Before receiving the box set for Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run I was not familiar with the show. I was familiar with Alton thanks to his other show Good Eats and because of his work on Iron Chef America, but I had not had the pleasure of watching this show until the DVD arrived.
Alton is definitely one of the more interesting hosts on Food Network. One of the most impressive things about him is that he seems to know everything about food. His shows are also quite different than the average Food TV fare. While most of the shows offer a standard kitchen setting (whether live or taped) and a host that shows you how to cook the meal or food item of choice, Brown’s shows not only show you how to cook something (in one sense or another), but also how to eat it, as well as giving you more food knowledge about the item then you will probably ever need! Brown brings Science and History into the kitchen and makes cooking entertaining in a way that it wasn’t before.
The idea of Feasting on Asphalt was to mix Brown’s love for traveling and motorcycles with his love for food. The entire idea is for a group of travelers, led by Brown, to experience the best regional foods that an area has to offer. This leaves behind all of the corporate eateries that have taken over and allows the group to explore all of the small, yet famous spots with food that you can only imagine unless you’ve been lucky enough to taste it.
This three disc set offers the second season, which is known as The River Run. Apparently, in the first season the group went from East to West across the country. This time around they followed the Mississippi River, from Louisiana to where it ends in Minnesota. Along the way, they sampled the best of everything and offered a nice bit of education on all the good eats that they got to try.
Some memorable foods (though not in this order) include Russian hamburgers, homemade pies and donuts, alligator, barbeque in every way imaginable (we’re talking deep fried, Memphis style, New Orleans style, smoked, and just about every other way you can think of), and meats in all shapes, styles, and sizes.
The show isn’t just about eating though. The boys took some time to visit an alligator farm, visit a motorcycle shop, take a helicopter ride, and even have Alton get a tattoo. Some would think that these stops, as brief as they might be, distract from the subject of food, but at the same time they are in the perfect mindset for a show like this that emphasizes traveling and experiencing the flavor of the land off the beaten path.
You can purchase the 3-Disc set at various online retailers. It’s the easiest to find at the Food Network Shop where it retails for around $30. I’ve found it a few other places, as well though Food Network offers the best deal.
Each DVD includes two episodes and two deleted scenes that go with the episodes on the disc. Some of the deleted scenes show you moments with local celebrities that they are visiting with. You also have a chance to see the first breakfast on the road and a trip to a New Orleans gelateria. As you might expect, some of these scenes are better than others, but like the show they are still worth watching, at least once.
In addition to the deleted scenes there is an Alton Brown biography, though this is not quite as interesting as I had hoped it would be. It did not really offer anything new about him or his career. Some Food Network previews are also thrown in.
Fans of Brown will definitely want to pick this set up. It will also be great for food lovers that tend to shun those corporate restaurants in favor of diners and local food favorites. That being said, if you like Brown, but can’t afford the $30 for the set, you can always catch it in reruns on television, and still support Brown while saving some money.
Technorati Tags: Food Network, Alton Brown, Good Eats, DVD Box Set, Mississippi River, Feasting on Asphalt, Season Two, The River Run
If you like this article, please donate to help support this site!
Last 5 posts by Ashtyn
No comments yet.