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I’m now going to do what half the food bloggers in the US are also doing this weekend: reviewing Alton Brown’s latest short-series endeavor, "Feasting on Asphalt". The reason everyone’s doing this is simple - The final episode aired over the weekend. I just had the chance to watch it on Tivo the other day, and I wanted to get my judging thoughts out before I had no more thoughts of any sort.
Some of the other reviews around can be found at:
I’ve read some reviews that didn’t like the show… I’ll try to hunt some down again later. It’s only fair - not everyone will like everything.
What was the series about? Here is an except from the "Feasting on Asphalt" page on the Food Network site, where you can also view the trailer for the show as well as a slide show:
I’m not that old (42 as of writing this), but there’s something I really like about the 1940s and 50s, and even the early 60s. What it is that I think I like is a sense of innocence that seems to have ended in the mid to late 60S. The Brady Bunch and Partridge Family brought it back in the 70s a bit, but there’s just overall a different sense about the earlier time. The US had some technology with cars, TV, etc., but no one had a PC or even imagined one, people wore heavy wool coats in the Winter, and you could understand all the songs you heard on the radio.
Don’t get me wrong - I like rock music and computers and stuff like that. But there’s something we’ve lost since that time period. Watch Hoosiers and tell me I’m wrong!
"Feasting on Asphalt" had a bit of that sense to it. While some viewers complained that there was too much time spent on history and nostalgia, that’s really what the show was about, not food, really. The food kind of kept it all together, though. The photo montages shown at breaks were great… They gave me a sense that the crew were experiencing something special to them.
Ok, maybe it was a bit much to cook breakfast for a couple in their RV, but you have to admit that’s feasting on asphalt every bit as much as the roadside diners and tea rooms! The regional differences in food were interesting, too.
I liked the camaraderie of the crew; you get the sense that they had a great time, other than the motorcycle accident. Even that turned into a bit of fun, and led them to change the show a bit, I’m sure. I don’t know if they would have done the cop food in the last episode if Alton had still been riding, but that was interesting, too, I thought.
All in all, I enjoyed the series more for going along on the trip than for the food itself. It’s a bit of a throwback to go to a lot of those places, and it’s refreshing to see a ‘chef’ enjoying some of the simplest fare you can find in the US and not being a snob about it! The pig’s foot was interesting, though… I have to give AB credit for trying something I wouldn’t even come close to!
August 24th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Curt,
I enjoyed the show also. The nostalgia and history are what made it interesting. Just food on the road would have been boring. Here’s a burger. Here’s some hashbrowns. Here’s some ice cream.
It’s the stories and the people that made the show special.
BTW…All of the cop stops are right in my neighborhood. I actually walk to the place with the big Pastrami burger with egg.
August 24th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Neil, that burger was too much.. kind of funny watching them try to eat it. I don’t really get those “throw anything we can think of on it” burgers!
I liked the idea of those thinly cut pork butts, though.. I may have to try that!
August 25th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Curt,
I thought the show was good. I have always liked Altons delivery even when he is on a topic I don’t care for. I really enjoyed some of the spots they stopped along the way and the “real folks” they met.
The brain sandwich was the one that was too much for me. I’m okay with pigs feet, but I don’t gnaw on them, just use them in beans or black eyed peas.
~thirdeye~
August 26th, 2006 at 7:00 am
I somehow forgot about the brain sandwich. I think I was just subconsciously trying to! I thought it would be something like sliced and fried to a crunchy texture, but when he came out with the whole pork brain on a bun, I had to hand it to him for even trying it!
August 27th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
curt–enjoyed your comments. i’ve been loving the show too but missed the first episode. fingers crossed for a DVD with extras!
one comment on this remark from you-
“it’s refreshing to see a ‘chef’ enjoying some of the simplest fare you can find in the US”
glad to see you used the quotations marks, as any AB fan knows he doesn’t consider himself a ‘chef’. he calls him self a filmmaker who makes movies about food.
this series in fact was originally conceived as& i think is still considered the first Foodnetwork movie.
his background in film shows in the quality of this piece.
thanks again!
August 27th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Christine, I’m sure the series will be rerun… Just wait for it. I’m also sure it will be on DVD before long… The food network doesn’t usually pass up something to make some extra cash!
The only time I feel bad for AB is when they make great stuff on Iron Chef America, and he doesn’t get to try it; that doesn’t seem fair!
August 30th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
I thought the show was great. I like the humor and quirkeyness. I think this gave us a point of view of how regional food is. It you think that the burger is too much or the brain sammich sounds yucky, thats ok. I grew up near Smithfield and I cant think of a better ham. I am sure some will disagree. i think he brings america to us and we are all diferent. Even our food too.
August 30th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Just because I didn’t like the sound of it doesn’t mean it’s not good to someone else. I liked how AB tried stuff without really judging. He may not have cared for it, but he gave it a shot.
September 2nd, 2006 at 1:46 pm
The Cop thing was unplanned, I helped him with research and that in the months prior to the shoot…then he fell in Vegas and gave me a call, we figured out how to finish the show with a bang even though he could not ride….he was in real pain!
September 2nd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Chris, I figured it was a change to keep it going. Seeing him try to cook with the sling was painful to watch. But it ended up being yet another kind of road food!
September 8th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
hey, curt–thanks for your response. i thought of you last night–they were rerunning the ICA where Alton & Kevin made off with the kobe steaks & bottle of red:)
passing on a little ‘food’ anecdote i heard. i know the FOA boys would’ve never gone near a taco bell but still related & VV funny.
From Odon,In.
IDIOTS IN FOOD SERVICE:
My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for “minimal lettuce.” He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg.
umm…..
peace
christine
September 8th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Christine, I live in Ohio, so same basic area of the country as Indiana… The daughter’s mistake was using a 3 syllable word; she just confused the guy!
And I love that ICA episode… There was a competition in the NW that used only American Kobe beef; I wish I could have either cooked or judged that!
September 8th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
ohio, eh? i’m in chicago but grew up in Michigan @ about 1 hr north of indiana border. that little tale definitly hit home. there’s a pretty article @ the FOA on the washington post website. if you just search AB’s name it’ll come up. my file is being cranky about giving up the link right now.
always good to chat with you
peace
September 10th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
umm…maybe i just haven’t been paying good attention earlier.
just me, or was AB sporting a little ear ‘bling’ on ICA tonight?!?!?!?
promise somehting about food next time.
cheers
September 11th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Christine, I didn’t see it, but you have to remember, he’s originally an artsy film type.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:08 am
yeh–just seemed odd & was wondering if it was new. it doesn’t exactly scream biker guy who just had life perspective altering trip & not-so-near death experience. actually, Brausch had one on too. maybe it was a conspiracy or in honor of Art Smith. hope you get a chance to check out a replay. Morimoto was singing while he cooked. ’nuff said.
peace (&love & BBQ, as the boys say)
September 14th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
anybody notice the ‘hungry detective’ ads? yes it’s true, it’s chris—our policeman/tour guide from FOA. woohoo!
September 14th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
I saw the ICA finally, and it did look like some ear-bling! Must be a midlife crisis.
I haven’t seen the ads, but Chris showed that he’s not shy in front of the camera. I’d watch his eating escapades, I think! Chris, if you’re reading still, what’s up with the Hungry Detective?