Anthony Bourdain Was 'Sucker' For South Beach

MIAMI BEACH, FL — He was a featured speaker at the Miami Book Fair on several occasions and thrilled the owners of a Miami Beach Italian restaurant when he dropped by unexpectedly, but celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain happily admitted to being a "sucker" for tourist favorite South Beach.

Pressed by CNN's Anderson Cooper in a 2015 interview why he would choose to do a segment on Miami for his far-flung program, Bourdain responded: "The show is called 'Parts Unknown' and what I particularly like doing is going to a place that's actually pretty well known."

He said his challenge was to find a new way to look at Miami.

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"To a great extent Miami is an African-American city," Bourdain said. "Modern Miami as we know it is sort of a one-man Flagler town, but the people who built it were African Americans and Caribbean blacks and Bahamians."

Bourdain died from an apparent suicide Friday at the age of 61, according to CNN.

Lissette Mendez, the director of programming for the Miami Book fair, told Patch that she will remember Bourdain for his gifted writing style, his easygoing personality and his sometimes devilish sense of humor.

"Genuine is a word that comes to mind whenever I think of him," she recalled. "He liked to be provocative with those around him, but not in a mean way, or a mean-spirited way. He was a really sweet person and funny. I was a big fan from the very beginning."

Mendez recalled sharing a table with Bourdain along with the Chinese-American author of "The Joy Luck Club" as pork was being served. It turned out that author Amy Tan didn't eat pork.

"I'm Cuban so I'm used to eating kind of the parts of the animal that a lot of people are not into. So of course so was he. We're both eyeing the ear — the pig's incredibly well-roasted ear," Mendez explained. "We kind of both went for it at the same time and ended up sharing it."

But Bourdain couldn't let the moment pass without commenting on Tan's dietary preferences.

"He was teasing her about it because she's Chinese — and Chinese cooks and Chinese cuisine — is kind of known for eating all the different parts of the animal," Mendez said.

Bourdain acknowledged one of his greatest thrills was getting to interview Iggy Pop during his visit to the Magic City.

"I can pretty much die a happy man now because I ended up on the beach with my hero," Bourdain explained. "I basically ticked the last thing off my bucket list. I got to meet my hero, Iggy Pop."

Pop took to social media on Friday, saying that he was in shock to learn of his friend's death. "I loved the guy and he was the light of kindness and good vibes in my life," Pop said.

Bourdain decided to end the episode with Pop, who made his home in Miami at the time.

"You know those guys who walk on the beach — the old dudes with the pants up to here walking around with the metal detectors," Bourdain said, pointing just below his neck. "That's kind of us at the end of the show."

But that doesn't mean Bourdain skipped the touristy side of Miami.

"We all know sort of douchy Miami and we love it," he quipped. "I love South Beach. I'm a complete sucker for it."

Bourdain dropped by Italian restaurant Via Emilia 9 when he was shooting a segment in South Beach, but he also loved to visit the divey Mac's Club Deuce in South Beach, which lays claim to being the oldest bar in Miami.

Valentina and Wendy Cacciatori, the husband and wife team who own Via Emilia 9, told Patch that Bourdain never asked for special attention when he dropped by their South Beach restaurant for house-made pasta.

Bourdain later described the pasta as "much, much better than good," which sent a number of new patrons flocking to the eatery.

"I knew who he was, but he must have come on a day that we were really busy," said Valentina Cacciatori, who was saddened by the news of Bourdain's passing. "We didn't even realize that he had come in. We only found out because afterwards some of our customers said 'Great advertising. Anthony Bordain came and he said great things about your place.'"

Bordain also sent some of the people he did jujitsu with in New York.

Miami Chef Jose Mendin also had high praise for the New Yorker. He told Patch that Bourdain's book, "Kitchen Confidential," changed his life.

"He gave chefs a voice in an era where chefs were supposed to be hidden and quiet in kitchens. He gave me a different perspective on what I was getting ready and studying for," according to Mendin, who owns Pubbelly Noodle Bar, Pubbelly Sushi, Habitat by Jose Mendin and Baja Bao.

"He gave so many amazing culture, cuisines and people the exposure they deserve. He was — and still is, in a way — the voice of this generation because he did so much for this industry," said Mendin, who got a thumbs up from Bourdain in his report from Miami. "I can speak for both myself and for a lot of chefs of my generation and say that we looked up to him a lot because he taught us so much."

Bourdain liked Miami because of its promise and opportunity.

"We really look at Miami as the original dream, and try to go back to that notion — the promise of if you're good and you do right in your life and you work hard, we all end up in Miami," Bourdain said.

Watch below as Bourdain talks Miami with CNN's Anderson Cooper:

Photos courtesy Miami Dade College