Noooo! Anthony Bourdain shot a segment of his No Reservations show in Chicago… his stops at L20, Avec, Blackbird, and Moto (I've had two of the dishes showcased- the roadkill and deconstructed/reconstructed bbq), he has deep dish pizza at a cool place called Burt's Place which I enjoyed rather much instead of him going to one of the big chains- it had character, and is well loved by LTH Forum, which was my go to expert guide to yummies. And then he went to Hot Doug. Nooo! And he praises their duck fat fries, which are only available on Fridays and Saturdays. Great. Now the lines will be impossible. How could you Tony, how could you. Really watching the meal at L20 made me drool, it seemed out of this world. Also, it was 20 some courses.
Going to Tom Tom's Tamale, the Mother In Law tamele on a bun and Suicide beverage (random mix of every soda) at Fat Johnnie's (that could have served fine as his "wild and crazy" food, if Moto and L20 wasn't amazing but crazy enough because it was fancy), even Calumet Fisheries' smoked fish in greasy white paper bags that is sooo south side (I really wanted some sticky rice to go with it, is that wrong?), I understand. True hidden gem that showcases part of Chicago, though where was the messy Italian beef sandwich? Man, seeing Calument Fisheries reminds me of many a trip my family took to DiCola's Seafood. How did my mom get involved and bring us to that! She doesn't usually try new places, so it had to have been introduced to her.
But meeting Mancow at Silver Palm, having a PBR and that Three Little Pigs sandwich sounded disgusting: a sandwich with smoked ham, breaded pork cutlet, bacon strips, 2 eggs and gruyere on a brioche bun with french fries and onion rings fried in lard- do you feel your heart pumping really hard?
The Chicago cop I understand but what's with Ramova Grill (a missing scene from what actually was on the show)? You could have at least gone to White Palace or Eleven City, though I certainly don't begrudge Ramova as a great neighborhood place and the show covering the south side instead of the trendy north side, but south side is not so monotone. For such a cosmopolitan cultural city, why was he surrounded by white people (exception cute foodie blogger Louisa Chu who was a food fixer and food journalist for his Chicago trip)? And no Maxwell Street Market street food- no, the visit to Tom Tom's is not representative enough.
I had to admire the really great shots of the cityscape the camera crew got. Great shots of the skyline and the el, often combined!
Next Monday's episode is on Food Porn. Is it wrong to be excited?
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