Latest news with #PartsUnknown
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Anthony Bourdain Changed His Mind On His Initial Monday Fish Rule
For as much love as Anthony Bourdain received for his TV shows like "Parts Unknown" and the eternally-underrated "A Cook's Tour" (Bourdain's very first travel show) his earliest claim to fame came when he wrote the book "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly," a follow-up to his op-ed entitled "Don't Eat Before Reading This." In both writings, Bourdain gave the long-heralded advice to never order fish on Mondays — a suggestion that the chef would eventually retract years later. According to Bourdain, this change in opinion was the result of the food industry improving its standards and his own expanded worldview over the years. The beloved chef made his revised take clear in a video for Insider Tech back in 2016, where he did a complete 180 on ordering fish and admitted to his narrow worldview at the time of his early writings. "Do me one favor — eat the fish on Monday," Bourdain pleaded, "That was 16 years ago; it was a very different world [...] I was writing about the only world I knew, which was New York City markets at the time." Read more: 12 Things You Should Never Say When Ordering Steak Beyond just experiencing how different restaurants handle fish over the years, Anthony Bourdain also noted that his old fish rule is no longer applicable in the modern world, where fresh fish is an absolute must for countless restaurants across the country. Bourdain's original take on fish — which has regularly been called a myth in the years since — was accompanied by the logic that, since fish markets are closed on the weekends, the fish you get on Monday is likely days old by the time you're eating it. However, Bourdain admits that this sort of practice simply wouldn't fly in the modern day. "It's a better world. We have higher standards, we know more about food, we expect more of our food," Bourdain explained, "Everybody eats sushi now [...] We know now what good fish is, and the market has had to respond to that. It can't get away with serving us the crap they used to. We know what fish should look like and smell like." So, while Mondays still stand out as likely the worst day to visit a restaurant in general, it is certainly not because of the fish. Although, Anthony Bourdain did note that it's still important to be vigilant about what fish we eat and when. "Monday at the local fake Irish pub, they're running a mussels special — maybe that's still not such a great idea," Bourdain joked. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Maybe what the world needs right now is another Anthony Bourdain
Like Anthony Bourdain, I am a little bit early. This August will mark 25 years of his memoir, Kitchen Confidential. But Bourdain was always two steps ahead. He still exists in most people's imaginations as 'the first celebrity chef' (Marco Pierre White or indeed the 19th century's Marie-Antoine Carême might have something to say on that); he pioneered, though didn't invent, the travelogue-cum-food television genre; he showed up for every appointment 20 minutes ahead of time, the New Yorker magazine's Helen Rosner once revealed. So it strikes me as fitting to mark Kitchen Confidential's anniversary two months in advance (though this is where mine and Bourdain's similarities begin and end). This is because it is in keeping with that enterprising spirit (I continue to flatter myself) and because the content of Bourdain's universe – the subject of his memoirs, his novels, his TV shows – is universal, always interesting and perhaps the only thing consistently relevant to every living person. READ MORE There is no bad time to write in tribute to Bourdain because there is no wrong time to think about food. Take, for example, his 2014 trip to Iran for the television show Parts Unknown. The country was escalating its incursion in Iraq and the social temperature was in flux (some controversially argued the regime was liberalising). Something was definitely changing (weeks after appearing on the show, two Iranian journalists were put in prison). But as Bourdain made clear, no matter the mutable weather of Iran – the friendliness of its people contrasted with the vitriol of its anti-American rhetoric – food remained the ancient and unchanging universal. [ Anthony Bourdain: The sceptical outsider baffled by fame ] And that was the soul of Bourdain: whether it was the tahdig he shared with the Iranian journalists, soon to be imprisoned; the cow's foot he ate in a Haitian enclave in Miami as Haiti itself was about to experience a devastating hurricane; or the maqluba he ate in Palestine in 2013. This was a marrying of the timely (the politics of the West Bank at the beginning of the 2010s) and the universal (the falafel made by everyone in the greater region); the ephemeral (the spectre of a liberalising Iran) and the material (the tahdig). Forget the pre-Socratics, Bourdain more than anyone understood this organising feature of the universe. I cannot help but think that if food was of central analytical importance, then – I was perhaps just too young to quantify seriously the extent of global upheaval in 2013 and 2014 – it must be all the more central now. But where is