Happy Birthday Tony!

Today is apparently (so says the radio) Anthony Bourdain's birthday.  If you've read any of my other posts, you'll have realized that Tony is one of my foodie heroes.  He's pretty much been everywhere and eaten everything.  He has a job that I can only fantasize about.  He's also an accomplished chef and author.  If his job and lifestyle, weren't reason enough to envy him, his writing will most definitely sell you.  He's fearless in a way I only wish I could be (without eating the entrails of any previously furry animals...) and will speak up about any subject that interests him or he feels strongly about.  He's also eloquent and and can weave stories better than anyone I've ever read.  He's written quite a few non-fiction books about his life as a chef and chef culture, but my favorite is of course "A Cook's Tour - In Search of the Perfect Meal".   What's not to love, food and travel, my 2 favorite things! I read it years ago and never truly appreciated it until I re-read it last month.  It's hillarious and heartbreaking at the same time.  He starts off recounting an all-night drinking binge, but by the end he's logically explaining his philosophy on food and life. 

"The whole concept of the 'perfect meal' is ludicrous.

'Perfect" like 'happy', tends to sneak up on you.  Once you find it - like Thomas Keller (another foodie hero of mine - One of these days I will see the Franch Laundry, by goodness!) says - it's gone.  It's a fleeting thing, 'perfect', and, if you're anything like me, it's often better in retrospect.  When you're shivering under four blankets in a Moroccan hotel room, the perfect meal can be something no more exotic than breakfast at Barney Greengrass back in New York - the one you had four months ago.  Your last Papaya King hot dog takes on golden, even mythic proportions when remembered from a distance."

-Anthony Bourdain "A Cook's Tour" (2001)

So, Happy Birthday Tony!  You wouldn't be looking for a sidekick, would you?