Forget McDonald's. McDonald's is to American cuisine what Jurassic Park is to the history of ancient reptiles. Real American cuisine isn't just burgers and hot dogs (although fast food joints like McDonald's have given those fine foods a bad name), American cuisine is about travel, more than anything, and nothing illustrates this better than AB's four-part journey across America, showing us the history of food in this country via the road. Travel, and American people. Many nations have two classes of cuisine, that for the rich, and that for ordinary people. Many times when we think of "French food" or "Japanese food" we are thinking of the kinds of food created for and enjoyed by the upper classes of those countries--elaborately-prepared dishes with expensive ingredients. These are fine, but American cuisine has no counterpart to them, our food has always been for ordinary people, just like everything else in this country. All of our haute cuisine is borrowed from other nations. Our real food is biscuits, hash browns, burgers, barbecue, fry bread, bacon, meatloaf, hot dogs, chili con carne, etc. And so any study of American food has to focus on this, and it has to be on the road, and it has to start in the East and end in the West. And if it happens to be hilarious and surprising, and teach a Southern boy things he didn't know about his own state, then all the better for it. Feasting on Asphalt is all of these things, and should be watched by everybody. Americans should watch it to get a better sense of where they come from and where they're going, and non-Americans should watch it for the same reasons. :-) 10/10
3 Reviews
I'm not a "foodie", but this is pure American joy
enviro28 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Alton Brown is a truly refreshing TV personality - a culinary college boy with a true sense of context and history, and mesmerizing delivery. I watched the 4-episode documentary on the Food Channel when it originally aired in the summer of 2006, then my wife got me the DVD box set for Christmas. Alton and crew voyage across America by motorcycle in search of "road food" or the remnants of the culinary legacy that traces or parallels the development of the country - from east to west. Whether intentionally or by accident - and judging by the DVD extras like Alton's personal video logs, more by accident than intended - the intrepid group manages to expose us armchair travelers to America's culture of the forgotten byways and rural routes as they wander from South Carolina to California.
There are obvious knocks one can levy on this masterpiece. First, it is quite apparent that for whatever reason, not enough airtime is devoted to giving each stop its due consideration. The viewer is left wondering what had to be cut to fit the time budget - as evidenced by 150 minutes of additional bonus material in the DVD set. I thought much of the DVD extras material was every bit as good as the material that actually aired. Another nitpick will expose my regional bias, but it seems to me that a more historically relevant approach to the tour across the country would be to start from New England and head south, then west, or west, then southwest. The Midwest is represented by southern Indiana and St.Louis. Nowhere is Chicago or Cleveland, Dallas or Kansas City. Of course, no one route would ever do justice to all regions of the country. Alton chose the route carefully, but was biased by his Atlanta roots to over represent the Southeast. For us in the Northern Tier and the Great Northwest? Nada - no hint that road food might have followed or caused development in this part of the country.
All of that said, I can only knock off 1 point from the scale of 10, because look at the task! You would need 10 or more 1-hour episodes to even cover the geographic reaches of the country, let alone do justice to the cultural evolution through regional foods. Hmmm, 10 or more episodes... Sounds like a terrific idea - how soon can you get to that, Alton?
If you like Alton Brown on his Good Eats show, then be assured that he is equally knowledgeable about the culture and history of American food, the role of cuisine in the southern and westward migration and development of the country, and about how to talk to the folks along the rural byways in any part of the country. The show is real and raw. You feel like you are along for the ride, and you don't want it to end.
Pros: Authentic, attention to detail, raw in the unshaven sense of the word, no make-up or studio cut-aways. This is life on the road, baby. It's organic in that the group had to roll with the weather punches and other unexpected inconveniences all along the route - like any cross-country drive would feature.
Cons: They never go further north than St. Louis. Of course, this simply begs for correction in a subsequent trek, which would not be a con. Not enough airtime is devoted to each stop/experience.
There are obvious knocks one can levy on this masterpiece. First, it is quite apparent that for whatever reason, not enough airtime is devoted to giving each stop its due consideration. The viewer is left wondering what had to be cut to fit the time budget - as evidenced by 150 minutes of additional bonus material in the DVD set. I thought much of the DVD extras material was every bit as good as the material that actually aired. Another nitpick will expose my regional bias, but it seems to me that a more historically relevant approach to the tour across the country would be to start from New England and head south, then west, or west, then southwest. The Midwest is represented by southern Indiana and St.Louis. Nowhere is Chicago or Cleveland, Dallas or Kansas City. Of course, no one route would ever do justice to all regions of the country. Alton chose the route carefully, but was biased by his Atlanta roots to over represent the Southeast. For us in the Northern Tier and the Great Northwest? Nada - no hint that road food might have followed or caused development in this part of the country.
All of that said, I can only knock off 1 point from the scale of 10, because look at the task! You would need 10 or more 1-hour episodes to even cover the geographic reaches of the country, let alone do justice to the cultural evolution through regional foods. Hmmm, 10 or more episodes... Sounds like a terrific idea - how soon can you get to that, Alton?
If you like Alton Brown on his Good Eats show, then be assured that he is equally knowledgeable about the culture and history of American food, the role of cuisine in the southern and westward migration and development of the country, and about how to talk to the folks along the rural byways in any part of the country. The show is real and raw. You feel like you are along for the ride, and you don't want it to end.
Pros: Authentic, attention to detail, raw in the unshaven sense of the word, no make-up or studio cut-aways. This is life on the road, baby. It's organic in that the group had to roll with the weather punches and other unexpected inconveniences all along the route - like any cross-country drive would feature.
Cons: They never go further north than St. Louis. Of course, this simply begs for correction in a subsequent trek, which would not be a con. Not enough airtime is devoted to each stop/experience.
Wonderful show
loufuddrucker11 October 2021
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