The Seattle Restaurant Anthony Bourdain Called 'A Holy Place'

Anthony Bourdain spent many years of his life highlighting underrated restaurants across the globe, but some of his favorites were closer to home in the United States. While his frequent visits to restaurants up and down the East Coast led Bourdain to discover that the best cheesesteak isn't from Philly, his visits to the Pacific Northwest caused him to find a restaurant that he considers to be a one-of-a-kind sandwich shop in the heart of Seattle: Salumi.

Salumi — opened by Armandino Batali (the father of disgraced chef Mario Batali) as a post-retirement venture, along with his wife Marilyn Batali — specializes in providing Italian sandwiches to the people of Seattle. For Bourdain, Salumi was as good as it gets when it comes to sandwiches. He heaped praise on the restaurant in 2009, telling The Seattle Times, "That is a holy place for me. I love that place. I've jokingly said, but I'm half serious it should be a UNESCO site. It should be a landmark."

While Anthony Bourdain's printed statement about Salumi is as good of an endorsement as any, it's not the only time Bourdain highlighted the Seattle institution. In the Season 3 episode of "No Reservations" entitled "Pacific Northwest," Bourdain concluded his visit to the region by enjoying a meal at Salumi. Ahead of his visit, Bourdain first told the legendary story of how the sandwich shop came to be. "Armandino Batali ... retired from a distinguished career as a engineer at Boeing aircraft and decided to fulfill his life's dream by going to Italy and learning how to become a traditional curer of meats." Bourdain explained, "What he created on his return is a shining beacon of hope pointing towards the future."

It's not particularly surprising that the former host of "A Cook's Tour" had a profound appreciation for the popular sandwich shop; Bourdain famously loved a mortadella sandwich, which is one of the highlights on Salumi's exquisite menu. However, even beyond his personal enjoyment of that key offering, Bourdain believed that the quality of every sandwich at Salumi is in a league of its own. "It's perfect. A brilliantly burning bright spot in a world of mediocrity," Bourdain lauded, "This food speaks directly to my soul."