Remembering When Anthony Bourdain and Michael K. Williams Dined on 'No Reservations'

Back in 2012, on the very last episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, the late chef wrapped up the great travel documentary with a trip to—where else?—Brooklyn, New York. Of course, as always, Bourdain needed the help of a local to show him around: The actor Michael K Williams, who died Monday at the age of 54.

Bourdain and Williams visited Gloria's, a celebrated Caribbean restaurant in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighbourhood. Per Williams's advice, the two shared oxtail, macaroni and cheese, rice and peas, and callaloo—and a few laughs, with Williams saying that Bourdain will "have a little bit of mine, and [I'll have] a little bit of yours!" Williams's former co-star on The Wire, Jamie Hector, even makes a surprise appearance. At the time, it was a proper end to No Reservations, bringing Bourdain back to his hometown of New York City, sharing a meal with another man of exceptional talent (and heart.) Now, in September 2021—three years after Bourdain's tragic death—the segment takes on a new meaning.

Watching the segment back, having lost Bourdain and Williams, the clip is an obituary of sorts—it's sweet, sentimental, and full of everything we loved about the actor and chef. You have Williams giving Hector an it's-been-too-long handshake, and Bourdain riffing on the finer details of Caribbean cuisine. If you have a couple minutes today, watch the clip from No Reservations—and toast two men we should consider ourselves lucky to have known at all, whom we'll never stop missing.

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