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Anthony Bourdain was in my 'hood!

post #1 of 56
3/4/08 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
I had no idea Bourdain didn't know Hawaii was a low rent American Singapore until last night's eppy. What's even more shocking is that the mofo ate and liked it *gasp*. musubis (a handheld rectangle of sticky rice topped with a thick slab of ) are best eaten when one has not had anything to eat all day. I don't like the fact that he didn't mention that "Puka" means hole, hence that strange looking hot dog dubbed The Puka Dog. Twas cool to see him at the Side Street Inn. Mofo should have toured Chinatown and visited Pacific Supermarket which happens to sell frozen and fresh durians and even *gasp*...durian shakes. So-so eppy. LOL! Kalihi represent!
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post #2 of 56
3/4/08 at 1:17pm
that was an entertaining episdoe...did he really buy that vintage hawaiian shirt??? it was cool to see some of the authentic ones, since I have Avanti repros of some of the same fabrics they had flashed by on the wall.

The food didnt look so hot, but then I hate seafood and dont care for "gourmet" foods much either.
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post #3 of 56
3/4/08 at 1:29pm
The worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth. Seeing him on Top Chef as a guest judge along the lines of Ripert or Keller makes me cringe - but I guess his comments make for good TV
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post #4 of 56
3/4/08 at 1:31pm
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Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
The worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth

I'm getting a little sick of his show, too. I would say that in half the places he has been I know better food options than he has found.
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post #5 of 56
3/4/08 at 1:35pm
So true and its sad that he has such status when others who are far more skilled and qualified for that matter have to be judged by someone they could easily shame in a culinary battle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
The worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth. Seeing him on Top Chef as a guest judge along the lines of Ripert or Keller makes me cringe - but I guess his comments make for good TV
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post #6 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:15pm
To be fair to Bourdain, he earned his creds. CIA (back when it meant something), and years in the NYC/East Coast business. The guy might not be a James Beard winner, but he can actually run a professional kitchen. The real fakes are the Rachel Rays and such, better known as "the talent", on some programs.

I think his choices of both locales and what he finds there are sometimes dubious, but that is as much a function of his production crew and local "fixer" as anything else. I actually like the guy's persona and that's saying something, as his expressed opinions on many topics are on the other end of the spectrum to mine. His intelligent, if somewhat scathing, wit can usually make me chuckle.
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post #7 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:19pm
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Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
To be fair to Bourdain, he earned his creds. CIA (back when it meant something), and years in the NYC/East Coast business. The guy might not be a James Beard winner, but he can actually run a professional kitchen.
Sure, but you just described thousands of NYC chefs. What earned him his fame and position on TV shows is not his culinary skills, it was "Kitchen Confidential" and his personality

Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
I actually like the guy's persona and that's saying something, as his expressed opinions on many topics are on the other end of the spectrum to mine. His intelligent, if somewhat scathing, wit can usually make me chuckle.
I like him too, as a TV host/guest. You won't see me dining at Les Halles though...
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post #8 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:23pm
I also don't reallty like his whole "I have tatoos and smoke and use the F-word a lot, so I must be really cool" thing. he's fifty, he should grow up. also this whole "the kitchen is so much pressure, you can't understand pressure if you haven't worked in a kitchen" type of crap. its not like he is an emergency room doctor, for instance.
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post #9 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
The worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth.
I think he's stated that in several of his books already, along with the usual lines about drugs, crazy chefs, etc.
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I also don't reallty like his whole "I have tatoos and smoke and use the F-word a lot, so I must be really cool" thing. he's fifty, he should grow up.
You must not know many chefs.
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post #10 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
Sure, but you just described thousands of NYC chefs. What earned him his fame and position on TV shows is not his culinary skills, it was "Kitchen Confidential" and his personality

I agree. It's a good book too, I have it. I'm not arguing that he's a great chef, just a "real" one in terms of having the chops to work in a real restaurant. That does stand him in contrast of many people currently being featured in various "foody" programs IMO.
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post #11 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
Sure, but you just described thousands of NYC chefs. What earned him his fame and position on TV shows is not his culinary skills, it was "Kitchen Confidential" and his personality
...

And I don't think he has any reservations (pun! haahahhah ) in admiting that.
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post #12 of 56
3/4/08 at 2:55pm
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Originally Posted by robin View Post
I think he's stated that in several of his books already, along with the usual lines about drugs, crazy chefs, etc.
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Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC View Post
And I don't think he has any reservations (pun! haahahhah ) in admiting that.
Apologies for stating the obvious
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post #13 of 56
3/4/08 at 4:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
I also don't reallty like his whole "I have tatoos and smoke and use the F-word a lot, so I must be really cool" thing. he's fifty, he should grow up. also this whole "the kitchen is so much pressure, you can't understand pressure if you haven't worked in a kitchen" type of crap. its not like he is an emergency room doctor, for instance.

Nobody throws plates at you in an emergency room though. You're only worried about the OTHER guy dying, not personal injury.
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post #14 of 56
3/4/08 at 4:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
The worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth. Seeing him on Top Chef as a guest judge along the lines of Ripert or Keller makes me cringe - but I guess his comments make for good TV
+1. When I was working in what was a Zagat 29 restaurant, my chef felt he was a complete joke, and this was well before his books. He felt that the number of really good chefs at the time was countable on less than two hands.
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Originally Posted by GQgeek View Post
Nobody throws plates at you in an emergency room though. You're only worried about the OTHER guy dying, not personal injury.
The whole throwing plates thing is a joke (not funny, chefs who do it are a joke). Any chef that is that much of a hothead is bound to suck. Most of the good ones command enough respect from their staff that they barely need to raise their voice in order to get their point across.
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post #15 of 56
3/4/08 at 5:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
\t\t\t\tThe worst kept secret about Bourdain is that he's not a good chef. He's not even a decent one, just a famous one because of his big mouth. Seeing him on Top Chef as a guest judge along the lines of Ripert or Keller makes me cringe - but I guess his comments make for good TV
You could say the same about Michael Rhullman, who is a judge on all kinds of cooking shows. He's a so/so chef who probably can't run a kitchen as well as most NYC chefs. However thanks to his writing skills, many of the countries top chefs would not think of writing a cookbook without his help. I've watched some famous chefs on PBS (Hubert Keller, Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless) and I don't care if they can cook circles around Bourdain, they're boring. Also.....don't they say "those who can do , those who can't teach"....being a judge on one of those shows is about being a food critic, not a chef. There are no instructional sessions. They all do it for some publicity.
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