Talking travel with Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern

by Jerry Guo on

I’m here with Andrew Zimmern, the wildly popular host of Travel Channel’s hit series, Bizarre Foods. He’s a personality that needs no introduction–at least around the Gadling water cooler. You could even say he’s our Paris Hilton.

His show–which is about what it sounds like–has just finished its second season, with episodes spanning the globe from Iceland and Bolivia to St. Petersberg and Delhi (check out our episode guides here). Beyond the tube, he’s a celebrated food writer, dining critic, radio talk-show host, and chef. For more Andrew, check out his blog.

In this exclusive interview, Andrew dishes on everything from director Ang Lee’s stinky tofu fetish to his NYC School of Hot Dog Consumption Theory.

Before Bizarre Foods, how much jet-setting around the world did you get to do?

Plenty! I was lucky enough to come from a family that always traveled and placed a premium on pursuing singular experiences, eschewing resorts in favor of spending weeks skiing in Europe, driving ourselves around and eating in local restaurants and in homes with people we met along the way. I am a paler version of my Dad, the original “food freak” in the family, who introduced me to the concept of a tasting menu at Paul Bocuse in 1974. I am eternally grateful.
When you’re not taping a show, would you be eating any of these bizarre foods? Which ones are now part of your palate? (I’ve heard you gush about those sparrows several times.)

Of course I would, assuming it was available and fresh. Also important are the intangibles like setting and ambience. It’s hard to duplicate tuna collars (10 pounders!) grilled over coconut husks, served with sautéed banana flowers, tossed with braised whelks and a crispy wild pig. All this is available here in the U.S., but it’s not the same as pulling up a chair to a table that’s groaning with the stuff at Kinabuch’s in Palawan in the Philippines.

What happens is that being courageous and willing, and 5,000 miles from home, makes you open your eyes to the foods available in your own back yard. I have been way more enthusiastic about beaver, moose, raccoon, possum, squirrel and other local treats because of what I eat when I am away from home. My son and I have caught lots of grasshoppers in our back yard, but we still have not eaten any of those.

You’ve mentioned that you stop at stinky tofu. Is that really bad? I think I have a jar sitting around somewhere, it’s like the Chinese version of Nutella right?

Way worse…Here’s the deal: I ate stinky tofu every day for a snack in Taipei, it was awesome; two days in the briny sludge, then grilled, split and stuffed with pickled cabbage and brushed with sweet peanut sauce. It was amazing. Then on day six, I ate 14-day-old stinky tofu at Dai’s House of Unique Stink…it was horrific. After 14 days in putrid vegetable matter, the tofu is as close to rotting flesh as anything I have ever seen or tasted. I got one bite down, but could not get another one past my tongue. There’s a lot of confusion out there since many people have only seen the two-day stuff and wondered what the big deal was. Director Ang Lee has Dai’s send him stinky tofu all over the world when he is on location. He’s a better man than I am.

What other foods do you stop at, and say, “no way, I’m not getting paid enough for this?”

The only foods I have ever refused to date were raw rotten chicken intestines in a Chang Mai jungle market that were not washed, and running tap water in a Delhi street stall that was being used to moisten some chat that they were selling for snack food. In both cases I knew that consuming either one meant a guaranteed trip to the hospital or a night spent puking my guts out.

How were the rooster testicles? What other (not sure how to put this delicately) gonads have you eaten? Care to describe them or have those memories been sufficiently suppressed?

I have eaten the following testicular treats, often times accompanied by the penis as well: snake, yak, cow, goat, rooster, duck, goose, donkey, water buffalo, frog, deer, elk and probably about a dozen others. The balls are great, especially on smaller animals and when eaten extremely fresh. Rooster balls are one of my faves, they are not too gamey, very creamy and when steamed, then quickly pan crisped and served with hot chiles and lime, they are addictive in the extreme. Wolfgang Puck made me Hunan style rooster balls a few weeks ago in L.A. Apparently they were on the opening menu 25 years ago at Chinois but didn’t go over real well. Maybe now they will make a comeback.

I think the more that we eat alternative foods and continue to eat “snout to tail”, the better off we are as a people. The pressure that alternative food-eating takes off of the mainstream food delivery system is an unheralded health and wellness benefit that we would be well-advised to take better advantage of. Tomatoes, spinach and factory farm pork from commodity producers that are commonly available in American supermarkets can make you very sick. Rooster balls are quite delightful!

Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations starts up season 4

by Grant Martin on

One of the few reasons that I kept a television for so long was for Anthony Bourdain’s Travel and Food show No Reservations. Airing on the travel channel every Monday, No Reservations always seemed to me to be a real travel show, shot from the streets in places that you or I might visit, and for some reason, seemed to have a streak of authenticity and candidness to it. Perhaps that’s why it’s so popular among the young American demographic.

Regardless, we’ve nominated blogger Jeremy as our new Bourdain reviewer, so keep an eye out for his posts recapping the show every week.

If you want to get your Bourdain on before the episode tonight, check out the preview video kindly supplied by the PR engine at the Travel Channel — and keep an eye on Gadling — I hear we might get some sweet Bourdain schwag to give away to our loyal readers.

Cash and Treasures: Digging for black opals in Australia

by Jamie Rhein on

Cash and Treasures, as mentioned in a previous post, is a Travel Channel show that often features kid friendly places. Host Kirsten Gum, an engaging sort, heads to where you can dig up treasure. I’ve been watching every Wednesday for the past several weeks, finding out more and more about the bounty one can find above and below ground. The finder gets to keep all of it for a price.

