With the exception of HBO, documentary TV series are frequently overlooked by critics, and such is the case with Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.   And I must admit that try as I might, I haven’t known quite what to do with the show for some time.   As a critic, I'm accustomed to looking at writing, acting, story, and the like.  So all I can really say is that I like it.  That much is for sure.

I should take a moment to explain that the Travel Channel combines my two favorite things: travel and TV.  So in theory, I should be all over that like fat on a mother-in-law.  But no.  I consider most of the programming downright unwatchable. For one thing, actually finding travel-themed programming can prove surprisingly difficult.  Between hours of World Poker Tour, Vacation Homes, and Most Haunted, the determined viewer can eventually find shows like Passport to Latin America with Samantha Brown or 1,000 Places to See Before You Die peppered amongst the typical programming.  And these shows are fine for those comfortable with their ultra-cutesy white bread hosts and cookie-cutter guidebook itineraries.

But for the more discriminating viewer, Anthony Bourdain is a refreshingly subversive breath of fresh air.  And I have to admit that Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations makes the short list of my favorite shows, and is hands-down my favorite series of the summer.  And with every show comes another addition to my ever-growing “must travel” list.

I was first introduced to Anthony Bourdain back when I was living in Allston and my then-roommate Ben would read passages from Kitchen Confidential as we rode the T to class in the morning (I’ve since read the book myself, and A Cook’s Tour sits in my “to read” pile).

Bourdain is a man after my own heart. Regularly referencing famous movies and books (from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, to James Bond, and even Graham Greene's Quiet American), Bourdain is funny, swears like a sailor, smokes like a chimney, and each episode climaxes with his becoming properly soused.

I found the voice-over distracting at first, but it's grown on me - and in watching other series, it's definitely better than the alternative.  Rather than the host yammering on about whatever he's doing on-screen, the series uses a wry and irreverent narration recorded after the fact, though still very preset-tense.

In fact, the series feels a bit more gonzo than other travel series (in that it’s just as much about Bourdain himself as the locale, and he’s anything but unbiased).  I'd even call it postmodern – certainly in documentary terms, anyway.  Between self-referential comments and intertextuality, the series is delightfully po-mo.  Hell, the Cleveland episode was even interspersed with Harvey Pekar-style comic book cells of Bourdain and the other guys featured in the episode.