A Bizarre Homecoming
Andrew Zimmern sampled "hotdish-on-a-stick" while at the VFW's Hotdish Competition in Minneapolis for the new season of Bizarre Foods.
Image credit: Courtesy Travel Channel
Andrew Zimmern is ditching Morocco for Minneapolis and Sicily for St. Paul on the premiere episode of this season’s “Bizarre Foods.”
The Travel Channel TV host and Minnesota resident, known for ingesting freaky grub from across the globe, is staying stateside for his seventh season. His exploration of America’s greatest food cities starts at home with the Twin Cities.
“When I’m in tribal Africa eating a grilled, wild, giant porcupine, people are fascinated with it, but there’s a little bit of a disconnect,” says Zimmern, who spoke with the media this week in anticipation of the shows Jan. 23 premiere (9 p.m., Travel Channel). “This season creates an opportunity for folks to actually see and taste the things that we’re doing,” he says.
Zimmern, who has called Minnesota home for twenty years, says he hopes the show will also change some of the less-than-stellar views of Minnesota’s culinary scene.
“The biggest misconception is that it’s boring, bland, and boiled,” says Zimmern. “Now, for a long time that was true. But it has changed.”
In the Twin Cities episode, Zimmern visits some of the Twin Cities’ most cutting-edge restaurants, including Haute Dish and Travail, in an attempt to show the state’s more sophisticated side.
“Minnesota cooks have entered the modern era in the sense that they’re now taking cues from their own heritage and honoring their Scandinavian roots, Eastern European roots and their Heartland roots,” Zimmern says.
This sentiment is especially true for Minneapolis’ Haute Dish, which has transformed Minnesota’s notorious casseroles into high-end culinary creations.
But Zimmern doesn’t completely disregard Minnesota’s hunting and fishing foundations. He wades through the Vermillion River in search of snapping turtles and takes a late night lake cruise fishing for carp (yes, he eats both and yes, it looks delicious).
“Instead of trying to be what other cultures are when it comes to food, we’re taking fish out of our own lakes and animals out of our own forests,” says Zimmern.
Although he traverses across numerous other states this season, Zimmern says he loves coming back to Minnesota, a place he now proudly calls home. “From a food and travel standpoint, Minnesota is a place to be checked out,” says Zimmern. “The lakes country, the Boundary Waters…I love where I live.”
+ Tune into the Travel Channel on Monday, Jan. 23 9 p.m. to see Andrew take over the Twin Cities on “Bizarre Foods.” For more information visit travelchannel.com.
Comments
Post new comment