Anthony Bourdain Beirut Footage To Air August 21st

Travel Channel ^ | 31 July 2006

[angkor]

Anthony Bourdoin is the host of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations", and a renowned New York chef, "foodie" author, and novelist.

Turns out Tony and his NR crew were filming an episode in Beirut at the start of the conflict, and were stuck there like many other Americans until they joined the evacuation.

An account of his experiences appeared in Salon last week, Watching Beirut die, and he answered questions at the Washington Post's Live Discussions forum last Wednesday.

Bourdoin also showed up on the eGullet foodie forum, while in Beirut assuring fans that he was OK, but that the footage from Beirut may not be worth much for any future No Reservations episode.

Looks like a change of course has occured. Tonight the Travel Channel has been running a crawl that the Beirut footage will be shown as a special No Reservations episode on Monday August 21st. Presumably it'll run on Discovery as well at the normal NR viewing time.

Thought you fans might like to know.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Might be interesting. However, if tonight's episode is any indication of the future of the show, my hopes are not high for it. I guess they'll have some Lebanese 'extreme' sports people and a representative of the Lebanese version of MTV along with Tony while he visits some place that hand sews suicide bomber belts?


I was so pissed with tonight's show that I almost posted a vanity about it here...I suppose this rant will do though.

[perfect stranger]

IIRC Bourdaine was hanging with the Khmer Rouge on one show I saw a few years ago. He was at a combination restaurant\ rifle range in Cambodia.

I've got his Les Halles cookbook right there about 4 feet away. His fiction writing is good too.

Thanks for the post.

[FreeRadical]

Thanks for the heads up. Bourdain's a cool cat that's made a nice life for himself.

[HardStarboard]

>>>Bourdain's a cool cat that's made a nice life for himself.<<<

Watching his shows makes me wish I had followed up my career as a fry-cook in a Howard Johnson's at the age of 17.....and been smart enough to follow his path.

The man is obviously having a good time

[angkor]

"I was so pissed with tonight's show that I almost posted a vanity about it here...I suppose this rant will do though. "

Not very impressive, was it. The food commentary was merely obligatory at best, and the remainder was just silly. Extreme skiers? MTV babes? What has this to do with food?

Bourdain even made a comment at one point about the "changing direction of the show", I'll have to Tivo it to get the exact quote. In retrospect I think (hope) he was being sardonic, because he knew they'd produced a real dog of an episode. Maybe it was just a failed experiment.

[angkor]

"IIRC Bourdaine was hanging with the Khmer Rouge on one show I saw a few years ago."

I wish Food Network would release his previous shows on DVD. Discovery already has 8 shows on 4 DVDs (including Vietnam). Would love to see the Cambodia episode.

"He was at a combination restaurant\ rifle range in Cambodia."

The AK rifle range has been spruced-up since the Singaporeans made an investment. It used to be just a lowly bamboo hut. Contrary to popular myth, you couldn't shoot B40 rockets at stationary cows. That was borne from the reality that your real target was a Coke can sitting at the bottom of a 10-foot berm, and only M-79 grenades (not B40 RPG) were available. IIRC, $20 a pop.

[angkor]

"and been smart enough to follow his path."

I just finished Kitchen Confidential - kind of a professional autobiography - and am now on The Nasty Bits.

He gives the impression that much of his career has been an ugly and brutal slog.

"His path" is probably the best way to put it, because no one would go the way he's gone if they didn't truly love their profession. In fact Bourdain does make the point several times that its a calling for him, much more than a mere job.

[perfect stranger]

The episode is on in 10 minutes local time.

[perfect stranger]

Bourdain Lebanon Travel channel

[perfect stranger]

ping for "No Reservations" in Lebanon in 10 minutes.

[Vision]

I'm getting ready to watch. I used to love Bourdain, but he has gotten really political with his shows on France and Mexico. The one on Mexico is freakin' strange...just like Bourdain. I read a few pages of "Kitchen Confidential" and had to stop it was so disgusting.

[Vision]

This is probably going to be leftist and anti-Israel.

[perfect stranger]

I read a few pages of "Kitchen Confidential" and had to stop it was so disgusting.

So, I trust you have stopped eating in any and all restaurants.

[perfect stranger]

That's not the image we want to show.

[Vision]

It wasn't the restaurants(which I've worked in), it was Bourdain's drug riddled perverted low life that got me.

[Vision]

"And the country will be destroyed forever"???

[Vision]

Image of a drunken stupid Bourdain throwing his hand in the air and getting the children to say "Viva la Raza". He really thinks that's cute.

Nice.

[Battle Hymn of the Republic]

no doubt it will be leftist.

isn't everything on TV nowadays?

[angkor]

I'm there.

Not very engaging so far.

Strange it's sandwiched between two viewings of the "South of the border" episode.

I hope in the next season he refocuses on food.

Oh, now he's partying with two Lebanese disco babes. Good. /sarc