Some people are not as enamored with Anthony Bourdain as I am, but you have to admit, he tells it like it is, and he has been there (wherever “there” is). One of our callers to the radio show once compared me to Bourdain, and though I could never claim to be even near his level, I was thrilled because he is one of my inspirations.
In Nasty Bits, Tony pulls it off yet again with his ‘kiss my ass’ vernacular and ‘I really could have attended Cambridge’ writing abilities.
I was rather surprised by his taste bud organization of essays (sweet, sour, salty and bitter) because it seemed rather bush-league for him. But hey, this is intotheSoup.com, and it works for us. Still, it is one thing to compose a chronological memoir such as the phenomenal Kitchen Confidential and quite another to write individual, shorter works which each have the power of an entire book. That’s art.
Some of his stories are dishes I’ve tasted before watching No Reservations, but his behind the scenes revelations add new flavor to what we have seen.
For example, he tells of a time, while shooting in the Greece, when he gets peeved at his local fixer. The man has failed to deliver on any of his promises, so, naturally, Bourdain takes a dare to jump off a 150 foot cliff while his crew fears for his life and their livelihoods.
Bourdain’s travels, travails and naked repartees give us further insight into a hard rockin’, hard workin’, hard playin’ travelin’ chef. What interests me most about him is his honesty about how the experiences of his life have changed and even softened him. He appreciates what he has learned about the world, food and himself and is not afraid to say it.
Anthony Bourdain may act like a hard-ass chef but after reading Nasty Bits, he doesn’t scare me. How cool would it be to run into him at some slum chef joint on the upper eastside and get completely hammered together?
By the way, Anthony, Grey Goose is this lady’s favorite drink.
Live well, Eat well,
Heidi
P.S. Buy Nasty Bits at our great partners at Longitude Books by Clicking Here. They are our kind of people AND it helps us out if you buy from them. 🙂
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