In the Weeds Quotes

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“I used to have a pretty dim view of humanity,” Tony said. “But since I started traveling—particularly to places where I anticipated being treated badly—I am on balance pretty convinced that generally speaking the human race are doing the best they can to be as good as they can, under the circumstances, whatever they may be. I guess my hope is the more people see of the world, in person hopefully, or even on television, they see ordinary people doing ordinary things, so when news happens at least they have a better idea of who we’re talking about. Put a face to some empathy, to some kinship, to some understanding. This surely is a good thing. I hope it’s a useful thing.” “And this is why a show like yours is terrific,” the president said. “Because it reminds people that actually there’s a whole bunch of the world that on a daily basis is going about its business, eating at restaurants, taking their kids to school, trying to make ends meet, playing games. The same way we are back home.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Tony had an addictive personality and was without doubt a workaholic, choosing to travel over 250 days a year for as long as I’d known him. Whenever I used to suggest he take some time off, Tony would say, “Television is a cruel mistress. She does not let you cheat on her, even for a while.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“An indigenous group native to the vast jungles of Borneo, the Iban considered the Bejalai central to their culture. The general idea is you go on an adventure, and learn something about the world. When all is said and done, hopefully you’re better for what you’ve seen, and you share the knowledge you’ve acquired with your home village. The Iban then commemorate the experience with a hand-tapped tattoo, à la “travel leaves marks.” It was literally a perfect theme for an episode of TV about travel.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“This episode had the potential to do what Tony had always aimed for and I was proudest of: challenge stereotypes while resisting the othering of people we met by treating them with dignity, respect, and approaching a complex situation with an open mind. The Iran episode also served as a reminder of what could happen to the people we leave behind.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“The rules for working on Tony’s shows were not to be found on the pages of any HR manual. There were behaviors perfectly acceptable in polite society that were unforgivable deal-breakers for Tony. Stingy tipper, vegan, mediocre, tea drinker, late, or a fan of Jimmy Buffett’s music, you’re off the show.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Everyone on TV is afraid of not being on TV,” but not Tony.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Sharing a meal put people at ease, helped them forget the cameras were there, and inspired them to open up about their lives. Most importantly, food had become our cover, at least as far as I was concerned. In Iran and Laos, it was actually thought we were CIA like in the movie Argo. And in certain ways they were right. If it wasn’t for the cover of a “food show,” we never would have been able to get to the places we did. Season after season while planning the shoots, food had morphed from the show’s raison d’être to almost an afterthought. By the end, it was a show about people far more than one about food.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“I had looked at Tony, his triumphs, and my place in his band of misfits as proof I was on the right track. Knowing now where Tony’s path had ultimately led, I was left to question the wisdom of my own choices.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“The cameras were rolling; it was go time. I signaled to Jared who sent in the waitress. She placed white rice noodles, greens, fried pork rolls, two steaming bowls of broth, and two beers on the table. “I feel a little awkward sitting in front of all this good food with you guys standing there working. Did you get something to eat?” President Obama asked before starting the scene. He was one of the few people in the thousands we’d filmed who inquired if the crew was hungry.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“When your objective is to get footage that illustrates a story—in this case how much destruction and tragedy exists in a place—it puts you in the awkward position of witnessing human suffering as a goal.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“W. C. Fields famously said, “Never work with children or animals.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“You can get anything you want,” Tony said, eyes wide with Christmas morning juvenescence. “Call down to the front desk at three a.m. you can order cocaine, some Hell’s Angels, and a donkey. They’ll even help you dispose of a dead rodeo clown should the need arise. As long as you’re discreet and don’t disturb the other guests.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“It was a Skunk Works where Tony encouraged wild and often inappropriate risk-taking, rewarded experimentation, creativity, and thinking differently, while at the same time publicly shaming traits like consistency and level-headed thinking.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Unfortunately, the “Editor Outreach Program” didn’t go quite as expected. Already well out of his comfort zone by the time he touched down in Bangkok, on the van ride to the hotel, McIndio spasmodically swatted at imaginary mosquitos while simultaneously tabulating and cross-referencing numbers and letters on license plates, convinced he was seeing patterns. Unfortunately, the situation pretty much deteriorated from there. “It was like a haunting,” Tony said. “By the end of the shoot, he was walking around in concentric circles arguing with himself about prime numbers. Fuck me. Some people are better off left in their cage.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“conversation with the woman seated next to me. She was a Rhodes Scholar and seemed genuinely interested in whatever it was I did for a living. The next thing I remember was THUMP as the plane touched down at JFK. The seat next to me was empty. I was later informed that, among other indiscretions, I’d apparently rummaged through every overhead bin in the cabin looking for my checked suitcase. It was more the fear of waking up zip-tied to the bulkhead than the shame and embarrassment of liver failure at 35,000 feet that eventually convinced me to quit the magic flying pills.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Doctor Tony held liberal views on the dispensation of prescription medication and was a staunch advocate of flying pills. “Toss back a few of these bad boys with some scotch before takeoff, and you wake up in Asia. Really, it’s the only way to fly.” One morning at the airport Tony asked the crew how we were planning to “manage” the flight. Everyone broke out their stashes for a game of “pill poker,” swapping a rainbow assortment of sleeping pills, pain meds, and antianxiety meds. “I’ll see your Xanax and raise you two diazepam for one Klonopin…” Washing down a fistful of pills with a breakfast beer, I couldn’t help but notice the wholesome family at the next table staring at us with a look of horror and disgust on their faces that was… memorable. Those delightful little pills did wonders for my fear of flying, and it was smooth sailing until the time I accidentally consumed the wrong cocktail.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“strange and consuming loyalty. I try, in my kitchen, to be just like him. I want my cooks to have me inside their heads just like Bigfoot remains in mine. I want them to think that, like Bigfoot, when I look into their eyes, I see right into their very souls.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Cunning, manipulative, brilliant, mercurial, physically intimidating—even terrifying—a bully, a yenta, a sadist and a mensch: Bigfoot is all those things. He’s also the most stand-up guy I ever worked for. He inspires a”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Which is maybe why I still couldn’t believe CNN had given Tony—a countercultural, mostly uncontrollable ex-heroin addict in his mid-fifties—a blank check to go anywhere and do pretty much anything he wanted. It sounded insane to me, and I was the show’s director.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Tony had always been fascinated by Eastern legends of the hungry ghost—a spirit stranded in the netherworld due to a tragic death or lack of a proper burial—and in keeping with everything in his life playing out like a book, movie, or legend, now in some horrific twist of fate he had become a hungry ghost himself.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“This is all Asia’s fault, she fucking killed him,” was a popular opinion.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“For me—as well as for Tony and other longtime members of the crew—the show increasingly seemed like a one-way ticket to insanity. By the end, the work was taking a heavy personal, physical, and emotional toll, and it felt like there was no escape, even if I wanted one. But who could walk away from a job like this? Who on the outside would even understand?”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“P.S. INCIDENTS INCLUDED IN THIS book are not intended to glamorize or endorse acts of cannibalism, drug use, smuggling, torture, extortion, bribery, wire fraud, attempted vehicular manslaughter, or the poaching of endangered species.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“All I have to do is close my eyes, and there he is, looking every bit the globetrotting TV star. Both old and young at the same time, full head of curly grey hair, cigarette in his mouth, standing tall at 6’4”, sunbaked, half-hidden behind a pair of solid black Steve McQueen Persols.

