regional and international

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.

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.

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.