It’s interesting, if not a little disheartening how the meaning of an expression can change through the years. Back in the early 70s if a biker mentioned his good partner he meant the dude was his bro, and wasn’t referring to participating in a homosexual marriage. There’s another biker expression from back when the Harley dealer sold Shovelheads new, and that’s “cookin’-it.” In layman’s terms it a meant a guy was on his motorcycle and haulin’ ass to get somewhere. For example, “We were really cookin’-it,” or, “We cooked-it big time to get there.”
There’s a new TV show on the History Channel, and it’s called Hairy Bikers. The premise is about two Texans doing the Then Came Bronson thing with a frying pan. On The History Channel’s website a trailer for Hairy Bikers displays subtitles describing Paul Patranella as the chef, and Bill Allen as the mechanic. Listening to the trailer’s soundtrack right away one gets the idea Paul is a big time serious chef, and his good partner Bill helps him fix stuff to eat. “Kill it, and grill it” is one of Paul, and Bill’s favorite mottos. Delving deeper into the casts’ credentials Paul Patranella is a classically trained four-star French chef “whose many honors include serving as President George W. Bush’s chef.” Bill Allen is the owner of Bill Allen’s Motorcycle Company in Bryan, Texas, a college town half way between Houston, and Austin.
The frog-gigging episode Finger Lickin’ Frogs started filming at 4AM with the Hairy Bikers riding out to the middle of nowhere, and then having to listen to frogs that barked like cows. The expert frog-gigger gave Paul, and Bill a crash course on how to stick the little buggers, and then it was time to start catching frogs. Bill did real well, a proverbial natural with a gig pole in his hands. Paul on the other hand displayed that frog gigging wasn’t quite his forte. He ended-up diving into the mud barehanded looking like a giant frog trying to screw a football. The sight of skinning a frog let alone hearing the suction gurgle, and pop the gig pole makes when its yanked out might make some viewers squeamish. That’s part of what Hairy Bikers is all about, its showing the eating process from start to finish. Paul’s ineptness disappeared when things moved to the kitchen. Later at a famous Bar-B-Q joint Bill took a whack at chopping up ribs, and then it was Paul’s turn. Damn, it was like watching a Kung-Fu master pluck out some one’s heart with one finger. Paul’s finesse with a knife was absolutely amazing, every bit as compelling as watching that English Chef that yells, “fuck,” a lot.
It’s a sign of the times, reality TV has moved on from egocentric celebrity welders to shows that are all about food. Paul uses the proper fancy terminology to describe the ingredients, and then Bill breaks it down for the average Joe to understand. Crème fraiche becomes thick un-pasteurized cream, and so it goes. The History Channel’s new show has something for everyone. What better way is there to show folks how to get out, see the country, and eat some good food other than a couple of hairy bikers.
