Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

What’s the Story?

In ANTHONY BOURDAIN: NO RESERVATIONS, the chef and author (of Kitchen Confidential, The Nasty Bits, A Cook's Tour, and more) crisscrosses the globe in search of the food that typifies the world's cultures. Each week, viewers tag along with Bourdain as he gets the inside dish on local eats in places like Beirut, Indonesia, Korea, Miami, Sweden, and Puerto Rico. On each trip, Bourdain not only indulges in native flavors but also tags along with fishermen, farmers, and food merchants as they go about their daily business, taking in local customs and engaging people he meets in conversation about their homeland and cuisine. During his visit to Peru, for example, Bourdain visited a shaman when the altitude got to him, sampled homemade ceviche with a popular restaurateur, and hopped aboard a fishing boat to go in search of piranha.

Is It Any Good?

Outgoing and wry, Bourdain does a good job of keeping the energy up and introducing viewers to cultures they might not have been exposed to before. But he often makes remarks that might give some parents pause (not to mention make them want to preview episodes before letting kids tune in). When sampling the ceviche, for example, he said that next time he should smoke a joint to counteract the dish's acidity. And when his local host gave him coca leaves to alleviate his headache, he made a reference to snorting cocaine in the '80s.