The Gallery of Regrettable Food

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Summary: Pokes fun at our own bad taste -- I looked, loved, laughed!
Review: Looking through this book brought back many nostalgic memories - and many of them had nothing to do with the pictures per se. Sure, the Home Ec class films made in the 50s and 60s could've been the Technicolor prototypes to the photographs of Cabbage Swirl Pie and Hot Dogs in Aspic; all delectable combinations of avocado green, saturated lumps of red, appetizingly congealed like the Blob in the centers of pink plates and yellow formica tabletops. The best part, though, was reading the acerbic sidebar comments made by the author. It was a keen flashback to the days when my sister and I would sit making wisecracks about the pictures in pretentious books, or supply alternate dialog to bad cinema. Outrageous fun!

The author explains that he was first inspired to share with the world the joys of cookbook photos of decades past when he rediscovered a cookbook his mother had kept hidden away somewhere for many years (because she, thankfully, never actually used it on her grateful family). Feeling a sense of duty to explore the folly of our ancestors, he then went on a search for the pictorial formulas of all things ghastly and retro. The result is the Gallery of Regrettable Foods, a cautionary tale lest we, too, go that unfortunate route. The names of the chapters alone will clue you in: Submit to the Dominion of Ketchup; Cooking with 7up; the World of Molds; and so on... best you pop an antacid tablet before you look.

I felt that the book was compiled in a spirit of morbid fascination, softened by a somewhat affectionate regard for our silly cultural past. If you look at it as a humorous study of how our tastes and fashions have shaped food over time, you can really enjoy looking through this book. It would certainly make a great coffee table conversation starter.

Just save the anchovy balls for your cats.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

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Summary: This book will make you laugh so hard that you'll cry
Review: A friend and I were leafing through this book while at a local bookstore. Neither of us could restrain our laughter which was approaching annoyance level. Another shopper walked toward us and asked what could possibly be that funny. We handed her the book and watched her face. She broke into laughter and said "Thanks to you, I'm going to buy this book." Need I say more?

Rating:
Summary: A belly laughing good time
Review: I'm not sure what catagory this book fits into truthfully...Its part cook book, part time capsule...part just plain horrifing to realize that people actually ate this stuff! Or that the advertisers thought these pictures would jump start anyone to actually purchase their product...the mind boggles.

But it was a different world back than...and maybe these dreadful combo's had the worldly appeal that.... ceviche...or sushi...or gummy worms have today. Or the same appeal the the show *a cooks tour* has as we watch tony bourdaine suck down beating cobra hearts... perhaps considering that, the bacon shake looks almost mundane...

I can't help but admitting that I have bought more than a few *vintage* (read: old and tacky and never to be used for anything more than amusement) cook books on ebay... and i am sure that I enjoy them for the same reason that I just love this book. A glimpse at another time when I sit and shake my head and say "what were they thinking?" but when I read this book, its kind of like having company as the author has a funny running commentary going the whole time... and I don't feel quite so odd about my fascination for all of these retro....errrr... gourmet treats.

Altho I havent bought this as a gift I can see it being a great one for the right person. Perhaps someone who decorates with a retro twist...someone just starting out in a new apartment and you wnat to buy some cooking tools and a cookbook for (ok, a gag cook book for :) or someone who likes retro martini things..i think this would fit right in.

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Summary: Go to the website
Review: If you are on the fence about purchasing this book just type the title into google and read some stuff on the website. The "10P.M. Cookery" was so funny that I cried and almost threw up laughing even though my stomach was empty. This guy has one wicked sense of humor.

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Summary: One of the pithiest writers around
Review: I give this book as a sort of can't-fail-all-purpose gift when I don't know what the heck else to give. And it's always a huge hit.

Even though I imagine I've been through this thing a hundred times, I still laugh out loud every time I open it up. If you're a fan of nostalgia, cooking, or humor, you'll love the Gallery. Lileks r00lz, d00d!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful wit in a book
Review: James Lileks' sense of humour has me crying tears of laughter every time I read something he's written. I bought this book after perusing his website and am very pleased with this selection. This is an excellent gift for someone who can appreciate a dry sense of humour and a sharp, sarcastic wit. The pictures of food are awful and make me glad I was born toward the end of the Era of Regrettable Food.

Rating:
Summary: Odd humor.
Review: Sometimes funny, sometimes not, but always frightening. The Gallery of Regretable Food is an interesting look at the history of The Bad Idea.

From shaped meat, to bizarre beverages, this book is at the very least bizarre enough to look all the way through. Amazing what a culture inevitably spawns.

Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: I bought this book as a gift for my sister and brother who are wonderful cooks. I read it in one day! It was so funny I couldn't turn away. Some time later I got it back and shared it with my husband. He was giggling so hard he had tears running down his face. It is a fun book and amusingly narrated. Whether the narration seems related or not it's exactly the kind of thought that first comes to mind when seeing some of the pictures. It's worth it. We'll get laughs out of it for years to come.

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Summary: Submit to the power of the Gallery!
Review: I honestly didn't know what to think when I picked this book up. It looked...odd. However, all suspicions were shoved to the side. I have never laughed so hard in a very VERY long time. Possibly the only bad thing about this book is the side cramps you'll most likely be feeling after about an hour and a half of raucous reading.

Such wonderful dishes as "Beet pie Casserole" and "Deviled Onions" can be found in this book. Thank God there are only pictures in here, and not recipes. Who knows what would happen if any school lunch ladies found this book and were "inspired" by the contents. Probably the funniest item in the book is something from "The 10 o' clock cookbook". It is a bunch of hotdogs "Standing erect in a sea of beans" as the author puts it. Convinced now? You'd better be. If you're looking for a good laugh after a dull or dissapointing day, pick up this book and laugh your head off.

Rating:
Summary: Fortunately James Lileks knows how to play with his food!
Review: This book is hilarious fun for everyone, even if you don't (like me) have a gigantic library of American food kitsch.