***should read "fortune"***

It beats the heck outta Celebrity Poker.

For some reason, my local PBS station has played the same episode for three weeks in a row.

craisin-- if the show inspired to tour Spain, by all means, go at it. Spain is such a great country with an outstanding culinary culture. Start drafting an itnerary and it will happen! :-D

Doesn't Mario know that the popular music played in Spain is NOT CUBAN SALSA??? I know that it is an attempt to make the series "sexy" but how about some Galician music or flamenco. Somehow the word sexy and Mario dont seem right in the same sentence!

Poor Mario is taking a beating here. Hey, at least the guy goes to a foreign land and attempts to speak the lingo and tries to relate the Spanish culture and history to his own deep knowledge of Italy. He does tend to talk a bit too much but I've gotten used to that NY/NJ personality up here in Northeast PA so it doesn't irk me like it might have a few years ago. Mario's enthusiastic and very laudatory when discussing Spanish food and wine. I find it interesting that he believes Spain is now the culinary capital of Europe. All these years I was led to believe I was the dumbie for preferring Spanish (and German) food to French. Maybe, like me, Mario prefers to have an actual plateful of food when he sits down to eat rather than a giant plate with a couple of green and red circles of sauce surrounding a silver dollar-sized piece of meat.

Correct me is I am wrong, but I think Mario spent part of his childhood in Spain..

Nevertheless, I like the show MUCH better when he is NOT there... I do like the scenery but they waste so much time talking about nonsense! (Cotorreando??)

I did enjoy the part about the fruits in Almunecar today, though.

And next week, suckling pig makes an appearance!!

If I remember correctly; Mario was in Spain as a teen when his father worked there, (employed by Boeing??).

His bio (it's ver brief) on Food Network doesn't mention living in Spain, but says he studied Spanish theater at Rutgers.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/mario-batali/bio/index.html

And Paltrow was an exchange student in Spain..her Spanish is not bad..

Yes Mario did spend some important formative "food" years in Spain (as he put it in one eopisode).

Travelme, I know what you mean about the music. It the same when they play psudo flamenco on mexican shows. Made for Spain with Jose Andres has some funky modern song that is not representative of any particiular region, But I doubt that general audience like it as much. I too would like more congruent music but I don't expect it on TV.

In any case these show are my favorites right now.
Although today I was so happy when I caught a rerun of an old movie about the life of El Greco (with Mel Ferrer)

AMS

These were my thought after the first show and we have not watched it since.

I would rather watch reruns of Lawrence Welk. Mario Batali is the star as he travels about Spain with Gwyneth Paltrow, food writer Mark Bittman of the NY Times, and a beautiful Spainish actress, Claudia Bassols.

It is witless and without charm. Throughout Willie Nelson plays a Spanish version of "On The Road Again" but the cast sounds like they spent too much time in Willie's trailer.

Bittman tarvels with Bassols and it is like a smarmy uncle with a gorgeous niece. You cringe every time he tries to be funny.

Mario and Gwyneth travel together, but everyone comments are obvious and useless. There is much camera time watching the Spanish coutryside pass. There is even a hookey scene wher Don Quixote and Sancho Panza appear.

I will however try one dish where bread, garlic and chorizo are sauteed together.

To make matters you are informed that Mario had food poisoning from raw partridge. It is as ugly as wtaching him in his AC/DC shorts and Crocs.

This show is a total bore. Mario should find another Goodwill store. Love Spain but not the way they are presenting it.