No Reservations: The Hudson Valley

This week, Bourdain goes to the Hudson Valley, an area about which I know next to nothing, truth be told! So I'm excited to watch. This has been an excellent season so far, so I have no doubt tonight's show will be great, too.

Here's what Wendy had to share about tonight's episode

I hope you enjoyed last week's episode of No Reservations in Prague. It was, personally, one of my favorites so far this season. Next up, Tony explores the Hudson Valley, just upriver from his home. In Tony's words, "The Hudson River is that body of water next to the city. Period. But apparently there's more!".

The episode begins with Tony sailing ("Probably not the wisest decision in maritime history"), and a floating hot dog stand. How convenient!  Upriver he finds a small town with a nuclear plant, where the locals brag about the blue crabs found in their river banks. "Hey! This one has an extra claw. A delicious claw."  Nuclear jokes aside, a couple of locals chat about a mishap with a nuclear reactor while the plant was being built. Hilarious or scary? You be the judge.

Next, Tony heads to Pine Island in the black dirt region of the Hudson Valley. This area was once thought to be untouchable by farmers because of the swampy lands. Tony joins the Matuszewski family in their sausage shop, which has been family-owned since it was started in 1947. The chef is a little kooky, and the parking lot has some interesting characters, but the food looks delicious.

Hide Park is the crew's next stop. Tony hits the road with Michael Ruhlman for a visit to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA); Tony's Alma mater. Equipped with a chef's coat and hat, Tony and Michael are assigned a stir-fried squid with basil dish, to be made for loads of hungry students. "Not to brag, but I could handle this assignment while getting a colonoscopy and still make it in time". Hmm...not a pretty picture Tony, but I get your point.

My favorite part of this episode is Tony's visit to the Mohonk Mountain House. It's a 265-room Victorian castle built in 1869; also one of America's oldest family-owned resorts. Stephen King has been a guest in this place, which totally makes sense given its creepy nature. "All work and no play makes Tony a dull boy".

Next on the list is a visit to the home of chef Michael Pardus for some Asian food. Sierra Pardus (Michael's 10-year old daughter) gives Tony a run for his money when it comes to criticism. Tony says, "I've never encountered such an incise critic of my life's work!".  Check out this sneak peek of Sierra and Tony's conversation. That girl has some guts!

Since this last week was Groundhog's Day, what could be more appropriate than a meal with the one and only Bill Murray? At the end of this episode, Tony and Bill break bread at X20; Peter Kelly’s restaurant built on a pier on The Hudson River. See some of this special guest footage here.

As always, you can check Tony's travel guide for the area on our website. Be sure to tune-in Monday, at 10 E/P for this all-new episode!

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations The Hudson Valley airs tonight, February 8th, at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel.

If you want to read Bourdain's journal entry on the Hudson Valley, go here: http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

And he's also got some behind-the-scenes pictures of the Hudson Valley up on his Facebook page.

Finally, here are two sneak peek videos of tonight's show. The second one is hilarious!

Bill Murray on Anthony Bourdain

Schooled by a Young Fan

No Reservations: Prague

This week, Bourdain goes to Prague, somewhere I've always wanted to visit. The culture, the history, the architecture just seems so stunning... I think I would truly love Prague!

Here's an excerpt from Bourdain's journal post he wrote yesterday re: Prague:

Tomorrow, it's Prague - and if it's possible to have too much pork or too much beer, this is where that would happen. As you'll see, I hope, it's spectacularly beautiful there and the food, while a bit on the heavy side, is, in fact, delicious. But if ever a place had me craving a salad, this was it. If you commit a homicide as a vegan, they should sentence you to the Czech Republic. That would teach you the error of your ways. Death by sausage.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Prague airs tonight, February 1st, at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel.

If you want to read the rest of Bourdain's journal entry on Prague, go here: http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

And he's also got some behind-the-scenes pictures of Prague up on his Facebook page.


Finally, here's a sneak peek of tonight's show:

No Reservations: Brittany

This week, Bourdain goes to Brittany. From the sound of his blog entry and the glimpses from  his YouTube page, this is going to be one absolutely gorgeous episode. And also mouth-watering, of course!