Tony always seemed in a hurry, like he might disappear at any second. He’d only ever smoke about half a cigarette before stamping it out. I asked him once why he did that. “Old habit from my restaurant days,” he said. “Gotta get back to the kitchen and see what’s fucked up.”

My relationship with Tony was complicated. Tony was hard to be around, and painful to be away from. He was intellectually stimulating beyond compare, and his energy would suck you dry. Frustrating, difficult and even terrifying at times, but always fascinating, bigger than life. Taking a drag of his cigarette he’d say, “You gotta make sacrifices to do this.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“I used to have a pretty dim view of humanity,” Tony said. “But since I started traveling—particularly to places where I anticipated being treated badly—I am on balance pretty convinced that generally speaking the human race are doing the best they can to be as good as they can, under the circumstances, whatever they may be. I guess my hope is the more people see of the world, in person hopefully, or even on television, they see ordinary people doing ordinary things, so when news happens at least they have a better idea of who we’re talking about. Put a face to some empathy, to some kinship, to some understanding. This surely is a good thing. I hope it’s a useful thing.” “And”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“I mean, there was a lot of collateral damage,” Tony said. “To be my friend was not necessarily going to work out for you.” “Everybody wants to fuck people over,” Asia said. “They do, they really do.” “You know, I’m coming around on that,” Tony said. “I think, actually, that it’s not that. It’s the people who act in their perceived self-interest, and I think most people do the best they can, and a lot of times that means they’re going to fuck you over. And you know, it’s on me if I have unreasonable expectations of people, which I do.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain