Ottavia Bourdain Goes to the Mat

By Karen

If you follow @OttaviaBourdain on Twitter, you know she eats, breathes, and sleeps mixed martial arts. On Saturday, March 24, Cats Working reader MorganLF had the opportunity to watch Ottavia participate in her first competition at GrapplersQuest in Wayne, NJ. I’m not into that scene, but Morgan thinks Cats Working should keep the Bourdain archive fairly complete, so (with her permission) here is Morgan’s full report and pics…

Man what a scene! Grappling is very visceral. I got there five minutes before Ottavia’s fight at the local Police Athletic League facility. Picture a big gym with large mats on the floor. Each mat is a “ring,” separated by ladies/men weight class etc.

Ottavia was in the corner, ring 2. Tony was standing ringside with everyone else. The Big Gay Ice Cream dudes were there, too. I grabbed a space near the edge of the mat, right behind her coach and some officials, and a few feet from Tony.

When Ottavia came on to the mat, she saw me and waved, then went into full-on fight mode. During the match I stood on the bleachers to get a better view and caught Tony’s eye. We exchanged smiles and waves. We’ve met so many times now, I know he recognizes my bright red head!

Grappling isn’t like wrestling. It’s more aggressive. In this video, she’s winning her first bout, which I sort of missed because I was screwing with my phone’s camera.

Tony looked on, proud and generally just chilling. I went over to him and asked if she won the bout. He said yes. One of the Big Gay dudes said, when the official pulls your hand over your head, it generally means you’re the victor. That’s the part I missed.

I told Tony it was the first time I’d seen this sport and commented on how rough it was. He agreed and said, “Another one is coming up.”

I asked, “You mean your daughter?” and Tony said, “No, she fights again, until she’s eliminated.”

Tony watches the fight (Photo - MorganLF)

At that point, Ottavia was on the sidelines in deep concentration with her coaches.

Her next opponent was not playing. Ottavia put on the fiercest game face; you would never recognize her. It’s wild, not like wrestling where you go for the pin. This is a point system. They jump on each other, wrapping their legs around the other or using any device to get the “take-down,” which puts them on the mat and wins points. Then it’s all this painful-looking twisting and crab-walking.

Ottavia (left) faces off with her opponent, who won this one. (Photo - MorganLF)

Ottavia “tapped out,” meaning she tapped the mat to indicate she was done, and that eliminated her. I went over and congratulated her and then left the Bourdains to the photographers who were swarming around them.

Ottavia wears her silver as she and Tony celebrate with her trainers. (Photo - @NoReservations)

PS: A few times, Ottavia’s shirt got pulled up to reveal a serious 6-pack. She’s in amazing shape. Once again, what struck me is how unpretentious the Bourdains are, in spite of his celebrity. There were no handlers; in fact, Tony was wearing a paper wristband for access into the building just like the rest of us.

Well folks, there you have it. Her first time out, Ottavia won a silver medal. Cats Working congratulates her and predicts she’ll bring home the gold next time!

Bonus…

Some classic video of Ottavia grappling with a guy at the Big Gay Ice Cream shop a few months ago.

Bourdain too Profane for Small Children?

By Karen

Nuvo revealed an interesting little tidbit from the Q&A of Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert’s joint appearance in Indianapolis on September 30. The last paragraph of the article tells how an irked mother apparently called Tony out for using the F-word to a child who asked a question. Keep scrolling, because commenters weighed in on what he most likely said, and rightly questioned why anybody would bring a child to see the guy whose show carries a warning about its appropriateness for children on every episode.

To MorganLF: I thought of you when I saw this post on Real Estate Resuscitation. You’ll know what I mean.

Bourdain sold out Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on October 2 for their Wine and Food Festival. The link’s here to document that, but there’s no new ground there.

Tony revealed to Jimmy Fallon on October 5 that he once collected comic books and wanted to be a cartoonist. That explains his ease with drawing his chef skull logo.

DC Comics imprint Vertigo offers a sample of illustrator Langdon Foss’ work on Tony’s new graphic novel, Get Jiro. His co-author is Joel Rose. It’s coming out in late spring/early summer.

Bourdain went yet another round with novelist Jonathan Safran Foer on the joys/evils of eating meat on Canadian radio. (Warning: It seems only a few minutes long and keeps repeating. I heard the same stuff 3 times before giving up, and I was only 11 minutes into the 24.)

