How Anthony Bourdain left a mark on Montreal's culinary scene

Anthony Bourdainvisited Montreal many times over the course of his storied career as a celebrity chef, televisionhost and adventurous foodie.

Bourdain, who was found dead at the age of 61 in Strasbourg, France on Friday, helped bring Montreal's flourishing culinary scene into the internationalspotlight.

He visited the city often for his various food and travel television series, including No Reservations, The Layoverand Parts Unknown.

He made lasting friendships with high profile Montreal chefs, among themJoe Beef'sDavid McMillanandNormand LapriseofToqu! and Brasserie T.

"Tony was approachable to anybody, would speak to everybody;he would drink with everybody," McMillantold Qhost Tom Power on CBC Radio."It was a beautiful thing to see. It was very human."

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In honour of all he did to spread the word about Montreal's food scene, here's a sampling of what he had to say over the years.

Fine dining

"This is a great country because of this city," Bourdain said of Canadaon an episode of The Layover in 2011."Without Montreal, Canada would be hopeless. It's where the cool kids hang out."

Bourdainvisited Au Pied du Cochonfor No Reservations in 2006, sharinga tablewith friend and ownerMartin Picard,a cookbook author and Food Network host in his own right.

He described Picard then as "a personal idol. A counter-revolutionary. And one of the best chefs in Canada."

He said Au Pied du Cochon was one of his favourites in the world, joiningPicard on a tour of the area where the foiegras is made.

Bourdain also spent time tackling an "Everest of meat" at Joe Beef, a restaurant he visited a number of times, both on and off camera.

He described the Notre-Dame Street restaurantas "unapologetically over the top."

"This place is where you want to be: sucking down oysters and good wine at Joe Beef."

Greasy spoons

Bourdaindidn't spend all his time in Montreal samplinghigh-end fare as he ventured in search of the city's culinary delights.

SharonWilensky, who runs Wilensky'sLight Lunch,the Mile End restaurant established by her parents in 1932,saidBourdainstopped by for aWilenskyspecial five years ago.

She said he came by during filming for a segment ofCNN'sParts Unknownand was "very gracious."

"I found him to be a perfect gentleman," saidWilensky. "At the end he told me that anybody who talks about our place, talks about it with great affection. With great respect."

"He didn't have to say that."

Bourdain also famously visited poutinerie LaBanquise on a second-seasonepisode of No Reservations, where he atenot one, but five plates of the classic Quebecdelicacy.

"Meat, cheese and fries, all on one fork. I feel so dirty, yet so alive. It's like forbidden love," he said. "I feel guilty eating any of these."

He also stopped byBeauty's luncheonette in the Plateau and was served byHymie Sckolnick himself. Sckolnickdied in November 2017.

Bourdainopted for the signature smoked salmon bagel, but a born-and-bred New Yorker he was wary of weighing in on the New York-versus-Montreal bagel debate.

At a stop atSt. Viateur bagel, hewas forced to declare that comparing the two was like comparing apples and oranges.

"It's pretty damn good," he conceded, as he bit into a St. Viateurbagel.

Meat, cheese and fries, all on one fork. I feel so dirty, yet so alive. It's like forbidden love.- Anthony Bourdain, on La Banquise's poutine

And as Bourdain himself noted, no walk upthe Mainis complete without stopping forsmoked meat atSchwartz's.

"You can't not do this when you come toMontreal," he said, before chomping intohis sandwich.

Bahram Rahmany, a long-time server atSchwartz's, got to meet Bourdain and serve him twice.

"He's very talented, of course. He knows all about the food," Rahmany told CBC. "Hewas very serious about the taste. he was very happy."

Bourdain described Montreal as "a great, great city with a great food culture," and "uniquely wonderful in its own way."

"Any visiting chef crawls out of here bloated and begging for mercy."

He did, however, take issue with the city's then-ban on food trucks, which dated back to the Jean Drapeau years,calling it "a sad law stuck in antiquity."

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Expanded ideas of what food is

Jonathan Cheung, chef and owner of Appetite for Books in Westmount, spent time with Bourdainin Montreal eating fresh cheese and talking shop.

"He's known for exposing people to a global cuisine and showing people that there is way more to food in the dark alleys behind those really famous not-so-great restaurants."

Cheung credited Bourdain with helping introduce people to authenticlocal cuisine wherever he went.

"He's helped a lot of people expand their ideas of what food is and changed the way that people travel and saw a city."