Anthony Bourdain Reveals The Truth About Rats In Restaurants | Letterman

Are New York City restaurants really knee deep in rats?
(From "Late Show," air date: 10/11/00)
#anthonybourdain #rats #letterman
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[@martinholden2281]

Tony Bourdain- gone, but never forgotten. And, forever missed.

[@judithbreastsler]

there is something so masculating about a guy who would rather get punched in the face than take it in the rear

[@022171]

"...in fact, they're more like a Mexican prison gang." Truer words have not been spoken, and I've worked in a lot of restaurants. RIP, Tony.

[@eldiablo3794]

I just finished his book Kitchen Confidential.. such a good read. Pertaining to the lifestyle he was living while in the restaurant industry, I always looked at Anthony as the rock star of the culinary world. As a former chef and recovering heroin addict myself, he's like the only "celebrity chef" I have ever related to when it comes to the lifestyle and the hectic world of working in a kitchen. I never really looked at him as a celebrity, either. He was just a likable, relatable, down to earth guy. I hope you are at peace, Anthony.

[@mikewhite4560]

Thanks for sharing...LOL

[@eldiablo3794]

@@mikewhite4560 you're welcome.

[@Genious.]

I feel like we lost the only person that wasn't playing a character and resorting to a bunch of affectations.

[@dabneyoffermein595]

why did he put down Emiril Lagassee on national TV?

[@gregdahlen4375]

as one gets more experience I'd think it becomes less hectic and calmer? If not, why not?

[@michaeldonovan3959]

Thank you so much for posting this great interview. It is impossible to get tired of Bourdain stories, insights, and travel documentaries. Yea, he was a chef and lover of food, but forever he will remain a keen writer, observer, commentator. Irreplaceable. As a big Letterman fan, it is great to see and know that Dave really enjoyed this one.

[@elgatofelix8917]

Headline should read: "Bourdain reveals the truth about rats in New York restaurants: he is one"

[@ToxicSpork]

Kitchen Confidential is my all time favorite non-fiction book. Anthony Bourdain was a legend

[@thetr00per30]

what a loss, RIP Tony, Dude just oozed charm and charisma. Articulate and well-spoken combined with brutal honesty, he was one of a kind.

[@notsocrates9529]

Not enough charm and charisma to keep his girlfriend from cheating on him and rubbing it in his face though.

[@mikehughes3340]

My first job was as a busboy at a restaurant when I was in High School. I got to know some of the cooks - they really were like a band of pirates. A couple of them were Hispanic and didn’t speak a word of English. We would still communicate though, and made a friendship of sorts. I took them out to my car on break and showed them the music I listened to, and they did the same. I figured out how to ask them in Spanish how long they had lived in America, and they acted out with hand gestures how they had crossed the border illegally a couple of years prior and escaped the police. I’ve never felt a bond with someone who I couldn’t speak to like I did with them. Something about being in the trenches of the kitchen, working your butts off, does that to people.

[@shawn-zx9xt]

I've told people pretty much this exact same story about my Spanish speaking buddies in the restaurant. I miss giving my bud fernando rides home. The jibberish we would speak with eachother and some how be able to understand eachother was halarious. Other people would have have the weirdest look when him and I were sitting at the bar laughing with eachother. "Do they understand eachother?" Bartender, "yes".

[@Rnyargd]

I adored this man. Even met him once at a book signing. He was as approachable and genial as advertised. RIP Chef 😢

[@elgatofelix8917]

You adore this rat?

[@Rnyargd]

@@elgatofelix8917 Yes. You apparently don’t know anything about him.

[@pulseweld]

anthony bourdain wrote in the same gonzo style that made Dr. Hunter S. Thompson so alluring to read

[@vincenzoa2929]

I miss Tony so much. His shows, his wit, his writing, his humor and his pop culture references. RIP AB.

