Food Network’s Alton Brown Hits the American Open Road On His Motorcycle In Search of Adventure and Good Eats For ‘Feasting On Asphalt’

Alton Brown (Good Eats) believes roads exist because before people needed to conquer, build, shop, vocate, vacate, and pick up a latte, they needed to eat. Their movements became trails that would later become horse paths, two tracks and eventually paved superslabs. Feasting on Asphalt, premiering Saturday, July 29 at 9 PM ET/PT, is a four episode limited series documenting Alton’s ride across America on his 2005 BWM 1200 RT motorcycle. Loosely following fabled Route 50, Food Network’s intrepid culinary investigator is on a quest to find out what’s left to eat. The hour-long shows will air four consecutive Saturdays at 9 PM and will be a celebration and examination of what it means to eat on the American road.

“Why a motorcycle? As far as I’m concerned, there’s no better way to experience the road than from the back of a bike. Being exposed to the elements presents thrills and challenges alike, most of which can’t be captured in a “cage” (that’s what motorcycle people call cars),” said Alton. “Although we’ll stay in the occasional motor lodge as needed, many nights will be spent under tent or stars. For vast majority of human history, hotels didn’t exist and eating meant lighting a fire. The social aspect of sitting around that fire is one of the things our culture lost by taking most of our meals locked inside our cars.”

Alton and crew will meander in a zigzag leading from Savannah, Georgia, through the western edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, down the Natchez Trace, over the rolling hills of Kentucky, through Kansas and Utah, across the high dusty dessert to the Rocky Mountains, then west to Las Vegas and the California coast. Along the way they will contemplate every aspect of eating on the go, from foraging in the forest (grubs are great protein) to camp cooking (think Lewis and Clark) to the evolution of “road food” icons – the diner, truck stop and even the corporate fast food chain. They also intend to eat (and cook) in churches, community centers, VFW halls, RV parks, and the homes of folks nice enough to offer a weary traveler a meal.

Side trips from the past will pepper the journey – Alton will ponder the food of the great road trips from the Odyssey to the Crusades, to Lewis and Clark, and Jack Kerouac. Archival photos, film footage depicting the history of the American highway and the evolution of the diners, cafes, and truck stops that once flourished, will all make an appearance. The story will also be seasoned with interviews gathered from the road, various historians, anthropologists, and big thinkers who can address issues like what’s good to eat under a log, the broad social implications of the drive through window and the automobile cup holder.

Alton Brown’s interest in the kitchen developed early with guidance from his mother and grandmother, a budding culinary talent he skillfully used later “as a way to get dates” in college. Switching gears as an adult, Alton spent a decade working as a cinematographer and video director, but realized that he spent all his time between shoots watching cooking shows, which he found to be dull and uninformative. Convinced he could do better, Alton left the film business and moved to Vermont to train at the New England Culinary Institute. Soon after, Alton tapped all of his training to create Good Eats, a television show that blends wit with wisdom, history with pop culture, and science with common cooking sense. Alton not only writes and produces the shows but also stars in each offbeat episode on Food Network. Alton also serves as commentator on the popular series Iron Chef America and has penned four successful cookbooks.