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Post by pairesta on Sept 30, 2014 7:31:32 GMT -5
Let's see how this thread does.
S4 already?! I guess they count each batch of eps as a separate season, vs. just two parts of a season, the way No Reservations was set up.
Watched the Shanghai ep last night. Seemed a really ambitiously shot episode (the food stalls, the long, Scorcese-esque tracking shot of Tony going to the wine dinner). Tony was giddy and geeked out over the food, always a good sign. The hour flew by.
Oh man do we suddenly miss having numerous Asian shopping centers within a ten minute drive of our house. Sure we've got Chinese places near us, but they're all the suburban, Lucky Wok type places. Chinatown is 30 minutes away.
So, review of each ep as it airs of course, but also overall discussion about the show, Bourdain, favorite eps, etc. I've been on a No Reservations/Layover tear lately as well, recording back episodes to watch.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Oct 3, 2014 12:46:43 GMT -5
My DVR wigged out without warning, and I'm still playing catch up setting up my series to record on my new box. Unfortunately I missed Shanghai (which I'll catch up on) and will get back on track with The Bronx on October 5.
This is an unpopular opinion far too specific for the big thread, but I really like and look forward to the American episodes of his shows. For one, they tend to be more focused on the food, since the culture is at least a little bit more of a known quantity to his primarily American audience. For two, I like the fact that there's a greater chance I will actually go to these places. I mean, Myanmar is a fascinating place, but sorry. Ain't going! Koreatown in Los Angeles on the other hand...
Some favorites:
The Layover, San Francisco
Tony and Chris Cosentino order an obnoxious, bright blue, fishbowl-sized umbrella drink at the Tonga Room ... at like 11:00 in the morning. Moments like that are when I say to myself, "I want this man's life." I haven't decided yet how sad that is. Sad, sure, but I haven't decided how sad.
The Layover, Atlanta
Tony meets one of my heroes, Alton Brown, for sophisticated southern cuisine at Miller Union, then after they get a few in'em, the duo head to the famous/infamous Clermont Lounge strip club. The sight of AB at the edge of the stage, still rocking that bow tie. Oh my god! A while after the episode aired, Alton went on record to say he was really uncomfortable about the whole thing and wishes he hadn't done it. Also, I'm pretty sure Richard Blais was in this episode. That's always a good thing.
No Reservations, Holiday Special
Probably the single weirdest hour of "food television" ever put to film. This gothic fever dream of an episode features "live" performances by Norah Jones, cooking with Christopher Walken and a grotesquely fat and hygiene-impaired Samantha Brown shooting herself. Or something. Tony's more serious shows often posses atmosphere, but I think it's rare that they posses art. This episode is an exception.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 3, 2014 13:43:09 GMT -5
Wow, for once you and I are on opposite poles of things. I really don't like the US episodes; they tend to drag. Plus there's an offchance he'll have his good friend and noted asshole Ted Nugent on. Especially ones where it starts getting obvious that he doesn't want to leave the Five Buroughs to film another goddamned episode. The sole exception to this is any time he goes to New Orleans/Louisiana.
AB and AB had something of a feud going for a bit there; I wonder if things are still dicey with them.
I think they're rerunning the Shanghai ep tonight if you want to record it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Oct 3, 2014 13:54:03 GMT -5
Ran it last night, too, so it's already sitting in my library.
You're absolutely right that any screen time given to Nugent is fucking shameful. I'd also agree that sometimes he does seem to be getting tired and just bit over the whole thing (though last season's Thailand episode was a nice dose of "he's still got it.")
That's what was good and bad about The Layover, which again, I really loved. It reeked of "Okay, I'll keep doing this, but I ain't climbing in no shit-covered bat cave." At the same time, it was very punchy and food/drink-oriented, which ultimately is why I come. Musings on cultural identity are a far second for me.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 3, 2014 15:05:11 GMT -5
See, that's the sense I got from alot of his latter-day eps also, including, oddly, The Layover. He just looked like he wasn't into it, but they kept giving him more money, so why not. "I want to go to Montreal, hang out with chefs, and get drunk, with nothing of importance conveyed whatsoever." "DONE!"
He's going back to Jamaica this year for PU, so it'll be interesting if batshit roach cave comes up again.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 7, 2014 7:26:01 GMT -5
So the Bronx episode was . . . all right? I liked the hip hop history stuff, and the history of the borough itself, as well as the adorable professor talking about it (though Tony was clearly bored when they were meeting at the deli). New York is of course a pretty fascinating subject to me, and so delving into a specific borough is a fine idea. But I just felt like I'd seen a lot of the other stuff before, especially the Brooklyn finale of No Reservations (he even goes to a Jamaican place and has goat curry, for crying out loud).
