6 Shows Worth Their Salt

By James Poniewozik

TV and food have always gone together, from Julia Child's souffles to the potato-chip grease on your remote. But when there are so many gustatory shows, how do you know which are worth a look? Take a nibble of these.

IRON CHEF AMERICA

FOOD NETWORK, SUNDAYS, 9 P.M. E.T.

America tones down the camp (barely) of the Japanese original while retaining the premise: two chefs duel using one theme ingredient. It's true that the show finishes the job of turning star chefs into pro wrestlers. But then theater is a big reason people eat out--or stay home to watch people cook on TV.

COOKIN' IN BROOKLYN

DISCOVERY HOME, TUESDAYS, 8 P.M. E.T.

Despite the title, Alan Harding doesn't have a fuhgeddaboutit accent or specialize in Coney Island hot dogs. Instead he builds each episode around an outlandish problem (e.g., what to do with a quarter-ton of pork) and finds solutions applicable to the home kitchen. The unpretentious restaurateur runs his show like a friendly neighborhood hangout.

FOODY CALL

STYLE, MONDAYS, 10 P.M. E.T.

The quickest way to the heart is through the stomach. It's also, says this series, the quickest way into the pants. Each show helps someone "prepare the food to set the mood" to seduce a member of the opposite sex. (And you thought straight men didn't watch Style!) With recipes like Fruity Booty Salad, this ain't Escoffier, but it is saucy fun.

NO RESERVATIONS

TRAVEL, MONDAYS, 10 P.M. E.T.

Anthony Bourdain says this is not a food show: "It's about people, culture and places." Tomatillo, tom-ah-tillo--either way, it's a funny, foulmouthed culinary tour. (Of a French waiter, he asks, "Why is it that when he calls me 'Mon ami,' it sounds like 'A______'?") Fox is turning Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential into a sitcom this fall; here you can catch him raw.

GOOD EATS

FOOD NETWORK, WEDNESDAYS, 10 P.M. E.T.

Alton Brown is interested in how food works, from the chemistry of cured salmon (it involves water-soluble proteins) to the physics of pressure cookers (it involves, um, pressure). Even if you never have to improvise a fish smoker out of a cardboard box, you will enjoy watching him do it. He's the MacGyver of mackerel.

AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN

PBS, CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS

Some people believe there is no one right way to cook a dish. This show is not for them. The info-packed ATK is dedicated to platonic ideals: the authentic pot roast and the proper Dutch oven to cook it in. Host Christopher Kimball explains proper technique and equipment like a fussy but friendly professor of foodology. --By James Poniewozik