If there’s anyone you can completely trust when it comes to food recommendations, it’s the late Anthony Bourdain. His passion and style changed the trajectory of food media forever, and his show, Parts Unknown, stood out for celebrating cuisines and cultures from every corner of the globe. A 2014 episode took him to the Bronx, where he explored the vibrant Puerto Rican food scene, which wouldn’t be complete without cuchifritos.

The snack’s name comes from the Spanish dish cochino frito, which literally means “fried pig.” Cuchifrito has become a common term for fried street food in Puerto Rico, including a variety of meaty morsels like alcapurrias and pastelillos, but originally it referred to fried pork. As Bourdain learned on his Bronx tour, the most traditional cuchifritos are various juicy cuts of pork that have been cut into bite-sized pieces and deep-fried.

“What’s not to like?” Bourdain asked rhetorically after finding out what was for lunch. After tasting it, Bourdain declared, “It’s incredible. It’s incredible.” Cuchifritos typically contain every cut of the pig, from the belly to the ears, and up on 188th Street, Bourdain happily accepted whatever was put on his plate. He feasted on succulent pieces of deep-fried pork shoulder, skin, and belly, alongside some other popular cuchifritos: morcilla (blood sausage) and cuajo (pork stomach).

Bourdain was lucky enough to get insider information from Justin Fornal, better known as his bold foodie TV name Baron Ambrosia, who has been dubbed the “Bronx’s culinary ambassador.” Fornal quickly took Bourdain to a popular neighborhood eatery: 188 Bakery Cuchifritos in Fordham Heights. The old-fashioned restaurant may look like just another bodega, with its bright neon signs and battered Lotto banner, but that’s part of its charm. As Fornal told Bourdain, the place “oozes and mimics the flavor of the Bronx.” Bourdain only had to take one sniff of the sizzling meat, and he agreed, seeming to enjoy each bite more than the last.

Fornal described a perfectly tender piece of pork as “a little meat candy bar.” And Bourdain agreed without hesitation. The magically crispy and fatty pieces have so much flavor they barely need any garnishes, but 188 Cuchifritos tops its massive mountain of meat with a ladle of sauce before it goes over the counter. Bourdain was nearly speechless as he admired the restaurant’s vast offering, calling it the “center of the pork universe.” He was so overwhelmed that he even placed a takeout order on the way out. Bourdain took every opportunity to express his love for the New York City dining scene, but discovering this unexpected eatery certainly deepened his appreciation for Latin American cuisine.