Tonight at 9, the entire city will grind to a halt (or at least set their TiVos) for the long-awaited Chicago episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations,” in which the tall gangly gastronome throws his hat in with some dozen local eateries. (For the full list, handily mapped out, check here.)
If you can’t wait until tonight to sate yourself with all things Bourdain, the man himself lays out his Chicago plan on his blog. There are some predictable angles (he falls for the hot dogs!) and some potential heresies (“And speaking of slices? Sorry, but generally speaking, your pizza blows.”) but on the whole he brings the love.
Speaking of love:
On NO RESERVATIONS, we try and NOT do a lot of high end, expensive restaurants. Exceptions–generally speaking–are when they’re just too damn good or unique to ignore … L2O’s Laurent Gras is a chef of terrifying talent … Let’s put it this way: When Eric Ripert heard we were going to shoot at Laurent’s new restaurant in Chicago, he immediately volunteered himself as third wheel at dinner. Flew out and stayed over on his own dime. So when you see the scene at L20 and ask yourself the quite reasonable question, “What the hell is Eric Ripert doing on a Chicago show?” the answer is “eating really, really well.” And it’s not just another fancy meal. It’s something really special.
He also claims to “discover” the Mother-in-Law, the uniquely south side combo of a tamale and chili squished together in a hot dog bun that’s been featured on this very blog. If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a nice promo clip on the Travel Channel site that hints at all the gasps and glory. Take a gander here.
Tube City [Anthony Bourdain’s Travel Channel Blog]
Looking For Exotic Sandwiches In All The Right Places [previously]
L2O [MenuPages]
L2O [Official Site]
