Thoughts on Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown in Detroit?

[Newdetroit]

Wondering what people's thoughts are how the city and eating choices was presented.

http://www.cnn.com/video/shows/antho...html?hpt=hp_c2

[313WX]

Isn't Anthony Bourdain a member on here [[username is "Strong")?

[mikefmich]

I'm enjoying it, I found it positive.

Choices & presentation? It's long past the point of mattering, like someone is gonna fuck up the debutante ball, ya know?

[D_Town]

I guess it is a more "positive" spin on ruin porn. I wish they would show some nicer neighborhoods though.

[Newdetroit]

It didn't show downtown with office buildings and professionals, or the nice homes that still exist. It was not balanced. It only showed the ruin porn.

[mikefmich]

I don't understand those that would desire a Madison Ave. pro job on trying to sell Detroit. Nothing but horseshit, BS, graft & outright theivery got us to where Detroit is at now.

How about a little straight up honesty? Ya know.....if I was younger, I'd look at Detroit as a frontier I'd want to be a part of. The grittier I see, the better I would've liked it. Too old for the challenge now, but man I woulda come running if I was under 50.

[nain rouge]

To be fair, Detroit is 142 square miles, and how many of those square miles are taken up by the nicer areas? Way less than half, to be sure. So Bourdain's angle was vital. But, again, 700,000 people live in the city still, and there are tons of neighborhoods that are intact or 90% intact. For every street like Brush there's a street off of Kelly & Morang that looks like any other suburb.

A truly accurate depiction would have to show that. But that's a lot to ask for out of an hour. I'd say he did alright.

[Cliffy]

It didn't show downtown with office buildings and professionals, or the nice homes that still exist. It was not balanced. It only showed the ruin porn.

It was the cold hard truth. Thats what the majority of Detroit looks like.

[EastsideAl]

I thought the colored lights on the vacant buildings looked purdy. Maybe they'd look better to us if we did that all the time...

[bragaboutme]

They're talking about the episode on parts unkown last bite, and detroit in general...surprisingly great discussion! I liked the episode, especially the part about the firehouse. Made want to go and get some lamb chops.

[dmike76]

Typical ruin porn. All that Bourdain did was perpetuate the national opinion that Detroit is nothing but a wasteland. I was really disappointed. I thought that Bourdain would have been more balanced, but apparently he's into telling the part of the story that equals ratings.

[Hopkins]

Typical ruin porn. All that Bourdain did was perpetuate the national opinion that Detroit is nothing but a wasteland. I was really disappointed. I thought that Bourdain would have been more balanced, but apparently he's into telling the part of the story that equals ratings.

I think he summed it up pretty good with this blog post:

http://anthonybourdain.tumblr.com/po...k-out-the-jams

[aoife]

I think he summed it up pretty good with this blog post:

http://anthonybourdain.tumblr.com/po...k-out-the-jams

I liked his blog post better than the actual show. I have been a big fan of his forever, so I guess I expected a bit more than just pretty angles on prairie fields and blown-out bungalows. I wish he could have illustrated just how large the city is in comparison to others to give viewers a better gauge on the place. But really, no major complaints. At least it was honest.

[dmike76]

I read the post, but to me when people are watching this show, they're paying more attention to the images, so much so that they're probably not even listening to what Bourdain is saying in the background. That is a lot more powerful that saying things that are on that blog post. He wants to show improvisation? Go to Motor City Blight Busters. They embody the truth. A lot of bad -- burned down, dilapdated houses, bad services, etc but the positive energy generated by MCBB and the ability to transform that part of the neighborhood is truly great, and showing some images of that would have been just as powerful as showing typical shots of Brewster-Douglass, etc.

[p69rrh51]

It was the cold hard truth. Thats what the majority of Detroit looks like.

The city is 140 sq. miles with 40 sq. miles of vacant land. How is 40 the majority of 140?

[motz]

The city is 140 sq. miles with 40 sq. miles of vacant land. How is 40 the majority of 140?

How many square miles are plots with long abandoned homes and factories and storefronts and such? Seriously, I don't like doing the be-all-negative-about-my-city, but anyone can fudge the statistics to agree with them. Honest truth is, much of the city is either rundown or vacant. At the same glance, highlighting the stronger neighborhoods and what they bring to the overall experience of Detroit is extremely important.

[preserve]

Liked those cute little Corktown boys with their hockey sticks.

[Newdetroit]

He said the only other city that he has been to which reminded him of Detroit was Chernobyl!

[Cliffy]

One thing that is kind of getting annoying is LeDuff parlaying the destruction of Detroit into a career. Basically his meal ticket is Detroit. I like Charlie but he needs to move on to something else.

[9606 Prest]

I enjoyed the Anthony Bourdain show on Detroit last night. Does anyone know the location of the restaurant that served the Salvadorian food that was included on the show last night? I would like to give it a try. The Salvadorian restaurant on Livernois near Otis is excellent and inexpensive and is also worth a visit.

[dmike76]

Obviously meeting with the people was the part that I liked[[especially the fire fighters), but once again he spent a good amount of time focusing on the negative aspects of the city when speaking with them. Maybe he did speak about positive things, but they must have edited them out if he did. All he did was beat a dead horse into the ground.

[Newdetroit]

He also was berating the chef who moved back to Detroit as a bad career choice. He kept saying who in Detroit would appreciate this kind of food.

[Thruster315]

One thing that is kind of getting annoying is LeDuff parlaying the destruction of Detroit into a career. Basically his meal ticket is Detroit. I like Charlie but he needs to move on to something else.

I'm thinking there were at least a dozen of other folks that could've been a better ambassador to show Bourdain around the city.

[dmike76]

Cliffy, he only told half of the 'cold, hard, truth'. There is a part of the truth where sections of the city are growing, businesses are opening, etc. I don't deny that what he did show wasn't real, but it wasn't the whole story. He could've skipped the open fields and cut part of the packard plant portion and focused on Eastern Market.

[Newdetroit]

He didn't even show Eastern Market on a weekend with tons of people. If he is interested in the urban farms he can also show vegetables and fruits being sold in Eastern Market. But since it is a vibrant area, it was not shown. Lastly, he could have filmed at the Whitney or some other fine dining place like he does in other cities. Instead, in Detroit, people have to go an illegal papusaria or a roadside stand. Oh, I forgot, there is fine dining restaurant in the back of a garage in some alley.