If you yearn to venture to parts unknown, it'd be a good thing if Anthony Bourdain had your back.
The 59-year-old silver-haired chef and author knows his way around. Everywhere.
Season 7 of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown debuts at 8 p.m. today on CNN. There are eight episodes, with the first stop being Manila in the Philippines.
The three-time Emmy-winning CNN original series, which also scored a prestigious Peabody Award in 2013, allows viewers to travel the world from the safety and comfort of their living rooms. No grappling with the language; no exotic diseases; no tourist traps; no airport delays or lost luggage.
Before moving over to CNN, the New York native was a familiar face on the Travel Channel with his similar series, No Reservations, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
That series expanded on a similar Food Network offering, A Cook's Tour (2002-2003).
With the hour-long Parts Unknown, Bourdain not only visits far-off lands to sample the local culture and cuisine (frequently exotic, if not disgusting to American palates), but also explores the nation's political issues as well.
Politics? Well, this is CNN.
Bourdain tells CNN that "if you eat and drink with people without fear and prejudice ... they open up to you in ways that somebody visiting who is driven by a story may not get."
Here are the Season 7 locations, dates and descriptions as provided by CNN:
• Manila (today). Bourdain explores the Philippines during Christmas season and travels through the streets of Manila to taste the fast food wonder Jollibee and the sweet, milky drink Halo-Halo. He also samples the classic dish Sizzling Pork Sisig.
Accompanied by the cover band Keystone, he dines on Adobo, a simmered pork-chicken dish. The tour concludes with a family meal of Kare-Kare and the opening of a Balikbayan box.
• Chicago (May 1). Chicago's iconic Old Town Ale House is the gateway to Bourdain's tour of the city, which includes dining on breaded steak sandwiches at Ricobene's with music producer Steve Albini.
Bourdain samples Mapo Doufu at Chinatown's Sze Chuan with chef Stephanie Izard and a home-cooked meal with Chicago-raised rapper Lupe Fiasco and his mom, plus a tour of comedy mecca Second City with Paul Jurewicz.
• The Greek Islands (May 8). Life on the Greek Islands revolves around local food, wine, friends and family. On the island of Naxos, Bourdain heads offshore to dive to a sunken shipwreck, drink raki with the locals, and sample cuisine fresh from the boat, including octopus salad, salatouri (skate), and rofos (grouper) with olive oil and lemon.
He also meets with politically outspoken musical group, The Stray Bitches and travels to the mountainous village of Apeiranthos.
• Montana (May 15). Bourdain visits the Crow Indian Reservation in south-central Montana to watch horse relay racing and feast on buffalo steak. He hunts pheasant with podcast host Joe Rogan, has dinner at Butte's Lydia's Supper Club (established 1946), and goes underground in the Orphan Boy Mine in Mosquito Gulch with state Sen. Jim Keane.
The episode wraps with a conversation with his friend, writer Jim Harrison, who died March 26.
• Tblisi, Georgia (May 22). Sidekick Zamir Gotta upstages Bourdain in this tour of the mountainous country at the eastern end of the Black Sea. Featured are the capital city of Tbilisi, Batumi and Khurvaleti. Traditional dishes include spicy chashashuli stew, chkmeruli at Cafe Gabriadze and a meal at the Black Lion.
On the political front, Tabula magazine editor Tamara Chergoleishvili offers Bourdain an insider's take on her country's changing views.
• Senegal (June 5). Bourdain explores the culture of the West African nation, which is known for its nightlife, global musical influence, vibrant fashion scene, rich food culture and history of tolerance.
Featured guide is musician Youssou N'Dour, who offers a taste of maffe, a rich beef stew popular throughout West Africa.
• Cologne, Germany (June 12). The 40-day Cologne Carnival celebration sets the stage for Bourdain's visit. Delicacies include kolsch, mett, blood sausage with himmel und erde, and schnitzel.
Bourdain chats with locals about the recent New Year's Eve assaults linked to incoming refugees.
• Buenos Aires (June 19). For the season finale, Bourdain visits during the summer month of February and shares a meal with chef Francis Mallmann at one of his favorite local spots, Don Carlito's.
Note: At 7 p.m. today, CNN will air a new edition of Prime Cuts, which will review such Season 6 highlights as Borneo's noodle breakfast and an eye-opening meal with a journalist in Cuba. Included will be a sampling of what's ahead for Season 7.
Style on 04/24/2016