Not long after news broke that The Wire star Michael K. Williams had passed away at the age of 54, fans began reminiscing about everything from his iconic roles to his lifelong attachment to his beloved Brooklyn. And that love of his hometown became even more bittersweet return people started remembering the time he appeared on the last episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations in 2012. After committing suicide in 2018, Bourdain’s absence has still loomed large over the food and travel world, and seeing him with the now-deceased Williams brought out an understandable surge of emotions on social media.
The No Reservations clip showcases two great dudes bonding over Caribbean food in Crown Heights, where you can feel Williams’ excitement over sharing the local treasure with Bourdain. He orders food for both of them and then immediately declares that they’ll be sharing. The mood is infectious as you watch the clip that left Twitter buzzing with feelings:
https://twitter.com/jamescrugnale/status/1435218928821805059
Loved the No Reservations where Bourdain and Michael K. Williams are wandering Brooklyn, MKW knows everyone, they know him, a mutual lovefest between a man and the people of a city, they pick a random restaurant and run into Marlo https://t.co/0MMrklHHF4
— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) September 6, 2021
one of my absolute favorite episodes of no reservations was when bourdain met up with michael k williams in brooklyn and literally EVERYONE just knew michael. this episode is gonna hit so different now. pic.twitter.com/xkvxMoFu9X
— ♡ kiran ♡ (@kiranverse) September 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/carolineframke/status/1434981657799430147
Michael K. Williams and Anthony Bourdain, name a more iconic duo https://t.co/vgSuR64fMb
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 7, 2021
The Bourdain and Williams love also caused a 2018 Late Show clip to resurface where Williams tells Stephen Colbert about filming the now iconic episode. According to Williams, Bourdain was “down” with visiting Flatbush instead of the “bougie Williamsburg,” and he was completely gracious to everyone they met. Even more impressively, Bourdain knew the right way to eat oxtail: No fork and knife. He was “my kind of guy,” Williams told Colbert.
You can watch the clip below:
(Via James Crugnale on Twitter, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)