History Series / NoReservations

-->"Sierra:'' *in response to Tony saying that his job can get pretty hard, dryly* Oh yeah, sitting on a plane for 18 hours in first class, eating chicken and prime rib and then going to foreign countries and walking around and eating great food and buying souvenirs...''oh yeah, it's got to be a really tough job.''
-->"Tony:" *stunned* ''oh man''...ohhh man. ''I'm feeling bad now.'' That's ''harsh.''

* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Sierra Pardus, 10 year old daughter of Michael Pardus (a teacher at the Culinary Institute of America) seen in the visit to the Hudson episode; who proceeded to skewer Anthony in the most brutally honest ways possible; all in good fun of course.

* {{Homage}}: ''Film/TheGodfather'' and ''Series/TheSopranos'' in UsefulNotes/NewJersey, ''Literature/TheFriendsOfEddieCoyle'' in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}'s "Southie" district, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black & white]] French New Wave and Fellini films, and ''FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'', for starters.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: The Peru episode exemplifies how much Bourdain and fellow chef Eric Ripert have become this. They wear similar clothes as they travel to they're co-owned chocolate plantation.

* ShoutOut: The Jamaican episode kicks off with a tribute to ''Franchise/JamesBond'' a la openings and ''[[Film/DiamondsAreForever Rum Lives Forever]]''. Why? Ian Flemming main inspirations came from Jamaica, and said author owns a beautiful ''villa'' there.

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* MadArtist: Hedonistic Korean-American artist Dave Choe. He paints Anthony's portrait while still in his bedclothes, then takes him to Sizzler (admittedly a place Anthony has never been) while wearing a bright red suit. Additionally, he's got weapons hidden all over his studio (it's in [[GangsterLand west LA]] after all) plus an AK-47 pinata and his portions feature low-riders and a gaggle of hot women in bikinis. His mom is just as creative and weird (if not weirder), drawing all over family photos and stapling doily angels to her son's portrait of BarackObama ''that hung in the White House''.

* ChristmasEpisode: the "It's a Holiday, Everyday" episode, which shows the best way to celebrate the generic nondenominational holiday season by celebrating the best ways to serve up and cook a cow.

-->'''Guide''': Anthony, I used to be really afraid of you...cause...you would use the F-word every time!

* ShoutOut: The Jamaican episode kicks off with a tribute to ''Franchise/JamesBond'' a la openings and ''[[Film/NoOneLivesForever Rum Lives Forever]]''. Why? Ian Flemming main inspirations came from Jamaica, and said author owns a beautiful ''villa'' there.

* NauseaFuel: The Tanzania episode gives us an "in-universe" example when Anthony visits a Maasai tribe. As the guest of honor, he's asked to slaughter a goat for their meal. He admits in the voiceover that he barely avoided throwing up while doing it.

* AuthorAppeal: The Congo episode comes from Bourdain's fascination with "Heart of Darkness"

* KarmaHoudini: The guy who admitted to ''[[WhatTheHellHero stealing money from his own mother to buy crack]]'' winds up being paid to travel around the world and eat amazing food (though his good brother's life wasn't bad either).
** Anthony's extensively covered his bad years and the dues he'd paid in KitchenConfidential. While the book and TV deal was definitely a big break for him, it's not as if he hasn't suffered the consequences of his decisions.

* {{Homage}}: ''Film/TheGodfather'' and ''Series/TheSopranos'' in NewJersey, ''TheFriendsOfEddieCoyle'' in Boston's "Southie" district, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black & white]] French New Wave and Fellini films, and ''FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'', for starters.

[[quoteright:265:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/noreservations.jpg]]

As of June 2012, Anthony announced via his tumblr that No Reservation is ending its run after 8 seasons and he would be moving with his production team to CNN. Considering that the parent company of Food Network (which Anthony despised) recently purchased Travel Channel, the new development is not exactly surprising.

->''"I'm Anthony Bourdain. I write, I travel, I eat... and I'm hungry... FOR MORE."''

* ChannelHop: To CNN, which Anthony hopes will get him access to places like Liberia.

* RealitySubtext: The Lebanon episode took a dramatic turn when Israel started bombing Beirut mid shoot. The crew was trapped in a hotel for weeks. They still did the show, using pre-conflict footage, as well as footage of the host and crew dealing with the stress of being in the war zone and Anthony cooking a meal at the hotel, and the escape from Lebanon. If the TV Info is right, they're going to give Lebanon another shot.
** Also the Tuscany episode, when the guest director, with a background in artistic cinema had a vision for the episode clashing with Anthony's one on a basic level, they spend half the episode fighting, until they make peace at the end. [[spoiler: Although WordOfGod is that this was entirely staged.]]
** In the latest Vietnam episode, his trip there is partly spurred by the death of Madame Ngoc, restaurant owner and ApronMatron he first met in ''A Cook's Tour''. One segment also showed him house shopping - he's said in interviews that he intends to move his family to Southeast Asia and live there for a few years.

* WriterRevolt: If Anthony Bourdain doesn't like something, the audience will hear about it, loudly (generally as an aside or in voice over if he needs to not insult a host). One memorable rant occurred when the producer/cameraman asked him to say something eloquent about waterfalls while they were filming one in Indonesia: the response can be summed up as "It's a [[SoundEffectBleep *bleep*]]-ing beautiful waterfall, it doesn't need commentary!"
* YouMightRememberMeFrom: Often parodied by Tony, who would often introduce recurring people in episodes with "You might remember him from such shows as this one!"

* FootNoteFever: Encore episodes get factoids and [[{{Twitter}} Tweets]] ''a la DeadliestCatch''.

** In the Malaysia episode, he learns that it is customary for the guest to kill the pig used for the feast that night. Anthony expresses his dread for having to do this in the voice over, though doesn't seem too put off by it on camera.

* EnemyMine: Anthony, an outspoken left-wing liberal, is on record as saying that there's nothing more boring than only hanging out with people who see the world the same way as you do. He makes a habit of seeking out and finding common ground with people with diametrically opposing political views, an excellent case in point being well-known right-wing talk radio star Howie Carr, whom Anthony bonds with over Mob history (a shared passion; Carr came close to being rubbed out by mob boss Whitey Bulger at one point) and food in the Boston episode.

* OddFriendship: With right-wingers like Music/TedNugent; Anthony explained that only talking to people with the same opinions as yours is boring.

* {{Homage}}: ''Film/TheGodfather'' and ''Series/TheSopranos'' in NewJersey, [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black & white]] French New Wave and Fellini films, and ''FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'', for starters.