Ugly Delicious

I loved this show. The fist 6 episodes were great, though the last 2 were less so. In particular I thought the episodes on pizza, BBQ, Viet-cajun, and fried chicken were excellent. I liked that this was not a cooking show - that it was about what food means and about some of the best, most iconic examples of the subject food without getting lost in a Gino's vs Pat's type debate.

I'm going to start by saying that those who complaint about the amount of political debates in the show, most probably is because they don't agree with Chang's position. But I do... Food is by far, the greatest way to represent a culture, and how much we value some food reflects perfectly how we value the culture behind it. And maybe it's about time that people in the states understand that all this food they like and often consider as their own, comes from cultures such as mexican, chinese, and black people, that deserves to be respected as well. I'm a huge fan of Chang since Mind of a Chef, he is very honest and is not afraid of having uncomfortable conversations, and racism in the food industry is one of those. That being said, the show is great: casual conversations among friends and experts, lots of delicious food, and a beautiful effort of showing that the greatest food of all is not in the expensive, elitist restaurants, but the one you share with your loved ones and is cooked with intention and feeling.

I enjoy Chang's stance against culinary orthodoxy, even if I don't always agree with it. He equates it with rigidity, and there is some truth to that, when you have some self-styled institute in Naples deciding what is and is not pizza, or things like those ultra-stuffy French contests. But there is value in keeping traditions and maintaining the purity, if you will, of certain foods just because they're really good. You can also still have fusions and crossover, but not everyone has to be busting through the old way to be appreciated. There is something deeply satisfying about, say, a traditional shrimp etouffe or cheese blintz or Peking duck.

I do not at all understand the complaints about it being too political. The history of different foods is to some extent the story of the cultures who make that food. And sometimes those cultures clash. I found it fascinating that he was riding around on the white guys' boats when the Vietnamese shrimpers started working in the Gulf coast. I'm guessing most of the complaints about it being political came from white people, because they get nervous talking about race. But when you're talking to Asians who came to the US, part of the experience that forms the food they serve is how they were received in the US, and how subsequent generations view the situation. For an Asian-American, race is always a thing. He's dealing with his and others' reality. Food is deeply ethnic.

One last thing: I love the music choices. Very cool.

I want to like this, I really do, but why does so much of this need to be about race. I have no problem discussing the origins and what the food means to that particular ethnicity, but this goes way too far. I'm white and I felt so much unneeded guilt. They completely broad brush that every white person thinks and acts the same way and does not appreciate Asian culture and thinks the food is weird. They say Americans will not eat traditional Asian food, but that doesn't make them hate a culture or ethnicity. It just makes them human and their culture is not used to that type of food.

And David Chang makes himself a complete hypocrite when he says it "pisses him off" when White people say they like Chinese Food, but have never had traditional Chinese food. Skip 5 mins and he is talking to a WHITE Chinese food expert in China. She has him try traditional Chinese food and he spits it out right in front of the chef who prepared it. WTF!?

I am blown away by Ugly Delicious. I've finished season 1 and can't wait for a season 2.

Each show focuses on a single food item or topic and David Chang travels America and the world exploring it, discussing its history, it's rise and development.

For example, the episode on fried chicken wasn't content to just show David Chang eating some fried chicken but he dives into the history of it, teaches us why it's a racial food and why some people won't be seen in public ordering it. I had no idea. I just thought it was delicious. The episode on Chinese food, discusses why Chinese American food is completely different than the food in China and how western tastes are coming to change over time.

This is a far cry from a typical food show that just glorifies a few chefs or is endless shots of food porn. Give it a watch!