Have you ever thought it was a good idea to kill a bottle of champagne while watching Travel Channel's No Reservations? Yeah... neither have we.
But if you had than you'd be all too familiar with the show's host: Anthony Bourdain. The tall and lanky executive chef turned celebrity is a foul-mouthed drinker who travels the world eating good food and talking trash about Rachel Ray.
Last night he came to Coral Springs (of all places) and talked to a sold out crowd about his show, how Rachel Ray got him to stop bad-mouthing her, and what he begs Americans to remember when traveling.
Almost the entirety of Bourdain's 90 minute talk last night consisted of cursing out other celebrity chefs.
He told the crowd the story of how Rachel Ray got into his good graces. He'd blogged about how she holds a party at SXSW every year and books the New York Dolls (which he thinks is cool) and thus he no longer knew whether to like her or to shoot a basket of puppies. Then one day a fruit basket arrived at his doorstep. The card said "Please don't shoot a puppy - Rachel."
He regaled his fans with a tale of how Sandra Lee held a death-grip on his spine during a "Julie & Julia" after party while his ass-kicking wife sat wracked with terror.
But he also became affectionately kind when speaking of Man vs. Food's Adam Richman.
"The first time I saw the show I called the producers and asked 'what are you doing to this poor kid?' He was already you know... plump and now they're asking him to eat a 9-pound bacon cheeseburger for every show!"
Finally he left the crowd with a few travel tips he's picked up to stop us travelers from being "those Americans."
1. Be Grateful
"You have a U.S. passport. If you're going to Tokyo and you come back with a Hard Rock t-shirt there's something wrong with you."
2. Dress Appropriately
"Don't be the tourist straight out of uglyasstourist.com sporting Ed Hardy douche wear."
3. Observe Local Customs
"No matter how much I try to research the proper way to bow in Japan I'm never going to get it right. But at least I try! At least read up before you travel."
4. Drink A Lot
How do you think he gets so comfortable on his show? "We're not alcoholics, we're just trained professionals."
5. Eat What's Local
"When you travel try to eat what the country is good at preparing. If you walk into a restaurant and there are a bunch of Americans then you are in the WRONG PLACE."
6. Be Prepared to Take One for the Team
"When you're offered poop shoot by a Namibian tribal chief you eat it."
Oh, and we asked: he didn't eat anywhere while in Coral Springs. Darn, we were looking for a new favorite hang out.
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