the Bourdain-redux eating borscht (with apologies for the regional stereotyping) with Ukrainians in Kyiv? Sharing a hamburger with Donald Trump just as he shared bun cha in Vietnam with Barack Obama? Proving the truth behind the mawkish and sentimental dreck that there is a culinary universal language? It needn't be so lofty, of course. In the long swooping arc of history the little things matter too. Yes, there is the goat stew that ties the 21st century Iranian with their ancient Persian forebears, linking ancestors through every political permutation of the country. Sure we can we think about the potato and its central importance to the trajectory of the Irish people – from the devastating Famine in the mid-1800s to source of a hackneyed and annoying stereotype in 2025. And what about the long shadow cast by Italy's historical Risorgimento movement on the culinary landscape of the Italian-American in New York today? Fine. But Bourdain was as concerned with the prosaic as he was with all of that stuff. It's not always about the shifting geopolitical sands, but the quotidian life of a restaurant; one not rendered any more or less interesting because of its location within or outside of a war zone. He struck fame in 1999 with his now-clichéd advice in the New Yorker that you shouldn't order fish on a Monday (it has been sitting there since Friday, by now cloudy eyed); that the worst cuts of meat are reserved for whoever orders it well-done; that chefs prefer weeknight diners over the fair-weather weekend ones. Perhaps none of this applies any more. It certainly sounds less original and significantly more pedestrian 25 years on. He was a better writer than chef, something he was willing to admit. And Bourdain had a tendency toward equivocation (on the one hand Iran ran an oppressively conservative regime towards women, but on the other hand the men on the street were terribly friendly to him). He was an imperfect rhetorician and a troubled man whose life ended in suicide . But there are perennial truths to the world constructed by Bourdain: chefs are mercurial; food is always about more than just food; the daily banalities performed in the kitchen are not incidental to an important life but the source of one; and fish goes off. Maybe his task was all too easy: ventriloquising things that were as true millenniums ago as they will be millenniums from now. He just happened to be the first to really do it.
Newsweek
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
John Cena Disappoints Longtime Fans Yet Again
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. As John Cena makes his way through his final year as a WWE in-ring performer, a journey that started impressively in 2002, he recently shared some deep thoughts. These thoughts were about his past well-known characters and his own personal growth over two decades. Many WWE fans around the world clearly remember his early days in the company. He first captured attention with his Ruthless Aggression debut and then later transformed into the hugely popular, chain-wearing "Dr. of Thuganomics," who was the undisputed leader of The Chain Gang. Though these unique personas from his younger years created lasting and fond memories for a whole generation of wrestling fans, the current Undisputed WWE Champion has now clearly stated that those hoping to see that version of him return during his final months in WWE will be disappointed. He explained his reasons for this during a recent Q&A session at the Philadelphia Fan Expo. Cena began his answer by kindly recognizing the fan's strong support and connection to his past work in WWE. He then went into a detailed explanation of his current views on his career and personal life. "[The Chain Gang] is right next to my official Doctorate in Thuganomics, which is stashed in Parts Unknown," John Cena stated directly to the fan. "Something I did was etched in your memory, and it's obvious by the way you're dressed and the album you hold. It puts you in a period of reminiscing." LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 20: John Cena walks to the ring as he is introduced before his match against Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April... LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 20: John Cena walks to the ring as he is introduced before his match against Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship during WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium on April 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. MoreMore news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation He then shared a core belief that guides him about how people should approach life and personal change. "I believe we should never be the person that we were yesterday. You should always be curious and always seek growth." Cena even made a lighthearted and humble comparison between his younger self and who he is now at 48 years old. "The 48-year-old me would've got my ass kicked by the 26-year-old me." He pointed to very clear and significant changes in his own life outside of the wrestling ring to show this personal evolution. "I promised myself I would never wear a suit. All I do nowadays is wear a suit. I didn't know what love was. Now I have love and joy and peace in my life. I'm