Hot Chef in Town

[mapen]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Thanks for that quote and link, pzarquon. I knew that Bourdain's thoughts on Spam would be entertaining, and that quote did not disappoint.

Now that we know how Bourdain *really* feels about Spam, it will be fun to watch him on the show as he balances his negative predispositon on Spam with his graciousness and respect for his hosts Who knows, maybe he's never had spam with rice and will warm up to its "comfort food" qualities.

1stwahine, the Chopped Steak is good. It was your posts about it last year that inspired me to go Uptown and try it out. They put the tomatoes in their version unlike some other places, which I really like. Only thing that could make it better would be mushrooms. Yum.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Dave Choo, editor-at-large of Hawaii Business Magazine, just started a new blog, launching it with his story about dining with Anthony Bourdain at New Uptown Fountain.

Check it out here!...

Choo On This

this is funny..

I got a call from a PR guy: "Anthony Bourdain is in town and he wants to do a segment on Spam, and we thought that you'd be a good guide for him? Are you free?"

"Does Andrew Zimmer sh#t bug parts?"

!

That would actually be Andrew Zimmern, fellow Travel Channel star of Bizaare Foods.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Fantastic.

I love how it seems everyone's immediate response to the news of Anthony Bourdain's arrival is glee, and how everyone's immediate response to the HVCB's involvement is dread. And I'm glad to see that the show's producers, at some level at least, are resisting the HVCB's "safe" vision of Hawaii.

Looks like Choo did Hawaii, and Spam, proud!

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Seems like Dave is still on cloud nine from last Friday. Check out his follow-up blog entry...

HOT MONKEY LOVE

He further details the dishes ordered and conversation that took place with total brilliance!

Bong Bong. lol!

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

In yesterday's Star Bulletin, Betty Shimabukuro published a story on Bourdain's entire stomp through the islands.

His itinerary included:
• Side Street Inn
• New Uptown Fountain (SPAM files)
• Paradise Cove Luau
• Bailey's Antiques (where he bought a $2,500 Aloha shirt!)
• Jack Thompson's B&B (Big Island)
• Lava-Side Inn (Royal Gardens on the Big Island)

What I found most interesting in that article was that he quit smoking due to being a new dad. Can you imagine an episode of NR without him chaining smokes?

And Dave apparently is still on cloud nine, as his third blog entry continues to dwell on Anthony's visit.

He adds that Tony has also visited:
• The north shore of Oahu for a barbecue with big wave surfers (cool!)
• Puka Dog (Kauai?)
• Ono Hawaiian Food (Oahu)

At least one of my suggestions (Ono's) made his list! Then again, probably anyone living here would suggest that.

He really should have done one on lunch wagons though; grabbed a plate at Tsukenjo's and grind 'em at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Dave also mentioned he was going to hit La Mariana on Friday after Uptown Fountain, but when Dave told him that Rachael Ray already did that gig, he chucked the idea. LOL! Imagine if he and his film crew walked in there while the HT party was going on? I think Ryan (and whoever else there are fans) would have totally tripped out... and I would have REALLY regret not making that get-together!

[leashlaws]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Well it's just great for the establishments he visited and gee, who could blame him for wanting to have cocktails at the Halekulani or going to Paradise Cove........What I find reprehensible and rude were the two places I happened to be who were told he was coming and within minutes of the beginning of the appointed window of time a call was received notifying the owner that he was not coming. "In the water on the North Shore" was one of them so you know there was no way he was going to be at said appointed time and the other was "oh, he needs to be on the North Shore at 2:00" this call received at 1:15 p.m. on one of those days that the storm was still in town and to get anywhere on the island was a real challenge. I hope he had fun wherever it was he made it to but I wonder if he personally realizes what a disappointment he created for those he was supposed to visit. I personally think that was very rude and lacked any sort of human consideration - especially in light that these are very small businesses that had this happen to.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

This part of the story is VERY disappointing...

So the cameras roll as he chats with chef Alan Wong, Side Street owner Colin Nishida and master sommelier Chuck Furuya. Throughout the restaurant, providing ambient noise, are some 50 friends Nishida has invited from kitchens all across the island.

50 friends of the owner? Are you serious? Isn't that like half the capacity (or more) of the place? No offense to Alan, Chuck or any other high profile chef or talent, but I'll be highly disappointed. That's really tacky. I know Alan has a sharp pidgin tongue, but still.

As a viewer and fan of the show, I'd much rather the establishments he visits be as honest and blunt as he (Tony) is. It should appear a business-as-usual affair, with anybody who's anyone in there dining. That construction crew who just got off work, loud and rowdy, poundin' Poke and tankin' brews. Or da' two aunties gossiping about this and that. Not a fake scene filled with celebrities or '15 seconds of fame' seekers.

Dave told me he suspected some "groupies" at the Uptown Fountain shoot, but he doesn't think where they sat or watched would make the shot. I sure hope not.

Too bad Tony can't just walk in to the establishments for taping unexpected and unannounced. That would really be real.

