What I like about this whole idea is it's built around going places that haven't blown up on your phone. Chang's a big-name chef, could eat anywhere in the world, and he's choosing to ride around with friends to find food that doesn't have a line wrapped around the building because somebody posted a video of it.

The new CNN series runs six episodes and he's bringing folks like Eric André and Christina Tosi along for the ride. That's a good mix right there. André is gonna bring whatever chaotic energy he brings to everything and Tosi founded Milk Bar so she knows a thing or two about food that doesn't need a white tablecloth to be memorable.

The whole concept reminds me of how I approach a road trip. You don't plan every stop. You see a hand-painted sign on a two-lane highway that says BBQ and you pull over. Maybe it's the best brisket you've ever had and maybe it's just fine, but either way you found it yourself. That beats pulling into a packed parking lot because the internet told you to.

I've eaten at some of my favorite places because I was lost or needed gas or just got hungry at the wrong time in the right place. A catfish place outside Cabool, Missouri, population barely 2,000, that had the best hushpuppies I've ever put in my mouth. A burger joint in a converted gas station somewhere in the Arkansas Ozarks that I still think about every time I drive past that stretch of road. Nobody told me to go. I just went.

Seems like that's what Chang is after. According to MSN, the series focuses on non-viral food spots, which is another way of saying places just doing their thing without needing the internet to tell people they're good.

Six episodes feels about right too. Long enough to get into it, short enough they don't have to pad it with filler. Road trip shows work best when they feel like an actual trip, not a produced segment with a couple driving shots slapped in between studio scenes.

What I want to see is whether they actually catch that feeling of being on the road with somebody, talking about nothing and everything, stopping when something looks interesting. The food matters, sure. But the best road trip meals are half the food and half the company and half the fact that you found the place at all. I know that's three halves. Road trip math don't add up normal.

I'll probably give it a watch. And if it makes me hungry enough I might just fire up the truck and go find my own spot.