Iron Chef Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations are tight. Hang with each other downing drinks and yapping about fatherhood, food and sex tight. Compliment each other's brilliance tight. Tight. But they might not be so tight any more after Mario hears what Anthony had to say about his traveling chef show, Spain...On The Road Again.
Bourdain sat down with DCist Magazine (Not a mag about Superman and Batman, a mag about Washington, D.C.) to discuss a wide range of topics, and when it came to his friend Mario's travel show, Anthony was at first complimentary - "he's easily the funniest and smartest celebrity chef out there" - and then tried to be diplomatic - "I see room for improvement" - and then just broke down:
Okay, I'll just say it. I think the Spain show is f***ing awful. Mark Bittman comes off unsympathetic to say the least. Bringing someone who cannot or will not eat jamon [Gwyneth Paltrow] to Spain is a misjudgment. My crew grinds their teeth with rage looking at the crummy production values. Bad camera work, bad sound, bad direction. The whole thing sucks. It's unfortunate. It's mesmerizingly awful.
Damn. Thing is, we've tried to watch Spain..On The Road Again, and we can't. Because it's unwatchable. Gwyneth asks dumb food questions and marvels at all the beauty and deliciousness, Bittman is unlikable, and Batali, who actually does know more about Spanish food than almost any non-Spaniard alive, comes off as a pompous know-it-all. As with most things, Anthony Bourdain is right.
But still...damn. It's a crappy TV show, he didn't kidnap your kid. You'd think, in the interest of friendship, Anthony Bourdain could have kept this to himself.
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Mario Batali And Anthony Bourdain Talk Food And Sex