Up until recently, I only watched two travel food shows. One. No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. Two. Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. The rest of the shows of that genre, mainly on the Food Network, are unwatchable. They are always hokey and lame. They involve a genial, non-threatening weatherman/hack of a comic/obnoxious bleached haired, goateed guy with a bowling shirt going to diners and county fairs, wowing about the local deep fried and gravy drenched hot dog/stick of butter/cotton candy.When I first saw a promo for Travel Channel's Man Versus Food, I thought it was going to be another snoozefest. But after watching the first four episodes, I really like it. The host, Adam Richman, is perfect for the show. The premise is as follows: each episode, Richman goes to a different American city. He goes to a couple of famous low-rent food places and has large meals. In the last segment, he sits down and tries to eat a huge meal that is an institution in said town. In the first city, Amarillo, he eats the infamous 72 oz. steak under an hour, and succeeds.
So what makes Adam rare among food travel hosts?
1. He's funny.
2. He's charming.
3. He's enthusiastic without sounding fake.
4. He's a good sport under challenging conditions.
5. He can eat a lot.
6. He does not take shortcuts when he eats, e.g. he does not dunk buns in water a la Kobayashi.
7. He's a foodie-- he's kept a food journal since the mid-90s.
8. He's well-educated-- undergrad at Emory, masters from Yale School of Drama.
9. He's talented-- he's a theater actor.
10. He can eat a lot, fast.
Update 1: Many of you have wondered where Adam was born. According to IMDB, he was born in New York, NY, in 1974.
CKY