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The late Anthony Bourdain is irreplaceable.
Of all the classic early episodes, the one I like best is his visit to Iceland.
They hang around with the members of lunatic skinhead band.
I watched it constantly.
Id watch it when I had a bad day.
I talked to my dad about it all the time.
It is not the most cinematic or thoughtful thing hes ever done, but it changed my life.
Learn about a place before go there; listen to advice while there; dont just consume.
It feels so trite to say Bourdain deepened my appreciation of food, but it is true.
Even more true is that he showed us how and why you should deepen your appreciation.
Losing him feels like losing a piece of myself.
Once I had the urge and financial privilege to travel alone, I went to Singapore.
And, as I think a ton of people do, I watched this episode beforehand.
I wrote down the names of the things he ate and where he ate them.
I went to the chicken rice place, but it was closed that day.
I didnt know what to do.
This ones better anyway, he said.
I took his word for it.
It wasnt supposed to be like this.
Living as an Iranian in America, its impossible to escape the political narrative thats calcified around us.
So whenParts Unknownwent to Iran, it was a political act in the best sense.
The guy made being an ally just look easy, and fun.
Plus, hes right the rice is like nothing youve ever had.
It was roughly 15 minutes into our drive from Parma when our G.P.S.
unexpectedly broke and a truly unhinged thunderstorm rolled in.
We walked in anyway, drenched, hungry, and defeated.
We figured we could at least buy a bottle of vinegar.
When I answered, in English, he knew all he needed to: Ah, American.
Then he smiled, and brought us back into the tavern.
Anthony BourdainsParts Unknownepisode is the only time Ive seen the real town depicted, well, anywhere.
He had Gullah fare and explored that often ignored and extremely important aspect of the regions African-American culture.
He ate legitimate barbecue and took in a performance by Shovels & Rope, the citys most beloved band.
Bourdains depiction of Charleston was honest, gritty, flawed, and beautiful.
Thats the city I know, love, and miss so much.
Of course, the pair are notable survivors of the hardest of hard livin.
What they call healthy food and white wine arrives at the table.
The islanders arent treated as props in Bourdains country experience.
Listening, learning, and treating the people with respect.
Havana still looks like you want it to look.
Or maybe, how I want it to look, he noted.
And thats within five years, he predicted.
He ate flan cooked in a cut-down beer can, he tried Cuban sushi (!
), and he ate a Sichuan chicken dish thats about as Sichuan as, well, I am.
My favorite line from the episode says it all: Cubas been sitting here for what, 55 years.
It will come, from out there, but also from within Cuba.
Its already happening, but what is it?
Everybody knows, everybody can feel it, it smells like freedom.
But will it be victory?
Here was a Westerner, in Vietnam, who was deeply respectful and enthusiastic about Asian food.
He didnt exoticize it or patronize the audience by dumbing down the cuisine.
He prized a $2 bowl of noodles, perhaps even more so than fine dining.
Choosing one episode is hard, though.
Here was someone who actually spotlighted Asian culture, which remains a rarity in the American media landscape.
Bourdain shared traditions and gave others a chance to have their voices heard.
How low impact could it be?
What happens next is emblematic of the fearless, warts-and-all truth telling Bourdain made his lifes mission.
Seething about the hideous sham being perpetrated, the host experiences what he describes as an existential crisis.
Youve got to be pretty immune to the world to not see the obvious metaphor here.
And it took a long, long time after this damn episode to recover.
I must have sulked back to bed somehow, collapsed into a sodden, drunken heap of self-loathing.
I would have ordinarily turned on the porn channel and loaded up on prescription meds.
But theres no TV atagriturismo.
Theres something beautiful about the way he just allowed himself to be absorbed by Carlos family.
I think of this episode every time I convince yet another friend to go to Mexico with me.
Its the first episode shot completely in widescreen, letterbox anamorphic format, and the result is downright cinematic.
Its a very beautiful show, he wrote.
The most beautiful weve ever made, I think.
Rather, he told the real story of Detroit.
I loved him for that.
Its the one where he goes back to Provincetown, where he spent his post-high-school years washing dishes.
Its an interesting deviation.
He even dives deep into the heroin epidemic ravaging other small New England towns.
Alexia LaFata