Plus there's the lingering irritation that to film this episode, he basically had to catch a subway. I like Tony out of his element, not bragging about his home town.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2014 14:30:37 GMT -5
I get all of his shows confused, but if you would like to see him removed from his comfort zone check out whatever show in which he went down the Congo. He clearly had some Campellesque writerly ideas about the place, and to see them completely shattered by the bleak reality was captivating.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 15, 2014 20:48:02 GMT -5
I get all of his shows confused, but if you would like to see him removed from his comfort zone check out whatever show in which he went down the Congo. He clearly had some Campellesque writerly ideas about the place, and to see them completely shattered by the bleak reality was captivating. Alot of the Africa eps get Tony taking a hard look in the mirror. It really bothers him I think. The Congo ep, he clearly tried to make the most of it but it just couldn't work. Then there was the infamous Nambibia episode, warthog anus eating and all. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Oct 16, 2014 7:41:12 GMT -5
Ugh, already two episodes behind on this. Love my daughter but she is cutting into my heretofore robust TV schedule.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 17, 2014 6:43:50 GMT -5
Having kids is why moviewatching has completely disappeared for us. I can't make it through anything more than an hour long anymore without konking out.
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Post by Carade on Oct 24, 2014 23:33:19 GMT -5
Just saw the new Vietnam episode of Parts Unknown, and good goddamn does it make me miss home cooking. Especially Bun Bo Hue.  Christ almighty, that Bun Bo Hue. |
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Post by pairesta on Oct 25, 2014 7:00:43 GMT -5
Just caught up on the last two eps.
The Paraguay ep reminded me a lot of the Congo ep. They tried to make the best of a pretty dire part of the world, but couldn't do much with it.
The Hue ep was pretty good. I could have sworn he went there on No Res though. Anyways, he's always giddy and happy in Vietnam, so that was good. The sequence about the tunnels was amazing and fired up claustrophobia I didn't even know I had.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 29, 2014 5:45:34 GMT -5
The Tanzania ep seemed to be two episodes put together, like they couldn't think of enough to say/do in Zanzibar or Tanzania and just combined them. Very abrupt shift in tone and locale about halfway through.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 29, 2014 5:47:45 GMT -5
Also I just re-watched the glorious Romania episode of No Reservations. I miss Angry Tony, when he just takes a flamethrower to a place that he had a bad time in. I certainly know why he has to be better behaved now and it doesn't serve him to torch a place on his show, but seeing him just let loose was good times. Plus, drunk Zamir and a little demon kid having a little too much fun at a pig slaughter.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Oct 31, 2014 15:21:48 GMT -5
Also I just re-watched the glorious Romania episode of No Reservations. I miss Angry Tony, when he just takes a flamethrower to a place that he had a bad time in. I certainly know why he has to be better behaved now and it doesn't serve him to torch a place on his show, but seeing him just let loose was good times. Plus, drunk Zamir and a little demon kid having a little too much fun at a pig slaughter. Is that the one where Zamir took him to that really cheesy "torture" hotel? God Tony was pissed. (which is the BEST) |
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Post by pairesta on Oct 31, 2014 16:46:03 GMT -5
Yes, it's also the one where Zamir blows his back out and spends the back half of the episode in a drunken, drugged out stupor singing happy birthday to himself. It's glorious.
When I saw that a "Mrs Snape" responded to this thread I thought your wife had gotten an account!
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Nov 1, 2014 12:08:08 GMT -5
When I saw that a "Mrs Snape" responded to this thread I thought your wife had gotten an account! Can we make this happen??? Also: since you brought it up in the first post: any particular favorite random Asian strip mall dives in north Dallas? Or just favorite strip malls? |
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Post by pairesta on Nov 1, 2014 13:18:19 GMT -5
When I saw that a "Mrs Snape" responded to this thread I thought your wife had gotten an account! Can we make this happen??? Also: since you brought it up in the first post: any particular favorite random Asian strip mall dives in north Dallas? Or just favorite strip malls? Any of the ones at Hmart Carrollton are pretty good. Never got to go to any of the ones at Hmart Plano. Didn't like what we tried at Ranch 99's vendors. The Asia World/JusGo center, on Legacy just West of 75, has a Food Court. Lots of turnover there, so hard to say what's good, but there were two dumpling/noodle stands, on the left right as you walk in, that are good. |
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Nov 4, 2014 15:58:50 GMT -5
Can we make this happen??? Also: since you brought it up in the first post: any particular favorite random Asian strip mall dives in north Dallas? Or just favorite strip malls? Any of the ones at Hmart Carrollton are pretty good. Never got to go to any of the ones at Hmart Plano. Didn't like what we tried at Ranch 99's vendors. The Asia World/JusGo center, on Legacy just West of 75, has a Food Court. Lots of turnover there, so hard to say what's good, but there were two dumpling/noodle stands, on the left right as you walk in, that are good. Yeah, I have some favorite spots at H Mart Carrollton. Just went to 99 Ranch for the first time this weekend, laughed at the one random pizza joint mixed up in the strip mall. Thanks! My friend and I are on a Ramen Hunt, trying to find the city's best ramen. She lived over there all through middle and high school, so her standards are way more exacting than mine. So far I've thought our stops (Yama Sushi, Maki Boy) were pretty good, but she was all "meh". |
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Post by pairesta on Nov 4, 2014 16:03:10 GMT -5
Conversely I'll say that I haven't liked any of the actual restaurants I went to at the HMart Carrollton. Always got excited to try a random spot, always disappointed. But inside the actual HMart, in their food court, I had some good stuff.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Nov 5, 2014 10:14:14 GMT -5
Awhile back she told me she had thought about joining, but then decided against it, because it was "my thing." I said I wouldn't care and, really, she'd be way better at it than I am. Since I reference her in every other post she's practically a forumite already anyway.
