Favorite food related books?

[eVoMotion]

My favorite is Bill Buford's - Heat - An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker.

http://books.google.com/books?id=r69euOJvER8C&vq=amazon.com+heat+buford&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

"When the opportunity arose to train in the kitchen of Mario Batali's three-star New York restaurant, Babbo, Buford grabbed it. "Heat "is the chronicle--sharp, funny, wonderfully exuberant--of his time spent as Batali's "slave" and of his far-flung apprenticeships with culinary masters in Italy. "

 

I loved this book. It was very informative and really, really fun! Plus it made me hungry everytime I read it. I have given a couple copies away to other foodies. I just got it from the library on CD so will be listening to it this time.

 

Another very well written foodie fun book is -

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl. She writes about her stint as a New York Times food critic, how she has to create all these disguises so they do not recognize her and it is freakin hilarious (as well as informative).

 

I really could not read -Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. He has gotten good reviews, but his writing is very poor and he speaks nothing about the food he is eating, etc. I threw it out.

 

Got any other ideas?

[Guest JessterCPA]

I really could not read -Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. He has gotten good reviews, but his writing is very poor and he speaks nothing about the food he is eating, etc. I threw it out.

 

Got any other ideas?

 

 

I just finished Kitchen Confidential tonight. I thought it was great. Yes, not a lot about the actual food, but that would not have interested me enough to buy the book.

[Guest heightsgtltd]

God damn Evo..you are like my west coast brotha

 

Loved Heat..great book.

 

I highly recommend the books by Jeffrey Steingarten (who incidentally is a judge on Iron chef, but is an amazing writer)

 

One title is "the man who ate everything"

 

Also highly recommend books by Michael Ruhlman, one is called "The soul of a chef."

 

Bourdain is great on the Travel Channel show No Reservations, but not much of a writer.

[Inigo Montoya]

I have read all the books mentioned in the thread, plus some of the others by Bourdain.

 

Heat was great, I could visualize the food in my head, and because of that book went to Salumi where Mario Batali's father trained under the same butcher.

 

Jeffreys's book I was unimpressed with the first part, fairly dry I thought but the second half was good.

 

Bourdain's were fun, I read them more for the commentary than the food pron parts, but his fiction stuff is eh IMHO.

 

 

One other to look at is 'What Einstein Told His Cook" Both one and 2 by Robert Wolke. If you like Alton Brown-like explanations of food.

 

Currently working on 'Omnivore's Dillema' It kinda makes you not want to eat mass market food again...

[Guest heightsgtltd]

I read Omnivore's dilemma and agree with your statement

[eVoMotion]

WE ROCK! ;-D

I reserved a couple of the below books from the library. thanks!

 

God damn Evo..you are like my west coast brotha

 

Loved Heat..great book.

 

I highly recommend the books by Jeffrey Steingarten (who incidentally is a judge on Iron chef, but is an amazing writer)

 

One title is "the man who ate everything"

 

Also highly recommend books by Michael Ruhlman, one is called "The soul of a chef."

 

Bourdain is great on the Travel Channel show No Reservations, but not much of a writer.

[Tommyh]

Cooking to Hook Up: The Bachelor's Date-Night Cookbook

by [ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Drew%20Campbell]Drew Campbell[/ame] (Author), [ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Ann%20Marie%20Michaels]Ann Marie Michaels[/ame] (Author)

 

Awesome reference guide that should come standard for all guys, regardless if "hooking up" is the plan or not.