Last Thursday, I trundled up to Syracuse with my friend Julie. Or my “partner in crime,” as her husband puts it. The reason for our little excursion – a pilgrimage of sorts, really – to see Anthony Bourdain live at the State Theatre.

Foodies and travel enthusiasts will recognize this name, for Tony has made quite the name for himself as a chef, writer, traveler, and host of the Travel Channel original series “No Reservations.” And he’s basically my personal hero.

Which is why I felt compelled to pay what I considered a fairly hefty ticket price – with which I could have purchased at least three of his books in trade paperback (if I didn’t already own them) – when I could catch his Travel Channel show absolutely free. Ditto his entertaining online blog. (Which is up for a Webby, by the way.)

For me, it was worth the ticket price. (Which ended up being about $60 once Ticket Master got their money-grubbing, usurious little hands on it.) Because it gave me the opportunity to pay homage to a man who has given me so much.

Tony and I go way back.