The guy who has the job every foodie wants, Anthony Bourdain, will get a second show called The Layover. The new 10-episode long series will premiere on the Travel Channel on November 21.
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How's this hour of Bourdain going to be different from the hour of Bourdain we already see on No Reservations? It'll be the same quip-ready guy, except for one difference: the host will have only 24-48 hours to explore a destination.
The point is to show that “layovers are
opportunities for travelers to mingle with locals, crash parties, dine
on local cuisine, and explore cultures.” The show will feature New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Miami, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Rome, Montreal and
Amsterdam.
“The Layover is a fast, busy and content-filled hour,” Bourdain says. “We go to spots that I personally think are cool and fun for
all budgets. In every case, these are places where I either did go, or
would visit even when the cameras are off. The Layover is a reflection
of what I've learned over time. It's about telling a story that viewers
can recreate themselves.”
Bourdain adds on his blog, “We are well aware that many of the meals and experiences on No
Reservations are, frankly, impossible to duplicate. The upcoming last
meal at El Bulli show being a particularly extreme example. The crew
and I got drunk one night and said, 'hey, let's make Samantha Brown's
show! Only….different…and good!' unlike No Rez, you will actually be
able to do the stuff covered on the show.”
In this longtime fan's opinion, it couldn't have come sooner. Though there have been a few stellar No Reservations
episodes this season, the formula is starting to show its age, and the
camera crew and editors are beginning to get too fancy for their own
good. The recent U.S. Desert episode, with its fast cutting, fish eye
lenses, and use of different film stocks, felt more like an Oliver Stone
head-trip than a travel show (which is fine if that's what you're
looking for). But to this viewer, the whole thing ended up more
self-indulgent than it needed to be.
And what the host said to conclude the Macau show seems to suggest that he's ready to try something new. Typically he would close with a thoughtful voiceover that
summarizes what he learned or discovered at that particular location,
but this time his last line was “in the end, it's all about me.”
If The Layover will bring back the barebones and streamlined style of A Cook's Tour, I welcome it.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.