More Bourdain
Aug. 4th, 2006 | 10:17 am
I just put Anthony Bourdain's "A Cook's Tour" on hold at Seattle Public despite the fact that I hear he absolutely despises vegetarians and rips them unmercifully in the book. Here's a quote I dug up from Cook's Tour: "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food." There's also this from an interview in the San Jose Mercury News: Q: Vegetarians? A: Joyless, angry, frightened, anti-human, and just plain rude. How can you travel and be a vegetarian? I don't like my grandma's cooking, but at least I try it.
While I obviously disagree with Bourdain (especially the first part of the Merc News answer, which is just idiotic), I still want to read his book. The man says what he thinks, unfiltered, and I like that. He's also quick to admit he was wrong about something or someone he misjudged. In a Washington Post online chat transcript, Bourdain praises Emeril Lagasse, who he once called an Ewok and a hack chef. He says he still hates Emeril's show but has gotten to know the man and respects his abilities as a chef and thinks he's a good guy.
This brings me back to the whole vegetarian hatred thing. Bourdain's quote, while a little over the top, makes sense to me. I can understand why a cook might feel restricted by vegetarian/vegan cooking when they're trained to use all varieties of meat and dairy products. Maybe if Bourdain was introduced to meatless cooking that had some substance and flavor to it, he might change his tune a bit and at least admit that some vegetarian food can be as satisfying as meat-based meals. The problem is that a lot of vegetarian/vegan restaurants do serve food that is bland as hell. Flavor-wise, I imagine doing without meat (and in the vegan instance, dairy and eggs) can be limiting for a chef. That's not to say that there isn't some richly flavored, hearty vegetarian and vegan food to be found. In San Francisco, you have the falafel at Truly Mediterranean and burritos at many taquerias (and yes, even the ones that don't use chicken broth in cooking the rice or lard in the beans can be tasty). You also have mid-priced places like Herbivore (which manages to be vegan and still have flavorful and filling dishes) and more upscale places like Greens (which I've been to with meat eaters who were completely satisfied with the experience). Unfortunately, you also have a place like Millennium, which is overpriced, bland and soulless. At the same time, I imagine a lot of the trendy, upscale, non-vegetarian restaurants are also bland and soulless.
Here in Seattle, I've found being a vegetarian to be just as easy as it was in SF but not as satisfying. There are plenty of places, but they're not all that great. It's difficult to find a burrito or falafel that come close to SF's offerings. There is good Chinese, Thai and Indian food, but, to be honest, I haven't really explored the city enough to speak on the subject with enough experience. One area I can speak about is lunch downtown. I've been here for ten months and I eat out virtually every day. I've found my choices to be very limited and I'm coming dangerously close to actually bringing my lunch from home.
There is one place worth mentioning. It's called Grand Central Bakery (located in Pioneer Square) and they're actually doing something rare: making a flavorful, filling vegetarian sandwich. Perhaps the most frustrating experience for a non-meat eater is going to a sandwich place. The vegetarian offerings, if there are any, are of two varieties. The first is the lettuce, tomato, sprouts offering. If they're really daring, they might put avocado on this one. The other is the bland grilled or marinated vegetables on dry bread. Occasionally you might get some pesto or balsamic vinaigrette on this in a futile attempt to make it palatable. Grand Central remedies this by offering a vegetarian version of meat-based sandwiches with all the flavors of the original and a substitution of tofu for the meat. A few months back they did a Tofu Cubano and a Tofuben that were among the best vegetarian sandwiches I've had. I wish other sandwich places would follow their example.
So bring on the Bourdain book. I doubt I'll be jumping off the non-meat train and seeking out roasted bone marrow, but I'm interested in reading about the man's culinary adventures. Below are links to the Merc News interview and the Washington Post online talk transcript (thanks to![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
lilslapbox for the Post link).
Merc News
Washington Post
While I obviously disagree with Bourdain (especially the first part of the Merc News answer, which is just idiotic), I still want to read his book. The man says what he thinks, unfiltered, and I like that. He's also quick to admit he was wrong about something or someone he misjudged. In a Washington Post online chat transcript, Bourdain praises Emeril Lagasse, who he once called an Ewok and a hack chef. He says he still hates Emeril's show but has gotten to know the man and respects his abilities as a chef and thinks he's a good guy.
This brings me back to the whole vegetarian hatred thing. Bourdain's quote, while a little over the top, makes sense to me. I can understand why a cook might feel restricted by vegetarian/vegan cooking when they're trained to use all varieties of meat and dairy products. Maybe if Bourdain was introduced to meatless cooking that had some substance and flavor to it, he might change his tune a bit and at least admit that some vegetarian food can be as satisfying as meat-based meals. The problem is that a lot of vegetarian/vegan restaurants do serve food that is bland as hell. Flavor-wise, I imagine doing without meat (and in the vegan instance, dairy and eggs) can be limiting for a chef. That's not to say that there isn't some richly flavored, hearty vegetarian and vegan food to be found. In San Francisco, you have the falafel at Truly Mediterranean and burritos at many taquerias (and yes, even the ones that don't use chicken broth in cooking the rice or lard in the beans can be tasty). You also have mid-priced places like Herbivore (which manages to be vegan and still have flavorful and filling dishes) and more upscale places like Greens (which I've been to with meat eaters who were completely satisfied with the experience). Unfortunately, you also have a place like Millennium, which is overpriced, bland and soulless. At the same time, I imagine a lot of the trendy, upscale, non-vegetarian restaurants are also bland and soulless.
Here in Seattle, I've found being a vegetarian to be just as easy as it was in SF but not as satisfying. There are plenty of places, but they're not all that great. It's difficult to find a burrito or falafel that come close to SF's offerings. There is good Chinese, Thai and Indian food, but, to be honest, I haven't really explored the city enough to speak on the subject with enough experience. One area I can speak about is lunch downtown. I've been here for ten months and I eat out virtually every day. I've found my choices to be very limited and I'm coming dangerously close to actually bringing my lunch from home.
There is one place worth mentioning. It's called Grand Central Bakery (located in Pioneer Square) and they're actually doing something rare: making a flavorful, filling vegetarian sandwich. Perhaps the most frustrating experience for a non-meat eater is going to a sandwich place. The vegetarian offerings, if there are any, are of two varieties. The first is the lettuce, tomato, sprouts offering. If they're really daring, they might put avocado on this one. The other is the bland grilled or marinated vegetables on dry bread. Occasionally you might get some pesto or balsamic vinaigrette on this in a futile attempt to make it palatable. Grand Central remedies this by offering a vegetarian version of meat-based sandwiches with all the flavors of the original and a substitution of tofu for the meat. A few months back they did a Tofu Cubano and a Tofuben that were among the best vegetarian sandwiches I've had. I wish other sandwich places would follow their example.
So bring on the Bourdain book. I doubt I'll be jumping off the non-meat train and seeking out roasted bone marrow, but I'm interested in reading about the man's culinary adventures. Below are links to the Merc News interview and the Washington Post online talk transcript (thanks to
lilslapbox for the Post link).Merc News
Washington Post