Feasting on Good Eats

My latest obsession, besides organizing my iTunes album art, adding to my wishlist, and cooking (see previous post), is watching Alton Brown shows: Good Eats, Feasting on Asphalt (1 and 2), and his latest, Feasting on Waves.

Fortunately, S is right on board with me - she loves Alton as much as I do. Alton's appeal is that he is as much of a nerd as we are, but he's a food nerd, which is an area to which we cannot lay claim. What makes him a nerd? Well, strange, arcane and sometimes useless knowledge, gadget-love, but mostly really bad jokes. Plus, he cultivates a nerd persona with his glasses, patterned shirts and obsessive detail. I get a little bit frustrated watching Good Eats sometimes because Alton is so obsessive that he will often over-complicate a step in the cooking process in the name of, well, Good Eats.

After watching Good Eats, it's a real treat to watch Feasting on Asphalt/Waves, because you get to see a different side of Alton - a little raw-er, less controlled, and a little less nerdy (see bike, left). People have said that Alton comes across as a condescending in these travelling road-eats shows, and I would agree that he does, sometimes. He also makes somewhat offensive jokes and rude comments, but I would argue that that's the charm of the show - it's Alton unscripted, and, hey!, we all say the wrong thing sometimes. Most of time, however, Alton is humble toward the people he meets, and praises them for what they do.

Anyway, if you're into food, and if you classify yourself as a nerd, then you really should watch some Alton shows. To be honest, I rarely watch them on the Food Network (I can't be bothered to look at listings), but there are loads of shows floating on the interweb.