DC Edition Of No Reservations Airs Tonight

Yay! Can’t wait. We LOVE AB!

Was anyone else disappointed by this episode? Too much spy stuff, not enough good eats! I was disappointed that he strayed outside of DC and landed in Falls Church for two eating excursions. Would’ve prefered he checked out our ethic cuisine in U street/Chinablock/etc. Ben’s Chili Bowl – AGAIN?!

Lauren, I completely agree with all of your points. The episode should’ve been “No Reservations — DC suburbs.”

Overall, I got the impression that AB was not overly impressed by DC or our local cuisine. He completely lacked the energy and excitement he typically exudes and finds in the cities he visits. Alternatively, he seemed tepid with Jose Andres and totally trashed a couple courses at Minibar. After a brief stint at the Spy Museum, quite possibly the tackiest museum in all of DC and a shocking choice for his show, he rushed out to the suburbs.

I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon.

I know. I’m a AB fan and I was really bummed about his reactions. I CAN’T believe they let him stray into the ‘burbs.

The burger at Chadwicks was nothing special. He didn’t even comment on it. They only ate there because of its ties to the whole spy thing. What a waste of precious time. Couldn’t believe that restaurant is what they picked to show Georgetown to the world.

Don’t get me wrong about Ben’s Chili Bowl. I know it is considered a DC staple but I think that they should’ve just stuck to him eating there at night like they did at the end credits without the piece they did in the middle. We’ve seen this restaurant on every show that portarys DC eating. I’m really surprised that the producers jumped on this one. It’s not their style to do something every one else does.

I really would have liked to seen Eastern Market, Chinatown (OK I know it’s small but Full Kee would have been great to cover), the Ethiopian places in the U Street area, maybe a segment on Brickskeller or RFD, maybe not a powerhouse like Citronelle but how about Komi.

I could go on and on….

Let’s face it, Virginia doesn’t want Northern Virginia, so it’s ours by default (never should have given it back). The Ben’s thing worked because of the election/inauguration. And Chadwicks worked because of the spy angle. No Reservations is technically a travel show, not a restaurant show. So the inclusion of the spy destination was appropriate. Now could Busboys have been swapped out for someplace else? Absolutely. Did he spend too much time with Andeas? Probably. Did he miss a lot? Yup. All in all, though, it was a good episode.

That is an interesting perspective, Thundarr. I have lived in NoVa, downtown DC, and now reside in the middle of VA and I have never heard of or at present take any stock in the sentiment “Virginia doesn’t want Nothern Virginia”. That’s a separate discussion altogether.

My take on it is that No Reservations is a travel through food show.

It is just too bad they didn’t explore DC the way a former DCist sees it. Myopic, I know.

I used to work in Winchester and have friends from southern Virgina. I have heard the sentiment about NVa many, many times. It stems from the fact that NVa leans left while the rest of the state historically leaned right.

Bourdain hit the warf, central kitchen and my favorite chicken place (which is in NVa) so I’m not complaining. Although he traveled to Namibia and at wild pig rectum, I don’t think it was the tastiest meal the country had to offer. Like Chadwick’s, it was more about the experience than the cuisine.

I thought AB would stay entirely within DC’s boundary as there are enough restaurants to do so but if it really is a travel show and a food show, then staying completely in DC and not including a human interest story might have made the show too local.

I thought the spy bit was hokey. I did like the Andres part as it revealed Andres’ character and provided insight into Minibar (I haven’t been yet). also it was shot in my favorite neighborhood – the PQ.