One Of Anthony Bourdain's Most Hated Foods Was From McDonald's

Having sampled food from around the globe, Anthony Bourdain had plenty of meals that he loved, but there were a number that he didn't enjoy, too. He definitely wasn't a fan of club sandwiches and Icelandic fermented shark was at the bottom of his list of foods to try again, but one dish from an American go-to chain was among his most disliked: McDonald's Chicken McNuggets.

In an interview with A.V. Club, as reported by Live Journal in 2008, Bourdain referred to his experience of eating the anus of a warthog in Namibia as the worst so far in his travels, even topping noshing on the heart of a cobra that was still going strong. But when asked if he'd rather dine on the tail-end of the warthog or McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, it was a close call for him. "Given the choice between reliving the warthog experience and eating a McNugget, I'm surely eating the McNugget," he said. "But at least I knew what the warthog was. Whereas with the McNugget, I think that's still an open question. Scientists are still wondering."

Make no mistake — Bourdain was no fast food snob. He adored a burger from In-N-Out and was known to pop by Popeye's for fried chicken and mac and cheese. But McDonald's McNuggets weren't an option for him. He even went so far as to routinely disparage the chain and the effects of eating its food to persuade his young daughter not to eat meals from the fast food behemoth.

Anthony Bourdain isn't the only well-known face to diss McDonald's. In 2019, a whole host of celebrities came together to call for McDonald's to improve its practices in regards to animal welfare, claiming that the company was contributing to cruelty to animals, particularly chickens.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of non-celebs who aren't enthused about the nuggets that the golden arches produce as well. In one Reddit thread, they're denounced as "terrible" and inferior to other fast food brands or store-bought versions with one even claiming, "McDonald's [sic] nuggets fill me with a special kind of rage. no amount of sauce helps either. They taste like rubber and have the texture of it too." Others stated that, "Mcnuggets are barely even chicken," and "They don't taste like any other nuggets I've ever had and they're disgusting and flavorless." However, some on the thread claim that the nuggets were better years ago or are improved with sauces, while some point to pure nostalgia or inebriation as the only reason to eat them. But overall, from sustainability to flavor, many people (celebrity or otherwise) seem to agree with Bourdain about taking a hard pass on the Chicken McNuggets.