To cover this point, if (stress IF) he had actually walked into La Mariana while the HT gathering was going on... oooooohhhh boy would he (Tony) be in for REAL . Common' now, Auntie Lynn was in da' house. Auntie Lynn! Tony never seen "whack-whacks" like Auntie's!

Good gosh, if they shot a segment of Bourdain doing a Honolulu Chinatown tour with Auntie, that would be classic! I'd love it! Yo' Tony, fly back. You need to tape that!

[leashlaws]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

This part of the story is VERY disappointing...



50 friends of the owner? Are you serious? Isn't that like half the capacity (or more) of the place? No offense to Alan, Chuck or any other high profile chef or talent, but I'll be highly disappointed. That's really tacky. I know Alan has a sharp pidgin tongue, but still.

As a viewer and fan of the show, I'd much rather the establishments he visits be as honest and blunt as he (Tony) is. It should appear a business-as-usual affair, with anybody who's anyone in there dining. That construction crew who just got off work, loud and rowdy, poundin' Poke and tankin' brews. Or da' two aunties gossiping about this and that. Not a fake scene filled with celebrities or '15 seconds of fame' seekers.

Dave told me he suspected some "groupies" at the Uptown Fountain shoot, but he doesn't think where they sat or watched would make the shot. I sure hope not.

Too bad Tony can't just walk in to the establishments for taping unexpected and unannounced. That would really be real.

To cover this point, if (stress IF) he had actually walked into La Mariana while the HT gathering was going on... oooooohhhh boy would he (Tony) be in for REAL . Common' now, Auntie Lynn was in da' house. Auntie Lynn! Tony never seen "whack-whacks" like Auntie's!

Good gosh, if they shot a segment of Bourdain doing a Honolulu Chinatown tour with Auntie, that would be classic! I'd love it! Yo' Tony, fly back. You need to tape that!

If he really DID go without anyone knowing then the show name would in fact be true "No Reservations" but I also think and know it means he doesn't have any reservations as to what he eats.

You have some very good points! They ring true!

[leashlaws]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Ohhhhhh, I'm so lacking technically. I had an edit post all written then it just vaporized. I didn't really mean to quote your whole post what I wanted to reply to and agree with was the one line that started "Too bad Tony can't......." which is true.

I'll get the hang of quotes and all that sometime, I'm just shocked I was able to get the James Dean thing up....someday I'll actually figure out how to upload a real picture from my archives! A hui hou and have a great weekend everyone!

[cynsaligia]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

Dave also mentioned he was going to hit La Mariana on Friday after Uptown Fountain, but when Dave told him that Rachael Ray already did that gig, he chucked the idea. LOL! !

i'm a fan o'bourdain, as is eric. however, i was always disturbed when bourdian would dismiss rachael ray and her ilk as "bobbleheads." and it bothered me much more than name-calling normally does. some weeks ago, i finally figured out why.

rachael ray and sandra lee (both names he mentions more than a few times on his shows, and always with disdain) are women who cook in a style that many of today's women do. and face it, women, more often than men, are still the ones cooking for their families. however, unlike in times past, women are not always full time homemakers--they're also working outside the home.

rachael and sandra's shortcuts are appealing to such families because they provide a lot of homemade taste without having to spend so much time at home. to bourdain, those shortcuts are an anathema. additionally, these women are not "real chefs" who toiled in restaurant kitchens. we all know that until recently, chefdom was largely a male enterprise.

so what does this mean? well, it might mean that bourdain doesn't realize his hatred of ray and lee is basically male chauvinism.

ray and lee cook the way many women, especially american women who have jobs outside the home, cook. such women (i count myself among them) don't have time to spend several hours a day to spend in the kitchen to cook traditional meals. we depend on things like pressure cookers, crock pots, premade mixes, precut veggies, etc. i can't imagine insisting on standing over a stove stirring till my arm falls off for the principle of making a "real" risotto when i can make one just as good in twenty minutes using a pressure cooker. is it soulless if i do so? i think not, especially when i look across the table at eric and four friends chattering happily as we eat it along with eric's chicken saltimbocca (giada's recipe) and share four bottles of wine (confession--one of the bottles was arbor mist, but we didn't bring that one! we brought a bottle of foxglove, iirc). oh, and note that i used kraft's parmesan in a grater in my risotto instead of buying a wedge of parmigiano-reggiano that i'd waste half of bcs i can't use that big of a honkin piece of cheese.

so what if ray and lee aren't "chefs?" the cooking tips they provide are often much more useful for the typical american home than anything that bourdain has shared. yes, it's beautiful that he's exhalting traditional ways of cooking all through the world, but really--who's gonna spend two days making a coq a vin these days? maybe susie misajon can, and that's great--that's totally awesome. in fact, i would be among the ones who'd clamor for a taste. but lavagal? shoot--she has to wake up at the butt crack of dawn just to find time to go to the gym, and at 5:45 p.m. is posting on HT to find a recipe for creole mac so she can make it for dinner. then it turns out the recipe uses a can of something called "spaghetti sauce." if that isn't a recipe right out of sandra lee's kind of cookbook, i don't know what is!

