Customer Reviews

Feasting on Asphalt: The Complete First Season

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always been a devout fan of Good Eats. However, this particular series really communicates Alton Brown's love for the journey in understanding food--how food is both an expression of culture and community, as well as a driving force in maintaining and creating culture and community.

Feasting on Asphalt is filled with a reverence for the every-day people that make this country the terrific, diverse, stock pot that it is. Watch this show, and you will want to get out there on the road, meet some of these people, eat a lot of food, and bask in the wonder of all the stories and communities that must be out there for you to discover. It will also make you think about the micro- and macro-cultures in which you were raised, and make you curious about how the foods and traditions of your family and community came to be.

In an increasingly homogenized world of large chains and Anywhere USA towns, Feasting on Asphalt shows us that hope is not lost. We are still here. We are still eating and cooking and living.

A big thank you to Alton and his dedicated crew.

I'm so glad to see this released on DVD. I taped it from the Food Network and was just rewatching and remembering how much I enjoyed it. It is very entertaining to watch Alton and his team travel/eat their way across the country. As always I love all the extra info Alton provides. It will be nice to see it without the commercials.

This is an awesome Alton Brown series. He artfully combines his love of motorcycling, and travel with food. I too love both. I can only give it 3 stars because of a terrible DVD transfer. Try watching this amazing series on a HDTV. It's horrible and painful and almost criminal as the show was obviously shot in widescreen. They framed and matted the picture for a 4:3 TV. For a 2006 series, ignorance of Anamorphic DVD is pretty much unforgivable. An otherwise beautiful show, spoiled by a cut rate DVD transfer.

This is a great series for foodies and adventurers. We're long-time fans of Good Eats (our kids quote "Altonisms" endlessly), and we expect the bar to be set pretty high for this new series. In a word, it's great. And really entertaining. Brainy. Thoughtful. Fun. All of the things you hope for when you tear off the shrinkwrap. I think one of the reasons we enjoyed this set so much is that the production values--even as a travelogue--are so good. Although some of the shtick is gimmicky and overdone, it works as entertainment and it draws the viewer into what is unquestionably "Alton's World." A very cool DVD set and, for us, a wise investment we will enjoy over and over again.

If you're a fan of Alton Brown's hit show Good Eats on the Food Network, or of motorcycling in general, you're going to love this series. He rides the way I wish I could; now if I could only get away for a month of motorcycling and culinary exploration.......

I watched this when it was on Food Network but it is so much better to be able to sit through the whole thing. I can hardly wait for Season 2

This is fun and informational to watch espically if you travel on your motorcycle and even in your car.....Would have bought Feasting on Asphalt II but is not out yet. DVD would be best..seen there is a book... So buy it..you'll enjoy it.

Although we watch the Food Network, I guess we don't watch it enough and I'd not heard of this show until I read about it in a Motorcycle magazine last year. Then I couldn't find it until this DVD set became availible just before the second season started. I really liked the series. I'm not into racing and that has always been the primary programming shown that features motorcycles. Racing or Strugis. So to see this was a lot of fun. Alton Brown is very funny but I also liked the area history that he covered on his travels for this series. The DVD set is better because the annoying commercials are only at the beginning of each disk and can be fast forwarded through. No pop up on screen adds or all the other junk that's on all the shows now-a-days when broadcast. So now I can't wait for season 2 to be availible!

For you Good Eats and Alton Brown fans out there, you wont want to miss this. These seem to be hard to get now on DVD, but I think rarely the Cooking Channel shows an episode here and there, which is where I first came upon it and made me want to seek it out.

Basically, if you feel like you are full on Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives, and other road trip food surveys, this may pique your taste buds in a different way. Of course - its the AB way. Not only do you get to learn about road food, but you get the history of both the road, the food and the culture along the way. Alton starts out in Georgia on a BMW bike with his crew (all on bikes, because he feels thats the best way to drive across the country). Alton has a fun and intimate personality that he brings. Its not the "scientific" brain that he uses on Good Eats, but certainly bring his curiosity about the history of the food or the restaurant. He doesn't seem so interested in what goes into making the food or how its made, per se (although he does investigate), its more about the experience of local food that cater to travelers. Its definitely not healthy food, but its tasty and its real.

The quality of the video, as others have mentioned, is not up to par. It has a VHS quality to it which is too bad. But given that this is the only way to see it, its fine for viewing. There are only 4 episodes and each episode he spends a lot of time in a particular area, and because there are only 4 episodes, you dont get to cross the country. Not sure if that was the intention, but it seemed so. Aside from the episodes, there are deleted scenes and then a bonus disc which has 2 versions of the first 2 episodes with different cuts and with commentary by Alton, which were great to listen to.

Overall its a great set. There is a book to accompany the show with photographs and writings about the journey which is also recommended.

Feasting On Asphalt is a superb four part series from Good Eats' Alton Brown. Setting across the country in one month on a motorcycle, Mr. Brown sets out on a journey in search of authentic "road food". Traversing his way through the South, into the Midwest and ultimately the road food capital of the country, Los Angeles, Mr. Brown takes the viewer off the beaten path into restaurants, drive-in's, luncheonettes and other eateries in both the small towns and big cities. Sprinkled with his trademark wit as well as some deep thoughts, the show is an interesting and captivating travelogue of the highways and byways of this country. Plus you get to see Mr. Brown wipeout big time on his motorcycle. The dvd has outtakes which essentially gives you four alternative episodes, so if you have already seen the original episodes these are worth the cost of the set.