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When restauranteur , author , and telly host David Chang join the Netflix substance machine , he did so with the interesting and occasionally illumine docudrama seriesUgly Delicious . The show was not only a peek into the life and intake of one of the hottest restauranteur ’s around , it also aim to broaden viewer ’ discernment of cuisine of all variety , from a variety of different cultural perspectives . It was , to put it simply , a potential way to fill theParts Unknown - sized vacancy bequeath by the going ofAnthony Bourdain . That potential is leave unrealised , however , in Chang’sUgly Deliciousfollow - up and spiritual sequel , Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner .
solid food shows are a dime a dozen now , with even Phil Rosenthal , the creator ofEverybody eff Raymond , accept a platform that allows him to jet around the earth and sample the cuisines of various locales and cultures , in Netflix’sSomebody Feed Phil . Though that series has the ever genial and enthusiastic Rosenthal to taste the kinds of genuinely prepared food most viewers will likely never have an opportunity to adjudicate , it also lacks a distinct perspective , beyond that of a noted tourist with a ostensibly limitless appetency . Breakfast , Lunch & Dinner , with its likewise global grasp and gamy - profile celebrity node , suffers from much the same complaint .
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There is a lack of requirement in the show that ’s patent from the moment go , as Chang ’s first stoppage is Vancouver , British Columbia , where he spends a day eating — what else ? — breakfast , dejeuner , and dinner with one of Canada ’s slap-up export : Seth Rogen . The actor , author , director has been popping up a lot on Netflix ’s food - centrical series as of later , with appearances on Jon Favreau and Roi Choi ’s comparableThe Chef Show , as well as the late time of year of Jerry Seinfeld’sComedians in Cars have Coffee . Though thinly , the latter at least has a clear-cut agenda : see what comedian think about their profession while sipping coffee and joyride around in a classic car of some make and exemplar . It ’s essentially a celebrity stamping ground show , somethingThe Chef Showand nowBreakfast , Lunch & Dinnerboth aim and , at times , fight to make compelling .
Unfortunately , what sets Chang ’s former serial of adventures apart is n’t that he ’s reach great use of his passport to chat with the ilk of Rogen , Chrissy Teigen , Lena Waithe , and Kate McKinnon , it ’s that the series never convincingly connects the dots between Chang , his guest , the culinary art , and their finish . As such , it ’s difficult to discern what , exactly , the serial is meant to be . It ’s not really a food show , as the solid food that ’s consumed is seldom talk about in any significant detail . It ’s also not really an consultation show , as Chang , though competent in his hosting duty , is n’t precisely prone to , or seemingly concerned in , posing probing interrogation to his guests . The good way to describeBreakfast , Lunch & Dinner , then , might be as a travel show , and a famous person change of location show at that , though even that is something of a dubitable word form . There ’s a sense that Chang want to upend the idea of what these kinds of show are and the content they cut across . And while he succeeds in eschewing some of the more formal conventions of like programs , he does n’t really offer up anything new , to distinguishBreakfast , Lunch & Dinnerfrom all the other content floating around out there .
At times , it seems as though the series should really have just been calledDavid Chang Has Famous Friends … and Can try out It . While that sort of transparency would have been apprize , it would also would have gone a recollective way of life in informing likely TV audience what the show really is : an exculpation to cling out with famous multitude in some unequalled locales . Honestly , there ’s nothing wrong with that , and when reckon through that particular lens , Breakfast , Lunch & Dinneris transformed into a mostly serviceable , albeit flavorless hangout series . In other lyric , it ’s kind of bland comfort food — what it lacks in obvious nutritional time value it cook up for in its ease of consumption and ability to make viewers say , “ Sure , I ’ll have another . ” That is , after all , Netflix ’s formula for streaming achiever .
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Breakfast , Lunch & Dinneris currently streaming on Netflix .
