Anthony Bourdain [Events]

2013 May 15
Was anyone else at his show in Montreal on May 5th? I would love to hear your thoughts. I have been a loyal fan for years and I was truly disappointed by his show or lack thereof....

2013 May 15
I'm a fan, but wasn't at the show. What was disappointing about the show? (What was the show? Book reading or something like that?)

2013 May 15
I was planning to go but the tickets were way overpriced.

2013 May 15
First the show started about 15-20 Minutes late...he came on stage with the Joe Beef owners. They then proceeded to play some kind of Jeapardy game where Bourdain would ask them stupid questions such as how many ingredients in a Bernaise sauce etc... That went on for about 20 minutes then he opened the floor to about 6 questions from the audience... yep! That was it! Nothing about his books, travel, food etc...

2013 May 16
How long was the show? What was the venue?

I caught the Quebec episode of Bourdain's CNN show with the Joe Beef guys. My lasting impression was of the hunk of truffle they carried with them everywhere. Like, they couldn't eat anything without drowning it in truffles first. Isn't that just as bad as salting your food before tasting it? ;)


2013 May 16
This will be controversial, but I'm going to say that my personal impression of Joe Beef is that they're more about attitude than about incredible food. The food there was certainly good, but in my opinion not carefully thought out enough to be deserving of the hype, attitude, or waiting list. I was lucky that they were able to reach me in Montreal when they called at 5pm to confirm my 9:30pm reservation. Apparently, we would have lost our table if we hadn't responded. That is not cool when people book months in advance for a special trip. But like I always say, if the tables are full then they're doing something right and my opinion is basically shit. :-)

Anthony Bourdain, much as I've loved his travel shows, is now also more about attitude and experiences than food. This is no surprise, as he's probably *bored* of really great food. He seeks out fun dudes with strong personalities that he can party with. I don't blame him. It sounds like a blast! It's great for him but it doesn't provide a service to me as a viewer.

I respect all these guys because they're having fun doing what they love and being successful at the same time, but I think they're catering (pun intended) to the entertainment market more than the foodie market. There's nothing wrong with that either, it's just that my name isn't Fresh Entertainment. :P

2013 May 16
Bourdain + Joe Beef = Mile End Hipster Nirvana. Need we say more?

2013 May 16
Ollie: the venue was Place Des Arts, beautiful place. Honestly I am not even sure the show lasted even 1 hour. What I found to be most annoying was when Bourdain actually started to talk, about something interesting, the Joe beef's would cut him off and start talking about themselves... meh. I paid 176$ for 2 tickets, we were sitting way in the bac. If you take into account travel, hotel, food....this was a very expensive experience to see the "Joe Beef show" Their cookbook was mentioned several times...ugh. Martin Picard or Chuck Hughs would have made for a better show I think.

The only funny interesting bit was when Bourdain confessed to putting on a hoody and going to KFC in the middle of the night to get their mac and cheese...

2013 May 19
I was in Toronto when Bourdain was speaking there with Eric Ripert but decided against going due to the insane price of the tickets. I was also confident I could find something else to do on a Saturday night in the big city.

I later saw a groupon (or Travelzoo?) with heavily discounted tickets. I suspect that other people looked at the prices and felt it wouldn't be worth attending as well.

2013 May 21
I attended the Anthony Bourdain + Eric Ripert event called “Good vs. Evil” in Toronto the evening before the Montreal show. The show started with Ripert in the hot seat, and Bourdain calling bluff on Ripert’s prestigious restaurant and sophisticated persona. They then switched places, and Ripert interviewed Bourdain, questioning his cooking skills as well as him selling his soul to appear on the Taste. For the second half of the show, they continued their jabbing at each other, as well as took some questions from the audience.
Personally, I totally enjoyed the show. Eric Ripert is a real class act, and has a great sense of humour. Bourdain is amazing at telling stories, and the evening flew by in a flash. Bourdain shared some interesting insights into his new show on CNN, as well as dirt from his past. Bourdain did come across a little bored and rehearsed, but having an opportunity to listen to him live, I admit that I soaked it all up, and totally enjoyed the evening. We went to the Black Hoof for dinner after the show, and everyone at the bar came from the show, half expected to see Bourdain show up.

Sorry I didn’t snap a better picture.

2013 May 23
Artemis; from the reviews I read and yours, the show with Ripert sounded so much better. In Montreal, he barely spoke, he never talked about his new show, The Taste etc... He IS amazing at telling stories, but never got to tell them in Mtl :-(