Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Meal In London Is A Satisfying Mixture Of Textures
Anthony Bourdain left a huge hole in the culinary world when he passed away in 2018, but it's safe to say his fans will never forget him. To this day, his readers and viewers have been remembering him by following in his footsteps, including by visiting the eatery Bourdain called the restaurant of his dreams. St. John can be found in London, where chef Fergus Henderson serves a roast bone marrow toast that Bourdain described in an episode of "Parts Unknown" as "iconic."
One fan who made the foodie pilgrimage to St. John to sample the Bourdain-approved dish was TikTok user Counting Countries, who was served a plate of roasted bone marrow spread onto homemade sourdough toast and topped with fresh parsley, onions, and sea salt. The travel vlogger said the bone marrow was "super fatty, salty, and went perfectly with the crunchy bread and the fresh parsley." If you're unfamiliar with rich, nutty, gelatinous bone marrow, eating it on toast may not be your first instinct, but Bourdain himself said that "if God made butter it would taste exactly like bone marrow" (via Grub Street).
A fancy-sounding dish with humble roots
As the host of "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown," Bourdain endeared himself to fans with his charming, unpretentious approach to food. Some of the more memorable moments of his shows came when he would join locals for beer-fueled conversations over the region's go-to greasy food for when you've had a drink or five, and he knew exactly what makes a perfect burger.
In an interview with The Guardian, Bourdain explained that his work taught him how "to take food less seriously and try whenever possible to experience it emotionally rather than as a professional or critic." He was known to enjoy simple foods, like noodles and meatloaf, with the same enthusiasm he devoted to fine dining meals, and his favorite thing to cook for his daughter was an unfussy stack of pancakes.
With that in mind, bone marrow toast may seem like a highfalutin choice for Bourdain, but St. John's menu takes after nose-to-tail eating, with roots in old-school English country cooking. Along with ever-changing specialties like calf's liver and ox heart, the bone marrow is the offal dish that diners can always expect to see on the menu. Considering Bourdain's affinity for homey, humble cuisine, it's easy to see why he ate at St. John whenever he visited London.