Tony seemed to be in Toronto much of last week (maybe to film that new episode of No Reservations?). The Globe and Mail got Tony to describe his first 3 romantic dates with Ottavia (tats were involved), but they got her age wrong by 10 years.

Tony also did Toronto TV, talking to George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC. The quickfire Q&A during the last 3 minutes were the best. And for the love of God, would somebody PLEASE hide Tony’s hair gel! It’s clearly become his new addiction.

Knife Tricks reviewed Medium Raw mostly by quoting hunks of it, but it was the rather nasty assessment of Bourdain leading up to it that got my attention. However, I think there may be some truth in his theory on how Kitchen Confidential came to be. Tony was shooting for the top when he withdrew his article languishing at an indie newspaper and sent it to the New Yorker, so to say now that he didn’t expect anybody to read the resulting book does seem a bit disingenuous.

Bourdain Mugged by Yogi Bear for Emmy

By Karen

I planned to title this post, “2010 is the Year of Bourdain,” because his book, Medium Raw, continues to occupy bestseller lists, and because he won his first personal Emmy for writing the Prague episode of No Reservations.

But I was only half right.

Bourdain didn’t win the freaking Emmy. It went to PBS’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

Are they KIDDING? Even the title is boring!

With a new movie coming out later this year, 2010 is shaping up to be the Year of Yogi.

I’d have been happier if Tony lost to Buddha.

The Bourdains traveled to Los Angeles for the Emmy ceremony on August 21, and Ottavia was resplendent in a pale gray strapless Marchesa gown with beaded bodice. She tweeted that they skipped the red carpet but, from what I’ve seen, Ottavia would have mopped the rug with most of the women there. Don’t those ladies have mirrors?

Well, back to the day job…

This week on No Reservations Tony returns to Beirut to make the happy foodie show he intended in 2006 when he inadvertently got trapped as war broke out with Israel (and the show earned its first Emmy nom). This time, he stays in the same hotel and catches up with the same people.

Since it’s been a niggling annoyance with me lately, I watched this episode (thanks to Room214) with an eye on how they ate. Finger foods were picked up with bread. During the show’s last meal, one of Bourdain’s hosts even said that Lebanese don’t eat with their hands (except for foods Americans would also pick up) because they like to stay neat.

Last week’s black-and-white episode in Rome sparked a lot of controversy. ChowHound weighed in, and it wasn’t good. Apparently, some of Tony’s fans have no tolerance whatsoever for the absence of color. Their loss. They’ve essentially slammed the door on Hollywood’s heyday and greatest stars.

On the other hand, Phoodie.info in Philadelphia loved it.

September 6, Travel Channel plans a No Res marathon, with a new special called “What Were They Thinking” airing right before the Paris episode. (Note: CinemaBlend says No Res has been on for 15 years; it first aired in 2005.)

To further set the record straight, you’ll see all over the Internet that NR is in Season 7 or 8. According to Room214, we’re still in Season 6 (I specifically asked). As always, thank Travel Channel for pulling air dates out of their ass so nobody knows what’s what.

If you happen to be in Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 28, Tony is making an appearance at the International Book Festival.

He’s back on the road in the U.S. with a vengeance in September, with many personal appearances until around Thanksgiving (I’m seeing him myself in Washington, DC, in November).

Tony gave a phone interview to the Sacramento Press before his appearance there on September 17.

How226 published a surprisingly high-quality forbidden video of Bourdain speaking in Santa Cruz about Gordon Ramsay. If you’ve never seen Tony in person, it’s a good sampling of his off-the-cuff speaking style.

Bourdain Food Fight Pan Scrapings

By Karen

The last tidbits I picked up from my evening with Anthony and Ottavia Bourdain at the Capital Food Fight in Washington, DC, on November 11:

Bourdain’s next book…

The manuscript is due in December for June 2010 publication, so Tony must be putting the finishing touches on it now. There will be a book tour. Ottavia told me the title may not be Cooks. She hasn’t read it. He only lets her see his finished work because she said her criticism is “too brutal.”

Ariane…

Ottavia showed me a picture of Ariane in a full-length white gown for Halloween, saying proudly that she looked like “a beautiful little bride.” Mama took Ariane trick-or-treating and she loved it. Tony was traveling and upset to miss it, but he already has next Halloween blocked off on his schedule. According to Ottavia, Ariane has her mother’s good appetite, eyes, and the strawberry blonde hair Ottavia had as a child, as well as Dad’s mouth and height. The height should serve her well because she’s studying ballet.

