Anthony Bourdain in The Layover

Anthony Bourdain, known as the globe trotting TV gourmet, is the best walker on the planet. He doesn't swagger, he doesn't stride...he ambles his way down the streets of cities in every corner of the planet. He is my Ambling Man, towering over most of the other folks no matter where he is, a friendly confident American at home in the world. Judging by the shouts of adoration from the minions who recognize him in even the most obscure locations, he is probably one of the best ambassadors this country has got.

Bourdain's latest TV series The Layover, has a slightly more frantic and condensed feel to it than his former Travel Channel show No Reservations. The new show gives him 24-48 hours in a city where he must use that limited time to eat, drink, explore and meet the local denizens. He does all of the above and more with great charm and cheerfulness. Even when the local fare is somewhat challenging, he is refreshingly honest (maybe a bit too honest) about the toll it takes on his digestive system.

So far I've watched A.B.'s adventures in Miami, Hong Kong, Montreal, Amsterdam and San Francisco. The latter was so compelling, I was inspired to take a train into my backyard city yesterday to visit one of the locations he featured in the episode, the historic Fairmont Hotel. Alas, the famous Tonga Room was closed at the time, I should have checked their website to see that it's only open for dinner! I did enjoy a lovely brief chat with the concierge about how exciting it was to have THE Anthony Bourdain at the hotel when they were filming.

Every episode of The Layover features the perfect mix that helps make any travel/food show a winner:

• Fascinating and crazy local people: Bourdain seems to attract them wherever he goes. He seems to prefer offbeat individuals and it always adds great color to the episodes.
• Wonderful trivia and history about the locations in a most palatable format.
• Great looking food and drinks from restaurant venues both high (4 star) and low (gourmet food trucks and hot dog stands).

Anthony Bourdain does not try to hide his carnivorous side, so if you are a Vegan this series might not be for you. And his real life feud with Paula Deen the Butter Queen might be off-putting to those who are fond of down home food. However, I find his utter delight in trying new dishes and seeing new places to be captivating. M. Bourdain would make the perfect fun traveling companion, no matter what your gender. I nominate him as my #1 fantasy TV boyfriend, for his humor, daring and endearing NYC accent.

Here's a little taste of The Layover in Miami. Bon appetite!

Summer TV: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Summer TV is well underway, with just a few series left to roll out their new seasons. It's time to weigh in on what's working and what's tanking for me.

THE GOOD:

--Breaking Bad: OK, it doesn't officially start until this Sunday (July 17th) but the anticipation is almost making me high. This show is so good, it would be nearly impossible for them to screw it up at this point. Furthermore, it is most likely the last season, so I can imagine the producers will want to go out with a bang. It's a Southwest existential morality tale on AMC. I will be there with bells on.

--Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations: Premiered this past Monday at 9pm on the Travel Channel, this is my favorite food/adventure/travel show in the whole world. Anthony Bourdain is perfect. He's handsome...he's funny...he's adventurous. I think he makes it cool to be American these days (God knows we could use it). At the very least, he makes it extra cool to be a traveling New York Foodie. This week's new season opened with a trip to Cuba. Light on politics, heavy on baseball and black beans. Mmmmm, the tastiest treat on TV.

--Louie on fX: Season two kicked off a couple of weeks ago (Thursdays at 10:30pm). I am so very happy to say that it still enthralls. Brilliant, uncomfortable, tragic, beautiful and sometimes (because yeah, technically it is a comedy) balls to the wall funny. There is absolutely nobody like Louie ck on television. Nobody. I have to hand it to Fox for not meddling with this gem so far. Maybe they forgot it was on. It is mesmerizing. Last week's pregnant sister episode gave a whole new spin on the good Samaritan neighbor theme. This show is my obsession.

Rescue Me: Rescue Me returns tonight (July 13th) on fX at 10pm. This is the last season for Denis Leary's firehouse opus and it is timed perfectly to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9-11. I want to see how he resolves his ghosts and demons and I think Leary's Tommy Gavin character is always interesting and funny, although incredibly messed up. I have never doubted the sincerity of Rescue Me and have great faith that they will do something profound before the FDNY crew is closed down forever.

THE BAD:

--True Blood: Everybody knows how much I love HBO, but this series has seriously gone bonkers. Someday I will write of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under saga about the L.A. Fisher family and how it was the greatest television show in the history of the universe. But he's gone crazy with True Blood and I'm about to abandon ship. I don't care about the over the top sex or violence or the fact that in the season premier they used a fake boulder and sand desert background set that looked like it was straight out a 1960's episode of Star Trek. What I care about it that I'm bored. Bored to death with Sookie and Tara and Bill and Eric. Well maybe not so much with Eric. Don't want to see Jason raped by a pack of trailer trash zombies. I like Marnie the witch's dead parrot...I hate Marnie the witch. You know how every year you have to sort out the Christmas lights that have mysteriously mated like a pile of snakes in the garage? That's what this feels like. The story line is a hot tangled mess.

--Falling Skies: I had high hopes for this TNT series. Sci Fi, original, Steven Spielberg, lavish production, cool scary aliens taking over (we'll call them Skitters). I've watched the first couple of episodes and I don't think I'll be coming back. It's just not compelling. We never get to see the aliens, so the threat seems very remote. And the survivors in this post apocalyptic world are way...way too clean. Why would they all be so fashion model clean? Even the kids look like they've been air brushed! I don't know why but it really bothers me. I can't go on a day long road trip without looking like a refugee, and these people have been without electricity, washing machines and running water for quite some time. They should at least be a little smudged. Note to Falling Skies producers...watch the movie Road Warrior. You can make your end of the world characters stylish AND dirty! And show a few aliens eating little kids with their tentacles or something!

THE UGLY

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry has a long conversation with a 13 year old girl scout about her first period and tampons. Really? What planet is this creepy scene even remotely funny on? Anyway, I only like Jeff Garlin and Susie. If someone wants to make a clip show of them, I'll still watch. Otherwise...buh bye Larry!

Here's a little taste of Breaking Bad. Oh my, can't wait for Sunday!