This is for Jennie, who's never heard of him, and for Rae, who just found "Feasting on Asphalt" ....
Alton Brown is the host of Good Eats, the best show on Food Network. We've loved Good Eats since we found it a few years ago. We once taped a Good Eats marathon (six hours worth) and laughed ourselves silly over such classics as "Mission Poachable." (That, perchance, was the episode that left Ramona desirous of a certain kind of spatula ... it's the episode wherein Alton, looking over a wicked collection of kitchen utensils, utters knowingly, "I could rock a rainbow trout to sleep with this baby.")
Here's a great article that sums up better than I can what makes it such a great show.
And, yes, I'm just geeky enough to have bought Atticus one of those "I'm just here for the food" aprons.
Back in January, when we scaled down our cable service, I lamented that the only thing I would really miss was Alton Brown. So, I started keeping my eye out for a DVD ... lo and behold, Target came through and I found a great 3-disc set that I snatched up and hid away for Father's Day. I thought Atticus would be properly delighted. However, by June, Atticus had decided to reinstate basic cable (we'd gone down to "even-more-basic-than- basic" which our cable company calls -- get this -- "Lifeline" service, and Atticus was missing baseball, or some such silly thing.) The kids jumped up and down, and I, while delighted to have Alton back, did feel a little disappointed that my Father's Day gift now lacked punch.
But, hey, in exchange for gift-punch I got Good Eats back, plus Behind the Eats and Feasting on Asphalt. It almost makes paying the cable bill worth it.
6 comments:
Karen,
Yes, AB is worth every penny of the cable bill! Thanks for the link to the article. I was inspired by this excerpt: "Regular viewers might wonder where he gets all the scientific information. For those who haven't seen his show, they are chock-full of detailed information about food anthropology, nutrition, chemistry, and physics. But Brown has no formal education in these areas. Instead, he is obsessed with learning and loves to tinker."
Doesn't this mean that he is an ideal homeschooler? lol!
He sounds like a winner, all right. Passion and humor are a great combination! Thanks for the bio, though I won't be getting cable anytime soon. I, like Mr. Brown, am disgusted with television, too.
You're right, Kristina -- the perfect example of a self-directed learner!
And, I agree with you, Jennie, about most TV being disgusting. But it's nice to find an oasis like Good Eats in the desert.
I had never heard of Alton Brown before the other day when I was listening to NPR and he was talking about Feasting on Asphalt. I thought he was a scream! And also thought provoking. My favorite thing he said was that it was not Ronald MacDonald's job to feed you nutritionally. It was the family's job to raise their children with the basic life skill of making and knowing good food! I thought that was so cool! Take back the culture! I became a fan immediately. I'll have to check out his show. And I am putting Feasting on Asphalt on my to read list.
We are pretty obsessed with Alton Brown too, cannot wait to see the new show. Will have to check out Target's DVD-set, we could fit 3 DVD's on board, I'll bet! ;)
Karen, I'm so glad to have found another Alton Brown fan! I was going to post on him too. I may have to link to your entry. I have my son and husband watching him every night too!
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