The term “bucket list” annoys me for myriad reasons, but there’s something to be said about kicking it knowing you’ve achieved some of life’s ambitions.
Like most people, I have a plethora of death-defying outdoor activities I’d like to get to before I’m too old and creaky, but one of my more sedentary desires is listed on my Gadling bio. When asked whom I’d most like to interview, I answered (predictably, for a food and travel writer), “Anthony Bourdain.”
So when I found out Tony and his crew would be filming the Seattle episode of “The Layover” today at my former work – The Calf & Kid Artisan Cheese Shop – I nearly blew a gasket. I had the honor of being one of a handful informed of this tightly-kept state secret, and wanted a front row seat to watch my former employer provide Tony with a Pacific Northwest specialty cheese tasting.
The cheese shop is located in what I’ve come to consider Seattle’s crown jewel, Melrose Market. Housed in two renovated, vintage automobile repair shops in Capital Hill, it’s a small, carefully curated public market that also contains a localized butcher, a flower-and-produce shop, a home goods boutique, sandwich shop and one of the city’s finest restaurants, Sitka & Spruce.
It was a surprisingly low-key affair, and “The Layover” crew is top-notch: no attitude, no disruptions, no problem. They got things set up, and half an hour later, a very debonair and down-to-earth Bourdain strolled in.
Of course, I needed photographic evidence of all of this. There was no time for me to do an interview, but Tony cheerfully indulged me with a photo, even when asked if I could pimp my new book, “Cheese for Dummies,” in it (“Not that I’m asking you to endorse it or anything,” to which he replied, “Hey, as long as you’re the one holding it.”). I thanked him for his time and talent, and told him I hope Seattle shows him a good time.
“It always does,” he said with a smile, and slipped out the door.
Look for the Seattle episode of “The Layover” to air in early fall on The Travel Channel.