Chef Alton Brown of Good Eats

Chef Alton Brown of Good Eats

When you speak with the 42-year-old, "food hacker" (a term first coined by Wired magazine), it's his sincere, enthusiastic passion for knowledge that leaves a lasting impression. He lights up while explaining how his new line of Kershaw knives take advantage of a slight angle in the handle to improve the action of the knife. He becomes effusive when talking about his work with General Electric and their new TrivectionTM oven.But Alton really takes off when it comes to motorcycles. "I love to ride. I've come to the conclusion that you're either a car guy, or a bike guy," he says while sitting atop his BMW R1100RT. "I'm a bike guy."

So I promised some reviews, and some cooking stuff, BUT OF COURSE I found a way to mix in lovely two-wheeled transportation into the mix.
Oh, but don't thank the Dragon, true believers, thank Alton Brown the man who manages to make cooking both geeky and cool (since he seems to have transcended this dichotomy himself).
Living out in the boonies as we do, and having the strange entertainment priorities that we do, Jes and I have cable internet but not cable tv. So when I saw that Target was selling dvd collections of Good Eats I had to pick them up. This show is the best example I can think of illustrating what Edward R. Murrow meant when he was ranting about what television had the potential to do achieve in terms of entertaining while educating. It's just that good. Each episode has a mix of science, history, and well Good Eats. I'm not a nutrtional anthropologist, or a culinary historian (but my mom is) but knowing the "why's," "when's,", and "who's" of foods is just as interesting to me as the "how's." I mean a good recipe is all well and good, but wouldn't rather know the chemistry and physics behind this stuff, so like any good hacker you can mod your meals to fit your tastes and those of your loved ones?
Damn! I guess I really am a food geek. Thanks a lot Mom!
Anyway, I give these dvds four stars, and heartily recommend them to anyone who eats.