"Roadrunner" - A Better Late Than Never review

Chef. Addict. Writer. TV star. Provocateur. Until his untimely death by suicide, Anthony Bourdain was all of these. In its attempt to get to know who Bourdain was, director Morgan Neville relies on footage from Bourdain's many shows and media appearances, along with interviews with people who knew him. It is said that fame changes a person, and "Roadrunner" shows that in three parts. We see that behind Bourdain's cool outer shell was a geeky romantic, who did his best to keep it together when fame found him. We see that it took time for Bourdain to grow into the engaging persona fans have seen through the years, with producers in the early stages of his TV career practically begging him to show the charm he showed at book signings and in his kitchen. We see that travel can change you as a person and that constant travel took its toll on him with two failed marriages. We see a man who dove headfirst into something with full commitment to it, whether it was cooking, making compelling television, fatherhood, or falling in love. We see that he was totally invested in making the last major love affair of his life work, only to eventually see it lead him to his shocking demise. You can see the pain on people's faces when they talk about Bourdain's state of mind in the weeks leading up to his death. While no one can understand what goes through the mind of someone who takes their own life, you get the feeling that Bourdain felt he had compromised himself too much at that point, and that there was only one way out. At one point in the documentary, Bourdain talks about how his own death doesn't interest or concern him and that he hopes that at the very least, it provides some entertainment value. As the subject of a documentary for both long-time fans and people who want to see what the fuss was about him, I think he would have been pleased.

Commentary on the year that was 2018

2019 is about a two-weeks old, so let's look back at what was hot, hip, and happening in 2018 while it's still fresh in our memories.

Food recalls: It seemed like every week last year, we were getting a warning to not eating something. E-coli in the produce, salmonella in the meat; with reports of food costs to go up this year, we shouldn't have to throw out as much as we do.

The Keto Diet: I completely missed this trend, but a diet that was used primarily to treat refractory epilepsy in children was all the rage. To me, it looks like it involves eating lots of avocados, eggs, nuts, cheese, and salmon, but fans of the keto diet claim you can turn your body into a “fat burning machine" by making it go into ketosis — a physical state where the body is flooded with "ketones" after you deprived it of carbohydrates. Others claim it's just another bad fad diet that's hard to follow, has a high fat intake and could have unknown long-term side effects. I guess like everything, moderation is the key.

Anthony Bourdain Dies: I loved his shows, I loved his writing, I loved his attitude. If I had discovered "Kitchen Confidential" before starting college, my life might have gone in a whole different direction.

Ottawa restaurant closures and openings: Among the noticeable closures in 2018 were Dunn's on Elgin; Wong's Palace; Table 85, and Boko Bakery. Ironically, the restaurant that forced the beloved Mello's to close in 2015, Ace Mercado, has also closed its doors, with surprisingly little fanfare. But as the guy in Semisonic warbled in the nineties, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end with the Queen St. Fare, Ottawa's first food hall, opening in the old Hy’s Steakhouse, and acclaimed chef Briana Kim to open a new restaurant called Alice later this year. Both are on my ever-expanding list of local restaurants to visit.

Buck-a-Beer: Whether it's extending the hours of the LCBO, or considering letting corner stores sell beer, it seems all of millionaire Doug Ford's attempts to appeal to the common man involve getting people drunk. The premier's challenge to Ontario breweries to sell beer for a dollar (plus deposit) after the Ontario government lowered the minimum price by a quarter was a dud. No one wants to drink cheap beer (it tastes bad); no one wants to make cheap beer (you lose money doing so). It was a waste of time that had little to no payoff whatsoever. Hopefully, the Ontario government will handle marijuana edibles better when they become legal this year, I hear Doug has some experience in that area (allegedly).

The Big Mac Turns 50: Back in August U.S McDonald's franchises decided to celebrate the creation of placing two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun by giving customers a limited-edition collectable metal coin with the purchase of every Big Mac that could be redeemed for one free Big Mac until the end of the year. I would have thought there would have been more fanfare about this, not sure why Canadian Mickey D's didn't join in on the celebrating.

Starbucks Closes for ‘Racial Bias Training’: After an employee at a Starbucks called the cops on two black men for the crime of being black in a Starbucks, the company issued an official apology and eventually closed 8,000 of its U.S. shops for “racial bias training” on the afternoon of May 29. Canadian Starbucks followed suit on June 11 and closed all of their company-operated stores and offices for the afternoon as staff underwent similar training. I don't know how much this corporate lesson did to improve racial relations between staff and customers, but I do know that if you complained about not being able to get a cup of coffee that afternoon when they closed, you weren't looking that hard for coffee and you're a racist.

Ottawa Wine and Food Festival Bites The Dust: In a move no one saw coming despite the lack of online ticket sales, an ongoing legal battle, and a long line of people wanting the money they're owed, the popular Ottawa Wine and Food Festival was canceled eight days before its announced opening. Having been to the event when it was at the Ottawa Congress Centre, I didn't ever expect to use the word "clusterfuck" to describe the Ottawa Wine and Food Festival, but it's an appropriate word for everything involved with the event since the move to the EY Centre. There are plans to have another go this year, but I'm not holding my breath on it coming together - why can't Ottawa have nice things?

Mario Batali's Comeback: Despite having lost his job on “The Chew”, having his products pulled from store shelves, and being forced to step away from his restaurant business, Mario Batali still hoped he could salvage his reputation and career despite the numerous sexual misconduct accusations against him. But in spite of the charity work Batali is reportedly doing in Rwanda, and the news that he will not be charged for two alleged sexual assault cases against him, the public isn't ready to forgive the Louis CK of the cooking world. Me, I was done with him after I heard one of his restaurants had a rape room in it, fuck him and his asshole business partner from "MasterChef" Joe Bastianich.

Chef José Andrés Is Nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize: José Andrés is known for the three years he worked at elBulli, or for bringing the small plates dining concept to America in his restaurants. He is also known as the founder of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Because of his humanitarian efforts, he has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. It's nice to know that not everything was horrible last year.

"Get Jiro!" - Review of a foodie comic book

Anyone who knows me (or at least has read my May 2012 blog post) knows I'm a huge comic book nerd. I've got longboxes of Marvel and DC comics and graphic novels in my basement next to action figures of my favorite characters still in the original packaging, and I can go toe-to-toe with any Comic Book Guy at ComicCon about obscure superhero minutia. More recently, I've become a fan of the writings of the enfant terrible of the celebrity chef set, Anthony Bourdain. So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I discovered that Bourdain has written a graphic novel called "Get Jiro!", about the world's most dangerous chef. A story that allows me to embrace both my foodie and comic book sensibilities? That was something I had to read.

Co-written with Joel Rose, drawn by Langdon Foss, and inked by José Villarrubia, "Get Jiro" was inspired by Bourdain’s favorite sushi chef, Jiro Ono. The story is about a sushi chef caught in the middle of a war between two very powerful chefs in a world where food preparation and cooking is taken very seriously. And by serious, I mean the protagonist will decapitate someone disrespecting his sushi by ordering a California roll without hesitation. With the popularity of Food Network and the new crop of food-related shows on other networks, this story is an inspired take on Western food culture wrapped around a grind-house action thriller. I'm thinking Jet Li as Jiro if Hollywood ever runs out of superheroes to make movies about, with either Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez directing. While this is a story with a lot of blood being spilled, it also had a lot for foodies to enjoy, as the artwork makes the reader appreciate the art that is making proper sushi. I highly recommend this graphic novel if you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain or comic books in general.



Also recommended:

• Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
• The Layover Season 1 [Import]