No Reservations Holiday Special
This episode embodies the best and the most overindulgent parts of the No Reservations show.
Th parts where Tony and Michael Ruhlman are working in the kitchen is rpetty good, it gives information and it has asome pretty hilarious adhoc snarky comments. None of it is forced and the information is pretty good. I would try the beef heart dish in a heartbeat, so to speak. The tenderloin looked amazing.
The best segments are the ones with the Butcher and Batali. Really interesting to see the butcher work, see how precise his work is and how he presents the side of beef. Very professional, an artist at work. The same could be said of Batali making the beef cheeks ravioli, I was fairly swooning at the end. Once afgain, great to see a professional at work.
The segment on David Chang was interesting. Seeing him in the Korean grocery store was a little different and seeing him work in his kitchen was very entertaining. Not sure if I like the oxtail he prepared, and using the rice cake was an interesting idea.
The asegment on Duff was kind of fun but it isn't something we hadn't seen in Ace of Cakes. Mind you I like Duff and his crew and I think what he does is pretty neat, but we don't need to waste time on NR to see what we always see on Ace of Cakes.
The segment with The Nuge was a snore, this is the worst part about NR, when Bourdain goes overboard, as he often does. The Nuge is a one trip pony as far as the culinary shows go. he'll make a bunch of supposedly controversial comments about liberals, vegetarians, and anyone non-Nuge, make like the Motor City Madman that he was 20 years ago, pretend he is this crazy ass, and get his point across in a very inarticulate way. Truth is he is a middle aged has-been trying to get attention. What purpose did it serve to show him cooking steaks on a grill?
The segment at the end in the Chinese restaurant was pretty funny, even though it fell along the lines of the Nuge segment. A little bit of WTF are they thinking, but the rapport amongst the people around the table was more natural and not forced. Marky Ramone is much more personable, less interested in politicizing everything he says and seems like he really likes to eat. Perfect juxtoposition of two similar aegments and how one person can make one seem stupid and trivial, and the other seem stupid but fun.
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linguafood
Dec 7, 2010 08:53 AM
I say this as a (generally) fan of AB, but that whole veggie-bashing, rock n roll act of 'look how cool and non-conformist I am, cracking jokes about >gasp< santa claus molesting me' was really tiring to watch. I am less and less interested in watching AB, who seems to have become his own one-trick pony. And it's pretty ironic when crazy Ted Nugent becomes the spokesman for free-range meat...
That said, the food looked great - I would LOVE that beef heart dish, or any number of dishes (hold the marrow, that's just like injecting a load of lipo into your heart) prepared.... the beef cheek ravioli are surely swoon-worthy.
But the whole 'tude is getting old. Just like Tony. We get it, you're _such_ a rebel.
Yawn. Please put on a different record.
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re: tofuburrito
linguafood
Dec 7, 2010 12:48 PM
Yes, after a disappointing season last year, I thought this year's was stronger (Paris was excellent, and I liked Rome unlike many others; Beirut was fantastic). But still... he needs to chill out on always trying to 'shock.' He really doesn't need to do that shtick anymore.
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re: linguafood
I really wanted to watch the Chang segment, so I held on for that.
It was nearly impossible to wait for Chang amid all of AB's snarky comments and look how cool I am attitude.
You're not, Tony. Seriously. Those days are over. You're married. You have a kid. You, like all the chefs you deride, also have books, a TV show. You're rich. You're successful. You're as much of a rebel as Santa Claus.
Enjoy your life. Stop trying to be something you no longer are.
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