Rating: 
Summary: Worth it for the vegan potluck alone
Review: Anthony Bourdain admits cheerfully to selling his soul to the devil [television] in order to carry out his childhood James Bond world adventure fantasies. Along the way he experiences joy, fear, awe, and nausea. Those looking for recipes will be disappointed: those looking for hilarious and insightful descriptions of how food is cooked and served around the world will be thrilled. Bourdain never forgets the importance of food culturally; he packs the book with interesting tidbits on how a cuisine is shaped by necessity [what kind of livestock can you raise in an enclosed town?] Many of his experiences, particularly in Mexico and Vietnam, leave the reader with a feeling of loss. Food in the United States frequently consists of a fast food hamburger eaten alone in front of a television set. The "third world" may be poor but they haven't lost the ability to make food a source of shared joy.
Rating: 
Summary: An Engaging Read
Review: Anthony Bourdain has fallen pray to the same trap as Bobbie Flay and Emeril Lagasse (as he will remind readers of the book throughout in small segments describing the pains he went through to help the TV series), but at least he is honest about it.The premise of this book, and the TV series that it is a companion to, is for Bourdain to travel around the world looking for the perfect meal. His travels take him throughout asia, into Europe, Africa and even parts of the US, as he looks for culinary delight. He describes with admirable detail the food, people, and culture of the places he visits, often with vary favorable comparisons to our own culinary culture. He regrets the US' "refridgerator culture" and how we have lost track of where our food comes from. Mixed in with the food talk is some other random rantings and ravings, as can be expected from him. The paragraphs on Henry Kissinger, and the comparison of Cambodia to Vietnam are probably the most off topic in the book, but you can tell that he wrote them which a lot of personal feeling. Bourdain is a pretty engaging fellow, and his writing, while not some stellar example of perfect prose, has a very personable feel to it that makes the book quite the pleasant read. What comes out more in the book than the TV series, was that this was his plan to exploit his fame from "Kitchen Confidential". He knows full well that he has become that which he has professed to despise, but his open and honest acknowledgement of it deserves some respect. It's hard to fault the guy for taking this opportunity when he could, for it's plain that he truly enjoyed touring the world, and most of the food that he found.
Rating:
Summary: Reminds me of Fear Factor.
Review: Enjoyed hearing a taped version of A COOK'S TOUR by Anthony Bourdain, the chef who left his job to discover the perfect meal . . . his journey took him to Japan, Cambodia, Saigon, France, and many other locales . . . that part was interesting; what was even more so was the author's description of the many foods he sampled (many of them reminding me of stuff that folks devour on FEAR ACTOR), such as blowfish, the live heart of a cobra and a bird's nest . . . my only regret that I've never gotten to see the TV show that came about as a result of Bourdain's travels.
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly crafted travel stories with a culinary slant
Review: Given how many review there are of this book, I'll just pipe in to add this is the best travel book I've read. If you're looking for another great read try Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned country".
Rating:
Summary: antidote to perky
Review: I am a total foodie- love the food network. Love Bourdain and almost anything he writes.... I especially turn to his books as an antidote to the nauseatingly perky, over exposed food network eye candy (ie: Rachael Ray).... On a serious note- the writing is great, the human commentary is right on track and he does know food.
Rating:
Summary: Food and the Human Experience
Review: I saw the show on Food Network and decided to read the book. I have to say that the book allows Bourdain to seem more human and less like the quintessential self-absorbed chef that he sometimes comes across as on television. Filled with pithy comments, self-deprecating humor, and occasional insights into the human experience, those who enjoy travel, food, and the unknown should find this an enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: Judgemental and tasteless
Review: I thought Kitchen Confidential was a good read but this book is even better. The details he gives you on the food he tries all over the world either make you salivate or want to vomit depending on what he is tasting. Half the fun of the book, however, is anthony's take on the countries, people, culture and adventures he has while in the countries. Some were so frightening it was like a suspense book. Others were endearing. At times I wished I were there with him and at others so glad I was not. Definately a fun read but also deeper than that. His chapter on going to France with his brother is more about the loss of their father and not being able to "go back home" again than about food. There are lots of chapters with similar hidden themes about life and human nature. Pick this one up!