Ariane was with them in DC, staying at the hotel with her nanny. From there, they were flying to Miami for Tony’s appearance on November 13 with Jacques Pepin and Eric Ripert. He was due to speak in Schenectady, NY, on November 15, which regrettably didn’t leave much time for Miami R&R.

Vietnam…

Ottavia is “really excited” about moving to Vietnam, but doesn’t see it happening for a few years because of Tony’s many other commitments. However, he’s returning there in 2010 to, I assume, shoot another No Reservations.

Social life…

In New York, the Bourdain’s don’t go out much. Tony is recognized everywhere, and when he’s not traveling, he’d rather relax at home — and not in the kitchen. Ottavia said it’s not because she doesn’t like his cooking, as he claims. With a laugh she told me, “When I married a chef, I thought good… but no, he doesn’t cook much.”

After their early drinking dates, starting very late after her restaurant closed, they drink little at home. Ottavia said, “Mainly, Anthony drinks for the show and socially, but not in airports at 10 in the morning.”

Bourdain’s Alternate Universe…

I asked Tony if casting himself as the mad scientist for the “Cooking Channel” in his new animated Web series was deliberate, since Travel Channel’s new owners will be launching a channel by that name. He said with some irony, “No, it was serendipitous.”

Life imitating his art. Sometimes the snark is purely unintentional.

He also mentioned that this “Web freebie” turned out to be a lot more work than he envisioned. Ottavia said it was the brainchild of one of the producers’ relatives, a graphic designer.

Ottavia’s fans…

After the Food Fight, Ottavia asked me to accompany her up on stage, where Tony gave her a big kiss. Then he noticed me, and I said jokingly, “She and I are new best friends.”

He answered, “I was afraid of that.”

For all his misgivings about allowing me access to his wife, Bourdain placed his hand on my shoulder, not on my throat. Remarkable restraint.

People were clamoring to meet him on stage, so Ottavia and I returned to the floor, where two young Asian women shyly approached Ottavia. They recognizing her from No Res in Sardinia and told her they loved it. Ottavia seemed touched and surprised, and obligingly posed for a photo with them.

They left, and when I observed, “You have your own fans now,” she giggled.

Final thoughts…

Tony and Ottavia seem like a perfect fit. They’re attentive to each other, but she’s comfortable stepping back to share him with fans. Her self-confidence and maturity must help to ground him, but she also has a youthful ebullience that he probably needs to keep himself going at times.

When the night was over, we walked outside for another soaking by Hurricane Ida and ran in to none other than Tony, Ottavia, and Eric Ripert on the empty street. Tony bounded away to hail a cab and off they went.

Becoming Mrs. Bourdain

By Karen

After Ottavia began spending a lot of time at Tony’s place while they were dating, he invited her to stay an entire weekend, but she said she’d have to go home to feed Lupetto. Tony told her to bring the cat over, and Lupetto never left.

I said, “You know when a man accepts your cat, you have found a good man.”

Ottavia smiled and nodded in agreement.

She said she wasn’t particularly interested in getting married because things were going well. Now I’m surmising here, but Tony must have realized he’d found a keeper because he started talking about — brace yourselves — having a family.

Kids. His idea. Goes to show how little Tony lets TV and his books reveal about his soft side.

But in July 2006, Tony got trapped filming No Reservations in Beirut (his first episode to be nominated for an Emmy). Ottavia said he phoned her almost daily, but when he told her the cell phone towers were being bombed and they might lose touch, she got really worried. “The Italians and other countries got their people out. Where were the Americans?” she asked.

Ottavia Bourdain talks to Cats Working (Photo - Morgan)

When she was offered a seat on the private plane sent to meet Tony and his crew wherever the Marines dropped them off, she took it.

That close call made them both realize there’s no guarantee of tomorrow, so they decided to go for the family. They succeeded in conceiving on their first try, and Ottavia found out while they were vacationing in the Caribbean (or Miami, not sure which).

One night in December 2006, she was lying on the couch, “VERY pregnant, watching something dreadful on TV, like Dancing with the Stars,” when Tony asked her to marry him.

Impending motherhood had changed her attitude toward marriage, so she accepted. The only hitch was that Tony’s divorce wasn’t quite final yet.

