the hunter s. thompson of the culinary arts?

[rone]

Perhaps i exaggerate, but this bit of Bourdain bluster escalated my mirth from snickering all the way to cackling.  Thanks to nyar.

Comments

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Absolutely hilarious. Thank you.

[mrbalihai.livejournal.com]

As much as I love Bourdain, I wonder sometimes how good a chef he really is. I mean, you never see him in a cook-off or his fare being subjected to a panel of judges.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

I've eaten at Les Halles during his tenure as executive chef. He's not a creative genius in the Thomas Keller mold (then again, he's never claimed to be), but he runs (or ran? I'm not sure if he's actually on the staff there any more) a kick-ass classical French bistro kitchen, and only the expense and concern for my waistline kept me from eating there on a regular basis.

[ratphooey.livejournal.com]

That totally made my day. I can't thank you enough for linking it.

[wisn.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna rain on your cornflakes here, bucko, and point out that he's largely in praise of Food Network, threatening intro paragraph aside.

He likes:
Alton Brown
Iron Chef America
Emeril (the chef)
Bobby Flay (the chef, the cooking shows)
Mario Batali (the chef, the show)
The Ace of Cakes guy
Giada (the chef, the cooking show)

He's ambivalent about
The Ace of Cakes show

He hates
Emeril's show
Bobby's non-kitchen shows
Giada's non-kitchen show
Cancelling Mario's show
Rachel (the person, the shows, the marketing)
Paula Deen (the person, the show, the spinoffs)
Sandra Lee (the person, the show)

Tote it up. He likes nearly as much as he hates, and most of his complaints center around a 24-hour channel not filling all 24 hours with cooking shows. It reads more like a Metafilter thread than a Thompson-esque raving freakout.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Hey, i didn't say he abuses the FN; i just said it was funny. If anything, the fact that he criticizes fairly and praises where he sees fit makes it better. "Reads more like a Metafilter thread"... that's just mean, man. He hits HSTesque notes, which escalate as he gets to Deen and Lee.

In short: you suck at flakewetting.

[nyar.livejournal.com]

Here is THE metafilter thread for comparison:

http://www.metafilter.com/58450/Bourdain-VS-the-Food-Network

[asienieizi.livejournal.com]

I _loved_ it! I share some of the same hatred too.
Also?
"You suck at flakewetting" needs to be worked into conversation in the office or at church. Repeatedly.

[pootrootbeer.livejournal.com]

The episode of "No Reservations" where Bourdain and Mehlman toured Vegas while parodying "Fear and Loathing" makes the Hunter comparison perhaps too obvious for my taste, so I think I'll call him the Lester Bangs of culinary writing, for the time being.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Ha, i had no idea. Is the episode good, at least?