IamA Andrew Zimmern AMA!

Nice to see you on Reddit! Are you and Anthony Bourdain friends or is that just mutual respect on the show?

There is a lot of mutual respect, I think we both feel that there's a very small club of authentic, honest, chroniclers of modern culture as it relates to food and we are both on each others lists of who that is, but yes, we are also friends and talk and communicate away from our professional lives whenever time allows.

Is there any food that you simply turned down, causing you to say, "Nope, that's too bizarre, even for me"?

Three of four times I've turned down food because I knew that it was a trip to the hospital, not a night of throwing up. I've taken risks, where I thought I might get the travelers trots for a day, all in the name of being a good guest in someone's home, but I was once presented with rotted chicken intestines that had discolorations on them that convinced me I was looking at the guts of a sick animal and I turned that down right away.

What was the worst sickness you've had after eating and what food was it?

In 2005, I contracted a virus from eating tainted cumin in Northern Africa. Occasionally once a year I have a flare-up of a rare disease called burning mouth syndrome. I pass it off as a simple casualty of war.

What's your go-to comfort food?

Gas station pizza.

Whats the most surprisingly tasty food you've eaten?

Here's a list: donkey is delicious, one of my favorite meats, bees in Taiwan are surprisingly good when wok-tossed the right way and my favorite is probablydeep fried little baby birds of all species

Forget about the food. What's the favorite beverage you ever had and that you recommend?

I still wish the coca-cola bottling company would sell their best selling African beverage Stoney Tangawizi in America. It's a killer ginger beer.

Where in the United States is a good place to purchase edible insects?

There are tons of local resources, most insects in America traditionally have been raised for pet consumption, but a simple google search will turn up plenty of local companies wherever you live that are now raising crickets and mealworms specifically for people to eat.

Just curious, have you ever faced any discrimination for being Jewish or an American in some of the countries you've been to?

It happens all the time. More so for being an American which these days is not always the greatest calling card, but I wear my patriotism on my sleeve. Often times I see my job as being the best example I can be of a white 54 year old Jewish American. In the hope that somewhere, somehow, someone sees me for who I really am and it changes their mind about an unfair assumption they might have made.

Hey Andrew! Did you enjoy your time in Oaxaca? You met up with a friend of mine named Alice who is a writer and photographer and she had nothing but good things to say about you, and I was super jealous! I spent a week there around that same time and it was a wonderful time.

Oaxaca was awesome and Alice was a great travel companion. Please say hi to her for me. The food there is unique, magical, and culturally relevant in a way that other regions of Mexico aren't. Our Oaxaca show is going to blow people's minds when it aires this fall.

Hey! Fellow Minnesotan here.
A couple questions:

When Anthony Bourdain was here a few days ago he talked about how all his daughter's second grade friends wanted to know was if he knew you and if you really eat brains. My question is obviously: Would you rather fight 100 brain sized Anthony Bourdains, or one Anthony Bourdain sized brain?

On the Taiwan episode I saw that you spat out stinky tofu. Was this the most unpleasant thing you've ever eaten?

One of the things that Tony and I occasionally have a lot of fun discussing is our children's TV likes and dis-likes. His daughter and her schoolmates are big fans of Bizarre Foods and my 10-year old couldn't care less about my stuff but loves Parts Unknown.

Who would win in a fight... Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey?

Neither, Robert Irvine could take them both. In all seriousness, both of those English dudes are super scrappy.

You have the power to switch one culture's cuisine with another. Which would be the best and worst switches you could make?

I think it would be fun to swap the food of Italy or Mexico (two of the most diverse and regional cuisines) with the food culture of Mongolia that is one of the most limited and closed cuisine cultures in the world. Mongolian food is delicious but it's all about milk and meat.

What's the status of 'Go Fork Yourself'? Is it coming back? My wife and I are big fans!

Go Fork Yourself is coming back better and bigger than ever. We apologize for the inconvenience but your patience will be rewarded.

What is your favorite food to cook for yourself?

My favorite food to cook for myself when my family is away is a very large bowl of the most impeccable mussels and clams cooked in white wine, parsley and butter and piled over a small tangle of very, very thin noodles.

Andrew - I am a big fan, and have enjoyed your food at Target Field on a regular basis.

Will you continue the partnership next year? And can you give us any hints on what may be on the menu?

I hope all my partnerships for AZ Canteen continue, we are growing our company every year and we're always developing new and different foods to present at stadiums.

