Minneapolis is a culinary war zone, according to Anthony Bourdain — a place where the dark forces of big-box chain restaurants do battle with the ambitious chef and the neighborhood restaurants.

This argument resonated with the packed house at the Triple Rock Social Club, as City Pages food critic Dara Moskowitz announced while introducing Bourdain that one of the Twin City’s most beloved dining establishments, Saigon Restaurant and Bakery, was being forced to relocate to accommodate a retail and housing development.Bourdain, the journeyman chef and star of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” who is spending a few days in Minneapolis promoting his new book “No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach,” is familiar with the Twin Cities food scene. Several years ago the outspoken gourmand portrayed Minneapolis as gastronomically conflicted in an episode of A Cook’s Tour, his short-lived series with the Food Network. The episode, entitled “The Struggle for the Soul of America,” opened at the Mall of America food court with Bourdain decrying the sacrifice of taste in deference to convenience and cost, before visiting a few of the Twin Cities’ best restaurants. Last night, that theme was revisited during a question-and-answer session.

I’ve always liked Minneapolis. I did a Food Network show here on Minneapolis as sort of the crossroads of good an evil. The struggle is here. These are the front lines. These are the barricades. It’s either us or them. It’s fish on a stick versus good food. But it is happening here. This is one of those pockets of enlightenment, you know, amid the vast empty spaces.

Bourdain offered his take on another conflict zone and epicure’s pocket of enlightenment on the Mississippi. Having just filmed an upcoming episode of “No Reservations” in New Orleans, he peeled away any pretense that the devastated city is on the rebound.

The whole thing is about the restaurant and hospitality industry in New Orleans. What happened, how it is now, is it recovering. Man, I tell you, every single person we talked to for the show, every single person, at some point started crying on camera. Anyone who is telling you that New Orleans is back and that New Orleans is better and everything is fine is lying. That town was abominably fucked over. It’s like everybody had a simultaneous nervous breakdown, and the sense of betrayal, everything you believe was proven to be utterly false.

Not a happy place, but chefs and cooks are particularly well suited to New Orleans because we’re used to being fucked over by everybody and used to working in a situation where you’re probably not going to win the day. You’re used to futility and irony, and there is a sense of humor there that is strangely beautiful.

Bourdain displayed his irreverent approach to consumption when asked why he was not drinking locally brewed Summit beer. Swishing around the contents of a near-empty bottle of beer, Bourdain promised, “I will correct my error immediately.” Asked for his take on smoking bans, Bourdain admitted that he had quit smoking four months ago, adding, “Every chef I know smokes, and that’s why God created salt.”

“No Reservations” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on the Travel Channel. Bourdain’s new book “No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach” is available now from Bloomsbury.