I asked Ottavia what her parents thought of the 22-year age spread, and she told me she had always been a good kid, never in any trouble, so they trusted her judgment. Her mother read Kitchen Confidential. Although she didn’t find it exactly reassuring, all she said was, “Be careful.”

Ottavia said, “I was never into the big white dress or anything,” and a civil ceremony in April 2007 with no trimmings suited her perfectly. When I asked if they had a honeymoon, she replied with a smile, “We’ve been on many,” and I got the impression they’re on honeymoon wherever they go together.

Ottavia still studies martial arts for the exercise, but doesn’t fight much because it has caused some problems with her back, knee, and leg. But she’s glad to be able to defend herself, and plans to have Ariane start lessons next year.

The Bourdains traveled to Tuscany to film No Reservations when Ariane was just 4 weeks old, and Ottavia was asked to appear in the scene where Tony prepares an Italian meal for the crew. She said it was delicious and everybody was gobbling it, but they told her to say on camera that it was “disgusting” to make the scene funny.

The truth is, Tony does know how to cook good Italian.

And speaking of babies, I was wrong. Ottavia is not pregnant now, but she hinted that Ariane may not always be an only child.

Cats Working once asked if Bourdain’s wife chooses obscurity. Ottavia definitely does. She’s been asked to appear on No Res many times, but declines. She agreed to do the Sardinia episode only because her whole family was so excited about it. In the spring they’ll be filming in Rome and she’ll be there, but said she has no plans to appear on camera.

(We’ll be watching the edges of every frame, just in case.)

Bourdain travels so much, I asked Ottavia if it’s hard on her. She told me when Tony is anywhere within the U.S., she feels “he’s just a few hours away, so it’s not so bad.” Sometimes he comes home for a night, or she and Ariane go to him. It’s only when he’s overseas that she really feels distance between them.

Anthony Bourdain hosting the 2009 Capital Food Fight (Photo - Morgan)

Next: Bourdain Food Fight Pan Scrapings (sans Nasty Bits)

Ottavia Before Anthony Bourdain

By Karen

Morgan gets full credit for putting me in the right place at the right time to meet Ottavia. We were in a cavernous ballroom of the Ronald Reagan Building. The Food Fight stage was on a high platform with two small tiers of seats before it, off to either side. Morgan staked out the second row, house right. I think Ottavia and I spotted each other simultaneously.

Before I knew it, she and Tony had joined us. Ottavia greeted me with a big smile and a hug. Tony kissed my cheek. I apologized for basing my first impression on the Miami Ink clip. She laughed, agreeing that she looked like a “grinning idiot” (my description) because of how they cut the episode. She was dressed to relax in Miami, not be on TV, and understood how people got the wrong idea from her bare midriff.

She told us reading Cats Working is part of her Internet routine, and greeted Morgan and Cindy like old friends.

Tony brought up Winnipeg Bob’s recent visit to Les Halles, and told us waiter Tim, depending on his mood, will tell customers outrageous “revelations” about Tony, like he’s undergoing a sex change.

Before Tony left us to host the Fight, we got this group shot:

(L-R) MorganLF, Karen, Anthony Bourdain, Cindy (Photo - Cindy)

Ottavia graciously posed with me to prove there are no hard feelings with Cats Working:

Karen with Ottavia Bourdain (Photo - Cindy)

We were pleasantly surprised when Ottavia asked us to save her a seat because she was “alone.” She and I chatted for the next several hours.

Now, I must sincerely thank Ottavia for her company. I’ve said before I’m not a foodie. If she hadn’t kept me distracted, I’d have found some gourmet delicacies on toothpicks and poked my eyes out.

Watching people cook on stage is the PITS. Camera people constantly stood in front of the chefs to project their actions onto a big screen behind them. The judges, who included some of my faves, chef Eric Ripert and past Top Chef contestant Carla Hall, were seated far upstage, hidden from our view.

Three hours of watching smoke rise live from pans, with the actual food on TV, is not my idea of entertainment.

Now back to Ottavia…

She grew up in a small rural community of about 2,000 in, I believe, Italy’s Lombardy region. She loves animals and had chickens, rabbits, and “usually about 10 cats and always a lot of kittens,” and explained that spaying and neutering weren’t priorities then.

After high school, she began to study medicine and would have pursued it after moving to the States, but we require an undergraduate degree first. Her credits didn’t transfer, so she took a new direction in the restaurant business.

She met Eric Ripert working for him at Le Bernadin.

