Something was missing from yesterday's new installation of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. He even said it near the end. "The people here are just too fricking nice."

It wasn't the people so much, though. It was the menu of the show itself. The crew went to a bunch of locations and the street food looked incredible. But whenever there's a rural theme to one of the shows, there's the risk losing the pulse. Lack of uptempo. No fastbreaks. That gets dry and droll sometimes. It wasn't the case in Cambodia. The history and storytelling grabbed me.

But in the P.I., there was nothing outside of food. That's great for awhile, but for me, it wasn't the spectrum that Tony Bourdain normally brings.

Me? I'm no travel show host wannabe, but if I ever visit the P.I., my must-do list would include:

1. PBA, as in the Philippines Basketball Association. I hear Brandon Cablay (Konawaena's greatest hoopster ever and the best 1-on-1 player I've ever seen in Hawaii high school ball) is still playing there. He's getting older, so my time is running short. Must see!

2. Chicken fights. You know, Filipinos are known everywhere for the chicken fights, and yet Bourdain managed to completely ignore this activity. How? I have a theory. Now that he's married with a baby and now that they sometimes travel with him (I hear), his not-so-mainstream interests have taken a turn for the ... less exciting.

3. Night scene. To say there is no night life in an otherwise rural nation is crazy. Manila is pretty famous. There must be a lot of clubs where there's music and heat. Again, the wife probably would object.

Am I insinuating that Bourdain's best shows are all behind him because he's quite "civilized" now? Of course not. I wouldn't ever say it or write it.

But I am a bit disappointed. Why fly thousands of miles and miss the other fun stuff? Unusual.

Now, the Hong Kong episode (rerun was on Tuesday) was all about food, but the tempo of the program was GREAT. That's what overcrowded cities can do for a show. Hustle and bustle. I don't like being in it, but it makes for better TV.

Which gets me thinking, all my griping about traffic and crowds and hostility in Honolulu (yeah, the Aloha State has a sour capital city, if you haven't noticed) hasn't pushed me away from the same town. Grip it or gripe about it. I tend to grip and gripe. There's so much to be written. I'm not even halfway there.

Where is that screenwriting CD anyway?

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