Street Food & Human Connection
Channel your inner Anthony Bourdain to add more flavour to your life
One of the best books I’ve read this summer is
’s ‘HIDDEN GENIUS: How the World’s Most Exceptional People Think.’ And one of my favourite takeaways is how celebrity chef, the late Anthony Bourdain, used street food as a means of human connection wherever he went.Despite his status as culinary royalty guaranteeing him a seat at the poshest restaurants in any city, Bourdain was remarkably humble in his preference for grabbing street food alongside ordinary folks. And when he stumbled upon hole-in-the-wall restaurants, he was known to forego menus and simply look around, point to someone’s plate and say “I’ll have what (s)he’s having.” He credited this form of immersion as a means to experience places authentically.
Bourdain was a frequent visitor of my home city of Montreal and a huge champion of putting our culinary scene on the global stage. Here are three of his spiciest quotes on Montreal (and Canada) as quoted by Eater Montreal following his untimely passing in 2018:
“On Montreal, relative to the rest of Canada:
This is a great country because of this city. Without Montreal, Canada would be hopeless.
On eating poutine in Toronto:
You’re taking on your enemy at their own game.
On ads for Canadian tourism:
Whoever is in charge of promoting Canada abroad completely have their heads up their asses. It’s all like bears and swatting salmon and Mounties.”
That last quote never fails to make me laugh. A true New Yorker giving it to you straight. You’ve got to love his authenticity.
Espresso Bar 1720
On Saturday, I decided to channel my inner Bourdain at my favourite espresso bar within walking distance. It’s new and I love the coffee and staff morale—the baristas treat every item on the menu like a piece of art, taste-tasting their specialty drinks to make sure they’re brewed to perfection.
I arrived planning to go for my usual espresso but as one of the staffers greeted me with a bright smile and explained she was just finishing up another order, I decided I should mix it up and try whatever she was making—Anthony Bourdain style. I wasn’t disappointed. I ended up with a specialty Italian iced coffee that I had to get clarification on how to pronounce.
It added flavour to my day in every way. Not to mention it fostered an interesting conversation with the staff and other patrons waiting on their orders—a stark contrast from the experience you’d get at the Starbucks across the street where you make small talk at the cash and then everyone stares at their phones until someone barks out your name. It goes to show bigger industry players are profitable at a cost that’s hard to measure.
Here’s a photo of one of the epic baristas from the expresso bar’s Facebook page (my iced coffee wasn’t as rich as the beverages displayed, but you get the vibe):
Metaphor For Life
Bourdain’s street food is a great metaphor for anything in life that facilitates authentic human connection—be it through art, work, or if you’re really lucky, a combination of the two.
My question to you is, what’s your street food?
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week,
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Re your question, my street food for many years was street performing. Doing physical comedy shows in the middle of Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver. I used to grab the shopping bags of passing tourists, steal their fruit, juggle with it, and threaten to lick the ice cream cones of little kids to squeals of delighted protest. There's something so human about a market.
I read this article without realizing it was you, Alexandra. Therefore., I was able to be objective.
After reading the article, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I said to myself…..what a well-written article, so interesting and human. Then I realized it was you. You have come a long way, Baby.