Here's an excerpt from Bourdain's journal post re: Brittany:

I'm not kidding about the color in Brittany. Everything is blue. It's a cinematographer's wet dream, a palette of dark blues, light blues and blue grays that forces everyone to unconsciously dress to match the surroundings. Against a background of ocean and sky, I look around at my crew and realize that all of us are appropriately and exclusively garbed in near matching shades of navy and gunmetal. You don't think about it. When you wake up in Brittany, somehow, the color orange never occurs to you. Heading out the door in yellow or bright green or even brown would feel disrespectful of the elements.


So much of a place reveals itself off camera. It's why I stopped taking photographs of my travels years ago. You miss everything.  What you won't see on the show -- but should probably know about Brittany -- is that always, constantly -- in the moments between scenes, when the crew sits down for a break, when the show's over, cameras put aside, there's food. Delicious, delicious things coming at us from every direction. Mountain ranges of shellfish tower everywhere you look: oysters, lobsters, crabs, periwinkles, clams, shrimp and prawns.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Brittany airs tomorrow, Monday, January 25 at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel.

If you want to read the rest of Bourdain's journal entry on Brittany, go here: http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

And he's also got some behind-the-scenes pictures of Brittany up on his Facebook page, including this one incredible pic.

Finally, here's two sneak peek videos of tomorrow's show:

Brittany


Brittany: Pork Porn

No Reservations: Istanbul

I have missed blogging about "No Reservations!" So, so happy the show is back with a new season, and this one seems to be even better than ever.

Last week I wasn't able to blog about it in time, but in case you missed it, the first episode of the new season took place in Panama. No worries if you didn't get to see it -- you can still catch it thanks to On Demand. (Check your cable listing for more information.)

This week, Tony goes to Istanbul. Wendy from the Travel Channel gave me the scoop on tonight's episode:

Tony begins his trip in Istanbul hungover after indulging in beverages on the plane. What better way to remedy that than with breakfast? He heads to Kale Cafe for a traditional Turkish breakfast, which is quite different than the normal American morning meal. Eggs, Turkish lamb sausage, cheeses, breads, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers are part of the meal. Interesting fact: the Turkish word for breakfast (kahvaltı) means "before coffee", so a black tea is served with the meal and coffee is drank afterward.


Next, Tony tries the original fast food, Lahmajun, which he affectionately refers to as a "low rent favorite". It's basically a very-thin crusted pizza made with meats, spices, and vegetables. What does it taste like? Tony says, "I've been dialing back on the adjectives on this show. There's only so many when describing food." Does watching Tony try to describe the taste of foods enhance your viewing experience? I'll let you be the judge.


A trip to Turkey just wouldn't be the same without meat on a stick, or as Tony says, "A throbbing missile of love". Despite being really classic stoner food, this stuff is delicious and freshly made. Tony also tries some soggy burgers off the street. I'll leave that one for your imagination.


From lamb heads to black market mussels, Tony leaves no stone unturned. One of the most memorable segments of the episode is Tony's time with a local taxi driver. Tony doesn't get much conversation in, but he does say, "being around Ishaan is like being in someone else's reality show".

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Istanbal airs tonight, Monday, January 18 at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel.

Tony is sure to blog about this episode, so you'll want to check that out:
http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

And he's also got some behind-the-scenes pictures of Istanbal up on his Facebook page, which you can see here.

Here's a sneak peek of tonight's show:

No Reservations: Sardinia

This Monday's "No Reservations" is one I'm definitely tuning in for, because we get to learn a little bit more about Bourdain's mysterious new wife, Ottavia...

Here's what Ingrid had to share about Monday night's episode:

The upcoming Sardinia episode is the type of episode that fans have been waiting 5 seasons for. Tony travels with his wife, Ottavia to her father’s homeland and learns what it means to be Sardinian as he gives himself over to the Busia family for a week.

Although he grew up in a small family, he’s always dreamed of large family meals and the type of place where old recipes are still honored, with everything made by hand. In Sardinia, Tony gets his dream as he dines on a whirlwind of pastas, cheeses and meats such as donkey, famous Sardinian snails, baby goat drizzled with pork fat, wild hare, partridge and of course, carasau, Sardinian bread.