not the person I was at 26, and I'm fine with that." While he truly appreciates all the WWE fans who loved and supported his "Dr. of Thuganomics" character during that time, he confirmed that particular chapter of his career is closed for good. "I'm so grateful for that CD you hold in your hand and so grateful for people that rep the Chain Gang, I think that's dope." He finished his thoughts on the matter by looking forward and emphasizing his current state. "I've just moved forward in my life. I look back on that fondly, I don't regret it. I'm just in a different place. You won't see any of that stuff from me going forward, I think." More WWE News: For more on WWE, head to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Cheesesteak Anthony Bourdain Said Should Be A 'National Landmark' Isn't From Philly
Philadelphia is often considered home to the greatest cheesesteaks in the world, and considering the sandwich was first created in the city in the 1930s, that isn't a shocking distinction (though the original cheesesteak was missing a crucial ingredient). Some, however, such as illustrious celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, disagree with this take. Instead, Bourdain believed that Donkey's Place, a restaurant across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey, was just as good as (or better than) any cheesesteak in the neighboring state. Bourdain revealed his love for Donkey's cheesesteaks in Season 5, Episode 6 of "Parts Unknown," which exclusively covered the cuisine found across New Jersey. In it, Bourdain questioned whether or not Philadelphia was truly the "center of the cheesesteak universe," or if the 80+ year-old restaurant in Southern New Jersey arguably makes a better version of the dish. "Behold the Jersey cheesesteak," Bourdain narrated, "It's round, it's got steak, spices, browned onions, real American cheese, such as it is, and a poppy seed roll. And it is sublime." Read more: Once-Popular Pizza Styles That Are Slowly Disappearing Philly cheesesteak diehards — folks that know the proper way to order a cheesesteak — likely think the idea of New Jersey doing the dish better is insane (or, as Bourdain put it, treasonous). However, the changes implemented by these Jersey cheesesteak-makers have proven to be quite appetizing for many sandwich lovers in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and beyond. For Bourdain, the poppy seed kaiser roll used at Donkey's gave the Jersey cheesesteak a more satisfying taste and texture than the hoagie roll or baguette typically used in Philly. Otherwise, some may prefer the sliced American cheese in Jersey cheesesteaks over the Cheez Whiz and provolone cheese that the Philly version is known for. Despite cheesesteaks being one of those foods that cause an argument whenever they're mentioned, after his experience at Donkey's Place, Bourdain wasn't afraid to draw a line in the sand and admit his controversial preference. "This should be a national landmark right away. This sandwich is unbelievably good," Bourdain praised, "Jersey cheesesteaks, I'm not saying they're better than Philadelphia — yeah, I am, actually. This is great." For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
Glasgow Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
I ate at Glasgow's University Cafe 10 years after TV fame
A kitsch callback to a simpler time, it's leading them indoors where stainless steel buckets filled with sweet ice cream lie in subzero temperatures beneath the counter. Kudos to them for finding the perfect antidote to the balmy Spring weather, but I'm here in search of a dish that will stretch the limits of my appetite far further than a scoop of stracciatella. 'I'm pretty sure god is against this,' late chef and beloved TV personality Anthony Bourdain said of his dinner eaten in this spot for a Scotland-focused episode of Parts Unknown, which first aired on May 10, 10 years ago. READ NEXT: Is Ho Lee Fook the best street food in Glasgow? READ NEXT: The inside story of Glickman's - Glasgow's oldest sweet shop (Image: Newsquest) He delivered this one of signature, razor-sharp one-liners while reaching for another chip, swimming in curry sauce and topped with a blanket of melted cheese so thick that you could almost feel the weight of it through your screen as it cooled and congealed. Of course, this was just a side order to his main event of deep-fried haggis (served here in 'tube form') and a portion of crispy battered haddock. A decade later, looking for a way to acknowledge the milestone, I've decided to risk a spike in cholesterol levels for the chance to experience the same meal which the Kitchen Confidential star ultimately hailed as 'one of life's great pleasures'. Outside of a star feature in Bourdain's celebrated CNN travel series, The University Café is an institution in its own right. Run by the Verrechia family, there's over 100 years' worth of history packed into these walls, and the interiors remain delightfully unchanged as one of the West End's busiest streets morphs and evolves around them. Pictured: Chips, cheese and curry sauce is just the beginning (Image: Newsquest) I sit towards the back of the space, where I'm caught off guard by leather seats which fold down just the same as those you'd find at a theatre. It's