Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Chat about non-baseball topics. No political discussions!
Post Reply
User avatar
33anda3rd
Replies Authoritatively
Posts: 8418
Joined: April 7 13, 9:45 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by 33anda3rd »

I think Bourdain's thing was that vegetarians and especially vegans are irritating to a chef, not that their lifestyle choices are not good. And there's good reason for that. Bourdain almost certainly spent a lot of time with servers in front of him, who already know the answer but are asking because the guest insisted....

"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the fish entree vegan?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegan?"
"Can you combine the veg from the fish entree with the veg from the beef entree to make a vegetarian entree?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the beef entree vegan?"
"Can you make the ice cream dairy free?"
"They want the pea bruschetta with the pea sauce and the pea tendril but he hates peas can you do it without peas?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"No, she won't get the 6 different dishes that are vegetarian, she says she wants this very specific thing because she sees the ingredients on the menu and would like you to just make her something with those things."

User avatar
lukethedrifter
darjeeling sipping elite
Posts: 37434
Joined: October 17 06, 11:19 am
Location: Huis Clos

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by lukethedrifter »

In some ways, vegetarians were the proxy for all picky, obnoxious diners.
As a waiter, it was the hot tea orderers

User avatar
Smith Corks One
All-Star
Posts: 1340
Joined: April 27 10, 11:08 pm

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by Smith Corks One »

33anda3rd wrote:I think Bourdain's thing was that vegetarians and especially vegans are irritating to a chef, not that their lifestyle choices are not good. And there's good reason for that. Bourdain almost certainly spent a lot of time with servers in front of him, who already know the answer but are asking because the guest insisted....

"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the fish entree vegan?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegan?"
"Can you combine the veg from the fish entree with the veg from the beef entree to make a vegetarian entree?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the beef entree vegan?"
"Can you make the ice cream dairy free?"
"They want the pea bruschetta with the pea sauce and the pea tendril but he hates peas can you do it without peas?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"No, she won't get the 6 different dishes that are vegetarian, she says she wants this very specific thing because she sees the ingredients on the menu and would like you to just make her something with those things."
That would be annoying as [expletive]. Does the server really have to bother the chef with these ridiculous questions? Can’t he/she just go into the kitchen, pop back out a couple of minutes later, “I’m sorry, he said he can’t do that”?

User avatar
Joe Shlabotnik
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 23103
Joined: October 12 06, 2:21 pm
Location: Baseball Ref Bullpen
Contact:

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by Joe Shlabotnik »

lukethedrifter wrote:In some ways, vegetarians were the proxy for all picky, obnoxious diners.
As a waiter, it was the hot tea orderers
Ah.... what's the problem with hot tea orderers?

I'm asking for a friend.

User avatar
haltz
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 22017
Joined: November 9 06, 6:45 am
Location: a proud midwestern metropolis

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by haltz »

It's either a pain in the ass or a ridiculous pain in the ass depending on the restaurant and you aren't turning the table.

User avatar
33anda3rd
Replies Authoritatively
Posts: 8418
Joined: April 7 13, 9:45 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by 33anda3rd »

Smith Corks One wrote:
33anda3rd wrote:I think Bourdain's thing was that vegetarians and especially vegans are irritating to a chef, not that their lifestyle choices are not good. And there's good reason for that. Bourdain almost certainly spent a lot of time with servers in front of him, who already know the answer but are asking because the guest insisted....

"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the fish entree vegan?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegan?"
"Can you combine the veg from the fish entree with the veg from the beef entree to make a vegetarian entree?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"Can you make the beef entree vegan?"
"Can you make the ice cream dairy free?"
"They want the pea bruschetta with the pea sauce and the pea tendril but he hates peas can you do it without peas?"
"Can you make the chicken entree vegetarian?"
"No, she won't get the 6 different dishes that are vegetarian, she says she wants this very specific thing because she sees the ingredients on the menu and would like you to just make her something with those things."
That would be annoying as [expletive]. Does the server really have to bother the chef with these ridiculous questions? Can’t he/she just go into the kitchen, pop back out a couple of minutes later, “I’m sorry, he said he can’t do that”?
If the server says "I asked Chef and he said no" but the server didn't ask Chef and the diner, say, Yelps about it or complains to the owner about it, then what?

