The Food Anthony Bourdain Said Everyone Should Always Be 'Wary Of'

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Before Anthony Bourdain became well-known for visiting unique, at times dangerous destinations around the world as part of his several travel shows, he first became widely known to the public through his anecdotes about the dos and don'ts of dining at restaurants in New York City. This was first seen in his 1999 op-ed "Don't Eat Before Reading This" in The New Yorker. The article revealed to us which days of the week Bourdain believed we should be eating out. Eventually, the chef authored the classic book "Kitchen Confidential," which featured even more of his takes on what not to do when at a restaurant.

For Bourdain, the most obvious dish that he felt should be avoided at all costs was none other than cheap sushi, a trend that had begun popping up around the time he was writing the New York Times bestseller. "I saw a sign the other day outside one of those Chinese-Japanese hybrids that are beginning to pop up around town, advertising 'Discount Sushi,'" Bourdain recalled in the book. "I can't imagine a better example of Things To Be Wary Of in the food department than bargain sushi." 

Bourdain's advice to dodge bargain sushi isn't particularly surprising, as the chef was quite well known for his particularity about getting fish from restaurants. Most notably, Bourdain popularized the "never order fish on Mondays" policy that many consumers have today. However, the chef's disdain for bargain sushi in particular comes from an arguably even more concerning place. Because sushi necessitates incredibly fresh and high-quality fish to be safe and tasty to eat, the idea of bargain sushi led chefs like Bourdain to believe that restaurants were sacrificing those requirements to make things cheaper, potentially at the expense of their diners' experience.

However, while Bourdain never outright removed bargain sushi from his list of dishes to avoid at restaurants, his strict thinking regarding fish in general lessened over the years as food safety became more important to restaurants serving fish across the country. "It's a better world," Bourdain explained in a 2016 interview with Insider Tech. "Everybody eats sushi now [...] They can't get away with serving us the crap they used to. We know what fish should look like, smell like, and how it should be cooked optimally."