Editor’s note: “The Detour with David Chang” follows renowned chef, restaurateur, and author David Chang as he travels on the open road in search of no-frills but unforgettable meals. Two episodes air every Sunday at 9pm and 10pm ET/PT on CNN. You can watch the streaming from the next day.
We’re all a little too preoccupied with wanting the best: the best cheesesteak, the best taco, the best new restaurant.
Chef David Chang’s solution: “Throw away your phone. I mean, what’s really the worst that can happen? You’re going to be hungry, right? No, you’re going to eat something.”
It may not always taste good, but if you “literally trust your instincts,” you can learn something, he says.
“Eating the best of the best may not actually result in the best experience,” Chan says. Mr. Chan founded his Momofuku empire in 2004 with a noodle bar in New York’s East Village and now has restaurants in Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas.
In a world where “best of” lists drive clicks and sell publications, the natural urge to defer to favorite arbiters, many of whom “don’t know anything,” is getting in the way of discovery, he says. And Chan himself is guilty of that.
His new show, “The Detour with David Chang,” is about following less and exploring more. The CNN original series, which premieres Sunday, takes viewers on a six-part U.S. road trip with Chan, stopping in cities like Las Vegas, Nashville and Pittsburgh. He continues his journey with various guests who have the power to overthrow his plans.
And along the way, Chan visits some of the places he’s spent much of his time, including Las Vegas, home of Cosmopolitan magazine’s Momofuku and Bang Bar, but still makes some unexpected discoveries.
“It reminded me that I don’t know anything,” Chan said of a trip to Las Vegas that took him beyond the Strip and sampled the flavors of Hawaii, Ethiopia and the Philippines with Oscar-winning filmmaker Cord Jefferson. And this is a reminder that applies more broadly to a culture plagued by information overload.
“It’s okay if you don’t know. Instead of assuming you know a culture or a place, you can be more honest and say you don’t know something,” says Chan, who is also a writer.
CNN Travel spoke to Chan about the biggest mistakes travelers make when it comes to food and the lessons he’s learned from his own adventures.
We all tend to be either underprepared or overprepared, Chan says.
Overpreparing can cause you to look at too many lists and posts and place too much weight on what others are saying.
“Question your sources,” Chan urges. “I’m not saying it’s wrong, but why would we think that an individual’s likes and dislikes match what we like? And the problem is, we don’t question it, so everyone likes the same things.”
Beware of plans where “everything is written in stone”. Chan and the show’s producers had to make sudden changes to their South Florida itinerary, which they had already planned for hotels and logistics, because Chan’s partner, comedian Eric Andre, had other ideas.
“Eric Andre was like, ‘What do you mean, you’re not going to Miami? You’re going to Miami,'” he said.
But preparation has a role. “If you think everything is going to go your way,” he says, thinking without a plan won’t do anything particularly well.
Chan likes to argue with his friends over food. And he’s also a fan of niche experiences.
“I think of restaurants like community banks and cultural banks. There’s a little bit for everyone, but if a restaurant has to be everything to everyone, that doesn’t necessarily work. It works for some people, right?
“But it’s great to have restaurants that are like niche movies and niche albums,” he says.
And there are other important things besides food.
“It’s all about time and place,” Chan said. “What do you feel like? How far are you from here? …When you create this, you create something kind of monolithic, like, ‘It has to be these five places and not all the others.'” It’s limiting.
Ask yourself, “‘What is good for you?'” It ruins everything else. ”
Chan admits that he has “calcified” what he likes, especially when it comes to music. But listening more closely helped.
“I feel like that sense of rediscovery in music is important in some ways for me to be happy, to be inquisitive and curious, and I think food can be the same way,” he said.
To that end, be open to eating at gas stations.
“My good friend in Japan, Little Meg, says that the best way to judge food culture is not by the best restaurants, but by the places that aren’t the ‘best’, convenience stores, cheap eateries, etc. And that’s what I like.”
Now let’s try a sample.
“What better way than to get something that looks like a questionable sandwich, but maybe isn’t?” Chan says.
In places like Japan and Italy, gas station food is “very good,” he said, and expects other places to follow suit.
“As someone who’s not very optimistic about a lot of things, I’m optimistic that food will still be good in unexpected places, because it has to be.”
Chan has had the luxury of dining at some of the world’s best restaurants.
“I’ve probably eaten more delicious food than most kings and queens in the history of the world. And I think that’s something that should never happen, right? And when I travel, I like to remind myself…just be grateful that you’re there and that you exist.”
Not every experience has to be the best. Let’s say that last year, Chan traveled to France with his wife.
“We went out to eat. We didn’t force ourselves to eat the best baguette or say, ‘I have to go here.’ I think we ate more often in museum cafes, which was fine. You know, the fines are completely ignored,” he said with a laugh.
“You know, the fact that there’s a ‘fine’ is pretty remarkable in itself.”
