If you liked "No Reservations"

Then you must check out the "new" show Tony (Anthony Bourdain) has done.

While i much enjoy the wild places, i have been astounded by some of the civilized places/people/ideas.

Thinking i was all "out there" eating fresh forage and fermenting fish heads in the kitchen, chicken skins fried and all...and then this:

_Parts Unknown_ Copenhagen. Season 2, Episode 4. Netflix and Youtube(fees apply).

(nevermind the network---it never comes up as i utilize NF),


the show* is effing brilliant and should be epicurequired.


*If you consider yourself sophisticated, start with the shows from settled areas, like Copenhagen. If you prefer the ragged edge, try the boat in the Congo. Oh and those guys in Montreal make Julia Child look like Betty Crocker.

Maybe we discuss notes/attempts/adaptations/experimentations from Bourdain's travels (or yours) in this thread. Splitting off if we need to discuss finer aspects of "non-traditional" or "formerly unknown to outsiders" ways/methods/foods.

go

Check out Mind of a Chef as well. Narrated by Bourdain and starring David Chang.

Shall do as I finished the 2 seasons of Parts Unknown. 15 of 16 shows were good, most were as i described. I did find the stinker. Sicily is the one to miss if you can't see them all.

The Sicilian "fisherman" is a complete joke, Tony reacts poorly and drags down the whole episode.

I would have cut that guy out completely and developed the rest of the peeps/places more fully.

Detroit is a must see. (not so much for the food--which is good, but to get a "street level" feel for it all.)

Have you picked and eaten anything wild today? (Back to fresh and local, ala the chef from Noma*. (yes, Noma for those who keep up with big names/places).

I have. About to pick some Lambsquarter (Chenopodium album-finally got some growing here) and had some Poke (Phytolacca americana) recently. There's a little clover-looking thing with purple underneath ( ? ) that is tart/tangy, ate a few nibbles of that yesterday. Tried some Jack-in-the-Pulpit earlier. Onions. Morels of course, but they're way past done here. Japanese honeysuckle is good green (as well as the Lambsquarter) for green smoothies. Dandelions, good eats too.

Redbuds are edible but none made it to my plate this year.

What started as curiosity and "self-reliant" as well as healthier choices turns out to be closely related to the Noma experience. But i don't fancy things up quite so much (and i have less ink).

There's just so much local that can be prepared, that we walk/pedal past everyday. I've long been aware of this and trying to learn/incorporate more of it. Then Noma. Then the other stuff that Noma does (I won't blow the whole episode). World-class meals may be in your bay/bog/bailiwick/backyard waiting for harvest.


--

So i was studying proper sushi rice technique last night and saw this NON-brilliant TV/YouTube sort of guy getting all up in the way of a master chef...I hadda quit watching. He kept going over the obvious and getting in the way of the Master. Missing the point. My point being that i do wade through a lot of crap (videos and some afield) and only bring the finest examples to this discussion.

And i had local fishes (caught by real fisherman) with sushi rice (baked fish) last night, but that I've not been brave enough to "sushi" non-salty-water fish yet. Yes it will require a bit of cooking, i just need to land a good walleye.


*Noma http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners/noma