BookGraf: ‘Medium Raw’

When you hear the name Anthony Bourdain what do you think? Chef? Author? Travelin’ TV smartass? God, I want a cigarette? Holy hangover, Batman? Since Kitchen Confidential skyrocketed him to fame and out of the kitchen, Bourdain has enjoyed a really weird life. In Medium Raw he explores his various blessings and throws a couple of punches.

Bourdain earns friends and fans around the world with his intelligence, self-deprecating humor and – frankly – balls. He’s opinionated, daring and aggressively sensitive. A champion for the underdog, Bourdain consistently expresses a total intolerance for assholes, and it’s great to watch him eviscerate a snob. One critic who takes petty vengeance against Bourdain by trashing a restaurant where he worked years ago receives special treatment here. Bourdain can take it, he says, and may have earned it. The hardworking folks at that eatery did not. It’s cowardly to take shots at them for some specious association with the real target. It’s about chivalry, really. Not dead, just wrapped in four-letter words and denim.

He also holds a special place in his heart (in the back – the dark, oily part) for Ronald Mcdonald, and describes a really ingenious campaign he is conducting to combat the multi-billion dollar marketing machine that entices our children to eat fast food. It’s parenting through dark ops, and I’m taking notes for when our own daughter is old enough to start making food choices that don’t involve my boobs.

Why do I find Anthony Bourdain so compelling? He’s thrilled. Genuinely, persuasively, habitually thrilled with the life he’s made and all of the people he gets to meet, things he does and places he sees. It’s what makes him a pleasure to watch and read, this sense of wonder. Daring and delighted. When someone is this passionate about what they do, it’s infectious and inspiring.

• No Reservations Web site
• Anthony Bourdain’s blog
• Read the McDonald chapter and hear about it on NPR.

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