When Anthony Bourdain Visited Connecticut

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and the star of CNN's "Parts Unknown," died from an apparent suicide in France this morning, the network confirmed. The 61-year-old food expert visited countless countries, states, and cities, talking about and trying the best foods, and Connecticut was no exception.

Dating back to the days when his show, "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," was on the Travel Channel, Bourdain came to the state on several occasions to opine about his travels, the great (and bad) food he tasted and life in general, such as a 2011 tour stop at the Palace Theater in Stamford.

"If you have one day in New York City, just one day in your entire life, you don't go to the best restaurant in town," said Bourdain at the Stamford concert, according to author Caroline Sadowska. "The best, the most expensive restaurant in Paris, in London, in New York, it's all about the same. You want to go where the locals go and eat what they do better than anywhere else. What does New York City do better than anywhere else in the world? I'm going to a deli," Bourdain paused as audience members applauded. "And I'm having pastrami."

That same year, he also played a sold-out show at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, delivering his trademark snarky takes on life, wrote the New Haven Register.

A few years later, in 2016 during his tour called "The Hunger," Bourdain performed at Foxwoods after the airing of the famous episode of "Parts Unknown" with President Barack Obama in Vietnam, according to the Hartford Courant.

Bourdain's friend and fellow celebrity chef Eric Ripert found Bourdain unconscious in his hotel room in France — where the pair were working on an upcoming episode — on Friday morning, CNN reported, Patch wrote.

CNN announced the chef's death on Friday morning, describing Bourdain as a man who loved "great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world."

"His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much," the network said.

— Max Bennett, Patch Staff contributed to this report

Photo of Anthony Bourdain via Getty Images

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