Review: Cool interview with Anthony Bourdain (but who's cooler than Anthony Bourdain?)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2013
Anthony Bourdain pretty much gives a condensed story of the high and low points of his life in this interview with David Blum. Sitting over lamb burgers, fries and pilsner at Cafe D'Alsace on the Upper East Side of NYC, Bourdain holds forth on what's new (chefs he likes), what's old (professional restaurant reviewers--it's now blogs, Twitter and Instagram "The chickens have gnawed their way out through the chicken wire" meaning us, the ad-hoc reviewers are now writing "on the bathroom walls" and a new consensus, from social media and sites like Yelp is forming. Something new. Better? Maybe, maybe not. We lose Ruth Reichl, but we gain something perhaps more relevant.While I was aware he had "a past" with drugs, you don't get much of this (other than attitude) from his television programs. But here, you find out his reasons for quitting, or at least what he found distasteful about drugs, smoking and abusing alcohol--you're needy, whiny, a victim of everyone. He also spares no punches on the compromised system of critics--can you cater my wedding. Really?EVERYTHING is in here--this is all the snippets of stories you've heard about Bourdain; the drugs, the lows, the sudden success of "Kitchen Confidential" and the near-miraculous turnaround of someone headed for destruction. Why he went to Vassar (cherchez la femme), his wife, his daughter, and how he and his wife have raised a child with decidedly gourmet tastes (she enjoyed oysters at age three. His approach is enlightening.)If you enjoy Bourdain on television or in print, this interview is a fascinating read.