User avatar
33anda3rd
Replies Authoritatively
Posts: 8418
Joined: April 7 13, 9:45 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by 33anda3rd »

lukethedrifter wrote:In some ways, vegetarians were the proxy for all picky, obnoxious diners.
As a waiter, it was the hot tea orderers
The vegetarians are awfully low on my list. I'd say the people in restaurants who annoy me the most are:

1. Chefs who scream and yell at everyone.
2. Cooks who scream and yell at everyone except the chef/sous chef/anyone in the kitchen over them.
3. Servers who only think of guests as dollars--how much they spend, how much they tip. The ones who you go "How was your night?" and they say "Sucked, I only made two hundred" or "Great, I walked with 450" or "Awful my sales were only 1300."
4. Owners who should have put their real estate money into more real estate instead of a business they don't understand.
5. Social Media Influencers.
6. Chefs whose egos get in their way.
7. 26 year old "Master Mixologists"
8. 99.99% of people in wine who have been in wine for over 15 years.

I could list another probably 20 before I got to guests with dietary restrictions. This is again why I liked Bourdain. He didn't hype the Contemporary American Upscale Chef-Driven Beet Salad Octopus Housemade Bread Craft Cocktail carbon copy restaurants in a culture that feeds itself off those restaurants, he went and talked to people who were like "Eat this, this is how my grandmother taught me to make it."

greenback44
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 11671
Joined: June 26 06, 8:54 pm
Location: In a Small Town with Jack and Diane

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by greenback44 »

stlouie_lipp wrote:he went off the beaten path and we all should some times.
Bourdain was a charismatic individual, and I'm jealous of his apparent ability to connect with everybody. Maybe there's a Robin Williams-type story here, where the end was nearer than anybody realized. But the sense I'm getting is that all this off-the-beaten-path stuff was one giant-ass distraction from The Real Problem. In my limited experience -- again, I certainly don't connect with people at all well -- this kind of life is frequently an aesthetically pleasing way way to kill time. And it seems like it becomes a trap, this one bar in San Francisco, this restaurant in Paris, and this hotel in Abidjan. There's always another adventure that must be had.

User avatar
BottenFieldofDreams
Perennial All-Star
Posts: 4502
Joined: June 4 17, 10:04 pm

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

I think people were aware that Robin Williams was living with demons (but honestly, maybe that's hindsight at this point).

Bourdain seemed so comfortable and confident. He presented a clear world view and seemed comfortable with his place in it. That's why it's shocking to me. My very limited exposure to him didn't feel superficial because of those things. I'm not saying he wasn't sincere on his shows, just that it's more surprising to learn of the darkness beneath the surface in this case.

User avatar
Joe Shlabotnik
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 23103
Joined: October 12 06, 2:21 pm
Location: Baseball Ref Bullpen
Contact:

Re: Anthony Bourdain dead from apparent suicide

Post by Joe Shlabotnik »

BottenFieldofDreams wrote:I think people were aware that Robin Williams was living with demons (but honestly, maybe that's hindsight at this point).

Bourdain seemed so comfortable and confident. He presented a clear world view and seemed comfortable with his place in it. That's why it's shocking to me. My very limited exposure to him didn't feel superficial because of those things. I'm not saying he wasn't sincere on his shows, just that it's more surprising to learn of the darkness beneath the surface in this case.
Do we really know if there was something dark there? Maybe he got a diagnosis he'd rather not deal with long term. Is it just because I live in a state that allows suicide for the terminally ill that I am the only one to get this?

Post Reply