[@angellacanfora]

Am reminded why I fell in love with him and his shows. RIP❤

[@1floon]

Damn I miss seeing both of these legends. Thanks for posting the clip

[@greytoeimp]

Tony manages to navigate Dave’s occasional potential jabs while being witty and urbane; one of those rare people everyone just likes

[@daveh7720]

The first time I saw Anthony on No Reservations I wanted to dislike him. He was nicely dressed, very well spoken, and is astonishingly handsome in my eyes. "Posh" was the first word that came to mind. I expected him to intone something along the lines of "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" and remind me that I'd never live the high life. Boy, was I wrong. In that one episode I saw that he was funny, thoughtful, perceptive, knowledgable, and above all _respectful_. Everyone he met had something valuable to him, knowledge or wisdom or the joy of life, and he was always grateful when they shared it. The man could teach, but he could also listen.

[@cactaceous]

@@daveh7720Same. I had a friend that called him pompous so I foolishly didn’t watch his show Cook’s Tour. Then when KZbin was just starting someone had uploaded an episode of No Reservations he did in Malaysia that had an homage to Apocalypse Now. My brother and I love that film and he emailed me a link. I watched it and found him incredibly clever and the episode fantastic. Instantly became a fan to the sad end.

[@cactaceous]

This man was a natural treasure. His shows were doors into not only cultures but humanity itself.

[@scottbaron121]

You civilians will NEVER have any idea what it's like to work in a restaurant. NOT for a "summer job" but for a LIVING. "Kitchen Confidential" gives you a GLIMMER of insight as to what the industry is really like. A former manager worked with Tony. He was 24/7 LEGIT. He loved it and died it. At 54 years old...I'm STILL doing it. And loving every demented minute of it.

[@Euphoriasmotion2011]

You're not a cop, ego boy. You heat up soup for a living.

[@michelenichele294]

Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert….What a great ensemble !!! 👏🏻🙏😂🤤😎🤸🏼

[@JustMe-uu3bh]

more and more I appreciate what Anthony did and was about and how he stood up and didn't back down. this is why things happened the way they did..... God bless him, RIP Anthony............

[@geverniveup]

I’ve been rewatching No Reservations recently and Tony truly was an original mind. His narrations explaining the nuances and cultural observations from all these different places over the world are just beautiful, hilarious, and so damn entertaining. He’s probably the only celebrity I truly felt my heart break when I heard he passed

[@mysterioanonymous3206]

Yeap, same. I think he never was a typical celebrity, it seems to me he was a regular, down to earth guy that just so happened to be famous.

[@electronsauce]

Ya, I don't even want to rewatch it because of the same sentiment. Same with Robin Williams.

[@kevinamundsen7646]

Kitchen Confidential, one of my favorite books of all time. Legendary wit and professionalism. So tragic, that it didn't end well. Full disclosure, I worked in a Cape Cod restaurant for 9 years as a maintenance man. The stories Tony tells in the book ring true, with more stories waiting to be told: There was a lot of heroin and cocaine use on the Cape, and lots of alcoholism, to say the least. I once found a large bag of heroin hidden under some furniture when I started moving it. Saying to my co-worker, "Let's bury it in the yard." She said, "No no, give it to me, I will throw it away myself!" I handed it to her, and off she went with it.

[@karu6111]

I’m halfway through this book and It’s got to be said, Letterman is setting him up real good in this interview. He’s got all the good bits and memorable clips from the book.

[@nooodles939]

This man was a national treasure. Just goes to show how money, fame and having the most incredible job in human history (traveling the world with cool people and eating awesome food) is still not enough to eliminate depression and mental illness.

[@jamesscully4714]

So true. He was great, in every way. Still miss the fact he's no longer with us.

[@Genious.]

I always thought of him as the opposite of people like Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and especially Guy Fieri.

