Thailand


Blending influences from India, China, Cambodia and the rest of Southeast Asia, Thai cuisine uses 5 fundamental flavors: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter and salty. In an effort to experience each of these tastes, Tony explores bustling Bangkok and its local street foods. As soon as the crew arrives in Bangkok, they find themselves in the center of a political upheaval. Amid the protests, violence and uncertainty, Tony and the crew make a point of discovering the elements that make Thailand magical.

San Francisco


San Francisco is a city of districts, each one with its own quirks and flavors. Chinatown is a bustling neighborhood with delicious restaurants around every turn. The Fisherman?s Wharf area houses a popular farmer?s market filled with fresh produce, beautiful flowers and organic foods. One of Tony?s stops is Red?s Java House, where the cheeseburgers are hot, the chili cheese fries are even hotter and the beer is cold. Tony can?t go wrong in a city so interesting, dynamic and complex.

Down on the Street


This behind-the-scenes look at No Reservations reveals a common thread throughout all No Reservations episodes Рstreet food. Oftentimes, Tony says the most enjoyable and authentic food in a country or village is sold by merchants from carts in outdoor markets or roadside stands. From local variations on the hot dog to unidentifiable fried meats, from saut̩ed insects to steaming bowls of noodles, these culinary treats are what keep Tony going on the road.

Rust Belt


In the bleak, cold winter, Tony meets up with his good friend Zamir and the two travel to the heart of America's Rust Belt with stops in Baltimore, Detroit and Buffalo. After visiting this misunderstood region, Tony realizes that it's not just home to auto factories and cold weather, but it's also full of kind people and delicious food.

Australia


Melbourne is Australia's second-most populated city and its cultural capital. It's a real melting pot, and Tony is off to discover what makes the Melbourne area so special. Luckily, many of Tony's friends live in Melbourne, and they take him to sample the city's many different cuisines.

Chile


Inspired by its natural diversity, Chile's cuisine consists of beef, pork, seafood, fruits and vegetables. While in Chile, Tony will visit Santiago; a small town in the Corrico Valley; Patagonia; and the Chilean coast.

Meet Anthony Bourdain


Don't miss your favorite cook and author Anthony Bourdain at the Tishman Audiotorium at the New York School Friday, October 9 at 9:30 p.m. Then, Saturday, October 10 at the Times Center at 6 p.m.


Anthony Bourdain is a 28-year veteran of professional kitchens, having worked as a dishwasher, line cook and chef in places good, bad and horrible -- most of them in New York City. In 2000, he published a memoir of his experiences in the culinary underbelly. Kitchen Confidential became an unlikely, but enduring, international bestseller.


He has since milked that lucky break for everything it's worth, following up with the gonzo-travel diary, A Cook's Tour; a historical account of the notorious turn-of-the-century cook and disease carrier, "Typhoid Mary"; the crime novels "A Bone in the Throat," "Gone Bamboo" and "The Bobby Gold Stories"; "The Les Halles Cookbook"; a collection of essays entitled The Nasty Bits; and the companion book to the Travel Channel series, No Reservations.

Since embarking on a round-the-world trip for "A Cook's Tour," he has continued traveling for No Reservations (now in its fifth season), for various publications, for public-speaking engagements and because he likes it. He lives in New York City with his wife, Ottavia, and his daughter, Ariane.

About The Show

Besides the chef's hat, Anthony Bourdain wears many others: TV personality, best-selling author, public speaker, weary world traveler, gourmand, punk-rock aficionado, proud New Yorker and, most recently, newlywed and doting father. He's even kicked his lifelong smoking habit.

That's right: Anthony Bourdain is no longer a chain smoker.

However, the fans that know him best can rest assured that the infamously grumpy, sharp-tongued host of "No Reservations" has become anything but pedestrian. As he continues to explore every corner of the globe on his Emmy-nominated Travel Channel series, now in its fifth season, Anthony Bourdain encounters the weird, wild and downright outrageous personalities and places that help define the international cultural landscape. Whether it's eating the raw eyeball off a bloody seal carcass on a kitchen floor, flying through the treetops of Vancouver on a zip-line, or hunting for lizards in the desert of Saudi Arabia, Bourdain refuses to yield to middle age or tar-stained lungs when adventure comes calling.

However, it's the foreign food that best captures our host's attention. In the world of a cook, an understanding and appreciation of how others eat is akin to discovering secret societies and cryptic subcultures. Cooks have special access. As always, the food is only the first glimpse of a wider view of how people live their lives in faraway lands and unfamiliar territories.

In the fog-shrouded highlands of Papua New Guinea, the last vestiges of a World War II cargo cult, or the jarring light show that is Las Vegas at night, "No Reservations" dives headfirst into life's colorful and rich pageant. Join Anthony Bourdain as he circumnavigates the globe on his conquest to discover the cities, villages and countries that provide life's truest surprises.