Jared North Anthony Bourdain may perhaps be the worst example of an American ever. I don't know what it is about him that bugs me...Perhaps it's his liberalistic ideology, his smug personality, his cultural ignorance, or maybe it's his failed attempts to be a ladies man. Anthony is a painful reminder of what happens after you hit a mid-life crisis. He feels inclined to prove that he is the most intelligent human being on Earth and he just won't stop until you are convinced. Bourdain's show is just an excuse for his cockiness and cultural ignorance. He insists on showing either stereotypical examples of every location he visits or the far extremes or them. Sure we all wish we could have his job and get paid to travel from place to place, but we all know that most of us will never have it. This is what attracts viewers to let some strange tall lanky man with a beer belly show us his idea of what a country should have or be like instead of the viewers attempting to experience themselves.Honestly, no one deserves to have their country stereotyped by an ex-druggie, unimaginably dry humored, insincere person who receives praise from fans unwilling to expand their horizons. I don't claim to be a writer, just a normal viewer of television who is fed up with pointless shows and the lack of though put into these programs. Anthony insists upon himself even more than Rosie O'Donnell...who's show I'm almost certain I would rather watch. Save your time and currently unbiased thoughts before he takes both from you.

RyoGTO Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is one of the few reasons why I bother turning on my television. It is one of those shows that just sticks out above the rest. Each episode brings something new to the table; the show is not always perfect, varying in many ways from episode to episode, but that diversity is what makes the show so entertaining to watch and keeps the viewer coming back for more.In No Reservation's not only does the viewer see the differences between the locals of each culture and area, but it is filmed with the narrative of Tony's unique perspective. We watch as he struggles to grasp the beauty in many things, but grasp it he does. And although he may seem somewhat cynical at times, we see him enjoying many personal experiences with some wonderful people, in beautiful and enchanting places.So, I had thought that it might be a good idea to clear up the difference between the cynical attitude that he carries and that associated with a pessimist. I must say although he is sometimes very cynical, he does it in humor. If he was a pessimist he would not so thoroughly enjoy his surroundings, and would not find such joy in the the many simple things in which he has a knack for finding. No... Anthony is not a pessimist. If anything, he has the light of an optimist shining through the prism of a realist's troubled mind. Furthermore Anthony, relative to most television personalities and travel hosts, is the complete opposite of what most would think of as a pretentious human being. He does his best not to sugar-coat things or himself. And while it could be argued that we are all pretentious to some extent; he tries, like the show's name implies, to have no reservations about what he will and does encounter. He often thoroughly throws himself into situations and cultures, entertaining new concepts. Bourdain does his best to make himself and his show an open book, and that is one of the spices that make No Reservations so flavorful.Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is a show about life, culture, and detail. The show's given a unique flavor with it's no bull-crap host as he shares his curious or comedic insights into situations. But most of all this show is about enjoying each unique culture's beautiful scenery, food, and most importantly it's people.

Der_Schnibbler This guy is a real piece of work. An angry, immature boy in a grown man's body, packing all the charisma of a rock, he goes around to places most people would only wish to visit and does his best to be as miserable as possible.Give this job to someone else who actually appreciates it.I could go down an endless list of all the stupid things this guy does in his "episodes," though I'll just highlight the worst: Crete. While the locals are putting up seaside picnics in his "honour," this clown has the gall to act like a petulant, spoiled child. He complains about everything, including the fashion sense of the people who live there. What an imbecile.When he went to Sweden, he spent at least five minutes feigning incredulity at a bunch of chefs (who probably had better things to do than talk with some dimwit American, like work) because they didn't think Abba was horrible. Everywhere he went, he brought up Abba. This is the kind of talk you'd hear from 13-year-olds who watch too much MTV.When he was in New Orleans, he got upset that a certain restaurant had better-tasting fries than his, so he "accidentally" spilled some wine on them in order to ruin them. What a strange, emotionally unstable person.The worst of it all are his clumsy voice-overs, where he attempts in vain to add some kind of perspective on a situation he was too thick and ignorant to appreciate. He tries to use all these "big" words in order to sound like an author, but he's really just a pretentious hack whose lack of awareness has convinced him he has something to say. That, by the way, is probably the one good thing about this joker's TV show. It goes to show you, no matter how inept you are, as long as you take yourself seriously enough, the world will as well.Then there's the way he speaks with local guides whose English is obviously only rudimentary. He'll use vocabulary any writer--as he believes himself to be--would instinctively know will most likely not be understood by these people. Does he care? No. Self-important schmucks like this Bourdain clown do not use language to communicate; they use it to make themselves look important.Mcg13jthm's review on this same page is a perfect example of the kind of mind Bourdain attracts--that of a low IQ social misfit. Observe how the reviewer attempts to justify Bourdain's sociopath nature with simple-minded, childish excuses that hardly make sense. "Bourdain may complain but he goes through 'a lot' and, not only that, he was 'forced' to do this show but is trying to redeem himself." A dolt attracts dolts, and reading Mcg13jthm's review should let you know perfectly well whether or not you are the kind of person who'd enjoy this utterly useless, pointless show.Finally, to add a bit of "fairness" to my diatribe, I admit Bourdain would have been momentarily amusing had I met him in a bar. But as a TV host of a travel show whose purpose is to show the viewer the beauty of other places and cultures, Bourdain is a miserable, abject, hopeless, grim and depressing failure.A failure.

darky2600 It is interesting and very entertaining. You don't expect some things and the insights about foreign culture are original when compared to other shows. Sure some things are said with sarcasm or hyperbole, but that s how he writes his narrative.Cool show. Cool guy. The production values are good BTW. Remember, in these types of narrated shows most stuff is intentional.The show is original and every episode is different. See the episode on Russia if you want to see the show at its best.Final rating: 10 out of 10 and the best show on the travel channel for all the above reasons.