[@Zennofobic]

you meet the wrong woman and she can end you

[@jamesscully4714]

No doubt. He told it like it was. Guy Fieri is a total clown and a joke. Literally feel ill whenever I see him on Food Network (which is 23 out of the 24 hours in a day!)

[@mskidi]

Being a parasite, doesnt come with fullfilment, most of the time.

[@Paul-qy9bb]

His new love hurt him. He got drunk, and made a horrible decision. If he was of sober mind when he made that decision. I could understand that. It was his life, and it was his choice. I miss him very much.

[@AleFanelli]

Miss him so much...

[@Tonykayemusic]

Fantastic book that we passed through the kitchen in mere days. So gratifying to hear a guy perfectly explain your job. Rest easy...

[@Makeup-Artistry-Texas]

He was literally the only celebrity I liked. A lot of people don't know the struggle he went through everytime he went to new countries. He always looked and found the dr*gs and he would have to run his crew off, even getting in a physical fight with one. My best friend Scooter, who passed last year, and I met him years ago. He was the most smartest person and literally shared every single aspect of everything with me. It's rare to find ppl like that. I don't usually connect with people. I'm a loner, I love being by myself. It was such a tragedy losing this guy

[@annonymous4479]

In this interview when Letterman says "a couple of wide guys," Letterman is clearly meaning "wise-alecs," or pains-in-the-asses, but Bordain clearly heard "wise guys" and immediately went to mobsters... "No, you don't mess with those guys." Classic

[@gastondeveaux3783]

Anthony is an absolute legend. He couldn't have know how great he was.

[@scottbaron121]

The people who worked for him knew. Believe that.

[@thisguyagain7857]

I was working at at KFC. I came in one day around 2pm and I walk into the kitchen and hear a couple kids/guys laughing around the oven. I walk over see whats up i look into the butter dish he is currently buttering the biscuits with and you could clearly see multiple rodent droppings. That was evidently what they were laughing at . . . I lost my ever loving sheet yelling threw the hot pan of biscuits against the wall, bare handed of course lol. They were no longer employed. One of them became a cop the other a guard at a penitentiary.

[@chinatownboy7482]

This is a classic clip.

[@Jeff-lk4dv]

I'll always miss his shows, fortunately we are lucky to have him immortalized

[@jimmyjames2022]

Great to see Tony with Dave, after he gained some notoriety but before the TV series catapulted him to star status. Love and miss his wit and humor.

[@dominysynclair]

I'm pretty sure this interview was the beginning of his career on tv.

[@nunyabiznez666]

Miss him 😥

[@mikel3030]

you can tell Dave loved him and his vibe

[@richardthelionheart5594]

The GOAT. RIP big guy, we miss you so much. FYI Siri says Anthony's net worth was $16m in 2018

[@drewarnold6741]

Mexican prision gang 🤣😆🤣😆🤣

[@martinholden2281]

Bourdain, as always, cut right to the honest ( and hilarious) truth.

[@angellacanfora]

I've worked in restaurants. He's not lying.

[@eldoradomanchuria]

RIP Tony. What a legend

[@shafiqjan1474]

Mexican prison gang, yup ran a high end kitchen and used to drive mine to a bar close to their apartments back in the day and then see who showed up the next day at work ready to go 😂 no rats we were in Old Greenwich CT with a million dollar parking lot every night

[@shellbacksclub]

What a segway.. "tell me about the first time u had oysters!"😟

[@cliffdavis5244]

RIP… Gone too soon😢❤

[@juanmonge7418]

I had the audiobook. Passed it around to some friends. They all became big fans of his.

[@poppacapnurass2608]

a great, though fully produced interview. I will always be deeply saddened that you chose to leave us early Tony : , (

[@tyronejoihnson7046]

I was the executive Chef at Sardi's and Tony and I would meet at Rudy's in Hells Kitchen for spoeedballs and shots. Those were there days! R.I.P. Maestro!

[@alpacapone]

When Dave said "wise guy" Anthony understood it as mobster not smartass. Funny misunderstanding glossed over.