It isn’t just the mountainous landscape and age old traditions that Tony loves about Sardinia – it’s also the food and he states he would go there, if only for that. Fans are going to love the glimpse of Tony’s life that he shares – the omnipresence of good cheese, good sausage, good wine, good bread is everywhere, at every meal.

Anothony Bourdain: No Reservations Sardinia airs Monday, September 14 at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel.


Tony is sure to blog about this episode, so you'll want to check that out:
http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

As always, here's a sneak peek of tonight's show:

No Reservations: NYC Outer Boroughs

This Monday's "No Reservations" is in Tony's homestate, New York. This time he guides us through NYC's five outer boroughs along with some help from the natives. One "native" that helps Tony out is David Johansen, the lead singer from the band NY Dolls. Um, squee?! That alone has me very eager to see tonight's episode, but his other guides are just as awesome.

Here's what Ingrid had to share about this episode:

Tony knows the jungles of Malaysia and the streets of London better than he knows what's just outside his Manhattan... so he enlists some locals to help him explore NYC’s five boroughs.

While in Queens, Tony enjoys traditional Chinese, Indian and Korean foods such as pigs feet, head cheese, lamb noodles, fried pancakes, wriggling chopped octopus, and piles of steaming seafood.

When traveling to Staten Island, Tony meets up with the lead singer David Johansen of the former band, the NY Dolls. Their first stop is New Asha, a Sri Lankan restaurant, where they enjoy the Sri Lankan specialty, black curry goat. They also take some time out to discuss the true roots of rock and roll.

After Staten Island, Tony goes to Brooklyn and joins Chris Chung for a delicious dim sum breakfast of duck feet, tripe, fried bread, pork meatballs and hargao in Sunset Park. A Mexican lunch is next on his list and Tony meets up with Carlos, his close friend and chef at Les Halles, at Los Hermanos, a tortilleria that both manufactures and serves tacos.

His trip to the Bronx is fast – Tony meets his friend Fat Dave, who runs a taxi tour of local restaurants, for a traditional meal of ribs, collard greens, rice and beans and oxtail at Sam’s, which is located next to Yankee Stadium.

Back in Brooklyn, he discovers the budding enterprise of Marlow and Sons, as well as Marlow and Daughters, serving sustainable foods from local farms in the Hudson Valley, the only locally-sourced, whole-animal butcher shop in NYC. Tony and Peter Meehan, food writer and critic, are treated to a delicious meal of seared beef heart and bone marrow, which are enough to render Tony speechless. Diner Restaurant, right next door, Peter and Tony are immersed in exquisite dishes – pig’s head fettuccine, brussel sprouts and grits, and a deliciously juicy rib-eye steak while discussing whether or not Tony missed the boat to Brooklyn.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, New York Outer Boroughs airs on Monday, September 7 at 10pm E/P on the Travel Chanel.

Tony is sure to blog about this episode, so you'll want to check that out:
http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/

Here's a sneak peek of tonight's show:

No Reservations: Burning Questions

This Monday's "No Reservations" will be a little different. Instead of showing Bourdain in some exotic locale, it will feature Bourdain answering fans' questions. Questions like, Has there ever been a segment you don't remember shooting because you were so drunk? (Yes, that is one of the questions they are asking him, and yes, I for one am curious to hear the answer!)

Here's what Ingrid had to say about the upcoming episode:

This week is the long-awaited Burning Questions episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Based on the results of the Travel Channel’s online poll, Tony answers the Top 10 viewer questions by using clips from past shows – even clips from Season 1. Personal favorites of mine make an appearance, such as the massage in Uzbekistan, trouble in Chile, and the priceless expression on his face when he’s at the Dracula Castle on Halloween (with a bit of background about how they got there - hilarious).

In the special he actually addresses cute critters that he has to eat (you’ll be surprised by his answer) as well as his feelings toward the fan favorite, Zamir (with a great ‘highlight’ reel of Zamir).

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Burning Questions airs Monday, August 31 at 10pm E/P on the Travel Channel. Here's a sneak peek for your viewing pleasure:

What question would you want to ask Bourdain? Let me know in the comments!