Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations ~ Chicago
“This is evil in the best possible way.”- Anthony Bourdain (Chicago)
I have to admit to having mixed feelings about the Chicago episode. Having lived here for over 20 years, I don’t think he got it. At least, he didn’t nail it like I’d hoped he would. I’m certainly no food critic, chef, travel expert or tv show critic. I’m not saying I could have done it better, just that I thought he would have.
Hot Doug’s - never been there but was drooling over the hot dogs. Even he admitted we have NY beat there, which was cool. I could have lived without the version with foie gras, but I get it, he was obviously impressed with the rebellious attitude that won that particular war, and good for them! Paul Kahan & his crew were great at the end of the show.
Not one visit to a fest? That’s what we do all summer, practically every neighborhood has at least one.
I was hoping he’d hook up with Rick Bayless.
TOM-TOMS??!! I thought they only sold those at gas stations. Ick.
Mancow, really? He isn’t from Chicago and I didn’t know he was even still here.
Pizza: we love our thin crust pizza…it was as if the ONLY pizza in Chicago is deep dish. I have already been criticized for this one, but I think he would also love The Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder, maybe early on a Sunday, for lunch, before the crowd gets there. I’m not suggesting that Anthony Bourdain would enjoy the whole Lincoln Park scene. However, this particular restaurant has delicious and unique food (pizza pie, Mediterranean bread, poppy-seed dressing…yum).
And he didn’t get pissed off or rant about anything, not once. Not even when Mancow was being obnoxious. That’s no fun at all! Where was the snark?!
I love this show in general. I just expected more from this episode. It seems in other cities, that I haven’t been to, he really gets into what the “locals” are into and I didn’t get that feeling from the majority of this episode.
What did you think?
I think you know too much about Chicago, Mom, and I mean that in a nice way. I’m sure there are people in all the other cities he has visited who feel he didn’t quite nail them either, although to you it looked like he did. What constitutes the “best spots” to eat is so subjective, he’s bound to miss some people’s favorites and go with his fixers’ recommendations unless he knows better.
He’s only one man and he only has one hour. He’s almost a walking argument for cloning. So many restaurants, so much food, too little time!
Now that I’ve shot my mouth off, I have to admit I haven’t even seen the Chicago episode yet. Will watch it tonight. Thanks for the absence-of-snark warning. I’ll keep my expectations in check.
I loved it! But I’m not originally from Chicago, so I don’t “get it,” either. He made me excited to live here and to try out all the places.
Something tells me he wouldn’t like the thin crust, either! I don’t know — it’s just different than other pizzas, like I said on my blog. If he’s already got in his mind that NY style pizza is PIZZA, then either deep dish or thin crust doesn’t compare. To me, thin crust is almost like eating pizza toppings on a saltine. Maybe it’s an aquired taste, or maybe it’s something you need to grow up with..
I will have to try your Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder suggestion, though! I’m always willing to give the pizza a chance b/c my boyfriend LOVES it. I’ve eaten at more pizza places in this area than I have combined the rest of my whole life!
I was also confused about Mancow? I hadn’t ever heard of him, so thought maybe I was just out of the loop since he seemed to be portrayed as some huge Chicago icon.
Good festival suggestion!!!! That would have been a great Chicago representation.
I enjoyed the episode, but then, I’m not from Chicago:) I’d probably feel just as you do if he came to Oklahoma City (HA!) and didn’t chose the places I felt best represented us.
And I didn’t understand why he went to the ritzy seafood place? I get it that the chef is amazing and all that jazz…. but…..well, it just didn’t feel like the “usual” Tony.
Oh, I forgot to ask…. how excited are you about the Food Porn episode next week???!!! I’m just beside myself:)
I can’t stand Mancow – he’s a 3-rate Stern wannabe hack. I can see doing his show, but to spend a segment finding out his thoughts was too much – thank God for fast-forward.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder?
I respect your opinion and your taste…everyone likes different stuff. That place certainly would have been a unique place to go (and Bourdain likes to get off the beaten trail)..but really? That joint uses Brick cheese!
I’m not against creativity and experimenting and OF COURSE you can use other cheeses on pizza than mozzarella, but that joint certainly does not represent “Chicago” pizza and can’t possibly be better than Burt’s Place.
