I was really sad to hear the news of Tony's passing -- more saddened when I learned that it was apparently at Tony's own hand. When I was in Iraq, we had Armed Forces Network on our computers. No Reservations came on at some obscure time in the middle of the night on Saturdays. I started recording it and watching it Sunday evenings with a cigar after I got back to my hootch for the night. As his show became part of my weekly rhythm, I began to question why I liked and disliked certain foods. I began to question what it was about a certain food that would make me say, "That's delicious!" I realized that not everything has to be sweet, salty or savory to be good in a way that my American palate was accustomed to, and there was a place for things that are umami, bitter or sour that could also be delicious. When I came home (to Japan) I told my landlord that I wanted to have an eating adventure, and he helped me have my own tiny glimpse of Tony's world through some of the local foods I hadn't mustered the courage to try solo. A friend and I do a thing we call "Chasing Bourdain" where we try to copy whole episodes of No Reservations. There are few people who ever lived who could string words together the way AB did. He inspired me to broaden my palate and embrace an adventure of eating. RIP Tony...