Don't think it'll happen. Her heart's not in it. She does like meeting the people though.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Nov 5, 2014 12:01:46 GMT -5
Conversely I'll say that I haven't liked any of the actual restaurants I went to at the HMart Carrollton. Always got excited to try a random spot, always disappointed. But inside the actual HMart, in their food court, I had some good stuff. SSAM at HMart Carrollton is my spot. Shabu shabu. But in the food court, I will eat literally everything. In Houston's Chinatown, I have many great memories of Fu Fu Cafe. It is often jam-packed and has overwhelmed or diffident servers, but totally worth it. EDIT: We should start a Mrs. Snape petition. |
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Post by pairesta on Nov 20, 2014 7:27:56 GMT -5
The Massachusetts episode was excellent, maybe one of the best he's done for the series. A pitch-perfect combination of journalism and personal story shot through with regret and melancholy. This is what he can do with CNN, I think.
The Jamaica ep on the other hand was kind of a muddled mess. Too many ideas about what it wanted to be. I do like that the Island Records guy is pretty much a Bond Villain though, complete with his own Henchman.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 27, 2015 13:42:57 GMT -5
A fun start to the season, though without a whole lot to say, and particularly little to say about the food. Still, Tony getting his ass kicked (virtually) in a Korean gaming parlor, or being admonished for nearly destroying an internet chef's computer was pretty great.
Plus, Nari Kye!
(My tummy grumbles just thinking about all that soju.)
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Post by pairesta on Apr 27, 2015 14:00:38 GMT -5
Christ my DVR schedule on Sundays is a trainwreck. I probably won't get to it until tomorrow night.
Is Nari the one who showed him around Korea on NR? Because yowza.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 27, 2015 14:13:24 GMT -5
Christ my DVR schedule on Sundays is a trainwreck. I probably won't get to it until tomorrow night. Is Nari the one who showed him around Korea on NR? Because yowza. Yep! Back for round two. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 29, 2015 6:58:04 GMT -5
Not enough Nari. Even my wife was smitten with her.
It was okay. The backwards narrative kinda worked and kinda didn't. Part of me suspects they did it to mask a fairly typical ep without much to say.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 29, 2015 8:50:29 GMT -5
Not enough Nari. Even my wife was smitten with her. It was okay. The backwards narrative kinda worked and kinda didn't. Part of me suspects they did it to mask a fairly typical ep without much to say. Yeah, Mrs. Snape felt the same about the episode's structure. Mrs. Snape: "What is even going on?" Snape: "They're showing everything backwards." Mrs. Snape: "Yeah, I get that. But why?" Snape: "Hmm...." I will say that I thought the conceit was most effective when contrasting the end and beginning of the night out with the businessmen. What's set up as an evening of unusual excess is revealed to be just another Thursday for these dudes. The way that reveal was timed out had purpose, I thought, even though I agree with you that the atypical structure of the episode had no greater meaning that I can detect. The part at the beginning of the episode (so, the end of the trip) with Tony sipping tea at a stall, visibly shaken, almost feels like a put on. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 29, 2015 8:57:47 GMT -5
I kinda did get a sense that maybe he didn't enjoy himself as much this time, outside of some of his favorite foods. Like he really didn't look too happy with the businessmen as the night wore on.
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Post by pairesta on May 6, 2015 14:34:52 GMT -5
I'm beginning to wonder if this wouldn't work better as a half hour show. Always seems like they run out of stuff to say or do after the halfway mark.
I really liked what they did with Miami; rather than the same old route of beaches and bikinis, delving instead into its roots, visiting the black communities that founded the place and going into history I certainly didn't know. But once again it seemed to just meander off. Also I hate how later in the show the segments get shorter and shorter between commercials.
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