Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Though Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown is sometimes referred to as a “culinary travelogue,” the shorthand doesn’t do the series justice. Bourdain, who first made his name as a chef does seem obsessed with discovering new taste sensations. But wherever his appetite takes him, it’s the side-dish stories that make his visits so memorable and nourishing. Apart from his knowledge of food and cooking, he’s comfortable with himself and with other people, whether he’s surveying Tokyo’s freaky afterhours scene, meeting whitewater fishermen on the Congo River, or waltzing into the house behind Greedy Greg’s sidewalk rib stand in Detroit to get a helping of greens straight from the owners’ stove. He’s irreverent, honest, curious, never condescending, never obsequious. People open up to him and, in doing so, often reveal more about their hometowns or homelands than a traditional reporter could hope to document. A Peabody Award goes to Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown for expanding our palates and horizons in equal measure.