Episode: Digging for black opals

What are they? Stones of a variety of color ranging from black to blue with the shades in between that shine up into various patterns and designs. The design influences their value. Most of the opals in the world–95% come from this part of the world.

Location: Lightning Ridge, Australia–a small mining town that’s a bit of a poke to get to. Gum said it took 11 hours through the Outback.

Digging details: Gum started her quest by heading to Black Opal Tours located in Lightening Ridge. This tour establishment is a place to find out about the various types of opal patterns and their value, as well as the history of opal mining in the area. While Gum was in Lightning Ridge, besides digging, she hob-nobbed with some of the miners and downed some beers, “stubbies,” to find out about the miners experience and secrets. They kept the secrets to themselves. None of them looked like they are getting rich.

After sitting in the sun in 110 degree weather, sifting though mine dirt piles by hand, hoping to find an opal that someone missed–but to no avail, Gum headed down into the mine of two brothers whose family has been mining for four generations. The brothers blasted one wall of the mine to loosen dirt for Gum’s benefit which gave her the view she wanted– seams of color. As she describes it, the colors range from blues to purples to greens.

Gum grabbed some rock with black opals inside and headed to Sidney to get them appraised at the National Opal Collection, Australia’s leading opal company. The aim was to find out their value and to see which ones might be turned into jewlery. Only one of the stones was worth turning into something. The others weren’t big enough, or didn’t have enough value. For example, Gum was told one of them might be a nice addition for a kid’s rock collection. My son would find it cool.

The 4 1/2 carat opal that hung around Gum’s neck at the end of the episode was worth $500. Gum was pleased with the results and felt that getting hot and dirty to get this opal was worth the effort.

In case you may think that finding black opals could be easy, here’s a telling comment by one of the miners who sifted though the dirt with Gum for awhile. “You need the patience of a 99 year-old virgin.”

Other things to see in Lightning Ridge:

Check out Kirsten’s blog for her impressions of Lightning Ridge and what it’s like to mine for opals.

Cash and Treasures: Digging for Benitoite

by Jamie Rhein on

Cash and Treasures, as mentioned in a previous post, is a Travel Channel show that features kid friendly places. Host Kirsten Gum, an engaging sort, heads to where you can dig up treasure with or without kids.

Episode: Digging for Benitoite

What is it? Benitoite is an electric blue gem considered rare.

Location: California State Gem Mine. Between Hollister and Coalinga, California. The mine, first opened in 1907, has been active at various times, depending on who owned it and world events. It was closed during World War I, for example. It opened to the public in 2005.

Digging details: If you’re going to find benitoite, the best time to find it seems to be at night using a black-light headlamp. “Oh, my goodness. It looks like a full constellation on the ground,” said Gum when she switched on her light to look around.

During the day you pay $100 for a whole day of digging which allows you to fill a 5-gallon bucket. At night the cost jumps to $500, but can be split between two people. One person wears the lamp and both people look. You can rent the black light for $100. Gum found her stone worth more than the cost of the dig at night. The total value of the gems she found was $2,040.

What you pair digging with: You can camp at the mine or at a campgrounds near by. The area of the Coast Mountains and the San Joaquin Valley is stunning and there are remnants of the area’s mining history. The mine’s Web site suggests riding OHVs, motorcycles or dune buggies to the mine since the road is rugged. Don’t bring the family car unless it’s hearty is the basic idea behind the suggestion.

Digging drawbacks: You can dig all day without much success of finding benitoite, although, the thrill of the possibility can keep one looking. At night, the word cold doesn’t even capture it. Gum said it was 15 degrees.

Family Plus: This is something the whole family can do and kids under 14 are free. Camping at the mine is only $20 per night per family. Even if you don’t find benitoite, you’ll find other minerals. Kids like rocks.

There’s more: Head to W. Scott Forrest Gemstones in Clovis, CA to get the benitoite appraised and then to Leher Design in Larkspur, CA to turn it into jewelery.


Cash and Treasures: Travel Channel’s family friendly fare

by Jamie Rhein on

I have become enamored with Cash and Treasures, the Travel Channel’s show dedicated to digging up things and making money while you’re at it. For the last three weeks, I’ve caught the Wednesday night, 10 PM episode and picked up some ideas for places to stop on our trip west this summer. The number of treasures one can dig up in the United States, Cash and Treasure’s primary focus, is impressive.

Unlike a lot of other travel shows where one wonders if the world has any children at all, new host Kirsten Gum, who is the replacement for Becky Worley who had twins, chats with kids in every episode. Gum heads to family friendly places where kids are as welcome as adults to pick up digging tools and have at it. Gum also seems to enjoy the kids she is talking with, and for the most part, doesn’t use them as photo ops. They are given time to talk about what they are finding. At the dig spots, Gum delves into the history of the area and why whatever is being mined is considered worth finding.

Along with finding out where and what to dig, people who tune into the show can find out how to make some money off their finds. Gum takes her stash of whatever she’s found during that particular episode to people who show her how to clean it, mount it and turn it into jewelery. Many of the businesses have been in operation for years and the people who run them are experts. Since each place Gum has visited is worth a detailed mention stay tuned. One place will be the focus of one post. Gems, bones, gold and fossils are on the menu.