Some Of The Best Dining Tips From Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain wasn’t afraid to expose some of the restaurant industry’s secrets to the average diner. Here are some of his best dining tips to honor his memory.
By Admin on June 19, 2018
Anthony Bourdain deservedly marked his legacy within the food industry. He was one of the pioneers today’s diverse food culture, and the world mourned his loss on June 8.
Here are some of his best dining tips to honor his memory, courtesy of PEOPLE.
1.) Avoid the fish special.
It’s probably not fresh. Chefs typically receive seafood orders on Friday for the weekend. So “chances are that the Monday-night tuna you want has been kicking around in the kitchen since Friday morning, under God knows what conditions,” he wrote in his 1999 New Yorker article, Don’t Eat Before Reading This. Of course, restaurants in which seafood is the “main thrust of their business” may be different.
2.) Go out to eat on weekdays.
In particular, Tuesdays are a good day to venture in. That’s when “the good stuff comes in”. Weekend menus are typically more stylized and over-the-top for tourists, whereas weekday dining is for locals.
3.) Most meals contain a full stick of butter.
Of course restaurant food tastes better than home cooking, it gets a lot more help! “In almost every restaurant worth patronizing, sauces are enriched with mellowing, emulsifying butter,” Bourdain said, even “the ones where the chef brags about how he’s ‘getting away from butter and cream.’”
4.) The free bread is often recycled.
Yes, they take the uneaten bread from previous tables and put them in front of you. To ease your mind a bit, it’s only the seemingly untouched bread that gets reused. According to Bourdain, this has been “fairy standard practice” for years. However, he says not to go out of your way to avoid the bread. “You might just as well avoid air travel, or subways, equally dodgy environments for airborne transmission of disease,” he continued. “Eat the bread.”
Related: Anthony Bourdain’s Most Memorable Quotes
5.) Skip the Hollandaise.
I know, I know… Eggs Benedict. But Bourdain wrote in his 2000 memoir, Kitchen Confidential: “Most likely, the stuff on your eggs was made hours ago and held on station.”
6.) The mussels aren’t worth it.
It’s a rare occasion that restaurants handle their mussels with care. “More often than not, mussels are allowed to wallow in their own foul-smelling piss in the bottom of a reach-in”. If you absolutely must have the mussels, do a quick inspection yourself before eating.
7.) Treat your waiter with respect.
First and foremost, you should be polite to everyone. Waiters are your connection to the kitchen. They know things that you don’t. The chef wrote in Kitchen Confidential, “Look at your waiter’s face. He knows. If he likes you, maybe he’ll stop you from ordering a piece of fish he knows is going to hurt you.”
Now, the purpose of providing the public with insight into the restaurant kitchen wasn’t to turn people off to dining out. As he put it himself:
“Do all these horrifying assertions frighten you? Should you stop eating out? Wipe yourself down with antiseptic towelettes every time you pass a restaurant? No way. Like I said before, your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
Furthermore, if you or anyone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please know that help is available. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. You can also get more information online HERE.