When she learned her favorite cat in Italy had died, Ottavia happened by one of those adoption events held by the North Shore Animal League. She saw a black kitten cowering “back in the corner of the cage” and decided they needed each other. She named him Lupetto.

Ottavia said she would love to have more cats one day when they move to a larger place, but she doesn’t know when that will be.

At age 28, Ottavia was working 14-hour days at the Geisha Restaurant in New York City and felt she didn’t have time for a relationship, but she didn’t want to be alone either.

She’d read Kitchen Confidential, saying, “Everybody did, it was like the Bible for us.” And she caught Tony once on No Reservations, “in Morocco or somewhere like that,” while she and a girlfriend were looking for another Travel Channel host they liked (sorry, I didn’t catch the name).

But Bourdain was still nowhere on her radar. She said, “I never thought I would get mixed up with a celebrity.”

Tony and Eric Ripert were good friends, and Ripert’s wife thought Ottavia and Tony might be a good casual match because Tony was on the road so much.

Ottavia made it clear to me that when she met Anthony (she uses his full name), he and Nancy were long separated, although not divorced, and he’d been dating. There was no overlap whatsoever with their meeting and his first marriage.

It took Tony a couple of months to follow up and contact Ottavia, and he did it via e-mail around Thanksgiving 2005. Their first date was that weekend, a very late night of drinking and smoking (she also had a 2-pack-a-day habit), so Ottavia was feeling rough the next morning and declined when Tony called and asked her out again that night.

He didn’t call again for about a month, but when they finally had another date, something clicked, and they became a couple.

While Ottavia and I were talking, Tony kept casting worried glances our way from the stage. At one point, he stood downstage in front of us and signaled her to button her lips, but she ignored him. I wonder what he was afraid she’d tell me?

Next: Becoming Mrs. Bourdain

Bourdain Meets the Fockers in Sardinia

By Karen

In the last new Season 5 episode of No Reservations, Tony travels to Sardinia, his Italian father-in-law’s birthplace, and provides an extremely uncharacteristic glimpse into his personal life.

Wife Ottavia will be there, occupying center frame at last and even speaking. In case you’re late coming to the party, here she is from the promo so you’ll recognize her.

Photo - Travel Channel

Photo - Travel Channel

It won’t surprise me if 2-year-old Ariane is missing. I could be wrong, but I suspect Tony drew the line at putting her on TV. With all the crazies out there, you can’t blame Bourdain for being protective.

I feel kind of responsible for this episode. If not for Cats Working’s relentless curiosity to find the real man behind the bad-boy image — goaded on by several hundred-thousand search engine hits from readers, I might add — I don’t think Tony would have ever considered letting his show get so personal.

Sure, he’s had his brother, niece and nephew on, but they live separate lives.

And next, in our efforts to be fair and balanced…

Stett Holbrook at MetroActive rips Bourdain a new one for behaving like a culinary neocon in the San Francisco episode of No Res. I know it sounds outrageous, but he makes some sense.

To soothe that gaping wound, I’ll let The Hollywood Journal weigh in at the other end of the spectrum, calling No Res “a diamond among the dreck.”

And Fish Wrap declares that legendary low point — Tony in Romania with Zamir — his favorite No Res episode. Go figure.

The Daily Blender listed its top 5 food stories of summer 2009. Tony’s appearance in Connecticut on May 14 with Alice Waters, where she bizarrely named shark fin soup as her favorite last meal, made the list.

Daily Blender also found some (illicit) clips of Bourdain’s Portland, OR, appearance on May 29.

Executing the next step in his All About Eve-ish plot to grab the limelight if Tony ever shows the slightest sign of weakness, Andrew Zimmern has published a book called The Bizarre Truth and talks to Time magazine about eating maggot-infested cheese in Nicaragua. Bon appétit!

The Latest Anthony Bourdain Roundup

By Karen

Anthony Bourdain and wife Ottavia paused for a photo at the Food Bank for New York City’s Sixth Annual Can-Do Awards Dinner to honor Jon Bon Jovi on April 21, along with Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse, and Mario Batali. Bourdain always looks good in a suit and tie, but what’s with Ottavia’s cat-ate-the-canary smile? The poofy dress? Could a sib for Ariane be on the way? Only time will tell, but if I’m right, remember you read it here first.

The Feedbag reports that Tony was in Flushing, NY, about a month ago eating a lamb face salad for an upcoming No Reservations. If that’s true, maybe it will be in the Rust Belt episode, which included Buffalo.