snug, but the perfect spot to survey the comings and goings of the café. Aside from swarms of students buzzing in and out with queries about today's ice cream flavours, there's only one other solo diner occupying the sit-in dining area. I eye his can of Irn Bru from across the room and wonder if he too has chosen the Bourdain Special, a repeat of the chef's Frankenstein order which has become a permanent fixture on their menu due to its popularity with fans. With my back to the wall shared with the kitchen, I can hear, but not see, my own single serving of the special being prepared. Crackle. Pop. Bubble. It all comes to a crescendo fuelled by blistering hot oil as each component of this gut-busting feast is plunged into a fryer. Having already dropped off the fizzy drink included in the Bourdain Special, the waitress almost catches me in the act of self-filming a video for our social channels when returning with the rest of the order. Pictured: The Bourdain Special at the University Cafe (Image: Newsquest) Thankfully, there's little time to agonise over whether the main man himself would have dubbed this blatant quest for content creation lame, because there's food here to be eaten. And a lot of it. The curry sauce goes first, poured at a height from a small white milk jug with a chip in its lip and falling in an uneven, gloopy stream. Foodie Room 101 though it may be to some, I find curry sauce to be the ultimate companion to any meal that feels just a little bit 'dirty'. There's a perverse pleasure in ordering this yellow-tinged condiment from a Chinese takeaway or chippy, knowing that that these sweet and spicy flavours don't quite belong but doing it anyway. I know this slathering of the good stuff will turn the batter of that freshly fried haddock into an instant mush, but I don't care, and continue to pour until the last drop. Of all of the items that complete Bourdain's god-offending order, I'll find that the haggis is the best. Whichever brand they use is of a high enough quality that there's decent texture even after being exposed to intense heat, and the richness of meat described in the TV segment as 'sinister sheep parts' shines through any greasiness. Take this from someone who compared six variations of our national dish, including one packed into a can, in honour of Burn's Night earlier this year. Is the haddock as good as the stuff they serve at say, the Fish Works in Largs, or the Anstruther Fish Bar? The short answer is no. But I'm not here for any kind of upmarket experience. It's salty, oily and the white flesh flakes just as well when released from a cocoon of heavy batter. A colleague later describes the meal as looking appetising in an 'after four pints' kind of way, and I understand his point. This is the type of food that can only be fully enjoyed when any notion of calorie counting or refined dining left at the door. Something that we should all surrender to now and again, whether sober or far from it. When I arise from the table, leaving the red leather seat to snap back it its original position behind me, I overhear a couple who have plonked themselves down with an impressive collection of backpacks asking the waiter about the Bourdain Special in unfamiliar accents, a reminder that his fans can be found all across the wide world he once travelled. 'It's funny, a lot of them seem to have sold today,' I'm told when approaching the counter to pay my bill. Before I have the chance to decide if I should reveal my journalistic motives for visiting, the long-serving member of the team offers up an anecdote from Bourdain's visit without any prompt. 'I had the place spotless,' she says, 'and then a child sat at the booth next to where they were filming and smeared their hands right across the glass.' I'm here to write about that very day, I tell her, in the hopes that she'll share more of what it was like to host a man whose work I found myself engrossed in as soon as I started to develop an interest in food and world cuisine. In all of the fun of the afternoon, her response is a sincere yet sobering reminder of the issues which plagued the chef when the cameras stopped rolling and would later develop into something much darker. He wasn't rude by any means, she stresses, but when she approached him to make conversation, the chef seemed somewhat disconnected and closed off. 'You can tell with some people, when something's not quite right.' (Image: Newsquest) Rewatching the Parts Unknown episode in the years following Bourdain's death in 2018 has a bittersweet effect. There's a sense of pride in the moment's when he highlights the city's true spirit rather than leaning into the stereotype of a gritty place plagued by violence and crime. But we now return to those soundbites, knowing that he will never walk its streets again. "A happy place from my past where once I frolicked young and carefree in the field of friolated arts. The University Cafe, where I learned at the foot of the masters the doa of hot fat and crispy batter." 10 years since we first tagged along with him for the ride, his name permanently printed on the menus at a place he returned to time and time again serves as a reminder of the seismic impact this troubled, yet brilliant chef and reluctant celebrity figure has left behind.