[@mikecantreed]

Funny I noticed that as well. Those moments are so interesting where the response of the misunderstanding is close enough to what you’d say to the other thing that you just keep moving.

[@gregdahlen4375]

i'd think maybe you couldn't have many rats in restaurants cuz every once in a while customers would see them and I'd think that would reduce patronage. but dk for sure

[@mowler8042]

I miss this man

[@docbadwrench-cdmg]

Legendary interview.

[@mikewhite4560]

He's GOT A Way about Him...Billy Joel. 😊

[@mrjc12]

I miss 🥹

[@philtatnell3685]

I miss him!

[@hi_wifi_guy]

Bourdain was such a natural. This is a part of his early years and he killed on Letterman.

[@sitindogmas]

the world misses you Anthony

[@dbrice71]

I sincerely miss him.

[@electricfil]

"Food has power to create an impression."

[@bluebear1985]

We'll be right back with Foo Fighters.

[@shirvy]

I love this man!!!!

[@sarcasmo57]

The rats like the food.

[@thedude4672]

Wish he was still with us. He picked a bad person to fall in love with and ended his life over it. Tragic.

[@Forkinthhead2003]

Truth

[@AB-iw4kw]

Anthony Bourdain was a cool Cat and lived quite a life. He was relatable to all of us, no matter our station in life.

[@nobutterinhell]

i love Anthony

[@briandonahue3663]

This guy was funny!

[@milfordcivic6755]

2000. Back when all of the great entertainers, interviewers and actors were still alive. Sad to see where we are now.

[@frfsolrac77]

I remember 2000 very well. I remember people complaining how all the great one’s were gone back then too. What you must understand is that today’s entertainment is mostly not made for you. It’s made for the people of this generation. They are brilliant in their own way. That fact isn’t meant to diminish the greatness of either.

[@MrSpeedyAce]

It was my life-long dream to meet Tony. The first place my wife and I went to on our first date was Les Halles.

[@cablevamp3163]

It’s so hard to see his face this guy was loved by so many Like I used to just have his show playing while I hung out and just fruited His death broke me

[@bralph82]

I’ve never read a book more times than kitchen confidential.

[@johnmoldoch-vj2jk]

Yeah, ask Curt Cobain about that.

[@Trapper4265]

I'm assuming he never got to see the HBO series about his life as a chef in "Kitchen Confidential?"

[@fifsev]

@4:10 rat soup

[@kcrl1]

RIP Anthony ❤😞❤

[@BlackJacketJones]

He looks a bit like George Clooney when he smiles

[@mikehoncho3130]

Kitchen Confidential is a bible for restaurant workers like myself, Bourdain was A National Treasure. He's missed!

[@sashidemedia]

Good ol times when he really started hitting his stride.

[@renebarger3667]

RIP

[@fernandoorozco3751]

RIP Chef.

[@stevesmith9447]

A childhood discovery of a connection between emotional terrorism and food? No further questions.

[@ytugtbk]

What happens when a book publisher gets lucky.

[@carlospinheirotorres9499]

ganda Rui Reininho, este gajo é um senhor

[@ThisIsMeOnYoutube]

Damn, I miss him.

[@martinobrien7110]

The Man Who Had It All .

[@mightisright]

Wow, that's a handsome dude.

[@johnb7337]

I'm not sure what it was but I never made peace with him being gone, like with Robin Williams. The world had been better with him in it.

[@javiersalas7670]

RIP🙏

[@MikeCee7]

This title is Click/bait. Only about 45 seconds of this seven minute videos about rats in restaurants.

[@yburyman9130]

I think most of us are here for Anthony in general.

[@MikeCee7]

@@yburyman9130 No, not me. I had a rat infestation problem, at one of my establishments, so the title caught my attention, to see Anthony Bourdain also had this problem. And I wanted to see how he solve it. If you just wanna see a video on Anthony Bourdain, there are hundreds of KZbin videos about/with him on KZbin.

