Stream the First Ten Episodes of the Mind of a Chef

Ten episodes of the new PBS series Mind of a Chef have aired since the show premiered Friday, November 9th. The first season explores the mind of David Chang as he takes viewers on a wild ride exploring culinary happenings around the world. The show airs in blocks on Fridays starting at 8pm. Four aired on the 9th, two on the 16th, and another four last Friday the 23rd. For now, all ten episodes are available to watch for free over at PBS.

Episodes will only be available to stream for three weeks after they air on TV. So the first block of four episodes that aired on the 9th will come down this Friday, but we wanted to give you a chance to catch the episodes before they go. Do the show titles read to anyone else like a cross between the seven deadly sins and a hodge podge of song titles from Johnny Mathis, Jerry Garcia, and Raekwon? [PBS]

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Issue #5 is Around the Corner

In our humble opinion, Lucky Peach is the most exciting piece of media, print or otherwise, covering all things culinary. The brainchild of David Chang, Chris Ying, and Peter Meehan, Lucky Peach is doing for the world of food writing the same thing Chang did for New York when he opened Noodle Bar in '04.

Issue #5 is the Chinatown Issue. Momofuku's blog invites readers to "explore what happens when chinese food leaves the motherland," and on Tuesday, November 13th, you can "read up on chinese-korean noodles, the san gabriel valley, opium dens, crab rangoons and magical white balls." The fifth go 'round also features a few words from Anthony Bourdain and recipes from Mission Chinese Food chef Danny Bowien.

Catch Chang tonight on the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Bourdain Leaves the Travel Channel for HBO and PBS and CNN and ABC

Here's the trailor for a new show premiering on PBS November 9th called The Mind of a Chef.  Narrated by Anthony Bourdain, season one "Goes inside the kitchen, the world, and the mind of chef David Chang."  We already knew about Chang's talent in the kitchen, but it turns out the guy can seriously swing a golf club (:41).  Anthony Bourdain and Zero Point Zero Productions, the same crew that produced No Reservations, take the production credits.  Rene Redzepi, Wylie Dufresne, and Ferran Adria all make appearances in season one.

Bourdain's involvement with the PBS show is another notch on his food media belt.  The Mind of a Chef airs the same month as the second, and last, of Bourdain's The Layover series on the Travel Channel.  There's The Taste, an the elimination Chopped-meets-The Next-Food-Network-Star-type show Bourdain is doing on ABC with Nigella Lawson, and in early 2013, CNN will get a Sunday night primetime show serving as a "signature showcase for the network’s coverage of food and travel" via Bourdain and Zero Point Zero.  Bourdain's also a contributing writing for the HBO hit series Treme.  If food's the new rock, food TV's the new roll.

Industry Night at Osteria Morini Going Strong

Back in July, we brought you a look at Osteria Morini's "Industry Night" special.  The promo started May 14th and was originally going to be nixed after Labor Day, but it's been extended through the first two weeks of November.  The deal still stands.  Any pasta on the menu is $10 from 9:30 to close on Monday nights.  Fall is right around the corner, that means there's going to be some new choices.  Bye bye tomatoes (almost) and hello braised anything.  Digest NY had to go back.  Here's a look at two new choices along with the spaghetti alla vongole, because we forgot to order it last time.

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Ruth Bourdain Might Be Friends with Thomas Pynchon

from new york magazine via eaterRuth Bourdain is a Twitter sensation, the amalgam of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain. Comfort Me With Offal was published last week to Ruth Bourdain's name and now a caption in New York magazine hints that Ruth Bourdain is Village Voice restaurant critic Robert Sietsema.  It's an accusation Sietsema outright denies.  Diner's Journal got in touch with Sietsema to settle the score: “This has been going on for a year now, and the more I deny it, the more people don’t believe me. I would use reverse psychology and say that yes, I am – but the only problem is that I’m not.”

The accusations started in October of last year at a gathering of food journalists in South Carolina.  While Sietsema denies being Ruth Bourdain, a post on Village Voice's blog Fork in the Road from October of last year suggests he knows who Ruth Bourdain is.  He wrote, "I know I'm not Ruth Bourdain because I'm looking at him right now."

Anthony Bourdain is CNN Bound

Anthony Bourdain's Emmy award winning series No Reservations debuted on the Travel Channel in 2005.  This year, the eighth for the series, marks its last, as Bourdain and his Zero Point Zero production team head to CNN.  The team has a yet to be named show that will air in the first quarter of 2013.  Bourdain will play host to the show that will be shot on location, "creating a signature showcase for the network’s coverage of food and travel."

As a new member of CNN, the chef/author/TV personality will also offer commentary across some of the network's different programs.  "I’m really looking forward to coming over to CNN. I think the world is going to get a whole lot bigger for me.  I hope that old fans and new ones will be excited about what’s coming down the road."