Reservations

Recently the Travel Channel was added to our basic cable lineup. I watch off and on, but mostly record the shows I really want to watch, as they never seem to be on at the "right" time. (I loooove Tivo!) I like the shows about warm, beachy places. Hawaii, Mexico... anything to make me forget that I am in cold, snowy Oregon... if only for a few minutes!

But I also record the shows about Oregon. I think it's really interesting to see how Oregon is portrayed nationally, especially for tourism purposes. I like seeing which local businesses are highlighted, and whether I agree with the attractions that are recommended.

Enter Anthony Bourdain

On Monday his show, "No Reservations" covered the Pacific Northwest. Of course, that means Portland and Seattle! In Portland, he visited Voodoo Doughnut, Apizza Scholls, and the Heathman Hotel. He was accompanied by author (and Portland native) Chuck Palahniuk (read: Fight Club, Invisible Monsters). They had a lively discussion about why Portland is such a... er... "diverse" town.

Apizza Scholls is open from 5pm "until they run out of dough". The chef is a pizza purist of sorts. He is referred to as a "pizza nazi" and has all these rules about how you can have your pizza, and will make you leave if you disagree with him. Hmm.

Next time you are in Portland and you have the munchies, visit Voodoo Doughnut (as long as it isn't between 11am and 1pm - that's when they are closed). They offer bacon maple bars, voodoo doll doughnuts (with red jelly filling), and doughnuts with cocoa pebbles and peanut butter... just to name a few. One of their previous menu items was a Pepto-Bismol dooughnut but they had to pull it because, according to the FDA, "you can't put medicine in food."

Later he went camping at Lost Lake with Philippe Boulot, Executive Chef of the Heathman Restaurant. Can you imagine camping with a professional chef? I love to cook and we eat very well when camping... but their food looked amazing. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time, as I did while watching Anthony Bourdain trying to put up his tent. "Nature sucks!" he exclaimed while chopping wood and getting tangled in tent stakes. He mused that the name of the lake perhaps referred to the fact that he might never see civilization again, and that they must be in "Sasquatch Country". LOL... maybe he will come to Bend for the Bigfoot Expedition!

Overall he gave an interesting, different perspective on Portland. Now I'm hungry... for a slice of pizza with no more than 3 toppings (only one of which can be meat) and a Froot Loop doughnut for dessert!