Top Picks: Stalking Anthony Bourdain in the Big Apple
Maybe it's the salt-and-pepper hair, the cigarette perpetually perched between his lips, or his exceptional appreciation for food and travel. Whatever the reason (and trust me, this is no daddy complex), I have long harbored a deep and profound fascination with Anthony Bourdain. The face of his No Reservations TV show, not to mention scribe of such foodie frenzy-inducing tomes as Kitchen Confidential and The Nasty Bits (and occasional advertiser on this website), Bourdain has become something of an icon younger generations of gourmands. While he spends the majority of his time on the road generating material for his show, he still calls the Big Apple home. Here's a selection of his NYC favorites culled from Fodor's and the 92nd Street Y Blog.
Carl Schurz Park
East End Avenue & 86th Street, New York NY
… Bourdain told Fodor's that this Upper East Side park on the East River is one of his daughter's favorites for its "good swings, doggies to look at" and waterfront locale. [link]
Museum of Modern Art
11 W 53rd St
New York, NY 10019
Bourdain has also said some of his fondest memories are of his father taking him to museums as a child, and that he likes to do the same with his daughter. If not at the … MoMA, you may spot him at the Met or Guggenheim. [link]
Papaya King
176 E 86th St
New York, NY 10028
This is the original Papaya King, and a staple food source according to Bourdain. In addition to hot dogs and tropical fruit drinks, they serve crispy Cajun curly fries … with or without cheese. [link]
Barney Greengrass the Sturgeon King
541 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
Bourdain once said that this is the one NYC restaurant that he hopes will never close. He can most likely be found there during breakfast hours, possibly eating lox and … bialys, and probably buried in the newspaper. [link]
Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
Do like Bourdain and call ahead for the bo ssam (an entire pork butt). As he puts it, David Chang's forever buzzed-about East Village haunt is one that does in fact live … up to the hype. [link]
Red Hook Ballfields Food Vendors
Bay Street & Clinton Street, Queens Brooklyn, NY 11231
These ball park-adjacent Brooklyn food stands are the stuff of foodie legend. Street-food vendors stationed just outside the Red Hook ballfields serve papusas and other … droolworthy Latin dishes, drawing crowds all season long. [link]
