When asked which five people, living or dead, you’d invite to a dinner party, it’s advisable that you always save a seat for the late Anthony Bourdain. Revisiting the globetrotting food-and-culture connoisseur’s groundbreaking No Reservations and Parts Unknown shows is bittersweet — we can’t know when international travel will again be safe and advisable, which only compounds the sadness of Bourdain’s 2018 suicide. But instead of dwelling on that, let’s pay tribute to the man on what would have been his 64th birthday (June 25) with some of his favorite food, drinks and tunes. Jam some Ramones, Television or Voidoids, knock back some bourbon or cheap beers, and cook a signature dish from one of his 13 books, like cacio e pepe pasta — mac-and-cheese as the Romans do it. Bourdain always went for proletarian eats over nouvelle cuisine, so alternatively you could order in from any of the local institutions highlighted in his 2016 Parts Unknown Nashville episode: Bolton’s, Dino’s and Duke’s. While we’ll likely never fully understand why Bourdain left us, we’re better for what he left us with. So cheers, Tony. You are missed. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN
Celebrate Anthony Bourdain’s Birthday
