Entries associated with the tag "Anthony Bourdain":

"Denver and Ron are talking about injuries fellow cooks have sustained. Ron describes one cook whose knife fell through his foot, but he had to continue to work because the restaurant was so busy: 'When he took off his shoe at the end of the evening, his sock was just soaked in blood.' Denver tells Ron about a cook whose knife slipped and split his stomach open."

No sooner does my seasonal food books roundup hit the screen than Northwestern sociology prof Gary Alan Fine's Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work arrives in the mail. Six years before Anthony Bourdain lifted the skirts on the blood and guts, drinking, drugging, whoring, and questionable hygienic practices of the professional kitchen, Fine released this fascinating ethnography of four Twin Cites restaurant kitchens, covering a lot of the same ground, albeit with a nonlurid academic approach. It's updated with a new preface discussing the huge changes in restaurant culture since its initial relase. I haven't had time to get very far but just skimming Fine's field notes (like the one above) is great fun.

Is there anything Louisa Chu can't do? Not only has her prerecorded run as guest judge for Battle Zucchini just finished, but she's taking a break from a summerlong cheffing stint on a fishing boat in Sitka, Alaska, to serve as fixer for Anthony Bourdain and the No Reservations production team, in town today through early next week to film the long-awaited Chicago episode. Louisa, who made a memorable appearance in the first season's Paris episode (and many on Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie) will be escorting Bourdain and crew to L20, Calumet Fisheries, and Burt's Place, among other locations--including a visit to the Tom Tom Tamale factory and Fat Johnnie's with the distinguished Peter Engler.

OK, so some well-meaning person who doesn't really know you thought you'd find a book by Sandra Lee or Rachel Ray useful for the holidays. Luckily she gave you a gift receipt for it too. Here are some better options:

The Bacon Cookbook, James Villas (Wiley, $35) The former food editor of Town & Country reports in his introduction that U.S. bacon consumption has increased 40 percent over the past five years, so I'm amazed that the market hasn't been throughly glutted by cookbooks focusing on the gateway meat. Not everyone has the strength to resist bacon's dark side, an inexorable force that can pull one into a spiral of overindulgence or inspire ill-conceived creations (bacontini, anyone?). But Villas, a longtime champion of classic American cuisine, can handle his bacon. His 168 recipes show restraint, good taste, and worldwide influence, from Irish colcannon, Brazilian feijoada, and German fennel-and-bacon soup to bacon-wrapped figs stuffed with almonds in port and an entire chapter on bacon breads.

No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury, $34.95) This accompaniment to the Travel Channel series is mostly just the scrapbook of an enviable life, probably of little use to anyone not already a fan. But for those of us who are, it's laced with the Bourdainisms, both snarky and heartfelt, that we love about his show and his longer nonfiction.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison (Broadway, $40) Judging a book by its cover, I think I avoided this now classic collection for years because the author and founder of San Francisco's Greens restaurant looks the very picture of prim, self-satisfied plant eating. But though Madison's book, in its tenth anniversary edition, is widely regarded as the Vegetarian Bible, its utility for omnivores is endless, with 1,400 recipes over 721 pages.

After the Hunt: Louisiana's Authoritative Collection of Wild Game and Game Fish Cookery, John D. Folse (Chef John Folse & Company, $64.95) This tome is so gigantic it nearly falls apart under its own weight. Beginning with a history of the hunt (that begins in prehistory), it's packed with archival photos, paintings, and contemporary food porn, profiles of folksy locals, and tons of recipes, many for critters you're not likely to cross paths with unless you were born on the bayou (smothered nutria, muskrat stew).

Anthony Bourdain will be at Borders, 830 N. Michigan on Wednesday, flogging the companion book to No Reservations. It starts at 7 PM and it's free, but you need one of only 300 wristbands to get in. They'll be handed out starting at 9 AM.

Anthony Bourdain loves Ratatouille. Says Bourdain (who was a consultant on the film) to Michael Ruhlman:

"I think it's quite simply the best food movie ever made," Bourdain wrote today in an email.  "The best restaurant movie ever made--the best chef movie. The tiny details are astonishing: The faded burns on the cooks' wrists. The "personal histories" of the cooks . . . the attention paid to the food. . . . And the Anton Ego ratatouille epiphany hit me like a punch in the chest--literally breathtaking. I saw it in a theater entirely full with adults--and the reaction to that moment was what movie making was once--a long time ago--all about: Audible surprise, delight, awe and even a measure of enlightenment. I am hugely and disproportionately proud that my miniscule contribution (if any) early early in the project's development led to a 'thank you' in the credits.  Amazing how much they got 'right.'"

(See Ruhlman's blog for more responses from the foodigensia.) 

Frank Bruni, on the other hand, pipes up to protest the film's depiction of food critics as mean, joyless, shriveled egomaniacs.

ETA: Pat Graham weighs in over at our film blog with his own (mildly) dissenting opinion.

Anthony Bourdain really, really hates the Food Network. Really. (Ruhlman)

Bill Daley reports on his trip to the IACP conference. (Tribune)

Just what is Hot Doug going to do with 30 pounds of foie? (Sun-Times)

Ramps: the meth of the food world? (Hungry)

Shiner Bock, the beer that made Austin drunk, if not famous, makes its Chicago debut. (Chicagoist)

Guest blogger Anthony Bourdain weighs in on the Top Chef talent over at Michael Ruhlman's blog--and though I'm down with the Mike love, I can't agree with his assesment of the finalists. Ilan is a tool. Foam on Marcel! (Hey, I've avoided blogging about Top Chef all season--cut me some slack.)

There's also some pretty entertaining audio in which the pair expound on the glories of the Cleveland food scene and do their mutual fear and loathing shtick. It's basically a 15-minute sequel to the notorious Vegas episode of No Reservations and, presumably, a preview of what the forthcoming Cleveland episode of NR--complete with drag-racing scene--might promise.