Monday Poll: Favorite Feasting Series

Alton Brown fans know what they want, and looking at last week's poll and the comments from readers it is another decade of Good Eats!  Food Network would be wise to listen to its long time viewers when it comes time to decide on their lineup.  Of course, it shouldn't take a genius to realize that people started watching Food Network because the shows were about cooking and not reality gameshows.

Due to the popularity of last week's poll, Monday is now Alton Brown Poll Day!  Every Monday I'll come up with something new for you, my wonderful readers, to vote on.

It's the height of summer.  People are packing up their cars, trucks, RVs, boats, and motorcycles and hitting the road.  What better time to pul out the Feasting on Asphalt DVDs, grab a cool drink, and plot my next vacation?  So, this week's poll is: What is your favorite Feasting series?  As for myself, I'd rank them in the same order they appeared.  The first FOA is definitely my favorite.  The amount of ground they covered, the seamless soundtrack, and the fun they had along the way really made the show.  My favorite part was Alton's narration on the bonus feature with the DVD set.  It really opened up a window into not only what he was thinking in terms of producing the show, but also how he actually felt during the trip; his hopes, fears, doubt and relief.

I'm going to dig out my DVDs now, so hop on over to the lft there and vote on your favorite FOA series.  And, as always, feel free to post a comment or two.

Feasting on Waves Locations

There is an extensive list of the locations visited in the Feasting on Waves series on Alton Brown's website for all who are interested.

http://www.altonbrown.com/adventure/knowledge/fowLocations.html

Feasting on Waves: Catching up

I was pleasantly surprised with the third installment of Feasting on Waves.  Not only did they get rid of a lot of the unnecessary travel clutter, but the parts of it they did show were more fluid and cohesive.  The content was also presented in a way that you could actually follow and Alton Brown himself was in much better form.  Ironically, this was the episode in Anguilla for which I found out they had made arrangements with the local tourist board.  Maybe that was what was needed to get this show rolling; more of a plan.

My favorite part was the hydroponic garden at the Cuisinart resort which reminded me of something you'd see on Good Eats; learning something new about food other than just how to cook it.  The lobster roast was also enjoyable from a Feasting series perspective in that it brought out the group mentality of the adventure.  No longer was it just Alton Brown with a hand-held camera; now it is about a group traveling in search of good, local food.  The essence of the Feasting theme.

Feasting on Waves: The Plan

Well, as many of us have noticed, Feasting on Waves definitely has a more 'planned' feel than the wandering based on tips and suggestions seen in Feasting on Asphalt.  Today I ran across this article in an Anguilla news site that mentions how their tourism board and a NY public relations company set up the FOW team visit.  This just reinforces my opinion that Feasting on Waves should have been more removed from the Feasting line and marketed as a different type of series.

Click here to read the article

Feasting on Waves: Episode Two

Well, still not feeling the 'open road' sense from the Feasting on Asphalt series with this take.  It seems more like an unedited version of a 'Best of Caribbean Local Cuisine' show with all of the disjointed travel.  Maybe it would be better without the traveling aspect since there is no flow.  In FOA there was a sense of a group of guys on a road trip; seeking out adventure and classic road food.  With this series there is not really a group feel; just Alton being obnoxious and interrupting the people he's interviewing; seems a bit impatient and left out trying to hold his own.  Doesn't seem himself; as in comfortable self or anywhere near Good Eats self.  [Weather's bad, he's got a printed off piece of paper of things he'd like to see while dressed up as a stereotypical American tourist with a video camera]  A visit from Deb Duchon would do this series well and slow the pace down.  I don't feel I remember much of what I just watched.  Not that it isn't interesting, but it's just too random.  How many islands were in this episode?  I lost track.

Feasting on Waves: Sugar on Isle One

In the bonus disc feature of Feasting on Asphalt Alton expresses his concern that he will not be able to find the old Mom & Pop or roadside eateries they went out in search of for the first foray of the FOA series.  Luckily there are still many of those old joints still around.  However, after watching the first episode of Feasting on Waves I began to wonder if he was running into the exact problem he was worried about the first time around.  There seems to be an awful lot of time spent on the logistics of the trip and not as much variety in the way of local food.  Despite the seeming lack; there were some interesting meals.  The most interesting to me was the roadside tent under the mango tree.  It doesn't get much more local than that!  It reminded me of all the local farms in my area who have little tables and stands set up during harvest right now.  For now I reserve my judgment of the series since only the first episode is out.  For Alton's sake; I hope the rest of the trip goes better in terms of finding true local cuisine.

As for mobility, it definitely has a different flavor from the FOA series.  Instead of being independent and able to travel wherever they please and having the ability to dart off in another direction on a tip; they are bound to the boats and vehicles of others.  In my mind there was the impression that Alton and the crew would have chartered a single boat and cruised around an area of the Caribbean.  Now I don't know if the boats they went aboard in the first episode will be their mode of transport for the rest of the series, but the venture didn't have a very cohesive feel at the start.  Intro on a boat, then they are walking around, then they are in a van, etc.  We'll see what happens next.  I really enjoy the FOA series and hope FOW improves.

p.s.  I miss having Jean-Claude on the show.  He's a bit of a character and definitely added to the entertainment value, as well as the wonderful photos!

Alton Brown: Kitchens of the Future

In preparation for the first episode, or just as holiday week filler, Kitchens of the Future airs Saturday night at 9:00pm EST.  It's an hour long show from 2004 hosted by none other than Alton Brown.  How the heck did I miss this?!  I've been watching Good Eats and anything else Alton for years and somehow this one got past me.  The Food Network description mentions the Jetsons; sounds right up Alton's alley!  So, for those who have to get up early on Monday and don't want to stay up late Sunday night for Feasting on Waves, or you are stuck at home working on a Saturday night like myself, this will give you something to tie you over until FOW re-airs later in the week.

Feasting on Waves

The next installment of Alton Brown's Feasting series is coming!  Feasting on Waves begins airing in September on Food Network.  The first episode will run Sunday night, September 7th, at 10:00pm EST.  Not a very good time slot for a new series, but it will air again on a more reasonable Wednesday night (10th) at 8:00pm.  After just watching Feasting on Asphalt 1 and 2 a few times; I'm pretty geared up for this one.


Food Network link to FOW show information

Alton Brown site link for FOW linkage