Andrew, huge fan of yours!!

Recently saw somewhere online that you highly recommend Croatia as a destination, including eating seafood right off the beaches...

I looked into booking a trip briefly but was caught off guard by the amount of larger cities in Croatia, so, where should I go?

P.S. Totally wish I had your job!

I would base my Croatia vacation out of Split and spend as much time out in the islands as you possibly can.

Do you have any morning after advice for after hot wing challenge attempts?

No offense, but anyone participating in any kind of food challenge should understand that it's the poison tree from which all the fruit falls.

Would you ever host a straightforward cooking show? You seem like a funny dude, I think it would be entertaining. And not just "AZ Cooks Weird Shit." That'd be too easy. I'd be actually interested in your takes on regular old food.

Yes, we are working on one right now.

Do you find yourself wanting to go back and make anything from Bizarre Foods on a regular basis, if not what do you think are your most regular/common dishes to eat?

I cook foods that I learn how to make on the road every week and many of them wind up as recipes on andrewzimmern.com and on Food & Wine Magazine's website.

Do you have any interesting instances where you offended a local?

Several times, I've been in homes with observant Muslim families. We'll spend a couple hours eating and having a good time and I forget that observant Muslim women prefer not to be touched for a variety of very important reasons. The problem is, when I get really happy, I forget what I'm doing or where I am and I happen to be a big hugger. This has presented some real challenges over the years. If anybody wants to have a good laugh, check out our Fez, Morocco show.

What Food Network star's restaurant is your favorite?

This may surprise people because some of the best restaurants in the country are operated b chefs that appear on Food Network. Most of them are my friends, so I don't like to pick favorites, however when Scott Conant is doing the cooking, he creates some of my favorite food anywhere.

Big fan of yours Andrew!

As a young person that really wants to travel abroad and experience some fantastic cuisine, what country would you recommend visiting?

I think for young people the most important aspect of travel is going somewhere and getting lost. When I was in my teens, you could do that in Europe, you can't do that anymore. So my current suggestion, especially because many of those countries afford fast, cheap, safe travel options for young people, would be South America. Especially countries like Ecuador and Chile and Brazil and Peru... I also still think that the best thing a young person can do for themselves is spend some time in the Peace Corps.

Hello! Glad to see you on Reddit! So I would like to ask: what cuisine is your favorite and why?

If you put a gun to my head it's Chinese food. It's extremely regional and distinct, with a much broader range of styles, ingredients and dishes than anyone can imagine.

Have you ever eaten in Louisville Kentucky? Where, what'd you get.

If not what is your favorite food related show?

Yes, I love eating in Louisville and I try to go wherever Ed Lee tells me to.

Does U.S. Cellular have enough money to build a time machine? Because I'd like to go back in time and visit El Bulli.

That's a great idea. I'm a big Ryan Adams fan and he famously just played a two-night gig at The Ryman and he didn't record or tape it in any way. His point was that some experiences are simply meant to be experienced as they are, which is why I treasure my visits to El Bulli because that's another example of something that should never be recreated and should give everyone the impetus to get out more and experience things as they're happening and not keep telling yourself, "Oh, I'll get there someday" because it may be gone.

Andrew, there seems to be a resurgence in the past few years in the culinary arts. I live in in a small town in West Virginia and we have been delighted with all sorts of new takes of foods (not to mention more locally grown). What can we attribute this to?

We are in the most romantic era in the history of world culture when it comes to food especially here in America. Television (Food Network, Travel Channel, etc.) and the emergence through television of chefs as cultural icons has done more to expand our food lives than any other example I can think of.

Are there any foods that you eat that you don't show on camera? If so, what's the weirdest and best thing you haven't shown on camera.

After a full day of shooting I usually don't have room for anything more than a salad in my hotel room at 11 o'clock at night. And if anything strange or unusual pops up, we always endeavor to shoot it.

What's your go-to-meal to make for your family when you're home?

Were you involved in picking these "Big Country" cities or were they all picked by the winners? What did you think of people's choices? Any city/region in the U.S. that you'd like to see picked next?

My husband and I are big fans of yours here in Denmark, we plan our vacations by watching your episodes and trying to go to the same places!

About the "Big Country" cities, those choices were made by the designees who traveled with me and the production company that is making that digital series. I hope we get to do these all the time and get to visit many more locations.

1.) Favorite Pizza Place?

2.) Favorite Pizza Chain in a pinch?

3.) Must have regular pizza toppings?

