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A Look Back at Anthony Bourdain's Relationship With Chicago

Anthony Bourdain may have traveled the world, but Chicago held a special place in his heart.

The famed chef and CNN host died Friday at age 61, the network reported. CNN said his cause of death was suicide.

For 11 seasons, Bourdain brought viewers along for a whirlwind tour of food and culture around the globe on his show "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown."

In that award-winning program, as well as on "The Layover" and "No Reservations" before it, Bourdain showcased Chicago for an episode in each series, constantly proclaiming his love for the town he once called "the only other real metropolis in America."

First on "No Reservations" in 2009, Bourdain sampled a tamale in a bun at Fat Johnnie's, tried deep dish pizza at north suburban Burt's Place, hit the famed Calumet Fisheries as well as Moto in the West Loop and Hot Doug's, among others.

In 2012, Bourdain returned to Chicago with "The Layover," this time for a Chicago-style hot dog from Jimmy's Red Hots and an Italian beef sandwich from Johnnie's Beef. He stopped at Old Town Ale House for a drink with owner Bruce Elliott, visited Billy Goat Tavern and dined with Stephanie Izard, one of the city's most well-known chefs and the woman behind Girl & the Goat.

Both Girl & the Goat and Johnnie's Beef later made it onto Bourdain's list of favorite places to eat in Chicago, he said in a Reddit post, calling the Chicago hot dog "the finest in the land."

2016 saw Bourdain in Chicago once again for "Parts Unknown," where he ate at Ricobene's with music producer Steve Albini, caught up with Izard at Sze Chuan Cuisine in Chinatown, met with Chicago-born artist Lupe Fiasco, sampled the fare at Longman & Eagle and visited his old friend Elliott at the Old Town Ale House once more.

It was that establishment that played a prominent role in a love letter he wrote to Chicago before the "Parts Unknown" episode aired.

"There is something about the Ale House — its willingness to accept all who stagger in its doors (though there is, famously a NO SHOT list), it’s morbid sense of humor, it’s never ending flow of opinions, well formed and not, its willingness to scrap — that serves for me, as a happy metaphor for a city I love," Bourdain wrote in a post on Medium.

He proclaimed Chicago to be "one of America's last great NO BULLS***T zones," writing, "You wake up in Chicago, pull back the curtain and you KNOW where you are."

"You could be nowhere else," Bourdain continued. "You are in a big, brash, muscular, broad shouldered motherf****n’ city."

Bourdain's death Friday was grieved in Chicago and around the world, with friends and fans alike mourning the talented chef, author and larger-than-life personality who helped countless others discover corners of the world, cuisines, and ways of life they would have never found without him. 

Izard was among the culinary industry voices joining in the chorus of tributes, posting on Facebook a photo of herself with Bourdain in 2012, from his first visit to Girl & the Goat in which she said she remembered "feeling much cooler than I really am."

"Tony was very supportive of me since the first time we met on the set of Top Chef 12 years ago," Izard wrote.

"When he paid me a compliment, it made such a long lasting impact on me- because he simply was not full of s**t," she continued.

"More well spoken then I could keep up with. Out living life and exploring the world as I wish I could," Izard recalled. "I will always admire him and be thankful I got to spend a little time with him."

Fellow Chicago chef Rick Bayless mourned Bourdain as well, calling the loss "huge, sad and so difficult to understand" in a statement.

“I struggled with Bourdain sometimes—his brashness and one-liner quips—but I also know that more than anyone else he inspired millions of people to break out of their shells and experience the fullness our world has to offer," the man behind Frontera Grill and Toplobampo mused. "And I know he is the reason that thousands of young cooks have pursued a career in the kitchen."

"He made loving and cooking food one of the hippest things anyone could dedicate themselves to," Bayless continued, adding, "For years to come, his loss will be palpable in the culinary world.”

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SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: Here is information on suicide prevention from the National Institute of Mental Health.

If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741.

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