Anthony Bourdain Finds an Impressive Seafood Bounty in Seattle

In the penultimate episode of Parts Unknown, Season 10, host Anthony Bourdain travels to the Pacific Northwest for some time in Seattle. It isn’t the first time Bourdain has taken a camera crew to the Emerald City, but in this installment, he makes a bold proclamation. “It’s pretty damn awesome,” Bourdain says. “Way ahead of the rest of the country in unbridled enthusiasm for good ingredients and good stuff.”

The chef-turned-television star takes in Seattle’s seafood bounty over the course of the episode, dining on raw oysters at the Taylor Shellfish Company, fish and chips at the Pacific Inn Pub, and crustaceans galore at a beachside crab feast. Bourdain also visits with Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s former chief technology officer who is now a champion of modernist cuisine. And in a groundbreaking moment, he has a philosophical awakening and discovers why people post photos of the food they eat on Instagram.

“Why do people Instagram pictures of food, to share their wonderful eating experience?” Bourdain pontificates. “No, it’s to make other people feel bad about what they’re eating. It’s like, ‘Look, I’m eating all these incredible crabs, and you’re sitting at home in dirty underwear eating Doritos.’”

When he isn’t raving about Seattle’s food, Bourdain spends his time analyzing how two specific industries — technology and marijuana — have changed the city.

Parts Unknown: Seattle airs this Sunday, November 19, at 9 p.m. on CNN. Immediately following the East Coast premiere, visit Eater’s Facebook page for a live discussion of the episode.

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