The Simple Trick Anthony Bourdain Used To Order The Best Meal At Any Restaurant

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While he preferred to cook simpler foods when he was at home with his family, Anthony Bourdain was known as one of the world's most adventurous eaters. He traveled the globe, letting the food he ate and the places he visited shape his worldview. However, he always seemed to look at things from the perspective of a chef, which is exactly why he was able to find the best thing on the menu no matter where he went. 

"Ideally eating should be a completely emotional, non-intellectual experience," he said on the Good Food Podcast in 2010. "It should be about pleasure and letting yourself go."  Being in control is at the top of the list in regard to chef's job description. Yet, when it was time to relax and enjoy someone else's cooking, Bourdain believed that chefs should take a more laissez faire approach. By allowing the person cooking the meal to choose its direction, you inherently wind up getting something good. "[Chefs] generally walk into restaurants and say. 'I'll have what you're good at — just do it to me.'" By letting the chef take the reigns, you're going to hear (and taste) the story they want to tell. "Those are the meals i enjoy most," he said, adding, "It also — wonderfully enough — seems to be the direction restaurants are heading."

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In 2010, Anthony Bourdain was hopeful about where restaurant culture was heading, as diners seemed to be putting more trust in chefs than they previously had. "There's an empowered new chef class," Bourdain stated, "Chefs are freer to suggest this is what I think you should be eating. This is what I do. This is what I'm good at."

In recent years, we've watched the rise of prix-fixe menus, curated multi-course meals with fixed prices. While they offer loads of benefits for restaurants, like increased cost control and smoother kitchen operations, prix-fixe menus benefit diners as well. Rather than spinning the wheel and taking your chances, you get an expertly crafted meal designed by the person making it. This inherently injects the chef's passion into the food, which is always the secret ingredient in a great  meal. 

This shift in the cultural zeitgeist has reframed dining for many, eliminating the frills and ushering in a more food-centric experience. Bourdain believed this was to the credit of diners, who are becoming bolder and more adventurous eaters. While he had certainly eaten at and worked in his fair share of white-tablecloth establishments, he recognized what was truly important. "It's really all about the food and the chef's idea of the food and not about the napery, the crystal, the snooty waiter, and all of the nonsense."