Confound Expectations

I leave it to Alan to wax poetic on the intricacies of fine wine and all things related. What's more important to me are the experiences and emotions I pull from pursuing a life of well fueled travel. One of my greatest inspirations on this quest has been Anthony Bourdain.

I've read his books (both cookbooks and works of fiction), and have even booked trips after seeing his exploits on television. Namely, a visit to San Sebastian to dine at Arzak. Tony has been something of a sensei for me, and I'm going to spend a minute and try to get you to come over to our team. The food isn't always good (I've seen him eat a cobra head), but the context is always fascinating. I watched him and 3 other chef's sit down to a 6 course meal at The French Laundry, but cannot recall if Thomas Keller even popped his head out of the kitchen door. I sat watching with my jaw wide open as he and his crew waited patiently for their time to escape an Israeli bombing of Southern Beirut. Suprisingly, he was mostly calm, considering I watched the same guy hide in another room as a family's matriarch utilized a pressure cooker during the show he did in India.

If you haven't found Tony Bourdain, I strongly suggest you give his Travel Channel television show a try. He's not nearly as pretty as Giada DeLaurentis, nor fat and pompous as Emeril, but if you start watching now you might get to see the inevitable episode where he's forced to quit smoking, and everybody loves a train wreck.


Here's a link: Enjoy!


http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/bourdain/bourdain-season3.html