It’s no secret Anthony Bourdain had a thing for our city. Miami is, after all, known as the “sixth borough” and Bourdain being a New Yorker through and through, even he wasn’t immune to the pull our beachy shores seem to have on those from grittier frontiers. In addition to filming segments of his shows No Reservations, The Layover, and Parts Unknown here, he was also a perennial favorite curmudgeon at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, regularly scoffing at the culinary competence of Rachael Ray and probably drank 400 beers at Mac’s Club Deuce on each of his visits. He loved staying at the historic Raleigh Hotel and could gulp down a cafecito like a local.
So when we heard his personal items were up for auction we held out hope there would be some Miami memorabilia in the bric-a-brac of such a fascinating life. There’s plenty of interesting stuff up for bid – including a collection of fancy watches that probably would go great with a red convertible and a cruise down Ocean Drive – but alas, not much that hints at the gluttony and hedonism Bourdain no doubt experienced on his many trips here. Not even a souvenir plastic bib from Joe’s Stone Crab? A beer-stained coaster from the Deuce? We’d even take a weathered all-access pass to SOBEWFF at this point.
But if you’re a hard-core Bourdain fan and hankering for a relic of the man, there are plenty of interesting lots, including a collection of his early writings and manuscripts. There are also plenty of books, Tom Ford suits, leather jackets, funky artwork, Pottery Barn dining chairs, a Zippo lighter engraved with “No Reputations. Desert Special 2011,” and a customized U.S. Navy jacket from the USS Nashville.
There’s also a nice collection of Persol sunglasses and we can only assume he must have worn at least some of them on his jaunts through South Beach. The hottest item appears to be a custom-made Bob Kramer steel-and-meteorite chef’s knife which is already fetching $21,000 and was originally estimated at a quarter of that. If you’re an aspiring chef, using Anthony Bourdain’s knife would be pretty badass, but we can also see it being using to slice limes behind the bar at the Deuce, a fitting tribute to a fine kitchen tool with a deep (and probably wacky) history.
The auction ends ends October 30th, so don’t dilly dally.
COVER PHOTO: TRAVEL CHANNEL