Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Absinthe-swilling, cigarette-smoking, profanity-spewing, up-all-hours host Anthony Bourdain—a noted New York gourmet chef, bestselling author, and inspiration for the short-lived TV sitcom Kitchen Confidential—is the decidedly off-the-beaten-tourist-trap-path host for this compilation of eight culinary-tinged travelogue episodes from the titular Travel Channel-aired series. In “Las Vegas,” first-time visitor Bourdain snarfs down deep-fried Twinkies (!), sucks up sweet and fruity mega-girly-drinks, stops in at an accordion convention (Sin City being, of course, the über-destination for conventioneers), tests out the celebrity chef menus at Bouchon (Thomas Keller's French brasserie at the Venetian) and the Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's Southwestern style restaurant at Caesar's Palace), and engages in paintball warfare against his driver-nemesis and fellow chef/author Michael Ruhlman (the entire episode is an extended takeoff on Hunter S. Thompson's classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). In “Paris,” Bourdain takes up residence in L'Hotel (in the very same hotel room where Oscar Wilde “kicked the bucket”), samples the fare at Chez Denise (“lamb brains—that's gotta be good”), and knocks back some serious absinthe (before getting lost in the sewers), all the while reminding viewers that “food should be a joyous occasion.” Other episodes are set in Sicily, New Zealand, Malaysia, Iceland, Vietnam, and Bourdain's own native state of New Jersey. Smart, funny, and sure to add one or two points of interest to traveler's itineraries (the “ass-juice” at Vegas' Double Down saloon is given a big thumbs-up here), this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)