No Reservations was a clip show—er—special this week, as Anthony Bourdain put together a montage of his most orgasmic eating experiences. He approached it as kind of a greatest hits mix, visiting the most celebrated, and honestly, rather predictable eateries around.

Bourdain feasts his eyes on some taco porn at Jose Andres' Oyamel, has Eric Ripert whip him up an off-the-menu sea urchin-caviar concoction at Le Bernardin, gets gooey about the cheese board at Picholine and drools over David Chang's legendary pork buns at Momofuku.

But we were surprised at one far-flung stop. Tony revisited his favorite Vietnamese pho noodle shop, a Ho Chi Minh City hole-in-the-wall aptly named just Pho Noodle Shop. And suddenly Bourdain is a whiny, whimpering mess as he waits with ants in his pants, like a five-year-old, for his bowl of liquid fat to come. No snark, no measured approval, no witty one-liners, but pure unadulterated—genuine!—excitement. We've never seen him like this, and we're thinking we need to get to Ho Chi Minh sometime soon.

Fortunately, Tony is going back to Vietnam for another episode later this season. Definitely setting the Tivo for that one.

· Food Porn Travel Guide [No Reservations]
· Anthony Bourdain travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Vietnam travel coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [Travel Channel] ]]> BS 2009-02-10T10:56:05-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/18/144725/99

Chef David Chang has been delighting and perplexing New Yorkers for the past few years with the insane twists on Asian comfort food he serves up at his Momofuku restaurants, as well as with the insane online-only reservations policy he dreamed up for Momofuku Ko, home of Manhattan’s 12 hardest-to-get bar stools.

Now Chang has expanded with a fourth outlet, opening Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar adjacent to Momofuku Ssam, and he (along with pastry chef Christina Tosi) is hoping New Yorkers will go as crazy for his sweet treats as they do for his legendary pork buns.

The small East Village restaurant serves up offerings like the compost cookie: pretzels, potato chips, chocolate morsels and other unidentifiable delectables all rolled up in one cohesive cookie. Then there’s a selection of inventive breads like kimchi foccacia and chorizo challah and soft serve ice cream featuring flavors like grapefruit and salty pistachio caramel. Plus, you can even grab some of the famous Momofuku pork buns here as well.

Oh, and the milk. Go back to grade school by washing everything down with a glass of chocolate or strawberry flavored milk, or even cereal milk--yep, that’s milk that’s been steeped in corn flakes so it tastes like the bottom of the bowl.

Related Stories:
· Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar [Official Site]
· New NYC Restaurant: Momofuku Ko [Jaunted]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Momofuku]]]> BS 2008-11-19T09:45:15-05:00 40.7316940 -73.985878 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/4/215527/8048

Ok, so this week's pick isn't entirely new, as we did alert you to it awhile back. But now that friends and family are getting invited, it's time to get excited. Chef David Chang's Momofuku Ko is opening to the public.

It might be a while before one of the 14 house seats is yours, as the restaurant doesn't take reservations by phone--and its reservations website doesn't seem to be online yet. But you can swing by and ask to admire a menu featuring dishes like house-made chicharrón and kimchee consommé with Malpec oyster, pork belly and braised cabbage. Our mouths are already watering.

For an even closer look at the food, don't miss Kathryn Yu's sneak preview. We can't wait!

Related Stories:
· A Tantilizing First Look at Momofuku Ko [NYM]
· KO-BOOM: A-Listers Everywhere [Eater]
· New New York Restaurants coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cocktailian]]]> sedona 2008-03-05T09:55:01-05:00 40.729063 -73.984691 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/