You really think that would have made the show more interesting, that it would have made him at least start to “get” Chicago Pizza? LOL, if he thought Burt’s was a “pizza casserole” I can’t imagine what he would have said about that stuff at Oven Grinder. But I really do honestly respect your opinion – you probably hate stuff I love.
For contrast, I definitely think after doing deep dish, he should have done a pizza place somewhere that does thin crust cut “party style” (cut in squares instead of triangles). It’s not like we all order Uno’s every night.
Bayless isn’t from Chicago, he’s from Oklahoma and Bourdain probably didn’t meat up with him because he has stated that he thought Bayless sold out for endorsing Burger King when the guy has such a hard on for organics, etc. In other words, Bayless probably turns his nose up at BK, but he’s going to sell the stuff?
Bourdain understands that not everyone can afford fancy food all the time, and also admits to his guilty pleasures of KFC honey BBQ wings and their mac and cheese. Let’s face it, we all eat junk, people can at least admit it. It would make them seem more real.
For the record, I enjoy watching Rick’s shows – he knows Mexico very well, he’s a scholar on the food culture and is passionate. Can’t fault the guy for that.
Another example: Harry Carry was from Missouri.
Many great people that make Chicago what it is, are not “from” here. Recent immigrants from Latin America, Asia, Ireland, Poland – will they not be “Chicagoans” one day? I’m not saying Mancow is nearly as iconic as Harry Carray, etc.
I guess my real question to you is, how long do you have to live in Chicago and what contributions must you make before you can be “from” Chicago or a integral part of the city that is allowed to be on a TV show?
I simply don’t find that the fact that Mancow is not a native Chicagoan is a valid point toward the show being bad. If you think the guy’s a douche bag, that’s fine, just say that, lot’s of people hate the guy! It’s not as if Mancow just moved here – that would be a different story. To say that “blah blah blah isn’t from here” applies to someone like Carson Daley. Also, it sounds like Mancow and Bourdain are friends…so that’s probably why he chose to have him on the show.
Oh yeah…and Bourdain? He grew up in New Jersey, like many “New Yorkers” Is he not a New Yorker?
So…Bourdain didn’t feature Jilly’s or Keefer’s (two of my personal steak favorites), MK, Berghoff Cafe, Carson’s,The Pump Room,Italian Beef sandwiches, Rainbow Cone, the Tootsie Roll Industries or tons of other things people hold dearly. The show’s only an hour long, and I think he did the city proud.
Should he have gone to the candied nut stands on Navy Pier & ride the McDonald’s Ferris wheel or visit Italian Village or Harry Carray’s?
Frankly, I’m quite surprised he didn’t visit Wiener’s Circle in addition to Hot Doug’s. Wiener’s Circle seems right up his alley, but maybe that’s the problem, maybe it was just too easy – but it would have provided the snark you missed.
I’m sure you are right about me having certain expectations for a show on my hometown. And yes, he does only have one hour. He needs to come back, or even do an entire season on Chicago! That way I’ll have a better chance at running into him.
Mancow was a Howard-Stern-Wannabe shock-jock. I didn’t think he was even still on the air. I wouldn’t consider him an icon and thought it was a really odd choice of people to hook up with.
I know, it should be great!
I agree, he didn’t seem like himself.
I couldn’t agree more!
No, I don’t think that he should have visited Navy Pier, etc., or I would have said that.
If I had wanted to say that Mancow was a douchebag, I would have said that too. I thought he was an odd choice for AB to hang out with because he is a radio dj with no background in travel, food or tv. The fact that he also isn’t even from Chicago simply added to my confusion about why he was on the show. It didn’t appear that they were friends to me at all. Their scenes together seemed awkward, at best. I actually suspected some sort of shared production company corporate arrangement because it was so bizarre. To say that Mancow isn’t “as” iconic as Harry Caray is like saying summer isn’t “as” cold as winter in Chicago. Harry Caray was an institution. Mancow was a joke.
Rick Bayless has been here for over 20 years. He has established himself as a respected chef and restaurant owner here in Chicago and has also had a television show. Like him or not, it would have made more sense for him to have hooked up with AB than Mancow. I wasn’t aware of any animosity between the two.
I’m not an Anthony Bourdain expert. I just like his show. Since Chicago is my home town and I didn’t enjoy that episode, I felt like blogging about it. It’s really that simple.