Rating:
Summary: Read the book, but also see the show
Review: In some ways, I don't even know why I'm writing a "review" of this book. I loved it. I was destined to love it. This makes my opinions even more biased than usual. I'll try to impart some advice though, that will help you decide whether or not you should read this wonderful piece of travel narrative-cum-food worship.
The television show that coincided with this book, also called A Cook's Tour, aired on Food Network somewhere around the time that I started getting hooked into this station on a regular basis. I had no idea what the premise was; I was just witnessing this cynical guy eating strange food in strange places. As I kept watching it, I came to realize that it was more than a tv series. In fact it wasn't a series at all. It was a project or journey: find the best meal in the world. Of course, I'm sure the pitch to Food Network executives was a bit more detailed, but if you asked Tony Bourdain that's probably how he'd sum it up.
On each episode of this show, Tony would visit a different place, usually a different country, and find the best food, the most local food, the stuff deeply rooted in the community itself. He was always hosted by locals; a Russian grandmother, a Brazilian beach bum, Vietnamese veterans. He usually assists in the procuring of the ingredients too. He visits fish markets or barters for lamb. More than a food show, this is truly an observation of food culture in other parts of the world. Tony is, or at least tries to be, as unobtrusive as possible, to blend in. Frequently, this is ruined by overinquisitive children or wary old folks, but the effort shows. It views as much like a documentary as a food show.
All this love for the show made me fearful of the book. I resisted reading it a bit, because of how much I loved the show. I read Kitchen Confidential first. I was afraid that the book would simply be a transcript of the show or, at best, first person perspective of all the events I had seen during the show. Not so in the least!
After reading the book, I discovered that it manages to be the perfect compliment to the show. Not only is it not just first person accounting, it's new stuff, not even alluded to on the show. Sure we see the meals, but they're almost glossed over in favor of recounting the introduction to the location or the absolute disgust Tony has over what he might be forced to eat at the time.
The opposite side of this coin of course, is that I'm not sure how it reads for someone who hasn't seen the show. I could see how the visuals in the book could not be as effective if you didn't have actual images to pair them with. Don't let this discourage you though, it's a great read in and of itself. It's obvious the writing talent that Bourdain has developed over five books. It serves as a plenty good travel narrative also, if that's how you come to it. Either way, it's a worthwhile read for just about anyone who finds some interest in some facet of the subject matter. To get the full experience though, pair it with the show.
Rating: 
Summary: The wrong man for the job
Review: It's certainly an interesting idea - send a chef out to sample various exotic cuisines in search of the perfect combination of food, place, setting. But they picked the wrong guy.
I cannot believe this man can taste food, much less be a professional chef. He is destroying his taste buds, through the abuse of alcohol and nicotine, not to mention myriad forms of cannabis and the occasional cocaine amuse-nez. His idea of a good time is to get so drunk he can't remember what he did, swear a lot, and in general behave like the kind of jerk you wouldn't want at the table next to you. I think he suffers from testosterone-poisoning.
Rating:
Summary: Judgemental and tasteless
Review: The author's lack of open-mindedness made this book very judgmental. I was very disappointed because there was little information on the food he ate. Instead, the pages are filled with cliches and stereotypes (many of these have nothing to do with food), but little insight is presented because he only sees things through his pre-conceived notions. This book is highly recommended if you want to learn how to feel good by making fun of other cultures and peoples, but for those who want to learn a bit about different culinary traditions, reading this book is a waste of time. The book can be cut down to 50 pages if these cliches are removed. I am more interested in what he ate or observed (descriptions!) rather than his explanations on why these people came up with these customs and dishes (sort of cultural determinism). Many people should have helped him in these countries he visited, but I wonder whether he has the nerve to translate the content of this book into their native languages. The author should be able to criticize if he wishes, but it is not fair to make fun of the people who helped him in a book which, he knew, they would not read.
|
