Remembering Tony

Make a negroni de Bourdain to celebrate the legacy of an amazing person

Hola my friends, today is always a bittersweet day for me…it’s Bourdain Day, the birthday of my dear friend Anthony Bourdain. Another dear friend, Eric Ripert, and I created it in 2019 as a way to both celebrate and remember this amazing person who gave so much to the world—especially the world of food, of cooks, and explorers across the globe. He was all about longer tables, and I think the table he built keeps growing to this day.

In the past few years, we’ve celebrated Bourdain Day here at Longer Tables in different ways…many of you were with us when I asked you to share your favorite memories of Tony, and so many of you responded with so many incredible, heartfelt messages. It is undeniable that Tony touched the lives of so many—those of us who knew him personally, but also millions of people who admired him and how he brought the corners of the world into their homes. He was one of my heroes, and he told the stories of people and places that needed to be told. Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if he were still with us today.

Bourdain Day: Tell me your favorite Tony memory

Tony and me at Oyamel back in 2016

Of course, I have more memories than I could even think to share here…you would be reading for weeks and weeks and weeks! But his life lives on through the stories he told, and the people who loved him. So today, I think we should raise a glass to Tony, and I cannot think of anything more perfect to toast with than a Negroni. As he said, “a negroni is a perfect drink,” and whenever he’d come to Oyamel, he would order a special version that we’ve had “off-menu” as the “Negroni de Bourdain.” I remember the night he came in to celebrate his cookbook Appetites and he signed the bar at Oyamel in Washington, DC…we actually cut that piece out of the bar, and it’s now in a frame that you can see when you walk in.

Tony signed the old bar at Oyamel in DC.

At Oyamel in New York, you can find the Negroni de Bourdain on the menu, but it’s still technically off-menu in DC (but now you all know!). I think it is a perfect tribute to someone who loved exploring the off-menu parts of the world…truly the parts unknown to many of us.

So join me in raising a glass to one of the most inspiring people any of us have ever known. We will always miss Tony, but we will never stop celebrating him and everything he stood for.

Negroni de Bourdain
Serves 1…or make a batch!

1 oz mezcal (like Del Maguey Vida)
1 oz sweet vermouth (like Yzaguirre Rojo Reserva)
.75 oz Aperol
.25 oz Cynar

1 orange peel, for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into an empty rocks glass and add a large (2 x 2) ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel.