Hot Chef in Town

[glossyp]

Fans of Anthony Bourdain will be interested to hear that he is in town filming. Reports indicate a serious drinking and eating intro to the local scene took place at Side Street Inn. He'll be around the island for a few days.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Fans of Anthony Bourdain will be interested to hear that he is in town filming. Reports indicate a serious drinking and eating intro to the local scene took place at Side Street Inn. He'll be around the island for a few days.

Side Street Inn is a good start! Hopefully we'll run into him in Waikiki, like I did when Dave Atell was taping (post-midnight) for his Insomniac Comedy Central show a few years ago.

Yo' Tony, order the Pork Chops.

[scrivener]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

But not the overrated friend rice. Geez. The pork chops at Side Street are better than the hype. But the fried rice? What the heck? That is some boring friend rice, man.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Fantastic. I've always thought Anthony Bourdain should hit the islands.

He could just as easily hate and ridicule it as he could love and marvel at it (and frankly, the former makes for more entertaining television), which is scary. But I think Hawaii offers a lot worth exploring, even to a "been everywhere, done everything" guy like him. I'm hoping he stays out of Waikiki completely, else we get a repeat of his "New York as Disneyland" snark.

He's been much nicer in recent seasons, anyway, which is good for us. Though I kinda admit I miss the Bourdain that could come up with a thousand colorful ways to express disgust.

[glossyp]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

He's been much nicer in recent seasons, anyway, which is good for us. Though I kinda admit I miss the Bourdain that could come up with a thousand colorful ways to express disgust.

He does seem to have mellowed judging from his rather mild mannered responses to some pretty awful food when he was on Top Chef. I haven't seen him so I don't know if he is still carrying around the extra pounds he had put on. Contradictory as it seems, the extra weight detracts (to my mind) from his lean, mean, I'll eat anything persona.

Maybe we deserve to be judged harshly. After all this is a place where big national chain restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and the ilk thrive, Bravo's is voted Best Italian and Zippy's is lots of peoples idea of a great meal. On the other hand, we're not worse than most cities of similar size and a lot better than most in terms of variety of cuisines (albeit some of questionable quality). It'll be interesting to see what he thinks.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

I'm hoping he stays out of Waikiki completely, else we get a repeat of his "New York as Disneyland" snark.

I never thought about that. Good point. While he undeniably might make a stop through here, hopefully (and most likely) Waikiki will only be a brief part (or none at all) of his Hawaii episode.

No Reservations is certainly an "off the beaten path" travel dining format, so it's not surprising Side Street Inn was one of his stops. I've talked to a crew of airline pilots from the east coast who regularly hit Side Street Inn when in town. I was like, "Whoah, how did you guys hear about THIS place?" When in Rome, do what...

What would REALLY be cool is if he hooks up with someone throwing a backyard family Luau. Like for a wedding or baby's 1st birthday. Not the commercial 'kine like at a hotel or Old Lahaina. but the 'kine get all the aunties and uncles, cousins, drunks, whatevahz. lol

He's definately gotta' hit up an Okazuya (I'll vote for Masa & Joyce in Kaneohe), while there he can also check out KJ's fried chicken. He also should check out Ono's or Young's to complete that Hawaiian food fix. He also gotta' hit up Char Hung Sut or Libby's for the fun buns. Also gotta' do the lunch wagon. Gotta'. Tsukenjo's? Tani's? Too bad no more Kewalo's (Kanda's).

I'm trying to think where he can go here that would feed the fire of that snarkiness in him, which is what makes his show so fun to watch. Ahh, go buy one $1.50 hot dog at Iwilei Costco and make fun of how many big boxes we have here. lol!

[pzarquon]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Erika Engle reported his arrival on Thursday.

And now I'm really worried: the HVCB is involved. And a PR agency that wants to steer the show "toward things that are positive"

I love Anthony Bourdain, but I know he despises "handlers" and very frequently snarks whenever a city attempts to roll out the welcome wagon. This could go very, very badly.

Left to his own devices and the "off the beaten path" obsession, I think he could find a lot to love here. I'm such a fan of his, and of Hawaii, I can see such great possibilities. I could even enjoy his show if he dislikes the things he finds... on his own. As I've said, his negative reactions are more entertaining than his positive ones.

But if the episode gimmick hinges on HVCB fumbling... I'm going to be crushed.

I wrote about my excitement and trepidation at Hawaii Blog.

[melorama]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Oh dear lord, McNeil Wilson should be ashamed of their TOTAL CLUELESSNESS!

If they had any clue whatsoever about what Tony Bourdain is all about, they'd know that any attempt to "steer" him towards watered down, corporate-approved Hawaiian "experiences" will backfire in a spectacular way. It will virtually guarantee that Hawaii will be shown in a negative light when (or *if*) the show makes it to air.

One of the greatest things about Bourdain is that he is 100% no-B.S., anti-pretentious and genuine down to the atomic level. If HVCB is just gonna try and have him go to Roy's, Alan Wong's, Sam Choy's and dozens of other boring, cliched, overrated places, they might as well just bring in Rachel Ray instead.

This is a chance to show the world that Hawaii is more than just Luaus, Spam "sushi" and pretentious pacific-rim/"hawaii-regional" cuisine. People who watch Bourdain's show are *true* foodies, and don't want the sanitized, pre-packaged experiences that HVCB/McNeil Wilson seems bent on providing.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Though unrelated to Bourdain's current taping here, make sure to catch Anthony Bourdain's Holiday Special tonight. Sure, every TV show and TV chef is doing a "holiday special," but given Bourdain's style and general attitude toward the conventional, I'm sure it'll be entertaining.

[Honoruru]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

I love Anthony Bourdain! Unlike other food/travel programs, you have no idea what to expect, even if you're familiar with the place or the cuisine. I'll definitely watch the holiday special ... what kind of twist could he put on that?

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Anthony and crew met with Dave of Hawaii Business Magazine for a lunchtime taping session this past Friday at New Uptown Fountain on N. School st...



Now THAT's talkin' "hole-in-the-wall, where the locals go"! He even heard Anthony tell his producer, "this place is perfect". Great choice, Dave!

Food items included a Spam Musubi and Uptown's specialty, a Spam Omelet over two scoops of rice, with curry poured over it and a Kim Chee garnish. Wow! I guess that's something you wouldn't find in Vietnam or China...



With that, Anthony's questions to Dave were focused on Spam and Hawaii's fascination with it. My guess is he'll poke fun at that in the voiced-over narration.



Dave said he was really nice, cracking jokes the entire time, and even posed for pics with fans. But when the tape rolled, he put on his snarky hat. They even spent time there after taping to enjoy their meal.

His Aloha shirt is hilarious. Did the HVCB provide that? lol He even wore shorts and rubber slippahz.

[Honoruru]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Wow, Pomai! What a scoop! How did you get those photos?

[mapen]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Awesome! Thanks for the pics. As soon as I saw that first pic I immediately recognized the restaurant and got a kick out of seeing Bourdain standing in a spot that I have stood in .

Looks like we are going to be hearing Bourdains thoughts on Spam when the show comes out. I think he will at one point in the show say "canned meat product"

[pzarquon]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Ah, a spam segment. It was inevitable. In a Washington Post online chat last year, Bourdain was asked by someone in Hawaii whether he would visit the islands, and whether he'd give spam dishes a try:

Then I would have to eat a lot of Spam and I would rather have sex with a crackhead clown an ebola-infected spider monkey than eat Spam on a regular basis. Does Spam qualify as food or bulding material?

Heh.

[1stwahine]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Hey! This is my favorite place!

I love the Beef Curry, Beef Tofu, Hamburger Steak, and Chop Steak!

The Mac Salad and Toss Salad with their special papaya dressing is onolicious!


The Fountain


Chop Steak


Spare-Rib Soup

Auntie Lynn