Bring Bourdain

The other day, I linked to Nelson Starr’s video submission to the Travel Channel as part of a contest to bring Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations to your town. Nelson went to Ted’s, Anchor Bar, and Ulrich’s to get hot dogs, wings, and beef on weck, in that order. His only mistake – self-admitted – in that video was ordering Pepsi instead of Loganberry at Ted’s.

I’ve been a huge Bourdain fan since reading Kitchen Confidential, and watch No Reservations pretty regularly. The episode on Osaka got me hooked. It’s Japan’s feel-good, eat-good city, and Bourdain was completely in his element eating greasy, fried street food as well as sushi so tasty that the proprietor didn’t even bother to garnish with ginger or wasabi.

Bourdain’s show doesn’t focus even vaguely on haute cuisine. He didn’t go to the finest restaurants in Sao Paulo or Osaka or Hong Kong. He went to street vendors, dive bars, places on the beach, etc. So, it seems completely fitting that Starr’s video would focus on charcoal-grilled hot dogs, the birthplace of the chicken/Buffalo wing, and beef on weck.

So, for fun, check out this thread, highlights from which are:

so what did the video show? hot dogs, roast beef, and chicken wings…..not very interesting…Zzzz… im sure there are places which are more interesting… hope do a show in buffalo though, big fan

If you’re a big fan, how do you not know the concept of the show?

is Buffalo that innovative when it comes to food? There’s a major consistency problem here for one thing, 90% of the restaurants focus on some form of Italian food, & there’s just not that adventurous spirit that Bourdain would be looking for.

A town where bars stay open essentially all night? A place that has invented and maintained some of the most amazing junk food? Seems to me to be right up Bourdain’s alley. But this is the perfect comment:

As much as we love our wings and beef on weck, Buffalo has some great places to eat and a lot of culture. We should use this opportunity to showcase how multi-layered the city is. I would hate for someone in middle America to think that Buffalo is nothing but pub grub. Showcase the wings, the hot dogs and the custard..but also show some of the great sushi places, martini bars and a host of “fine dining” restaurants that do “small plates” or tapas styled menus so you aren’t breaking the bank just to have a nice meal.

That’s the comment written by a person who never watched the show. If Bourdain wants sushi, he’ll go to Osaka. I don’t think he’s a martini drinker. He would laugh at small plates in a mocking manner. If he wants tapas, he’ll go to Madrid or Barcelona. Why on God’s green earth would he showcase sushi in Buffalo?

Most comments, however, understood. Suggestions included Schwabl’s and the Old Pink, including this hilarious comment:

old pink is good call. The tossed salad is terrific.

Heh.

I chimed in after much back-and-forth between the off-topic and the silly:

Nelson did a great job, and all the cretins who suggest that he should have shown something more haute than Ted’s or Anchor Bar don’t understand the concept of Bourdain’s show, and they don’t understand who Bourdain is.

Bourdain worked at Les Halles, for God’s sake. Not at Union Pacific or Nobu.

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