Fresh off the heels of his interview with President Barack Obama in Hanoi, Vietnam last month, Anthony Bourdain just dined with another living legend in Houston, Texas: Slim Thug.
Bourdain ate brisket, ribs, links, and loaded baked potatoes with the rapper at Burns Original BBQ on Friday, the Houston Chronicle reported. Filming an episode of the chef’s CNN travel show, Parts Unknown, the pair reportedly discussed the recent floods in Houston, the area’s declining oil business, and diversity. But the main topic of conversation was “SLAB Culture”—the Houston lowrider scene that first took hold in the city in the 1980s.
In 2007, Slim Thug spoke to the Chronicle about the evolution of SLAB, which stands for “Slow, Low, and Bangin’.”
“SLABs are a big part out of our culture,” he said. “Everything is so spaced out here in Houston, so you have to have a car to get around, and you want to be comfortable. You want to look nice. Transportation means everything, so why not ride in something that's a part of Houston culture?”
Bourdain, world traveler that is, had been to Burns once before. In 2004, he shot a segment at the restaurant for the Food Network while the original owner, Roy Burns Sr., was still alive.
“It's good he came back to see a second and third generation,” Cory Crawford, the current co-owner of Burns, told the Chronicle on Friday. “It's exciting for us and for the people."
“He wanted to get deeper enriched with the culture,” he added.
[via the Chronicle]