother of two beautifuls from the Philly burbs a chance at adventure. Or I might f***ing lose my mind!
I promise, I don't smell like a**. ;-)
Sincerely,
Jessica
I am a new woman because of your show. I get the communing over celebrations with family and friends and it should be about exploring the new or enjoying the gifts our grams gave us. I tried making it a "healthy" Christmas, oh hell yes!! Thankfully my sister had presence of mind to bring the Christmas cookies with the silver balls they don't sell anymore because of metal or some such ridiculousness. She probably dug deep in ebay.
But those rich butter cookies with the even richer petit four frosting. Heaven! Next time, potato salad, ham with all the trimmings!!
By the by, my parents were both travel agents and I saw many things before they divorced and dad got severely bipolar. I watch your show and travel in delicious vicariousness...before your show I never knew anything that so immersed into the culture like you do. I enjoy wherever you go....it is a wonderful thing that you do, crossing bariours with the sharing of meals.
good work..
karınca yumurtası, tala, tala yağı, karınca yumurtası satış
Next time I would find some less pretentious people. They kind of blew off your questions in my mind, and refused to even think about say, the amount of shame related to tasty food.
If you do it with local chefs (any real chefs even), I think you'll get people willing to even consider the slight negatives of such good food. not even that they're negatives so much as recognizing that there is more to a good meal and dining experience than just eating it. If you're honest, it does feel good to get a special table. They couldn't even admit to that!
after reading some comments i gotta add more. I can understand wanting to see more travel, but I love food, am going to culinary school, and in an area with none of these great restaurants. i wanted to hear more on the subjects he brought up, to hear some people who've been there to get a little deeper about the experience. I never had an $1,800 bill but i feel i could've added more than these people.
Was it time constraints or snobbery? Who knows but they didn't get deep on any subject unless it was forced/faked. not saying it was scripted fake, but that they came up with some garbage to suffice for the topic.
I watch this from a food standpoint first, travel second so I wouldn't mind a special like this redone with better people.
Thank you ..
Tony - you're amazing.....but please do not subject those of us who love you to another horrid episode of 'At the Table' - at least not with that sorry bunch of misfit goons. Better to just 86 it now.
Was it as painful to participate in as it was to watch? Let's hope this was a one time gig...
One bit kind of offends me. As a fellow person who've travelled...an $1800 dinner is obscene conspicuous consumption. Food is sustenance and entertainment but the hedge fund corruption has warped the sensibility of the world. My favorite meal was the in-n-out burger, my daughter delighted in consuming.
TONY and ZERO POINT ZERO PRODUCTION!
I hope I still stumble upon this in time. Please Please tell me the Gods and Keepers of all things awesome have had you go to the Visayas in The Philippines.
In the name of all things savory and delightful, I hope you have had enjoyed: tribal people and getting the blue pintado tattoos, ati atihan, squatting on the mean streets cooking on banana leaves, bone marrow soup, dinuguan, kinilaw, picking sea urchins...
If you need more ideas for the show, contact me. Seriously, this part of the Philippines was hit pretty hard with a flood last year but there is an abundance of beauty and sensual delights that should be shared.
Travel on. Eat without reservation.
I don't think you came off as an obnoxious drunk on this episode. I am always really impressed by your obvious respect for the people on your show, the way in which you promote world peace and understanding through shared meals and discussion, and the fact that you obviously care so damn much about others. Your ostensibly snarky persona does not begin to hide the sweetness showcased in each episode. This is one of the reasons I love watching 'No Reservations' -- I just hope I come across the same way in my classroom.
If you go back to NYC, you may try the sponge cake on 119 Baxter street, chinatown. It's called Kam Hing Coffee Shop. Don't mind its appearance, just try the sponge cake, even if you absolutely don't like sponge cakes. Also, you may try the cantonese cuisine in Canton Garden. You may like the steam fish over there. It's located on 22 Elizabeth Street, NY Chinatown. The taste may beat the ones you tried in Hong Kong.
Hey Tony. Love the show. Love the episode. Love the country.
BUT...
your show only highlighted the staple foods of the north and central areas of the Philippines, Manila and Cebu. I think it's kind of sad that you and your crew didn't explore the culinary mastership of the Southern region.
I guess that's probably because most travel advisories went against any prospect of heading to the south because of security issues, but coming from the south, particularly Davao City which to this day I still firmly believe is the one of, if not just, the best cities in the Philippines.
Why? Because Davao City just is.
You had adobo in Manila, sinigang, sisig, and kare-kare in Pampanga, lechon and dried fish in cebu... but, you haven't been to the Philippines if you haven't had Davao City these davao city dishes.
Kinilaw.
Tuna Panga.
Bulca Chong.
Chicken BBQ
Pork Pasag Bbq
and our special version of lechon...
Lechon stuffed with native chicken.
And I saw you drinking pale pilsen on the show... Well, let me tell you...
You haven't had a drink until you've had Tanduay.
