Anthony Bourdain on Toronto

[denfromoakvillemilton]

It is largely complete. We can't judge what is extant?

We can but I personally want to give a full, fair shake. Basically I want to wait couple of years.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Who's the arbiter of good taste?

I am


It's all starting to make sense now isn't it

 

[One Nut Kruk]

We can but I personally want to give a full, fair shake. Basically I want to wait couple of years.

Fair enough; but I don't think it is going to get much better. More and more glass and banality is proposed.

I am


It's all starting to make sense now isn't it

Not really.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Not really

No, I don't suppose you'd think so. Well then, you'd better get comfortable with the idea that "that" just might have something to do with you.

I'm not sure Anthony Bourdain is a competent food expert, let alone a travel expert. He is the food world's equivalent of Paris Hilton....She gets paid to show up at parties and he gets paid to show up at eateries.

It's purely entertainment parading as "information" (kinda like the American "news").

It isn't academia...it's a joke. (sorta like my posts in this thread..and most my other ones too)

 

[Tewder]

I'm not sure Anthony Bourdain is a competent food expert, let alone a travel expert. He is the food world's equivalent of Paris Hilton....She gets paid to show up at parties and he gets paid to show up at eateries.

It's purely entertainment parading as "information" (kinda like the American "news").

It isn't academia...it's a joke. (sorta like my posts in this thread..and most my other ones too)

Hmmmm, let's see... Bourdain was an executive chef at a beloved New York restaurant, a published writer, and a television host... who exactly is the joke again?

 

[TheKingEast]

Toronto isn't ugly but it sure as hell isn't pretty. Anthony seems to have ruffled some feathers here. Toronto is clean and modern but it's boring looking. The buildings are very similar. Nothing really stands out. The above ground utility wires don't help either...

 

[Ramako]

These kinds of statements make no sense to me. Parts of Toronto are indeed ugly, and parts of Toronto are, in fact, very pretty. Given how eclectic the city's built form is, it's not possible to make a sweeping judgement the way Bourdain did, having just gotten off the Gardiner from the airport.

 

[NorthYorkEd]

I guess everybody missed the 99% of the show that said Toronto was awesome and well worth the visit. He had a blast and the food was excellent and it was a great promo piece. But boo-hoo, he didn't wike our beeyodings.

 

[Jonny5]

These kinds of statements make no sense to me. Parts of Toronto are indeed ugly, and parts of Toronto are, in fact, very pretty. Given how eclectic the city's built form is, it's not possible to make a sweeping judgement the way Bourdain did, having just gotten off the Gardiner from the airport.

Yes, though that's how people often make judgement. I don't think it particularly matters though. No one is going to turn around and go home when they arrive downtown.

And as for Bourdain, he is solidly in the cash-in phase of his celebrity cycle; churning out as much as much media product as he can to make money before he's replaced by someone else. He is not doing in depth research, analysis, and high-minded evaluations. His shows are infotainment. It's just more noise.

 

[Johnny Au]

No, I don't suppose you'd think so. Well then, you'd better get comfortable with the idea that "that" just might have something to do with you.

I'm not sure Anthony Bourdain is a competent food expert, let alone a travel expert. He is the food world's equivalent of Paris Hilton....She gets paid to show up at parties and he gets paid to show up at eateries.

It's purely entertainment parading as "information" (kinda like the American "news").

It isn't academia...it's a joke. (sorta like my posts in this thread..and most my other ones too)

Yep, it is the difference between "nyewz" and "nooz."

 

[Southcore]

I guess everybody missed the 99% of the show that said Toronto was awesome and well worth the visit. He had a blast and the food was excellent and it was a great promo piece. But boo-hoo, he didn't wike our beeyodings.

Exactly. He also addressed this a little further in an interview with the Globe:

ON SPECIALIZATION

I like the niche mentality here, that you’d have a place dedicated to porchetta [Mr. Bourdain hit Dundas Street’s Porchetta & Co. while in town] or hipster poutine or a truly great tostada, I always like to see that. The general sense that anything is possible, the attitude of do it yourself that seems new to me from the first time I came here.

ON DIVERSIFICATION

It is a city of surprises. The fact that over 50 per cent of the residents of Toronto are not from Canada, that is always a good thing, creatively, and for food especially. That is easily a city’s biggest strength and it is Toronto’s unique strength.

ON OUR UGLY CITY

I’m intrigued by the fact that this is not a good-looking city … your English-Presbyterian past has not served you well architecturally. Like Sao Paulo, another city I really love, it’s not a place that looks anywhere near as cool as it really is.

ON GOOD TASTE

Celine Dion is not popular here, which I think speaks well of the city. I’ve met many people here who are proud to say they are not fans – I couldn’t find anyone who would say that in Montreal.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...dain-really-thinks-of-toronto/article4446234/

Perhaps a bit of a backhanded compliment, but also kinda true in some ways too.

 

[diminutive]

There is so much butt-hurt in this thread!

1.) It's super insecure to get this ruffled over a single negative description of the City by a (relatively) minor media type. People say negative things about cities *all* the time! The amount of negative comments about NYC is huge! for most of post-war American cultural life, NYC was only represented as a near-post apocalyptic wasteland of crime and violence (or, in John Carpenter's case, full on apocalyptic). See Homer in NYC for an example of this. Get over it...

2.) Toronto may not be ugly, but it's hardly fair to jump on someone's throat for thinking that. Our City certainly isn't on anyone's Top-10 most beautiful cities. I get that people on a Toronto discussion board would be defensive of our architecture, but let's not work ourselves into a lather over this.

3.) Why is everyone focusing on ONE line?? His overall impression of the city was highly positive!

4.) Cities aren't, ultimately, about architecture. They're about the people and communities that live there. Toronto may not be as picturesque as, say, Vienna, but it's arguably a lot more dynamic. And this came through in the Bourdain bit where "Toronto" as a community (as opposed to as a collection of buildings) came across as highly vibrant.

5.) SOOO many cities on earth are ugly. Take Tokyo for instance. One of the great cities of the earth and almost no one would ever describe it as beautiful.

 

[Tewder]

I'm pretty dammit! My mommy tole me so!!

 

[One Nut Kruk]

Hmmmm, let's see... Bourdain was an executive chef at a beloved New York restaurant, a published writer, and a television host... who exactly is the joke again?

He's obviously got a chip on his shoulder. Maybe Anthony Bourdain dug one of his spurs into his leg?

 

[MisterF]

People need to lighten up. lol. Anyone criticizing Bourdain for his comments on architecture is missing the point entirely.

And as for Bourdain, he is solidly in the cash-in phase of his celebrity cycle; churning out as much as much media product as he can to make money before he's replaced by someone else. He is not doing in depth research, analysis, and high-minded evaluations. His shows are infotainment. It's just more noise.

Again, missing the point. The show is about simple sensations and experiences, it's not supposed to be the Fifth Estate. BTW, Bourdain fully admits to milking the celebrity chef thing for all it's worth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S90Rq3yV9dY

Toronto is not ugly. But the condo's are all the same. Which makes it boring.

Buildings looking the same don't make a city boring. You could have a thousand buildings being identical in the same area, and as long as they follow some basic urban design principles it could still make an exciting, vibrant city. Not everybody obsesses about architecture the way people on Urban Toronto do.