--- title: How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Curiosity to Queens description: Anthony Bourdain took his globe-trotting CNN show Parts Unknown to the New York City borough of Queens. And residents will never forget it. canonical: https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-08T17:26:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:31:06.137Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Curiosity to Corner of America og:description: "He loves the food, but loves the people behind it even more" og:url: https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494c2c568735c3ee/698932a586f68e002a6e9643/bourdaininqueens.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Anthony Bourdain in Queens og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Curiosity to Corner of America twitter:description: "He loves the food, but loves the people behind it even more" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494c2c568735c3ee/698932a586f68e002a6e9643/bourdaininqueens.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Community Organizer on How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Globe-Trotting Curiosity to an Overlooked Corner of America > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 8, 2018 5:26 PM UTC  Ali Najmi chats with Anthony Bourdain in Jackson Heights while eating Tibetan food for an episode of his show "Parts Unknown" in the New York City borough of Queens Ali Najmi chats with Anthony Bourdain in Jackson Heights while eating Tibetan food for an episode of his show "Parts Unknown" in the New York City borough of QueensCourtesy of Ali Najmi by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jun 8, 2018 5:26 PM UTC Anthony Bourdain was known for showing Americans far-away places like Borneo and Myanmar. But he brought the same curiosity to an often-overlooked corner of his own hometown last year. Bourdain took his globe-trotting CNN show _Parts Unknown_ to the New York City borough of Queens – which has been called [“one of the most diverse places on Earth](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-diverse-places-earth-new-figures-show-article-1.430744),” but doesn’t get the same attention as neighboring Manhattan or Brooklyn. One of his guides, local lawyer and community organizer Ali Najmi, will never forget Bourdain’s humility and eagerness to learn. “The best thing about Bourdain was that he loves the food, but loves the people behind it even more,” Najmi told TIME Friday. “He truly was invested in people and he figured out that food is the connector of people.” He added: “He researched a place because there was no way he wouldn’t do it justice. I think he showed Queens in all its uniqueness, the people and the community. I think that episode was one of the best the show ever did.” > [](https://twitter.com/Ali%5FNajmi/status/1005074947222528000) [Bourdain was found dead](http://www.time.com/5305838/anthony-bourdain-dead/) in his hotel room in France on Friday at age 61\. Authorities said the beloved chef, author and TV presenter committed suicide. Bourdain was born in New York, grew up in New Jersey and called himself a bad New Yorker – admitting that he tended to revisit the same places he had been going to for years. “It’s irritating to me — embarrassing really — that I don’t know more of Queens — where the Chinese restaurants are better and more numerous than Manhattan’s, where their Koreatown is better than our Koreatown, where cooks and cultures from all over the world collide and mix in glorious ways,” he said in his field notes for the Queens episode of _Parts Unknown_. But Queens was not alone in the U.S. for getting Bourdain’s spotlight. He used _Parts Unknown_ to show Americans the weird and wild parts of their own country with episodes on Koreatown in Los Angeles, New Mexico, Detroit, the Mississippi Delta, Montana and West Virginia. Najmi hooked up with Bourdain for the episode through mutual friend, Queens born rapper Himanshu Suri, shortly after a community rally he was holding in Jackson Heights, a vibrant community dominated by immigrants from all over the world. The chef joined them for a meal at Tibetan restaurant [Lhasa Fast Food](https://www.yelp.com/biz/lhasa-fast-food-jackson-heights), located at 37-50 74th Street and chatted about the community. “He showed people how to be open and learn from one another, his show taught people about others and it wasn’t in a silly, shallow, national geographic way,” Najmi said. In the _Parts Unknown_ episode, Bourdain remarked that Queens was a perfect lesson for the rest of the nation on the importance of diversity. “Queens, I hope, is an argument for the founders’ original intent, a place where America still offers the world something of inestimable value: hope. And in return, receives so much,” Bourdain said. “He was a great man and I cherished the opportunity meeting him,” Najmi said. “He was very encouraging and told me to continue the good work I was doing, he believed in me and I’ll never forget that.” How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Curiosity to Queens ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/"},"headline":"A Community Organizer on How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Globe-Trotting Curiosity to an Overlooked Corner of America","datePublished":"2018-06-08T17:26:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:31:06.137Z","description":"\"The best thing about Bourdain was that he loves the food, but loves the people behind it even more\"","url":"https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/","keywords":["anthony bourdain","obituary","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494c2c568735c3ee/698932a586f68e002a6e9643/bourdaininqueens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gina Martinez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt494c2c568735c3ee/698932a586f68e002a6e9643/bourdaininqueens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Anthony Bourdain in Queens","caption":"Anthony Bourdain in Queens","creditText":"Courtesy of Ali Najmi","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/anthony-bourdain/","name":"anthony bourdain"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5306228/anthony-bourdain-curiosity-queens/","name":"A Community Organizer on How Anthony Bourdain Brought His Globe-Trotting Curiosity to an Overlooked Corner of America"}}]}] ```