Well, Bourdain spells it "osetra". There are a plethora of other spellings online, an indication of a word that has been translated from another language that doesn't use the English alphabet. You should see how many variations there are for English spellings of Arabic words, a phenomenon I experienced with frustration while researching particular archaeological sites, only to find that they have 5 or 6 'different' names.
Osetra is a type of caviar. The second-most-expensive type of caviar there is (beluga has it beat). Unfortunately the species of sturgeon that produces it is nearly extinct in the wild. If you choose to partake, please be sure to sample from the farmed osetra-producing sturgeon.
I'm not sure I have ever tried caviar. As a child it has the gross-out factor - fish eggs? Yuck! But as an adult, it has an allure, and an air of importance and expense. It is also similar to other prestigious seafoods (oysters, fugu), in that it is expensive, and you want to make sure you get the 'right' experience the first time you try it. I've turned many an oyster hater into an oyster lover simply by showing them the good kinds, and how to eat them. I feel that I've never had anyone looking over my shoulder at a nice restaurant, able to tell me what caviar to order and how to enjoy it.
There's also my general lack of like for fish eggs. I love sushi, but I request it masago-free. The various varieties of fish eggs have been sampled and rejected by my taste buds. Would caviar be better? Different?
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