[@karu6111]

@@MikeCee7it’s just a tangent in his book, he worked at a dingy mexican restaurant with lotsa rats

[@konaken1035]

rip

[@Optim40]

You can see how people have gotten dumber in recent times. Where nowadays people can't understand this kind of sarcasm and think he's actually being serious. We need to go back to this and take the brooms out of our asses already.

[@cato451]

Brilliant guy. Why did he do it?

[@bluest1524]

Dude was skin-ny.

[@artistamisto]

Many years ago (before cell phones) back when I used to work overnight at a large grocery store in Hawaii they had rats. They originally were brought to Hawaii from ships back when the white settlers arrived. These rats had infested the undergrounds of the store. I'd hear occasional squeaking when I went back into the warehouse at night. They sometimes hung around in the pallets. Some would come out onto the floor. On any occasional night I'd see a big gray rat run across the aisle from the lower shelves. If a customer saw them in another aisle they'd come up to one of us and say they saw a rat. We were told not to talk about them being in the store. There was a rumor that the company brought a cat in to control the population but it was found dead the next day. (unconfirmed) We had pellet rifles on a gun rack in the warehouse. Part of our job was if we saw a rat back there we could grab one of the guns and shoot them. Another rumor was that one clerk shot a rat high on a palette and it jumped at him. We kept a tally with our names on a scratch sheet near the guns of how many we each killed. One of my tallies said (bare hands). I had tossed 3 small cans at one on the floor and nailed it dead. The company finally called pest control and they laid sticky traps which caught a few. The bait was dried cuttlefish.

[@colonelkurtz2269]

I really liked Anthony Bourdain, but CNN and others have got to let him go.

[@dominysynclair]

What do you mean they have to let him go?

[@colonelkurtz2269]

@@dominysynclair there's an AB special or remembrance every few months.

[@Dulc3B00kbyBrant0n]

@@colonelkurtz2269 oh ok its definitely a ritual sacrifice then. they love to brag about their stuff

[@colonelkurtz2269]

@Dulc3B00kbyBrant0n I thought he was genuinely cool dude

[@OTOss8]

Man, what a waste.

[@mariyamwaniki]

Sad

[@remembertedcruz7213]

"Never forget, Anthony Bourdain killed himself" - Dave Chapelle

[@shellbacksclub]

Poor interview.

[@94twentytwo76]

💔

[@michaellittlewood3032]

F John Legend

[@edmundmoons3086]

this dude lloks like epsteins brother wierd

[@bestbyte1]

today, more than ever, the romanticization, of food & restaurants is so tiresome.. people spend obscene $$ for something that is tomorrow’s toilet creation.. I don’t get it

[@mts7274]

Is he the dude who killed himself because of a woman who was like 30 years younger than him?

[@xevious2501]

such a shame that he killed himself 'so we are told' , just remember you shouldnt believe everything posted on the news. Not to say he didnt die, but as for the reasons behind it. I remember his last works was on the truffle industry and the very real cartels behind it all.

[@MarcusAurelius7777]

Good old days when we had culture & before all the cities went to hell... 😑

[@bacca18121]

He's literally talking about vermin in restaurants lmao

[@MarcusAurelius7777]

@@bacca18121 Well now the vermin in cities are PEOPLE who loot all the stores & mug tourists... sad times...

[@nooodles939]

​@@bacca18121Ha Ha!! Very good point! Back in the day, the crazy animals used to avoid being seen by posting up in the hidden areas. Now they pitch a tent on the sidewalks.

[@Double_Vision]

Back when that part of your youth let you accept or be ignorant to that particular level of horrific decline

[@MarcusAurelius7777]

@@bacca18121The vermin in restaurants is worse today!!

[@kendallevans4079]

This man was a raging drunk, period.

[@papadelta9485]

ok?