The Worst Episodes of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

#1 Worst Episode
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6.8/10(99 votes)
#1 - Lagos, Nigeria
S10:E310/15/2017
Once considered the most dangerous city in the world, Lagos is, in many ways, the epicenter of modern Africa. The driving force of the city is a pervasive, almost pathologically positive outlook, a sincerely entrenched “can do” spirit. The ingenuity of the Nigerian people is the focus of Bourdain’s travels as he explores its food, music, and rich cultural diversity. Among the food offerings are fresh fish dishes, spicy soups, a great deal of beef, and the ubiquitous pounded yam. Bourdain also spends time with Femi, Seun and Yeni Kuti, the children of Fela Kuti, a family that is still at the heart of Lagos’ creative, political and cultural scene.
Director:Unknown
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7.2/10(157 votes)
#2 - New Mexico
S2:E39/29/2013
Parts Unknown takes a close look at the mash-up of cultures that comprise this uniquely American state by sampling its food – a combination of Spanish, Mediterranean, Mexican, Pueblo and even chuck-wagon influences. New Mexico is also a land of drugs, guns, monster vehicles, and possibly extraterrestrials. It may also be the perfect place to investigate the underside of the Western cowboy ideal.
Director:Unknown
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7.2/10(151 votes)
#3 - Las Vegas
S3:E24/20/2014
Anthony Bourdain travels to Las Vegas, a city known for over-indulgence, with food author Michael Ruhlman and visits locales that include Huntridge Tavern (in the shadow of the strip), and famed restaurant é by Jose Andres. Also featured are Penn Jillette, and former mayor Oscar Goodman.
Director:Unknown
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7.2/10(93 votes)
#4 - Sri Lanka
S10:E510/29/2017
As peace spreads throughout Sri Lanka following the end of its brutal civil war, Bourdain travels to the once divided nation to experience the reinvigorated people, food and landscapes. Starting in Colombo, the country’s capital, Bourdain discovers change in in a place he visited nearly a decade ago as he enjoys street food on The Galle Face Green, dining on light curries and lots of seafood. Taking a 10-hour train to the northern “time capsule” city of Jaffna, Bourdain experiences crab curry, a dish he calls the “holy grail of Sri Lankan cuisine,” for its spicy and fiery flavors.
Director:Unknown
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7.2/10(86 votes)
#5 - Indonesia
S12:E310/7/2018
A shadow puppet performance provides an entry into understanding Indonesia, a country comprised of thousands of islands whose people endured political turmoil, and one in which, Bourdain discovers, food is the great unifier. In this fourth largest country in the world, every area has it’s own unique traditions. In Jakarta, Bourdain eats at a Padang Restaurant where nearly every menu item comes to the table; while in Bali he visits the beach, commenting on yoga before joining in a traditional Balinese Funeral ceremony.
Director:Unknown
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7.3/10(151 votes)
#6 - South Korea
S5:E14/26/2015
The season premiere of Parts Unknown uses reverse chronology to tell the story of the host’s return trip to South Korea after a 10-year absence. Bourdain experiences the nuances of hyper-modern Seoul which has its sights set on becoming the world’s top exporter of popular culture. Food options include Korean fried chicken, and a vintage Korean "army" stew, budae jjigae, with Spam, canned baked beans, frankfurters, ramen noodles and Kimchi.
Director:Unknown
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7.4/10(141 votes)
#7 - South Africa
S2:E610/20/2013
Once considered the most dangerous city in the world, Johannesburg now barely makes the top 50. But the end of the apartheid has led to vast changes in the city. In this episode, Bourdain visits the suburb of Hillbrow (which remains a dangerous locale), spends a day in the life of a taxi driver and discovers the culture and food that make up modern day Johannesburg.
