Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations “NYC Outer Boroughs”

Tony stayed close to home in this episode of No Reservations and visited several restaurants’ in New York’s Outer Boroughs. Some of the more interesting places he went were places most people wouldn’t even think of trying. Why? Because as Tony and his guides noted, these restaurants really don’t want outsiders coming in. I don’t think the restaurant owners would ever come right out and say it, but they have thriving businesses because of the locals. The Chinese shops feed Chinese, the Mexican shops feed Mexicans and the Korean shops feed Koreans. If they started getting flooded with outsiders, then the foundations of their businesses (the locals) would start to thin out. Can’t really blame them.

What’s most interesting about an episode like this one is you get to really see what traditional international cuisine is suppose to look like. Every time something American gets thrown into the mix, the traditionalism of the food gets diluted.
A few examples that are very apparent (watch these sections of the show in the videos below… approx time in the video noted).

(Beginning of video above) -- When Tony visits the Hindu Temple Society and gets to enjoy their food you get a true understanding of how great Indian food can be. None of the American twists on Indian food. Just true vegetarian Indian food. And wow did it look good.

(~ 03:20 above) Tony’s visit to Sik Gaek Restaurant was also interesting. Very clear who visits this restaurant; Koreans. And his guest David Chang even mentions, this restaurant doesn’t want “white people”. But if you like seafood, cooked in a traditional Korean way, this place would be for you. None of it looks that fascinating to me… and I’m not a big fan of watching your food die right before your eyes (Tony & David eat an octopus, ~ 07:00), but I can see how the locals would love it.

(Beginning of video below) Another example is the Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos. Real Mexican food, period. None of the “Tex-Mex” plates served at most American Mexican Restaurants. I wish this place was down the street from me.

The last restaurant I found very interesting was the “Diner” restaurant. All locally sourced, seasonal, sustainable food is served here. More and more restaurants are finding the value in doing it this way. I think more and more this will hopefully become the norm and not the exception.