YumSugar reports that guest judge Toby Young will be back for Season 6 of Top Chef, which starts filming in a secret location today. Here’s hoping Tony returns to show the boring Brit how to cut a chef down to size with style.

Burrito Justice led me to Somali Pirate with the tongue-in-cheek claim (I think) that Bourdain was named “Somalia’s Next Top Pirate” on some weird Somali reality show last year. I do agree that Tony’s got the je ne sais quois to appeal to pirates.

Cats Working reader Bob alerted us to a new installment of Tony & Friends where Eric Ripert uncharacteristically rips into Gordon Ramsay’s take-no-prisoners style and what it bodes for future chefs.

Reader Adele found this account at Food Lovers Like Me on what it was like to actually be there when Bourdain and Ripert talked to Martha Stewart recently on her Sirius Radio show.

I just found this May 2008 interview with the New York Post I think I missed. Tony revealed he and Ariane loved watching Yo! Gabba Gabba on Nick Jr. and that her favorite book then was Good Night, Gorilla.

She should be ready to tackle NR: Around the World on an Empty Stomach before too long. It’s mostly pictures, and it’s dedicated to her.

And if you’re a DVD collector, No Reservations: Collection 4 goes on sale July 14 with 688 non-stop minutes of Bourdain’s travels.

The Pandemonium Of The Sun wrote a not-so-glowing review of Bourdain’s book, Typhoid Mary, which I recently read and admired for his ability to humanize a widely reviled woman. According to this reviewer, that makes me a “Bourdain fanatic.”

Just FYI, we call ourselves “Bourdainiacs” around here.

Anthony Bourdain’s Doing Fame the Hard Way

By Karen

Rachael Ray’s fruit basket caper got me thinking about the relativity of fame. When Cats Working first rattled the blogosphere with several Bourdain posts, the reaction from almost everyone I told was, “Anthony Who?”

Nobody would have drawn a blank on Rachael Ray.

Bourdain may be king of the Travel Channel but, let’s face it, it’s cable. Ray’s on network AND cable AND a gazillion cookbooks AND products (including dog food). AND she knows Oprah.

Bourdain doesn’t come close to such recognition, and he readily admits it.

But I do think Tony has more fun because he’s himself most of the time. I could never see him standing in some stage kitchen, whipping up glop while chit-chatting with guests who bore him.

As a novelist in the ’90s, Bourdain started conquering fame one reader at a time — until Kitchen Confidential put him on the map.

That led to TV, which spawned the demand for personal appearances, a time-consuming, arduous pursuit of fame that now keeps him away from home and family a lot.

It’s moot to ask if Bourdain could ever be as big as Rachael Ray because I don’t think he wants to be. In his special niche of food and travel, he hasn’t resorted to shilling for products he doesn’t use or believe in, although he probably could. You won’t see Anthony Bourdain cookware stacked beside Emeril’s at Bed, Bath & Beyond, or his face smirking from jars of his secret spice blends on grocery shelves.

That’s just not his style.

Bourdain’s main attractions — his persona and his thoughts — can’t be so easily packaged. But thank God he writes, so we’ll always have his books.

Latest Tidbits:

The Knoxville News Sentinel uncovered in an interview that Tony graduated from high school a year early and he takes a hard line toward addiction, saying:

“I see it as a character flaw, not an illness.”

At The Question Club, Bourdain beat Gordon Ramsay in a recent popularity contest.

Noodlepie has video of Tony talking about Vietnam, but what really got my attention was this fan e-mail from Bourdain, calling Noodlepie his “go-to” blogger on Vietnam.

Tony was in Tennessee on April 4, and Geography 2.0 had an interesting take on that.

Play Groups Are No Place For Children was there, too — and she got pictures.

OhNoTheyDidnt also had a recent up-close-and-personal Tony encounter when he visited her unspecified college campus.

So far I haven’t seen his reaction to Michelle Obama digging up part of the White House lawn for a vegetable and herb garden as if she’s working on orders from Alice Waters, but Alice was certainly pleased.

And finally, Cats Working reader Joanna provided a photo that appears to be Ottavia with the famous Bourdain knife on her right shoulder. Now we know why she had no problem with Tony getting that skull tattoo.

(Photo - Josh Ozersky - Grub Street: NY Mag)

And here’s a writeup and more photos of Tony and friends (including Rachael Ray) at the event in South Beach last year where this pic was captured.