Director:Unknown
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7.4/10(108 votes)
#8 - New Jersey
S5:E55/31/2015
Bourdain travels to his childhood home state with his brother Chris and rekindles memories at classic roadside joint Hiram’s, known for its fried hotdogs, and Barnegat Light in Ocean County. He heads further down the shore to Atlantic City and stops by the Knife and Fork, Docks Oyster House with local reporter Brian Donohue, the Baltimore Grill to see husband and wife comedians Rich Vos and Bonnie McFarlane, and tours Asbury Park with none other than famed musician Southside Johnny.
Director:Unknown
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7.4/10(92 votes)
#9 - Buenos Aires
S8:E711/20/2016
Bourdain’s trip to meat-centric Buenos Aires during the hot summer month of February, features a meal with chef Francis Mallmann at one of his favorite local spots, Don Carlito's, and an after-hours soccer match accompanied by Soledad Nardelli and the kitchen staff of Chila.
Director:Unknown
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7.4/10(105 votes)
#10 - Minas Gerais, Brazil
S8:E811/27/2016
Bourdain explores the Brazilian heartland, known as the region where all the best cooks come from, and namesake to the country’s mining history. Home to baroque architecture, lush hillsides and mineiro cuisine (influenced by Portuguese, African and Indigenous people), which includes frango ao molho pardo (broiled chicken served in a sauce made using its own blood), that the host samples during a traditional country meal.
Director:Unknown
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7.4/10(98 votes)
#11 - Cajun Mardi Gras
S11:E76/17/2018
In this celebration of Louisiana’s Cajun culture, complete with Zydeco music and a crawfish boil, Bourdain goes off the beaten path and takes part in the less familiar Mardi Gras traditions of the region’s history stemming from the French Middle Ages. Donning a conical hat, mask and colorful fringed costume, the host participates in the day long Courir de Mardi Gras in Mamou. Meals include a home cooked meal in Grand Coteau, lunch at Laura’s 2 in Lafayette with creole cowboys, and boudin & cracklings at Billy’s in Opelousas.
Director:Unknown
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7.5/10(242 votes)
#12 - Colombia
S1:E34/28/2013
The public face of Colombia has changed immensely over the past ten years and is still changing for the better. Tony will explore several regions of the country from the mountains down to the Caribbean coast to the coca leaf growing inlands formerly controlled by drug cartels.
Director:Sally Freeman
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Sally Freeman
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7.5/10(187 votes)
#13 - Peru
S1:E76/2/2013
Tony and his friend, world-renowned chef Eric Ripert, explore the far reaches of indigenous Andes in search of a rare variety of wild cocoa that is said to be the "best" in the world. They move from hip, modern Lima back in time into pre-Colombian Peru.
Director:Sally Freeman
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Sally Freeman
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7.6/10(278 votes)
#14 - Los Angeles
S1:E24/21/2013
Tony takes Los Angeles--but with a twist. No Hollywood sign, no Beverly Hills. Instead, he zeroes in on a three square-mile area of the city known as Koreatown, where he finds a tight-knit community still marked by the 1992 Rodney King riots.
Director:Michael Steed
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Michael Steed
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7.6/10(230 votes)
#15 - Libya
S1:E65/19/2013
Libyan hip-hop, Italian restaurants, tribal allegiances and post-war uncertainty in Libya. Bourdain looks at the country through personal stories, food--and the music of anti-Qaddafi rapper expats who returned to fight.
