On 3 Apr 2007 20:14:10 -0700, "Kyle" > wrote:

>On Apr 3, 8:15 pm, (Ubiquitous) wrote:
>> In article >, backspace@backspace
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Does somebody likeAndrewZimmernhave to build up a tolerance to such
>> >exotic foodstuffs? If I went to the Philippines and tried balut, would it
>> >make me sick?
>>
>> I don't know, but I remember the Philipino food they served at my best
>> friend's wedding did a number on me.
>>
>> How is this show, anyway? It looks vaguely interesting, but since it's
>> on Food Network...
>
>It's on the Travel Channel. The show is okay, but I have some
>complaints about it. The pilot, Bizarre Foods of Asia, was more
>interesting than any of the subsequent episodes -- although a good
>deal of what he ate in that show (e.g., sushi, curry) wasn't bizarre
>at all; and he shied away from the really unusual stuff. That's been
>a problem with the show in general. You get glimpses of odd foods,
>but Zimmern tends to stick to the more ordinary stuff. Worse yet,
>you'll often see him put his fork in something unusual -- but then he
>doesn't eat it! (Watch carefully.) Also, Zimmern sometimes claims to
>be full after just a few bites, which doesn't gibe with his girth.
>Basically, I think he's a person with ordinary tastes who pretends,
>for the sake of having a TV show, to be drawn to unusual foods.

I think he may go for the more unusual foods in real life, but not
many of the totally bizarre things he eats on this show. Especially if
he lives in a place like the USA or the UK where many of the foods
couldn't be found except perhaps at very high prices. I haven't
noticed him not trying something but I have noticed many times that he
doesn't really like something since he only takes a bite or two. When
he says it's good he seems to be doing that more to please the person
he's with than to sell the viewer on it. As to his girth, I do think
he would have problems getting to be that size with many of the
unusual foods he eats as they don't seem to be high calorie foods.

>I also think that Zimmern isn't very good at describing what he eats
>-- especially for a chef. He seriously overuses certain words
>("funky," "fabulous") without giving the viewer a good idea of what
>the culinary experience is like.

This is a valid complaint. Not sure why his producer isn't guiding him
to be more descriptive even if it is in the negative. At least with
Anthony Bourdain you have a good idea of what the food tastes like
when he tries something (even though we can't actually smell or taste
it through the TV.)