Where's Anthony Bourdain? In Namibia.

"You'll never get the truly good meals in life
if you don't open yourself out to the bad ones."
I suppose it's pretty pathetic that I have only heard of this country because it is where Angelina Jolie decided to give birth to her child. Thankfully though Anthony Bourdain has decided to explore Namibia on camera to show the wonderful country to us all.

This episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations begins on a boat in Walvis Bay with an oyster farmer. Back on land, they watched as the oysters were processed in the hatchery and Tony commented that they are some of the best oysters he has tried in the entire world. Tony then "rode the dunes" in the exact opposite type of environment - the desert. A snowboard on sand. Wow. It looks hot but thrilling. Tony did a pretty good job and made it all the way down without eating sand.

But the best part was when Tony had breakfast with the bushmen. They made him an ostrich-egg omelette in this neat pit in the ground. The egg is poured right onto the hot sand. Wood is placed to surround the outside and then additional wood is placed on top. The end result is a whole bunch of ash and dirt baked onto of the hardened egg. It looked horrible but it was seen as a special dish to the bushmen because it is not often that they get their hands on some ostrich eggs. I don't see it becoming popular over here in the United States any time soon.

Of course Tony had some of the nasty bits as well. He tried different parts of a warthog including the rectum and brains which he called the worst meal of his life. The bushmen also served him tree beatles which are only found in one certain type of bush. The tribe makes an event of their gathering. Tony had several of them and claimed that they were the single best thing he had eaten all day.

In the city, one of Tony's friend took him to the market. They had all this meat cooking up on a HUGE grill and it looked so tasty. With some other friends while out on a huntin, Tony tried some Namibian truffles. These are not the chocolate truffles, they are from the white truffles that grow wild in the desert. There were no communication problems at this market like he had in Ghana because the national language of Namibia is English.

It was interesting to see Namibia from Tony's perspective. It is a filled with cultures that I can only try to understand. The people are strong survivors and live in the purest sense by living off of the land.

Next Week: Tony visits Russia.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations visits Ghana

Now this is the Anthony Bourdain I know. The one who will eat all the crazy food. He ate a barracuda for crying out loud. And raved about it!

In tonight's episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Tony is visiting The Republic of Ghana in West Africa. This is the type of place I will probably never actually go to. But the secret backpacking wanderer inside me knows this is the type of place I would really love. Wide open markets with people selling their wares. Lots of wonderful colors. Lots of SPICY food.

Honestly, I love watching it all on TV, but I'd be kind of scared to go there. But with the language barrier and the Ghana markets being so crowded, fast-paced and confusing, I'd just get frustrated. And with my red hair I'd stick out like a sore thumb which is as good as having the word 'sucker' written on my forehead. At least that is the problem I always ran into when visiting the Caribbean or Eastern Europe. They see "rich female American" and I always get scammed. But in my dreams I wander around markets like Tony does, touching all the fabrics, watching the local people, listening to the music, smelling the foods cooking and stopping to taste a few different treats.

Once he got out of the city, he went to one of the most amazing places in the world: Ghana's Mole National Park. Over 800 elephants live there and they are just beautiful. Tony's sacrine dialogue voiced over all of this wonderful nature and it was quite funny as he was describing a New Yorker's uncomfortableness around wild animals. He even let his viewers know that "you do not want to be anywhere near a farting elephant."

Ghana is a beautiful country and we got to see it all through Tony's eyes. River villages, national parks, uniformed school children, wild marketplaces, beachside communities, and of course a lot of interesting cultural food.

Next week Tony comes back to the States: Portland, OR in the Pacific Northwest.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations visits Ireland

Anthony Bourdain kicked off Season Three of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel with a nice clean haircut and a trip to Ireland. Ususally, Anthony Bourdain goes someplace off the beaten path. I was surprised that Ireland would be the destination he chose to begin his new season. Ireland seems so . . . normal. And European. Not edgy at all. But that is also why I am glad Tony went there. He brings the edge out. He finds the interesting nooks and crannies of a place.

For those not in the know, Anthony Bourdain is known as the "bad boy" of the culinary world. He is also known as a fearless eater. He is an accomplished food writer and chef in his own right. He is the executive chef of Brasserie Les Halles which has locations in New York, Washington D.C. and Miami.

In his traditional format, Tony visits local establishments in the town he is visiting to eat, drink and be merry. He always meets up with some local people to talk about the town and the food. What is so unique in his show is that we not only find out about what the locals eat, but how they live. And he always discusses the history and current politics of the region. Tony's voice-over during the show delivers his famous a no-bullshit style. He is very frank and that is refreshing. He is quick to voice his opinoins but he is also very respectful. He admits when he is uneducated about things. So even though some people may not appreciate his language or his harsh manner, he is very honest. To mirror his writing and speaking style, the videographers hired for No Reservations also deliver an edgy format.

No Reservations is one of my favorite shows to watch each week and I am glad that the new season has begun and Anthony will be taking us to all sorts of interesting places.



As for his trip to Ireland, first up is Belfast in Northern Ireland. The Shankhill district to be specific. After checking out the town, he settled in at The Crown Salon for a few pints of Guiness and some traditional Irish pub fare. Tony ordered an Irish Stew and a Beef and Guiness Pie. He comments on Irish Stew that "depending who is making it, it's either the best or worst thing on earth."

For some fine dining in Belfast, Tony ate at the Cayenne Restaurant. Chef Paul Rankin brought out an Oriental Appetizer plate with Lobster-chicken Wontons, Sushi, and other goodies that looked amazing. They discussed the Irish people's dislike of fish. It was funny because they were eating sushi as they were discussing it! But Chef Paul explained how he is trying to raise peoples awareness of new foods. For their main course, Tony ordered Irish beef and the Chef Paul ordered Irish Lamb. Of course Tony had to try both. They must of had to roll him out of there after eating all of that food!

Next stop: Dublin. on the train ride to Dublin Tony had a traditional Irish breakfast - including blood pudding - and then took a nap. He spent the day wandering the city with an old friend. Of course U2 got mentioned since they are Ireland's favorite rock band. When asked what a traditional Dubliner would eat, he was taken to an asian food market! They discussed the influx of Asian people and culture in Dublin and noted that it is a good sign of the city's growth.



It was off to the seaside town of Howth to discuss more seafood with a different friend - named Paddy of course. They ate some amazing looking shellfish dishes at King Sitric. Tony was forced to wear a lobster bib and he looked so cute! All the shellfish looked so fresh and yummy - not that I'd want to cook any of it, but I'd love to be able to try it all. The razor clams he described made me want to run out and find some.

His experience in County Cork looked like so much fun! It was filled with live music, making blood pudding with another chef, playing rugby and visiting some artisanal cheese houses. YUM! I love cheese. The cheeses and meats direct from the farm looked so fresh. I did a quick search online and discovered that you can order a wide varity of Irish Artisan Cheese from Artisinal Premium Cheese. (They also have a catalog you can order and a cheese of the month club you can subscribe to!)

Next week Tony goes to someplace more exotic: Ghana.