There was real reward in his unbridled curiosity for places more honest than famed. For alex_delany, the notion was a revelation. BourdainDay
Anthony Bourdain means a lot of things to a lot of people. He was an illuminating representative for service industry workers. A catalyst for writers trying to take a leap and tell their story. An imperfect but honest voice for those struggling with addiction. But for me, Bourdain was something else: He was the insightful, irreverent pleasure seeker who taught me how to travel.. My connection was made in the same way it was for millions of others: through television.
For a man who said loud things, he was, on screen, a quiet traveler. He didn’t show up to a city demanding immediate satisfaction. He never chased stars or long lines or the restaurants that topped the lists. He simply went where the locals were, and let a place reveal itself to him, through lazy dinners, beer-and-a-shot combos, conversations with staff and strangers, walks down unmarked streets. He spent his time eating and drinking, and the city he was in would always show him something extra.
Last year, I was sitting by myself in a booth at Al-Ameer restaurant in Dearborn, MI, beaming at a bowl of ful mudammas , a plate of tabbouleh, and the largest kebab platter I’d ever seen. I’d taken a 20-minute drive to the outskirts of Detroit to eat a late lunch at this legendary Middle Eastern restaurant—which was, at 3 p.m., mostly empty. As I ate, I listened to one of the few occupied tables next to me, filled with portly, gravel-skinned men in their sixties and seventies.
They worked for GM and Ford, and as they ate, I heard tales of shutdowns, bailouts, glory days, and rapidly changing neighborhoods. As the group got up, one man gave an, “It is what it is,” shrug and another thanked their server in practiced Arabic stained in Michigan accent. I watched the shrugger leave the restaurant, open the door to his Impala, roll down the windows, and putter away.
There was a time when I wouldn’t have, a time when I would have felt the pressure to spend my day in places that carried reputations as mandatory stops. But now, I almost never travel that way. I know that being present and attentive in a seemingly ordinary setting—maybe one that smells of cumin, olive oil, and grilled flatbread—can prove to be more valuable. Anthony Bourdain taught me that.
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