“It’s really a collection of some of the places that he loved, remembered best and had specific recommendations for,” she said.
Plenty of places he loved didn’t make the cut, although it’s hard to say where he and Woolever might have traveled for research as their book took shape.
Tony loved Thailand,” He had one place in mind in northern Thailand that he wanted to include, but there really wasn’t enough to make a chapter.”
Indonesia was another example. Bourdain went to Indonesia several times, and he had really interesting experiences there,” she said. “But the most fruitful experiences he had were not easily replicable by someone going as a tourist or traveler.
Bourdain is quoted at the beginning of the chapter on Chicago : “This is one of the most awesome cities in the world. They do not f--- around in Chicago.”
He stays at the Four Seasons hotel in the Gold Coast neighborhood. He visits the International Museum of Surgical Science nearby. He drinks at Old Town Ale House. He eats breaded steak sandwiches at Ricobene’s in Bridgeport, and Italian beef at Johnnie’s in Elmwood Park.
Laurie Woolever (co-author) says, The idea was to do a multipart hot dog essay,” she said. “To get all of the hot dog opinions from our friends in Chicago who know what’s what when it comes to food. Then as the book developed, the rest of the essays were really kind of one person going on at more length about a topic. We went back to the most recent episode in Chicago, which was ‘Parts Unknown.’”
“Tony hit a few places with producer Steve Albini, who’s based in Chicago,” Woolever said. “So we said, let’s see what he has to say about Chicago. Talking to Steve, he had so much more to say than I expected.”