4.) Must have BIZZARE pizza toppings?

PS:) You've dropped weight in a lot of the most recent episodes of stuff I've seen - you look good. Keep it up.

1.) Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, AZ. Second favorite is Punch Pizza in Minneapolis, MN. 2.) I avoid pizza chains, I would rather eat trashy gas station pizza any day of the week. 3.) Depends on my mood, but I rarely use meat toppings. 4.) I don't think about food that way.

Something I've always wondered, ever since I saw you eat raw pork on Bizarre Foods (I forget where, maybe Hungary?)-- did you ever have to take any precautions in order to prevent food-borne illness if you knew you may be consuming some questionable cuisine?

Raw pork and raw chicken are very, very, very edible and very, very, very delicious. HOWEVER, you have to be very careful about what species, where the animal came from, what the preparation is.

What is your favorite culinary experience in NYC?

New York is the greatest food town on planet Earth. My suggestion for anyone who wants to do something different there is to go explore the hundred plus cuisines represented very well in the borough of Queens.

I've noticed that you and Anthony Bourdain have occasionally had interesting chemistry. Overall, who has been your favorite "food personality" to work with?

If I had to pick a few food personalities who are regularly on television to work with, it would be Bobby Flay because he's still, despite overwhelming proof to the contrary, under-appreciated as a culinarian because he's so good on television. I would love to work more with Batali and Symon, I have a blast with them every time we're hanging out or working together. I would love to do more work with Alex Guarnaschelli, and the big wild card for me is that I'm kind of obsessed with Dominique Crenn so I'd like to do something with her.

What's a food in my backyard, Houston, that I need to try?

One of the coolest things in Houston is the explosion of tex-namese food. The Viet-Texas hybrid has resulted in some of the best crawfish and crab experiences I've ever had.

How do you deal with the jet lag and time differences. I assume that theres a short schedule to film each episode of bizarre foods so its must be difficult at times. What are some of your tricks?

Yes, there is a short schedule to film each episode of Bizarre Foods, so yes my trick is simply to live on the other countries time zone the moment I land at the airport.

Out of all the Southeast Asian countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, etc.) you've visited, which has the tastiest cuisine?

Bonus: Which country did you have the most favorable experience as a tourist?

I would say it's a tie between Thailand and Vietnam, but the experience of eating my way through countries like Cambodia and Laos was more eye opening because I was less familiar with their food. As a tourist, very few countries in the world can top Thailand, great food, great beaches, great people, amazing mountains and interiors.

When's the new season of bizarre foods?

Starts in September.

What country would you like to go to but never have?

Poland, Uruguay (so I can cross South America off my continent list), New Zealand, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and I would love to spend more time in Russia and China, those are big countries that I can return to again and again, but probably the first place I would want to check out, if I had a choice, would be Western Africa.

SPAM! You eat normal plastic-wrapped deli meat I presume, so why do you still have so much disdain for this beautiful metal-wrapped meat?

Here's my problem with Spam, it's horrifically low-quality commodity meat, cooked in a can, and created to be shelf stable. I simply don't eat any foods like that, of any kind, anywhere.

Who in your opinion has the best fast-food burger?

I wouldn't call it fast-food, but Shake Shack and Smash Burger are the two chains that I will always stop at for a burger.

Hello Mr. Zimmern. First of all thank you so much for taking the time to do this AMA. I am a huge fan of the show and often find myself watching and enjoying even the re-runs my DVR catches. Just last night I watched the Dubai episode where you met with a female guide who you described as the most brutal market haggler ever. My question is do you just happen to know people from all over the world like that or does the network arrange these guides for you and plan your itinerary?

We select and cast our on-camera "guides" very carefully. We like it to be someone with a good personality fit with me and someone who is super knowledgeable, but most importantly they have to compliment my lack of expertise in a given subject. The network does not plan our itinerary or our stories, that's simply a development process that we take very seriously at our production company.

What celebrity do you want to eat with on or off your show?

I want to take Bono to Africa and explore the challenges there that food represents. I want to explore the world with a whole range of people who I imagine would be great company, but probably the person that I want to travel with the most is my son.

What are the best and worst parts about being a food writer?

Best part is the opportunity to express your opinions and the side benefit is that if you're really into writing and I mean REALLY into writing the exercise of putting words on paper helps you to develop an opinion on a subject or an idea. The worst part about being a food writer is the process of actually getting in front of your laptop and doing the actual writing.