Sobredosis de TV: Tony and Tejo

Grantland’s Andy Greenwald described Anthony Bourdain’s job as a judge on the televised cooking competition The Taste as someone “defanged like an aging circus lion” though he also expressed his hope that Bourdain’s latest series, Parts Unknown,  “will be excellent”.  Greenwald’s optimism was not off the mark as Parts Unknown debuted this month and provided a much-needed boost to CNN’s weekend ratings.

On the next episode of Parts Unknown Bourdain visits Colombia, a country he first visited for his previous travel series, No Reservations. “It’s inspiring, when you’ve gotten used to the notion that some problems probably won’t ever be fixed in your lifetime, to see some of the very worst kind of seemingly insurmountable problems so quickly and effectively improve,” he said about Colombia in 2008.

Bourdain’s latest visit to Colombia was somewhat controversial when he claimed to have been “misunderstood” when he tweeted a photo of him posing with two young soldiers.  Nevertheless, Bourdain recently praised the country as an emerging “vacation wonderland” and urged viewers to “put aside the stereotypes” related to drugs and violence.

The following video clip from Parts Unknown is a look at Colombia’s national sport: tejo.  Tejo is a hybrid of shot put and horseshoes where competitors toss rock-like pucks roughly twenty yards to a target embedded in a raised board filled with clay. As seen below, tejo is a traditional pastime often enjoyed by Colombians as a popular recreation:
     
The Colombia episode of Parts Unknown debuts tonight on CNN at 9 p.m. ET.  An upcoming episode on Peru is scheduled to air on June 2nd.

Today’s Video: Yum

A little food for thought (pun possibly intended) in Nicaragua via Anthony Bourdain:

Video Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: All hail the glorious chivito!

Tonight is the 100th episode of "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" with the acclaimed chef and author visiting the French capital of Paris. During the five years the show has aired Bourdain has visited locations around the world as well as the Americas. In Puerto Rico he noshed on succulent lechon while he enjoyed cuy (a.k.a. guinea pig) during his visit to the Peruvian highlands. The following video came from his trip to Uruguay where he "stared deeply into the abyss of mind-scrambling sandwichness" that was the chivito:

Online Sources - Travel Channel, YouTube

Today's Video: Behold the mighty "completo"

Last night marked the season debut of "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" with a visit by the globetrotting chef-turned-author to Panama. The episode highlighted the delicious food of Panama (naturally) but also included Bourdain helping torch several tons of cocaine confiscated by authorities. It was a great start to a season that is expected to also feature Ecuador and (possibly) Cuba.

While we await the posting of food-based clips on YouTube of Bourdain's trip to Panama, the following video comes from his previous jaunt in Chile. It was there where he enjoyed the artery-clogging goodness that was a completo; a massive hot dog packed with enough extras to bring shame upon the "sewer dogs" of his (and my) native New York City:

Online Sources - Travel Channel, YouTube

Today’s Video: Bourdain’s Mexican odyssey

I’m not a foodie or a gourmand but I love “Anthony Bourdain No Reservations”! The new season starts tonight with the chef/author traveling to Puebla and other areas of central Mexico. Accompanying Bourdain will be the Mexican head chef of the restaurant where Bourdain used to work (Les Halles in New York).

Below is a very brief preview of tonight’s episode including Bourdain noshing on authentic, mouthwatering tacos:

Sources- Huevos Pericos, Travel Channel, YouTube

Today’s Video: Arriba charruas!

Monday we missed posting our usual daily video clip; to make up for that, we’re embedding two videos today that look at Uruguay.

The first clip looks at Uruguay’s title in the first ever soccer World Cup held in 1930. Tuesday was the 78^th anniversary of that championship which they won in Montevideo over neighbors (and close rivals) Argentina by a score of 4-2:

The most recent episode of “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” aired this past Monday. The famed chef/author traveled to Uruguay with his brother to check out some family history and (naturally) try some of the local delicacies. As you can tell from the brief clip below, Uruguay is all about meat, meat, meat!

Sources- FIFA.com, YouTube, Travel Channel

Bloggers of the World Unite!

• One of the perks of being an MLS futbolista: preseason games in Cancun. (See the above image).
• An interesting coincidence: the same laws which caught ex-Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet money laundering in 2002 were also used to link Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring.
• Has the Vatican’s new seven deadly sins redeemed liberation theology?
• Chef/author Anthony Bourdain really liked Uruguayan cuisine during a trip there for his show “No Reservations.”
• Latino food vendors received the green light to continue selling near the soccer fields in Red Hook, Brooklyn. (Contrast that with what’s happened around the pitches in Prince William County, Virginia).
• Venezuela’s exportation of oil to the U.S. may save its government from being place on a U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring countries.
• Spring breakers may be increasingly worried over partying south of the border, but that hasn’t stopped some students from heading to El Salvador to work on social projects.
• Paramilitaries, NGOs, and Venezuela were some of the information gathered from the laptops of recently killed FARC guerilla commander Raul Reyes.
• Are moderates to blame for the “restrictionist” position by some Republicans on immigration?
• The battle of the beefcakes: Saul Lisazo vs. George Clooney.

Sources- A Year in Uruguay, The Daily Dish, The Offside Rules, The Latin Americanist, kottke.org, Foreign Policy Passport, Chile From Within, Two Weeks Notice, Guanabee, Tim’s El Salvador Blog, Plan Colombia and Beyond, holamun2,

Images- boston.com

Video of the Day: Los Pericos

NOTE: We will be posting over the weekend to make up for the lack of entries this past week.

By far one of my favorite programs is a travel program entitled "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." We have written before about the journeys of the renown chef and author author to Peru and the U.S.-Mexico border area. The most recent new episode had Bourdain travel to Argentina where he explored the country's frigid southern tip, accompanied gauchos, and explored Buenos Aires.

It is in the Argentine capital where Bourdain hung out with the members of well-known ska band Los Pericos. Aside from enjoying a spread of meat, cheese and wine the band regaled Bourdain and co. with their own signature music.

Hence, below is the music video for one of Los Pericos' best known songs - "Pupilas Lejanas." It's a perfect song to start the weekend with (video link):

Sources- Travelchannel.com, YouTube, The Latin Americanist, Huevos Pericos, Los Pericos (official site)

What to do – Music, television, film

* Music: In the New York City area and in the mood to listen to some exceptional music for free? Then head over to El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem where Venezuela’s Los Amigos Invisibles (image) will be playing their infectious mix of funk, electronic, and Latin tunes.

* Television: In the mood to stay home tonight? Check out the Travel Channel at 7 pm where chef/author Anthony Bourdain journeys to the U.S.-Mexico border area on “No Reservations”. Watch as Bourdain gives his two cents on the immigrant debate, looks to satisfy his “prescription” medicine in Tijuana and enjoys an authentic Mexican meal in Monterrey.

* Film: “Illegal Tender” with its mostly Latino cast opens tomorrow, but if you’re in SoCal try instead going to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to enjoy a free weekend festival of classic Latin American films. “Memories of Underdevelopment” (Cuba), “Rosaura at Ten O’clock” (Argentina), and “The Place Without Limits” (Mexico) are some of the top-notch movies that will be shown.

Do you have any suggestions? Leave them in the comments section to this post.

Sources- NYRemezcla.com, Travel Channel, Rotten Tomatoes, LAist

Image- Rocksonico.com