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Anthony Bourdain traveled the world with a mission to find the best eats. Of all the places he visited, Tokyo was one of Bourdain’s favorite food destination cities. The “Parts Unknown” host spoke of his love for the Japanese capital on more than one occasion. He not only loved the city’s cuisine, but he couldn’t get enough of the culture. The fact that he would risk missing his train to hit one of Japan’s unique vending machines feels like a testament to that.
In an essay for Food & Wine, Bourdain’s longtime assistant, Laurie Woolever, wrote about this event. Bourdain stopped in his tracks at a train station after spotting a coffee vending machine. When he saw the machine bearing the face of actor Tommy Lee Jones, he wasted no time reaching for some coins in his pocket. “He was in this moment so consumed with his desire for the novelty of canned coffee, emblazoned for some reason with the face of Tommy Lee Jones, and heated to order by the machine, that he was blissfully unaware of his paper train ticket fluttering from his pocket to the platform floor,” Woolever wrote.
The coffee he bought was Boss Coffee — a product of Suntory that Jones has served as the face of since 2006. The “Men in Black” star is known for appearing in the brand’s commercials, which see him portrayed as an alien.
What Bourdain loved about Japan
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Anthony Bourdain was never shy about his obsession with Japan. In 2013, he told Business Insider that he always felt there was so much to explore in the East Asian country, despite having visited numerous times. The “No Reservations” star named Tokyo, the most affordable city for Michelin star dining, as the place he would go to if he could only eat in one city for the rest of his life. In the same year, he noted in a blog post that many other chefs he knew would agree that it’s one of the best food cities in the world.
So, what did Bourdain like to eat when he would go to this city? As he shared with Business Insider, he’s a big fan of sea urchin, soba (buckwheat noodles) with a duck dipping sauce, and yakitori (grilled chicken skewers).
If something premade was in order, Bourdain would grab an egg salad sandwich from Lawson — a popular Japanese convenience store chain. In an episode of “Parts Unknown,” Bourdain goes to Lawson to grab one of these beloved sandwiches made of soft white bread and Kewpie mayonnaise. He also happened to pick up a can of Boss coffee to wash it down with.
AloJapan.com