I Saw This!! What I Have Been Watching: 2020 Edition: Pt.D

I Saw This (double exclamation point) is our feature wherein Kent(!) or Toasty(¡) attempt to write about a bunch of stuff they watched some time ago and meant to write about but just never got around to doing so. But every time I try not to write, bad things happen, very bad things. Somewhere. To someone.

What I Have Been (or Am) Watching is the admitted state of me spending too much time in front of the TV. And despite what I said above, I have been avoiding telling you about what I have been watching. Not that you care. But at least I am not telling you about my character

Pt A is here. Pt B is here. And Pt C.

I realised right this moment, that the top paragraph insinuates that I watched some of these items A Long Time Ago (In a Galaxy...) but for some, that is just not so. Luckily the second paragraph does have an Am Watching, so ... still accurate!

Food!

For example, the latest series of The Chef Show just started and we are watching episodes as the last thing before bed. We realized that watching them earlier in the night, or (!!!) before having supper, was detrimental to our well-being. Just seeing such grand, yummy dishes being enjoyed by people makes me hungry. And envious. So, just before bed, when I am already satiated, is just a coping mechanism.

The Chef Show, Netflix

I love the movie Chef. It's probably the only non-genre movie I should have on The Shelf, unless you want to consider food a genre. Roy Choi was the consulting chef for the movie, and taught Jon everything he knew to be a proper chef; in the movie. They started as co-workers but they fast became friends, and the two continue the journey, Jon learning from Roy, always.

Roy Choi made his name as the guy who brought Korean Tacos to the world, and also, created this current idea of food trucks (chic, trendy, novel food choices). He was a classically trained chef who went down a different road, and succeeded, creating a legacy that, like craft beer, will never go away, even after the craze tapers. Jon, with his success at Marvel, built a show with Roy, one that spins off the movie in the first season, but is really about their friendship and the tutelage Jon receives from Roy.

I love watching people love food. Because I love food, which is still a weird thing to say considering I was such a picky eater as a kid. I am still a guy ruled by his exceptions to food: my sensitivities to nuts & seafood, my dislike of some textures and smells (banana! ick!) but I still love seeing people enthralled by food, even if I could not enjoy it. This new wave of food TV, where it's not about competition nor recipes, but about the experience and social encounters is gravy on the french fries to me.

Earlier seasons had the two in the kitchen revisiting recipes from the movie, or working through favourite dishes with other celebrities. Some episodes visited the kitchens / restos of chefs that Roy knows & respects. And some episodes were just toss away, only existing because of a celebrity Jon knows -- I am talking about you Gwyneth Paltrow & Robert Rodriguez. So far Season 3 has been in Vegas, including a steak-craving inducing visit with Wolfgang Puck and a a kick-in-the-pants visit to Choi's LV place called Best Friends, which I was probably 25' from, and never bothered to check out, because Celebrity Chef = Dollars. It turns out to be quite the affordable experience and we would have probably loved it. But at least I got to an authentic taco truck in LV; it honestly was one of the reasons I wanted to visit the west US.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, 2019, Netflix

David Chang is my other celebrity chef crush. He's the guy who brought Momofuku to the world, the resto I am ashamed to say I have not yet visited, and its in Toronto. Seriously, what's wrong with me?!?! It's in Toronto, easily accessible and highlights two things I absolutely love: KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and Ramen! Chang was the guy who put ramen on the map for people like me. He took it from Japan and turned it into a craze. Some would say, for the worse, considering there are probably 30+ different ramen chains in Toronto right now. But, like craft beer, you can never have too many options.

Chang has a had a few food shows, with Ugly Delicious, and even a guest appearance on the previously mentioned Chef Show. With this one, he takes a small number of celebrities (big or small) and visits a place (country, area) with them to experience it through their eyes & eat with them. He goes to Morocco with Chrissy Teigan, he goes to Cambodia with Kate MacKinnon, he wanders around Vancouver (smoking, baking) with Seth Rogen and does LA with Lena Waithe.

Each experience is unique. He and Seth get stoned and wander Rogen's childhood. He and Chrissy eat the familiar and unfamiliar and never stop cracking jokes; she's been there before, he has not. Cambodia is about Kate's enjoyment of traveling alone, and she is just letting him tag along. And Lena, who I really did not know at all (she's a writer/actor, known for The Chi) and the two visit LA neighbourhood restos, as they are both transplants there.

Like Ugly Delicious which I still have not entirely watched, and might never do so (strange part of my psyche that I drop or never see things I know I will enjoy), or it would be here, the show is uneven. At its best it's when David lets his guests guide him into conversation. Like many chefs, he's always itching for complete control of the narrative, and you can see it clearly on his face, but the success of this show is through the conversation.

Gentefied, 2020, Netflix

A half-hour sitcom formatted show about about a family run taco shop in East LA. It is exactly what I want from "foreign" TV, in that it gives me a window into a world I have absolutely no exposure. The first thing I noticed is that this was an LA I did not recognize, as in, not the LA from other TV shows. This seemed ... and I cannot really be sure ... real. It felt authentic, but as a White As Can Be Boy from East Canada, I have very little exposure and understanding of East LA besides what crime TV and movies show me. So, what do I know.

The Morales run Mama Fina's, a small taco shop. Pop, grandfather to the rest, is trying to keep the place afloat despite gentrification and the all too common increase of costs against reduction of customers. His grandchildren: Eric, Chris and Anna either work or live with him, for varying reasons (crime, poverty) that are pushed into the background to focus on just being people. Eric is the dutiful grandson, who brings family first, even as he tries to reconcile with his baby mama. Chris is just returned from Idaho, works in a local high end restaurant, and wants to go to Cordon Bleu. Anna is gay, an artist and underemployed. Pop wants his shop, his legacy after decades of hard work, to survive despite being aware that change is coming. He gets it, but doesn't want to.

The show is a little uneven but a lot of fun. And it makes me hungry. It is equal parts family conflict, high tension dramatic, silly sitcom-ish behaviour and tacos. Mmmmm, I love me the little tacos. The show is not entirely focused on tacos, but it never gets far from the shop, the staff, the issues in keeping it afloat, the regulars and the community. Of note, while I hear them mentioning tacos al pastor in the show, I don't see a trompe in the background, so... artistic license.