Zimmern road trips with MSN, Toyota

Khürt/Flickr

Andrew Zimmern criss-crosses the country, downing beef jerky and licorice, in this vehicle.

Man, infomercials. I'm going to have to go ahead and take the position that they're not necessarily all that bad. I got completely absorbed the other day by one in Time about White House Chef Cristeta Comerford that was *totally* interesting but also *totally* just a vehicle for Ragú and Hellmann's. And now there's Zimmern hitting the road in a new Toyota Venza. In the first installment of a new MSN feature called "Appetite for Life," our man AZ hits Sedona, Ariz. and Pacific Northwest hotspots Eugene, Ore., Portland, and Seattle. The resulting five-minute videos are accompanied by regional recipes, tourist tips and Q&As with local proprietors. *Totally* not bad. BONUS: See Zimmern with his shirt off and hear him mispronounce the word "hombre" in the Sedona episode.