:D
So if this piques your interest, let me know. I'll take you on a real Philippine trip... down to the rowdy house of the South.
Anthony,
My wife is a loyal fan of yours.. there's not a day during the week that your not playing on our Television. reruns, new episodes, or even when they play a marathon... I have been around the world with you over 100,000,000. times. she is such a fan that she wanted to see you when you come to Durham, NC the only problem is I'm a firefighter and am not off that day to watch the children. I was hoping that maybe as a consilation prize.. and a supprise birthday present you might be able to send her an autographed photo??? She adores you.. your humor, wit, and sarcasim are only part of her attraction to you. I just recently purchased her 3 hard cover books of yours.. she's excited to start reading them as soon as the mailman get's here. She said that when she receives her cook free or die T shirt she's going to sleep in it.. and wear it everytime your show is on....
Please help!!! anything you can do to make her birthday a happier one.. would be great!!
Sincerely a loving husband... taunted by Anthony Bourdain
It was indeed an awful show. Stilted, pretentious, and w/horrid guests (Buford's been solid before, on Mario's old show, and his book is fantastic, the rest anyone could do w/o), it was an interesting idea, but I think for most of the viewers poorly executed. Better guests may have been capable of saving it. In the past, and heck in a recent eps I saw (i think Chicago?), the show has had the ability to have classic sit downs w/talent that talk shop, but what has worked has been when it was eps like The French Laundry, on the not to be mentioned network, or the great banquet in Vancouver, or the recent eps where you and Ripert, and another individual waxed eloquent and drooled over a fantastic cutting edge meal. It works when it's you and people you're utterly at ease with and natural with. Not so much, when you're having to play at interviewer w/people it doesnt seem your entirely at ease with.
Your show is always at its best when its you in some far off locale enjoying the wonders that can be found in seemingly modest restaurants, or homes, or your w/chefs and other people in the food business that you clearly have an affinity for, and a natural chemistry with. As others said, this was not the case in that eps. I saw it several months ago, and I still shudder when i think about that one misstep. It was like watching the Romanian eps last year, but w/none of the natural sarcasm and "god, get me the ---- out of here" black humor that made that eps watchable and even enjoyable at points. You made that disaster enjoyable viewing to an extent, this one was like watching the Bismark make short work of the Hood, horrible and ugly, and over real quick.
good
Hey i know this is off the subject but i had no other way to tell you that i just returned from a month in south korea and ate at a real korean dog resturant and to be honest dog is really good i wish i could post the pics of us with the local korean army guy who invited us out for dinner well if you want to hear more here is my email xxkingobattlexx@yahoo.com
please, you need to come to israel, hear you will understand what a good food is all about. you will love this i prommes you.
Hi Tony,
I enjoy watching your show and kinda learning the different cultures as well the food odfthe country you visited. I am from the Philippines and so glad you tasted our lechon,very delicious indeed.
Thank you.
best show on Tv right now!
Thanks for having done a show on Singapore! I loved it and hopefully you will come back again.
Traveling around the world with nice food and full of surprise :) Just wonder when I will have this kind of lifestyle.
The title of this (but not really the rest of it) reminds me so much of MFK Fisher's forward to her The Gastronomical Me: "People ask me, why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? ...Why do you write about hunger, and not wars or love?" Check it out. Great forward, great book.
Have only recently managed now to see a re-run of most of the shows and have really been enjoying them - I particularly love the Asia based ones as love the food such as Thai and also Korean food. I dont remember seeing a show on Korean food.
What about covering British food also LOL. Shephers Pie and Fresh cream apple turnovers etc etc! Bangers and mash.
this food is so good to me. I can definitely eat this everyday.
Hi Tony,
I enjoy watching your show and kinda learning the different cultures as well the food odfthe country you visited. I am from the Philippines and so glad you tasted our lechon,very delicious indeed.
Thank you.
ezel izle
ezel izle
please, you need to come to israel, hear you will understand what a good food is all about. you will love this i prommes you
incelmek
I am a great fan of yours. Will you come to my place (Philippines) any time in near future?
I simply love the versatility of this show. We do need food for thought, don't we?
@ryan: yes we do! anthony i also like your show very much!! =)
I am looking forward for your arrival to Canada and I would like to see you perform there.
Nice show buddy. Your performance is absolutely superb. Kudos!
Your show is very great. I am expecting you to perform in India.
Very thoughtful article. Indeed, those principles of welcome are particularly linked to food, since the original culture of the American colonies depended on the culturally original fact of agriculture itself. Anthropologists regard the beginnings of crop cultivation and animal husbandry, 10,000-odd years ago, as the start of human civilization, and America would grant a fresh version of the same to those who claimed a piece of wilderness and planted a furrow of seeds.
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Nice show. Very super. I wont miss any of your shows hereafter.
i want to see the shows. Where i can I see them? Please give a me link.
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I want to see this show please give me a link
this is a great show