The Fast Food Fried Chicken Anthony Bourdain Couldn't Resist

Celebrity chefs are famous for creating innovative and inviting food, but sometimes they crave fast food just like the rest of us. For Anthony Bourdain, that often meant picking up Popeyes. The late chef told People magazine about his love for the fried chicken chain months before his 2018 death. Bourdain said he'd head to Popeyes (which jumped on the 'girl dinner' TikTok trend) after returning home from traveling for his CNN show "Parts Unknown," which explored foods around the world, calling the Louisiana-style chicken "exotica" after all that global cuisine. 

Bourdain's go-to Popeyes order was spicy fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, Cajun gravy, with a side of macaroni and cheese. What makes the fried chicken so good that Bourdain and other famed chefs like David Chang, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, and Hugh Acheson have sung its praises? It gets its juiciness and signature Cajun-style flavor from being marinated for 12 hours in spices native to bayou cooking. Deep frying the chicken after it's coated with a Southern egg-and-flour batter –- which they claim to use more of than their competitors -– produces a perfectly crispy crust.

Bourdain's self-described "shameful pleasure" (per the Boston Globe), Popeyes macaroni and cheese, was revamped in 2022. The updated Homestyle Mac & Cheese is made with real butter and cheddar cheese for rich creaminess and has a shredded cheddar topping that transforms into a crunchy, golden crust when baked. Bourdain liked Popeyes' iconic fluffy buttermilk biscuits with Cajun gravy, the savory sauce with a bit of spicy heat that tops their mashed potatoes — which are smooth and silky enough to be used as a dipping sauce.

Popeyes wasn't the only fast food that had Bourdain as a fan. He hankered for In-N-Out Burger when he was on the West Coast, declaring that the popular California-based regional burger chain was his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. Bourdain would order his In-N-Out burger "animal style," a customer-favorite variation from their "Not So Secret Menu" in which the burger is grilled with mustard and topped with pickles, grilled onions, and extra spread (the company's burger sauce akin to thousand island dressing), along with the regular lettuce and tomato. 

When he was home in New York City, Bourdain had a soft spot for Gray's Papaya, a beloved hot dog institution on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Gray's all-beef franks are cooked on a griddle and made with natural casing, which makes for a snappy crispness when you bite into them. Although Chicago-style hot dogs were actually his favorite, Bourdain said on his Travel Channel series "No Reservations" that he missed Gray Papaya's hot dogs when he was away from New York. He would get his franks with mustard and sauerkraut and wash them down with one of Gray's signature papaya drinks.