PREVIOUSSPREAD: SCOTTMcDERMOTT/CORBISOUTLINE
isalreadyanaccomplished jujitsuand
MMAfighterandthattheir7-year-old
daughter,Ariane, is learninghowto
grapple. “It’sa familything,”hesays, swab-
binghummuswithawedgeof focacciaand
smiling. “Ariane’sreallygood.She’sso far
aheadofme inrank.Atpractice, I’llbetry-
ingtofigureoutamove,andI’ll lookacross
theroomandshe’llhavemastered it.”
Granted,he’satadisadvantagebecause
he travelsmuchof theyearfilming
Parts
Unknown
,whichhasbeenrenewed
through2016.Bourdainsays thenetwork
hasbeen“relentlesslyawesome” in letting
him tell stories, food-relatedorotherwise,
andhe’s traveledeverywhere fromQue-
bec to theRepublicofCongo.Lastseason
tookhim throughnorthernThailandand
theIndianstateofPunjab, andherecently
flewportabledronesover theZanzibar
wilderness inEastAfrica. It’sbeena
dream,hesays, but theultracaloric intake
hasspoiledhis jujitsuregimen. “Itmakes
ithard if I’mshoving foodand liquor in
my face for threeweeks, and [then] Ishow
up,”hesays.The turn towardfitness isan
oddnewdevelopment for the formerchef,
who likes tosayhehasneverseen the
insideofagym. “It’s justabouteverything
Despitethepromiseofa light lunch,a
plateofdaintilyround,herb-fleckedfalafel
isplacedonourtablenexttoanarrange-
mentofsmoked-codroetaramasalata,baba
ghanoushandsheep’s-milkricotta,andan
arrayofolivesandhouse-madebread.
Bourdainhas longbeencirclingthe
world insearchofthebestfood,andone
ofhis latestendeavors,
AnthonyBourdain:
PartsUnknown
onCNN,hasgivenasmuch
airtimetospotsacrossAmerica, likethe
MississippiDelta,LasVegasandwestern
Massachusetts,asanyfar-flung locale.This
isbecauseelementsoftraditionalAmeri-
cancuisine, fromPennsylvaniaDutch
dumplingstothespreadsoftheGreatLakes
supperclubs,areenjoyingearnestrevivals
amongseriouschefsandrestaurateurs.
But it’saresurgenceofhumbleAmericana
pairedwithablendofdistinctly interna-
tionalflavors—thinkartisanalsoysauce
fromLouisville,Ky.,orscrapplewa¯es
served inaTokyo-style izakaya inNewYork
City.Andthat’swhyI’mheretoday, toget
Bourdain’stakeontheseshifting influ-
ences inAmericancuisine:big-picturestu².
Giventheconversation,agreeingtomeet
atDanielBoulud’srestaurant,BouludSud,
whichspecializes inMediterranean food
withNorthAfrican,TurkishandFrench
accents, seemed likeanobviouschoice.
I’M
EATINGVERYLIGHTTODAY
,”
ANTHONYBOURDAINSAYS
asawaiterpourshimsomesparklingwater. “I’m
notevendrinking.”
Wearinghis trademarkuniformof jeans, acasual
jacketandanuntuckeddressshirt,Bourdain
has justarrivedatBouludSud, onNewYorkCity’s
UpperWestSide, followingameetingatCNN.
And fromhere, theacclaimed televisionpersonality
isheading tohisBrazilian jujitsuclass,wherehe’ll
invariablybeflipped,more thanonce, upsidedown
onto themat.So it’sbest, heexplains, ifhedoesn’t
fillupfirst.
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