specifically in terms of rachael ray--she proved herself quite capable against giada de laurentiis, who studied at the hallowed le cordon bleu when they went head to head on iron chef. ray specifically took the challenge because she's not a chef and she wanted to test herself against someone who was. however, one of the judges proclaimed while watching her work in kitchen stadium that despite not having worked in a restaurant kitchen, she was just as much a chef as anyone else there.

knowing that bourdain has a child, i wonder how his other half (i'm not going to assume they're married--does anyone know?) cooks on the nights when bourdain is in laos, hawaii, or iceland. my idle imaginings conjure up a woman furtively buying pillsbury cookie dough and doctoring it a la sandra lee and just as furtively eating up all the evidence before daddy comes home. or does she order out every night from les halles?

my apologies for my tangent off the subject of bourdain in hawaii. i'm hoping that one day he'll realize that ray and lee are valueable teachers in today's cooking, and lay off. i'm not saying he should get rid of his sarcasm and dry wit--keep it; it's part of his entertaining style. he just doesn't need to demean people in the process. it's not like making snide remarks about jamie oliver makes his own cooking taste any better. perhaps he'll come to that epiphany just as he came to his epiphany about spam.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

knowing that bourdain has a child, i wonder how his other half (i'm not going to assume they're married--does anyone know?) cooks on the nights when bourdain is in laos, hawaii, or iceland.

He brought his wife and kid with him for this Hawaii visit, where they all stayed at the Kahala Mandarin Resort. Wife and kid stayed at the hotel while he taped though. Although I'm sure they went with him to certain gigs like the Paradise Cove Luau.

I hear your rant on the Rachael/Sandra thing. I actually like them for all the points you've made. He probably does too, but just looking for something "easy" to pick on. Makes for good TV. lol

Sandra kinda' irks me, just because she's too "this world is a basket of roses" on camera, although her upbringing was rough, so I know it really wasn't like that in real life for her, so much respect. And she does have some good cooking tips.

I'm cool with Rachael too. EVOO and all, she's cute, likeable, and her recipes are useful. I've done one of her pasta dishes once (did that sound right?). lol

I can't recall any episode where Tony actually does a cooking demonstration. A Cook's Tour and No Reservations have mostly been Travelogue/"Dininglogue" formats.

[cynsaligia]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

I hear your rant on the Rachael/Sandra thing. I actually like them for all the points you've made. He probably does too, but just looking for something "easy" to pick on. Makes for good TV. lol

Sandra kinda' irks me, just because she's too "this world is a basket of roses" on camera, although her upbringing was rough, so I know it really wasn't like that in real life for her, so much respect. And she does have some good cooking tips.

I'm cool with Rachael too. EVOO and all, she's cute, likeable, and her recipes are useful. I've done one of her pasta dishes once (did that sound right?). lol

I can't recall any episode where Tony actually does a cooking demonstration. A Cook's Tour and No Reservations have mostly been Travelogue/"Dininglogue" formats.

i'm glad to know you share my opinion, pomai.

however, i wasn't ranting. ranting is for demagogues or wannabe demagogues, passionately trying to push their point of views on everyone else with emotional yet intellectually unsound arguments. i think the only times i have ever come close to ranting (versus taking the time to craft a thoughtful response, whether persuasive or informative) is maybe my arguments for cake versus pie and the ecstasy of chocolate in beer.

[Pomai]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

i'm glad to know you share my opinion, pomai.

however, i wasn't ranting. ranting is for demagogues or wannabe demagogues, passionately trying to push their point of views on everyone else with emotional yet intellectually unsound arguments.

Sorry, wrong word. I didn't mean rant.

Wow, you're a tough one! I love it!

[glossyp]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

knowing that bourdain has a child, i wonder how his other half (i'm not going to assume they're married--does anyone know?) cooks on the nights when bourdain is in laos, hawaii, or iceland. my idle imaginings conjure up a woman furtively buying pillsbury cookie dough and doctoring it a la sandra lee and just as furtively eating up all the evidence before daddy comes home. or does she order out every night from les halles?

His wife (they are married) is Italian so if she's furtively buying something packaged, it's probably the Italian equivalent!

I've seen him go off on male chefs (Emeril, Rocco, etc.) as well as Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee. In his Kitchen Confidential book he is anything but condescending to the women he worked with. I find both RR and SL down right annoying though that has more to do with their personalities. Both shows are rife with potential drinking games: take a shot every time RR say "up" and you'll be drunk in 15 minutes!

[cynsaligia]

Re: Hot Chef in Town

i'm a fan o'bourdain, as is eric. however, i was always disturbed when bourdian would dismiss rachael ray and her ilk as "bobbleheads..."

so funny--as eric and i were having brunch (eggs scrambled w/jalapeno pepper, garlic, mushroom, tomatoes, canadian bacon & blue cheese with some salad greens on the side), we were watching rachael ray's holiday feast show. one of the food tv holiday commercials came on. correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't the animations of the various foodtv stars (ray, de laurentiis, deen, flay, fieri) bobblehead-like?

hmmmmm....