Director:Tom Vitale
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Tom Vitale
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7.6/10(136 votes)
#16 - Mississippi Delta
S3:E65/18/2014
Bourdain goes off the beaten path and explores some of the food and history of Mississippi including downtown Jackson’s Big Apple Inn, known for its “Pig Ear Sandwich” and as a Civil Rights Era gathering place, and then travels into the Mississippi Delta to Po’ Monkey’s Social Club, a juke joint located in an old sharecropper structure.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(124 votes)
#17 - Bahia, Brazil
S3:E86/8/2014
Parts Unknown tours Bahia, known as the “African heart of Brazil” and internationally recognized for its Afro-Brazilian music, art, design and food. A look at the dance/martial art of Capoeira, the region’s legendary food vendors, Salvadoran fishing neighborhoods, and a BBQ on the beach are featured.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(140 votes)
#18 - The Bronx
S4:E210/5/2014
Bourdain explores the widely diverse cuisines and cultures found in the NYC borough just north of Manhattan. Bronx mainstays Afrika Bambaataa, Melle Mel, and Baron Ambrosia help guide the host through the music, food, art, and other offerings of this often misunderstood part of the city.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(114 votes)
#19 - Paraguay
S4:E310/12/2014
A South American country of 6 million, much of the oppressively hot landlocked nation of Paraguay is jungle terrain or desert known as "the Chaco." An investigation into the puzzling history of the host’s great, great, great, grandfather, Paraguayan émigré Jean Bourdain, is a springboard to his first tour of this South American country, primarily comprised of jungle and desert land, which features a rich culture and savory local dishes that include Bife Koygua, Bori Bori, and Sopa Paraguaya.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(108 votes)
#20 - Bay Area
S6:E410/18/2015
Bourdain visits the Bay Areas of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to take a personal journey – in martial arts training with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor Kurt Osiander, and healing through food, featuring dinner at the original Trader Vic’s with author Sean Wilsey (Oh the Glory of it All) and at soul food restaurant Real Miss Ollie’s with Bobby Seale (Black Panthers founding member).
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(113 votes)
#21 - Ethiopia
S6:E510/25/2015
Acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster, Aquavit) and his wife Maya take Bourdain on a personal tour of their native country to experience this nation beyond the headlines, first in Addis Adaba where they sample injera bread and beyaynetu platters, followed by drinking Turbo and eating Tibs with local skateboarding pioneers, listening to the traditional music of Azmari singers and legendary Ethiopian-jazz musician, Mahmoud Ahmed, a sampling Ethiopian coffee and a village feast with Maya’s family in the Gurage region.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(132 votes)
#22 - Istanbul
S6:E711/8/2015
The cliché East meets West rings true in Istanbul as Bourdain explores its confluence of food, culture and politics, featuring a Turkish breakfast with old friend Esra, an oil wrestling tournament, and lunch at an Armenian restaurant near the Golden Horn. Bourdain leaves the urban sprawl of Istanbul for Sedef Island and a meal with author and philosopher Gündüz Vassaf and celebrated Turkish actress Serra Yilmaz.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(132 votes)
#23 - Chicago
S7:E25/1/2016
Chicago’s iconic Old Town Ale House and its colorful patrons are the gateway to Bourdain’s tour of the “City by the Lake,” which includes the host dining on breaded steak sandwiches at Ricobene’s with music producer Steve Albini, sampling 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 mainstage performer Paul Jurewicz.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(115 votes)
#24 - Cologne, Germany
S7:E76/5/2016
The 40-day Cologne Carnival celebration sets the tone for Bourdain’s visit to this city that boasts many delicacies (kolsch, mett, blood sausage with himmel und erde, schnitzel), and maintains a peaceful atmosphere and sense of tolerance, despite the recent New Year’s Eve assaults linked to incoming refugees, which the host discusses with the locals.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(105 votes)
#25 - Pittsburgh
S10:E410/22/2017
Bourdain delves into a dining scene at a crossroads: part iconic steel city defined by blue-collar, working-class comfort food – steak and potatoes, sausage and sauerkraut – and part foodie boom-town catering to the new high-tech industry. Bourdain criss-crosses the fault lines of old and new by sitting down with, among others, professional wrestlers, a civil rights activist, and writer and Pittsburgh native Stewart O’Nan. Pioneer chefs of the city’s burgeoning restaurant scene Sonja Finn and Justin Severino host a back-country pig roast. And chef Kevin Suousa serves grass fed beef short ribs at his new restaurant, Superior Motors.
Director:Unknown
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