Gotta agree with you, Brandon. Even the Live show was OK when it first got started, although a notch down from Essence. [Forgive me.....]
I guess some of us will just have to disagree about whether Emiril deserves to be tasered on a 24/7 basis, but it looks like we've got a small Anthony Bourdain admiration society developing. I'll count myself as a fan. If you like to cook and you don't have his Les Halles cookbook, you'll want it. I got it for Christmas, and I actually read the whole thing. Yes, I'm mindful that admitting to having read a cookbook cover to cover immediately places me in the category of those likely touched in the head, but don't judge until you've cracked it open yourself. It's actually an entertaining read.