Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.

Anthony Bourdain is probably one of the only people in the world who can make Anderson Cooper seem uncool.

Earlier this month, two of CNN’s most popular hosts met at Heidelberg, a German restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, to film an interview for Cooper’s show, Anderson 360.

Between courses of sauerbraten, potato pancakes, and various sausages, the pair talked at length about the locations Bourdain visited and the people he met for the new season of Parts Unknown.

The conversation quickly veered from the cuisine and politics of West Virginia to Berlin’s club scene and Bourdain’s new status as a persona non grata in Azerbaijan (where it is believed he is working for the CIA).

When describing a recent episode of “Parts Unknown” filmed in Armenia, Bourdain mentioned one of his guides, Serj Tankian, lead singer for the metal band System of a Down.

“How do you know so many bands I’ve never even heard of?” Cooper asked jokingly.

“I’ve seen your taste in food, Anderson, I don’t want to see your taste in music,” Bourdain gibed. “You’re probably one of those people that keeps vinyl on display but only listens to music through your earbuds on the Stairmaster.”

Cooper laughed back,“Nailed me.”

Their relationship is one of playfulness. “Anthony likes to torment me,” Cooper explained. Over the past few years, Bourdain and Cooper have dined on aorta, shrimp brain, and tripe — much to the chagrin of the latter’s stomach.

The meal at Heidelberg was tame compared to previous culinary undertakings, but Cooper still stepped outside his comfort zone with a giant glass boot of pilsner. “How did you not get any on your face?” Cooper asked with amazement as Bourdain lifted a stein the size of his upper arm. “Practice, practice, practice,” Bourdain quipped back.