Posts tagged 'show'

The following posts are associated with the tag you have selected. You may subscribe to the RSS feed for this tag to receive future updates relevant to the topic(s) of your interest.

Day Two: South Beach Wine and Food Festival

By Anthony Bourdain on February 23, 2008 10:33 PM | Permalink | 51 Comments

Well ... the Golden Clogs went pretty much as hoped by the Forces of Evil. Under-attended. Coincidence? Or conspiracy? Many of the people who DID show up were either a) drunk or b) seemingly confused. Ruhlman and I raced through our ceremonial duties as quickly as we could--before the little remaining gold paint left on our awards peeled entirely away--and before a good part of the audience realized we were NOT the warm up to "Paula's Poker Party" and that there would be no free fruit cup.

You know, I've mercilessly and enthusiastically made sport of Rocco di Spirito many, many times. I've said--and accused him--of a full menu of truly awful things. Some of them were even true. No matter how bizarre or inexplicable some of his career choices, I always respected him as a gifted cook. He's also--when not flogging frozen products--a thoughtful and insightful judge on Top Chef. But I have to tell you--of ALL the chefs who said they were absolutely, positively, by all means would be DELIGHTED to show up at our travesty of an awards ceremony--at the end of the day, only Rocco and Aaron Sanchez actually made it.

Continue Reading Day Two: South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

Day Two: South Beach Wine and Food Festival

Dateline: Miami - The South Beach Wine and Food Festival

By Anthony Bourdain on February 22, 2008 10:29 PM | Permalink | 48 Comments

Reporting it As It Happens: your humble correspondent, Anthony Bourdain:

Day One:

Ruhlman showed up late for our all-important preparatory session for the Golden Clog Awards Ceremony last night, by which time I was deep into the negronis. I have only the dimmest of memories of who, exactly, is nominated for what--and NO memory at all of who's supposed to win. I think we ended up deciding on making half of it up as we go along--mid-ceremony. Our "celebrity presenters" have--for the most part, abandoned us for safer pastures.

There has been, I am reliably informed, a terror campaign of late night heavy--breathing phone calls, suggestions of "you'll never work in this town--or ANY town--again" and a wave of second, more sensible thoughts. The affected parties have suddenly remembered previous charitable commitments: (The "Putt For and End to the Heartbreak of Psoriasis" Invitational, the "Pull My Finger To Stop Chronic Flatulence" Bowlin' and BBQ Party--and the Fiji Water For Peace event claiming the lion's share of defectors). Can't say I blame them ...

Continue Reading Dateline: Miami - The South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

Dateline: Miami - The South Beach Wine and Food Festival

Notes From the Road: Tokyo

By Anthony Bourdain on February 3, 2008 10:30 PM | Permalink | 164 Comments

Well, one can hardly complain about the plumbing here. The toilet seat is a preheated, toasty warm. A menu of warm jets of varying intensities, direction and temperature awaits should I choose to press one of the many buttons. I am afraid to do so. Since Todd discovered his toilet, it's been very hard getting him out of the bathroom for crew calls. Yesterday, after numerous unanswered phone calls, we had to ask the management to break into his room. After a brief scuffle we were able to drag him, pants around his ankles and a copy of US Magazine in his hand, screaming, to the production van.

"But I've never felt so FRESH," he kept wailing, plaintively from the back seat. His face pressed to the window as he stared longingly back in the direction of the hotel.

Continue Reading Notes From the Road: Tokyo.

Notes From the Road: Tokyo

Notes From the Road: Laos: Mount Phupadeng, near the Plain of Jars

By Anthony Bourdain on January 21, 2008 1:51 PM | Permalink | 194 Comments

The fire went out early again last night. Not even embers going when I woke up at 3AM. It's cold and drafty at night, up here on Phupadeng, and stuck without kindling, I ended up burning my briefing material, page by page--in ascending order of importance--as my situation became more desperate and the wood finally caught fire. I now have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow. But after dragging my bed around directly in front of the narrow column of heat coming from the fireplace, and burying myself under three quilts, I was toasty warm and slept like the dead.

After a breakfast of chicken, grilled between splints of bamboo, and an egg omelette, a soup of wild mushrooms and greens--and of course, sticky rice and fiery chili paste, we headed out into the mountains to visit a rice farmer and family, catch some swallows and have a meal.

Continue Reading Notes From the Road: Laos: Mount Phupadeng, near the Plain of Jars.

Notes From the Road: Laos: Mount Phupadeng, near the Plain of Jars

Notes From the Road ... The Home Edition

By Anthony Bourdain on January 11, 2008 1:49 PM | Permalink | 318 Comments

It's possible to hurt my feelings. For instance:
I admit I'm genuinely annoyed by the occasional internet poster who suggests that whatever I might have to say about food, about travel--about anything--is somehow gravely diminished by the fact that I'm no longer working in a professional kitchen. That proximity to the line, the actual job of cooking dinner for the public enhances one's powers of perception, focuses the mind and builds vocabulary and that "keeping it real" necessitates dying behind the stove, a broken, broken kneed and broke-ass geezer in his mid-fifties, long past it as a cook - finally succumbed to stroke or liver disease. It's a point of view popular among internet nerds and cubicle geeks who've never done a minute's physical labor in their lives, the same people who take photographs of every course at their favorite restaurants, convinced that it's Jean Georges himself in there, personally boning out their squab.

My instinctive reaction to this kind of inverse snobbery is normally a raised middle finger and a "I had twenty-eight years of standing behind a stove - while you were arguing over bundt cake recipes in a chat room, motherfucker! Now, kiss my ass!!"

But the fact is, there's a little voice in my head that completely agrees with their point of view.

Continue Reading Notes From the Road ... The Home Edition.

Notes From the Road ... The Home Edition