Television series
The Detour with David Chang
A road-trip food show built on friction with its own genre — Chang, restless and openly suspicious of listicles and influencers, chasing tips from friends and strangers instead of algorithms. A new travel companion each leg keeps the show from settling into a rhythm, so it stays loose and a little unpredictable. Good for anyone who wants their travelogue skeptical, funny, and allergic to hype.
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Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown2013
This is the show Chang's clearly in conversation with — Bourdain wandering, curious, letting a place's food explain its politics, its grief, its joy. The gold standard for what a travelogue can be.
But Bourdain's melancholy runs deeper than Chang's; some episodes sit with sadness longer than a food show usually allows.
Ugly Delicious2018
Chang again, but arguing — with chefs, critics, and himself — about what food even means. Less road trip, more dinner-table brawl, and just as much fun to eavesdrop on.
But It's opinionated to the point of combative; if you want Chang mellow and curious rather than needling, this isn't that.
Somebody Feed Phil2018
Phil Rosenthal is the anti-Bourdain: goofy, grateful, near tears over a good bowl of noodles. If Chang's version leans wry, this is the sweeter, sillier cousin.
But The relentless cheerfulness can feel thin and a little safe next to Chang's more skeptical, hype-resistant sensibility.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Route 661960no page yet
Same skeleton: a rotating companion, a fresh American town every episode, the road itself as the only constant character.
Two drifters in a Corvette, a new town and a new stranger's trouble every week — this is the fictional ancestor of the whole rotating-companion, new-place-every-episode structure Chang's show runs on, six decades early.
But It's a black-and-white drama, not a food show — no meals, no chef, just the bones of the format stripped bare.
More like this (7)
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations2005
Bourdain's earlier, rawer travelogue — less produced, more stumbling into a plastic stool at a night market. The direct ancestor of everything in this genre, including Chang's own detours.
But Early-2000s camera work and pacing feel dated next to the slicker travel shows that followed.
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives2007no page yet
Guy Fieri, unfairly mocked, actually built a genuine shrine to no-frills American cooking — diners, roadside shacks, the same unglamorous eating Chang's chasing, just louder and blonder.
But The frosted tips and flame shirts are a real tonal leap from Chang's drier humor; some can't get past the vibe.
The Mind of a Chef2012
Chang's earlier show, narrated by Bourdain, digging into technique and obsession rather than road-trip charm. Good if you want the nerdy curiosity behind the guy telling you where to eat now.
But It's more classroom than road trip — less local color and banter, more kitchen science and technique.
Down to Earth with Zac Efron2020no page yet
A surprisingly earnest travel show about sustainable food and living, hosted by an actor who turns out to ask decent questions. Scratches the same 'follow someone curious around the world' itch.
But It's more wellness documentary than food crawl — expect solar panels and permaculture alongside the eating.
The Layover2011no page yet
Bourdain does 48 hours in a city, fast and cranky and efficient — useful if you want the detour format compressed, more itinerary than meditation.
But It's the least beloved Bourdain show for a reason — rushed, sometimes irritable, missing the reflective pull of his other work.
The Trip2010
Swaps real curiosity for scripted vanity — same restaurant-hopping, same shifting companion, but fiction lets it get pettier and funnier.
Coogan and Brydon, playing barely-fictionalised versions of themselves, tour restaurants in northern England doing impressions between courses — the same food-and-companion engine, run through absurdist male ego instead of documentary sincerity.
But The endless Michael Caine impressions and one-upmanship can grate if you came for the food, not the bickering.
A Place at the Table2012no page yet
Same American backroads and small towns, but the question flips from 'where's the best meal' to 'who doesn't get one at all.'
A documentary about hunger in America — families skipping meals, food deserts, the real cost of the meals Chang's show treats as a delightful discovery. Same country, same roads, seen from the other side of the table.
But There's no charm here, no fun local color — just a sober, angering look at who doesn't get to eat well.
