The Onion AV Club interviews Anthony Bourdain

by Aaron Hotfelder on

I recently touted— and fawned over– Anthony Bourdain’s Travel Channel show No Reservations. Now, that barometer of all things culturally significant– The Onion AV Club— has just published a lengthy interview with Bourdain. The interview touches on everything from his love of the Ramones, to his “Namibian warthog experience” to why he hasn’t yet “sold out.” A couple highlights:

“The show is really popular in Southeast Asia, so every time I go out there, they see me eating crazy shit, and people will always say, “Oh, you’ve tried durian? Have you tried this? It’s even stinkier.” So I’ve pretty much covered the waterfront in that regard. And it’s not a focus of the show, but when you’re a guest of honor in certain parts of the world-and with a track record like mine-people want to give you stuff that will make you throw up.”

“It helps, also, being a chef, so I can always reach out to the local chef. It’s like calling up the local capo. ‘You know me, you know what I like. I’m looking for the best dive bar in town. Can you take me there? You don’t mind if my crew shoots while we’re out there, do you?’ So it’s as un-artificial as a travel show can be. What we desperately want to avoid is footage of me taking one bite of everything and saying, ‘Ooh, that’s delicious.’ I have the luxury of being able to look at the camera and say, ‘This fucking sucks.'”

For more, check out Gadling’s July interview with Bourdain.

Food and travel writer website

by Neil Woodburn on

I think I just might hate Joe Ray.

It’s a professional hatred, of course, bred out of jealousy. That’s because Joe is a food and travel writer based in Paris. Wow. I can’t imagine a more perfect combination of careers in a more perfect location.

And yet, that’s what Joe does. He pens wonderful articles accompanied by fantastic photographs while soaking in all the gloriousness of Paris.

I bring Joe to your attention today because I recently spent some time browsing his website and reading a bevy of tantalizing articles such as, Tasting Welsh Tea in Argentina, A Sicilian gelato tour, Pigs’ ears, horse-sandwiches ‘n fritters: Italian street-food, and Whale carpaccio, reindeer filet: Greenland’s contemporary cuisine. Yum!

Joe does a marvelous job of combining a passion of travel with a love for local foods in a way that gnaws at my stomach and gets the travel bug biting. If you have a few moments, check out Joe’s website and travel with him around the world; you’ll soon be just as jealous as I am. And just as hungry.

TSA-friendly wine bag

by Abha Malpani on

Everyone always asks me to bring wine from Spain which I’ve stopped doing since a bottle once cracked and left a unique and lovely red design on my new cream colored corduroy pants. Also, wrapping them is a headache: bubble-wrap, then paper, then wrapping paper, then a T-shirt, and you still need to keep your fingers crossed that you will have the bottle in one piece; and they are so heavy to carry in hand luggage!

Well, Bottlewise seems to have found a solution with their TSA-friendly wine bags. Each Bottlewise Duo (US$48.95) bag holds two bottles in well-padded, removable zipper bags, and can fit easily in your check-in luggage. This also means that you don’t have to buy your wine at Duty Free anymore, you can buy exactly what you want, gift-wrap it the way you want, and not worry about lugging it around in your hand-luggage. If you are still worried about cracks, you can opt for the Bottlewise Duo Plus (US$58.95), which comes with more padding.

[Via LA Times]

Disney World bans children from swanky restaurant

by Catherine Bodry on

The family-oriented Disney World resort became a little less family-friendly recently.

Children were once welcome in Disney’s posh Victoria & Albert’s, the only restaurant with a AAA 5-diamond rating. No more. Evidently, the adults need a break — and what a better place to take one than in an intimate dining room? Besides, do kids like fancy-schmancy food? I know I didn’t when I was a kid. Disney claims that it is responding to guests desires, and that children dined at Victoria & Albert’s only around three times a month.

Prices at the restaurant start at $125 per person — a bit pricey for someone who just wants grilled cheese and chicken fingers.

I’m with Disney (not that I’d ever be able to eat a Victoria & Albert’s, but I’m with them on principle) — grown-ups sometimes need some grown-up time. What do you think?
%Gallery-10204%

More Disney news:

When in Canada, try the Nanaimo bar

by Martha Edwards on

Something occurred to me the other day when I was visiting with friends who had just moved here from the states: When someone from another country visits my family and I in Canada, our first step isn’t to take them to the local sites or order them a double double or sit them down with the a copy of Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw. No, the first thing we do is hand them a plate … of freshly baked Nanaimo Bars. Nana-what, you ask?

Nanaimo Bars are a sweet treat that originated in Nanaimo, a gorgeous city on the west coast of Canada on Vancouver Island. According to folklore, they got their start as a pick-me-up; they were baked with love and sent to weary miners from family members as a way to brighten their day. Now, hundreds of years later, these three-layer treats are still brightening days across the country–maybe even across North America–but especially here in the west.

I don’t know how to describe them except for this: It’s a fudge brownie topped off with white creamy custardy icing topped off with a layer of thick chocolate. They’re a little rich, but divinely delicious. You can make them yourself, but I recommend trying them on a visit up north (or down south for you Alaskans.)