Anthony Bourdain Liked Our BBQ-Gate,
For Some Reason

It's a fair bet there's not too much overlap between Anthony Bourdain and Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner's lists of what they liked best in 2010. According to a recent feature story, Brenner this year thrilled to grilled mussels and escargot fritters. Bourdain enjoyed the documentary We Like...

By Hanna Raskin

December 27, 2010

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It's a fair bet there's not too much overlap between Anthony Bourdain and Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Leslie Brenner's lists of what they liked best in 2010.

According to a recent feature story, Brenner this year thrilled to grilled mussels and escargot fritters. Bourdain enjoyed the documentary We Like to Drink, We like to Rock and Roll; Keith Richards' memoir; and rabbit kidneys. And, as he noted in a "pointless, end-of-year" list recently posted on his blog, he also relished The Dallas Morning News' "BBQ-Gate" incident.

It's unclear what Bourdain found so satisfying about accusations Brenner had lifted her best barbecue list from a D magazine story researched and written by barbecue maven and blogger Daniel Vaughn. Here's the entirety of what he had to say on the topic:

"Thankful that The Dallas Morning News "BBQ-Gate" showed the world what was painfully apparent all along," he writes.

Which was what exactly? That mainstream papers don't footnote their reporting? That food bloggers get exploited way too frequently and cavalierly? While I agree wholeheartedly with Bourdain that Boardwalk Empire was a mess, Treme's sadly underrated and Jack Pendarvis is a tremendous talent, I'm not sure just what BBQ-Gate showed the world (other than how much we Dallas food folk like to snipe.) Maybe I'm still jet-lagged, but I don't get it. What's your interpretation?

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