This week for the “Person I Admire” series, I’m going with a recent edition to the admiration society: Anthony Bourdain, host of The Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.” I became cognizant of Bourdain’s presence some time ago, but because his show is on the Travel Channel, I assumed that it wasn’t good, because nothing on the the Travel Channel is particularly stimulating to any part of my brain other than the, “Wow, that looks like a pretty place!” segment. What makes Bourdain’s show so great is that it stimulates that segment of my brain, but also stimulates the “I’m learning something and enjoying it” part.

Bourdain’s show sees him travel to cities, islands, or countries where he eats their food and talks to their people. There’s no resorts. This is not Bourdain’s mentality. He’s a modern day, sarcastic, honest explorer, who, unlike explorers before him, isn’t armed with blankets infected with smallpox. Bourdain immerses himself as much as possible in the culture of the area he is in. When he was in Montana, he went fly fishing. When he was in the Greek Islands, he ate with a group of dancing “tribesman (of a sort)” and drank the drinks they drink and ate the food they eat.

“No Reservations” is not a travel show most people would use as a tool to prepare for a family trip to New York. In the most recent episode involving Bourdain’s beloved home city, he traveled to Staten Island with the lead singer of the New York Dolls and ate and drank at a tiki bar. He also traveled to a Chinese shopping center in Queens, where he dined on anything that wasn’t crab rangoon or pork fried rice.

So, much as with last week’s Anthony I Admire, you’re asking, “Why do you admire Bourdain?” I admire him because he lives his life by the title of his TV show. With “No Reservations.” Eels anus? He’ll eat it. Turtle uterus? Not a problem. And he doesn’t do it in a “Survivor” or “Fear Factor” way. He’s not scaring anyone. He’s not scared. He is truly willing to try anything. He strikes me as a man who fully immerses himself in anything that he does. He does nothing halfheartedly. You get the sense that he realizes the opportunity that he has been given with his show and does not want to take it for granted. And he doesn’t want to pander to his viewers. He never comes off as being disingenuous. When he doesn’t enjoy something, he’s honest about it. When he enjoys something, he doesn’t act like an idiot. He simply nods and says, “Mmm. That’s very good.” No sunglasses. No hot rod. No yelling. A real person. Crazy, no?

The final and most important reason for which you are reading about this man is because he cares. When I watch “No Reservations” I’m always impressed by how much Bourdain wants to learn about the cultures of the world. He treats a trip to Washington the same way he treats a trip to the Azores. He asks questions of his guides and of the locals. He asks about the history behind their food and thus, their culture. He conveys a sense of real interest that is so absent from so many of the chatterboxes who have travel and cooking shows. To Bourdain, it’s clear that there’s so much more to a meal than it’s tangible ingredients. And I admire that.