In his early days as a literary personality, Bourdain wrote an article on the truth about New York restaurants, which appeared in an April 1999 issue of The New Yorker.
One of his secrets was that the culinary connoisseurs who prefer their steak well-done get a cut destined for the back-alley dumpster. Chefs have the choice of giving the least appetizing steaks to their floor staff, throwing them out, or giving them to taste-blind customers. If the chef is feeling generous, he tells his staff, "save for well-done."