Anthony Bourdain's Denver Hot Dog Epiphany: Biker Jim Remembers

DENVER, CO – When urbane globe-trotting foodie Anthony Bourdain visited Denver in 2010 with his show No Reservations, he went highbrow and lowbrow. While he ate fois gras with Denver owner-chef Frank Bonanno, he also brought attention to a Denver gourmet hot dog stand, Biker Jim's Hot Dogs, and declared, "Believe me, we've got nothing to sneer about in New York anymore."

Bourdain died from an apparent suicide at the age of 61, CNN announced.

Biker Jim's owner Jim Pittenger and Bonanno remembered Bourdain for his disarming personality.

"Bourdain was a very genuine person," Pittenger said. "And what a generous guy. People that met him understood this. He gets the fact that if it wasn't for people like me, he'd be standing next to a deep fryer."

"He was a very real person, and above and beyond courteous and nice, even before he was a big TV star," said Bonanno. "Once he had his show, he made you feel super comfortable on TV, and he inspired me."

Bonanno owns a dozen Denver restaurants and just opened multi-concept food hall Denver Milk Market. He hosts "Chef Driven" on Rocky Mountain PBS.

"Bourdain helped me realize if you're real, and not bull----, and just talk to people, you can get a lot of information from them and put them at ease."

Bourdain had been to Denver before, in 2003, and declared the town a "culinary wasteland" filled with "chicken wings and mozzarella sticks," Pittenger said.

Bonanno said Denver restaurant critic Pat Miller brought Bourdain to Mizuna, in the early 2000's and Bourdain "didn't want to go back to his hotel, so he and I and all the chefs went next door to a dive bar called the Lancer Lounge and closed that place down."

Bourdain returned to Denver in 2010 and dined on baby lamb Bonanno remembered. "That was a million meals ago."

As for Biker Jim's, Pittenger had come to the show's attention for the daring food experiments Jim served, pushing the boundaries of encased meat: Biker Jim's served hot dogs made from rattlesnake, elk, reindeer and wild boar, topped with cream cheeses and carmelized onions soaked in Coca Cola.

"He ate most of five sauasges while he was there," Pittenger said. "The cream cheese and carmelized onions was antithetical for him, but then he tried it and said, 'Oh, this works.'" He ate a whole hot dog, then another hot dog, then another hot dog, then part of another hot dog."

Related: Anthony Bourdain, CNN Star Chef, Dead In Apparent Suicide

Later during Bourdain's 2010 visit, the celebrity food critic was given a "fork to the city" by then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Pittenger said. During public remarks, Bourdain said Denver's culinary landscape had really improved from Cheesecake Factories and other chains.

"Then Bourdain says, 'I have been to the mountaintop!'" and opens up his jacket. And he's wearing a Biker Jim's t-shirt," Pittenger said. "It was an amazing moment in my life. The hot dog vendor is like the trash collector in the culinary world."

The experience validated Pittenger's instinct that the former Alaskan repo-man could use hot dogs as a means of creative expression and have a great life while doing it, he said.

Pittenger opened his business in 2005. Biker Jim's has multiple street carts in Denver, two at Coors Field and a new one at Red Rocks, plus a brick and mortar location at 2148 Larimer St.

The last time he saw Bourdain was when Biker Jim's catered a book-signing and after-party at the Denver Convention Center for Bourdain's 2016 Appetites: A Cook Book.

"He looked great, very physically fit, and seemed to be doing very well," Pittenger said.

Bourdain's death was "a shock," he said. "But I understand the stress. He had to be a boss, he had to be a star. Sometimes there’s no place for vulnerability in those positions."

Bourdain's success came from his ability to bare his soul, he thought.

"Bourdain was so genuine and could tell a genuine story about anything. That's why he could make his show interesting over and over again."

"Everyone at my restaurants is very sad, [about Bourdain's apparent suicide]," Bonanno said. "But the truth is, if you had told me he died of natural causes, I wouldn't be surprised. The guy lived life to the fullest and that takes tolls on your mental capacity."

Anyone struggling with mental health can get help by calling National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visiting this website.

Related: Anthony Bourdain Dead At 61: Celebrities React

Image Biker Jim Pittenger and CNN Culinary Star Anthony Bourdain via Jim Pittenger.