I read this book because I wanted to cut back on my drinking which had grown to three glasses a night over the years -- not life destroying, but too mI read this book because I wanted to cut back on my drinking which had grown to three glasses a night over the years -- not life destroying, but too much. Most books about alcohol target alcoholism, so I was excited to finally find a book about controlling alcohol rather than abstinence. But that is not what this book is about.
The author argues that since alcohol is an addictive substance, it is not safe for anybody to drink -- eventually, we will all experience the vomiting and hangovers that resulted from her two plus bottles of wine. She states repeatedly that alcohol gives no pleasure and that we were blissfully free of anxiety before we started drinking. So, the only rational decision, as anyone can see, is abstinence. I accept that that was her experience, but not mine.
She never describes any particular program other than to realize how bad, bad, bad alcohol is. Her strident preaching reminded me of the "Just Say No" programs. ...more
These tales match Kitchen Confidential by shining a bright light on the seamy side of the front of the house with its bullying celebrities, substance These tales match Kitchen Confidential by shining a bright light on the seamy side of the front of the house with its bullying celebrities, substance abuse, bribed maitre d's, plastered servers and psychotic owners. Cecchi-Azzolina revels in the debaucheries of the 1980's and spews coarse language throughout. If Kitchen Confidential cured you of any desire to eat restaurant food, this will deter you from making a reservation or ordering food.
Fortunately, he is an excellent story teller and eventually covers the basics of running a gourmet restaurant, which is why I read (listened to) the book. ...more
Tucci is a food lover, but not a gourmet -- he rarely enthuses about Michelin star restaurants. He isn't exactly a gourmand, but he can be a glutton, Tucci is a food lover, but not a gourmet -- he rarely enthuses about Michelin star restaurants. He isn't exactly a gourmand, but he can be a glutton, packing away plate after plate of pasta. His deep, resonant voice carried me along through his remembrances of his mother cooking all day, food on the movie set or tasty discoveries often involving just a few ingredients, but deep taste (zucchini with three cups of parmesan on one pound of pasta.)
But the last section describing his thankfully temporary loss of taste and even the ability to eat during a bout with cancer of the saliva glands added gravitas to his search for deep taste and his joyful association of food with friends and family. A feel good book....more
This book focuses on the dirty secrets with little about the miracle.
The two most prominent stories involve the miseries of long distance trucking anThis book focuses on the dirty secrets with little about the miracle.
The two most prominent stories involve the miseries of long distance trucking and the miseries of fishing and shrimp raising in Thailand -- both somewhat peripheral to the subject of groceries. Clearly, these stories were chosen for their darkness, not because shrimp is a more important grocery product than paper towels, beets or ice cream. The author's mantra is "...the closer we look at our food, the more disgusting it will turn out to be."
I have to say that I was turned off by the unnecessarily coarse language, such as a reference to the stores' "shitty music" and the section title "When Did We All Get So Fucking Bored?" Is this modern journalistic style?
His demeaner is consistently angry, such as this description of a busy store: "Lunch hour. Customers as locusts on the field. The aisles being ransacked, shelves pulled apart by young mothers with the righteous loathing of cops on the drug raid." Here the author is projecting his own 'righteous loathing.'
Lorr does tell good stories, which appear to be well researched. In particular, the story of Whole Foods and especially Trader Joe's are quite fascinating. But those are a quirky corners of the grocery business, and the book has much less to say, and nothing good, about the bulk of the grocery business. Also, how can someone write a book about any business in the twenty-first century and say almost nothing about the Internet, especially with a long chapter about Whole Foods and Amazon?
Perhaps, if you already have enough darkness in your world, you might want to give this book a pass....more
This isn't a bad book, it just isn't the book for me. MacLean spends a lot of time describing her visits to wineries and discussions with wine makers,This isn't a bad book, it just isn't the book for me. MacLean spends a lot of time describing her visits to wineries and discussions with wine makers, which I realized after a chapter is not my interest. I did find some of the histories of grape varietals, such as Pinotage and Riesling, to be interesting as well as the development of some regions, such as South Africa and Sicily. Occasionally, the "Insider Tips" were helpful.
The sections at the end of each chapter organizing her recommendations was closer to what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the long list (as many as twenty) of recommended producers are just too long to be useful, they contain many of the best known wineries, and there is no discussion of why some wineries didn't make the list. I didn't need to read this book to know that Penfolds and Graham Beck make some good wines. Also, many of the recommended "value" wines are quite expensive, often over $20 and sometimes over $40. ...more
This book is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is filled with fascinating stories about the cultural, psychological and historic uses (and abuses) of aThis book is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is filled with fascinating stories about the cultural, psychological and historic uses (and abuses) of alcohol. It is worth reading just for these stories. I found myself highlighting many of these intriguing stories, but be prepared to skim. There is a lot of repetition, many of the stories were longer than my interest.
On the other hand, its big theory that because of the "high cost" of alcohol, it should have been banished by evolution unless it had positive effects was poorly developed and totally unconvincing. He never develops this idea in any rigorous manner, calculating the reduction in survival or reproduction of imbibers. He provides only an avalanche of stories. Too often, he is sloppy with his list of costs, including social issues, like lost work days, that have no impact on the survival and reproduction that drive evolution. He even cites inadvisable sex as one of the costs of alcohol. However, inadvisable, more sex will lead to more reproduction adding rather than detracting from its evolutionary impact.
He is on stronger ground when he argues for the many benefits of alcohol in lubricating social situations (including courtship) and plausibly motivating humans to initiate agriculture to increase their supply of hooch. Much of the book elucidates how your prefrontal cortex is not always your friend.
Filled with all of Mayle's good-natured joie de vivre, this book is a pleasure to read. It's worth reading just to have such a clever, eager companionFilled with all of Mayle's good-natured joie de vivre, this book is a pleasure to read. It's worth reading just to have such a clever, eager companion for a few hours. In fact, one of my criticisms is that at just over 200 pages it is too short, more a amuse bouche than a full meal. The idea of exploring the extremes of French cuisine through a series of fairs and events works very well, but there just aren't enough quirky events in France to fill a whole book, so that last few chapters veer into life at a couple of spas and an expose of the revered Michelin Guide. HIs various friends and associates are so perfect that I wonder if some poetic license was employed to create them. Still an amusing read....more
Although nonfiction, I think that I read these memoirs of settling in Tuscany or living in Provence or, as in this case, starting an organic farm usinAlthough nonfiction, I think that I read these memoirs of settling in Tuscany or living in Provence or, as in this case, starting an organic farm using only muscles and horses for power as lovely fantasies of the possibilities of escaping my comfortable, predictable suburban life. This is a great yarn, but covers only a tiny, eccentric sliver of modern agriculture. Now I need to find a book about how the majority of my food is grown....more
India is infinitely fascinating, but it was an effort to read the first 135 pages of this and then skim the rest. It just seemed like a random set of India is infinitely fascinating, but it was an effort to read the first 135 pages of this and then skim the rest. It just seemed like a random set of memories, a hundred pages of them before age 8. Perhaps more interesting to her fans or her own family and friends. Or maybe her wealthy, patriarchal, extended family with dinner for 40 was just too strange for me. She never got to the most interesting question of how she became interested in cooking and cuisine....more
No, I would not like to be a house guest of Michael Tucker -- too exhausting. Although I would enjoy a deep dive into prosciutto, mortadella, trufflesNo, I would not like to be a house guest of Michael Tucker -- too exhausting. Although I would enjoy a deep dive into prosciutto, mortadella, truffles, etc., I couldn't keep up with his engorging and drinking. He clearly gets a thrill from eating pork that "could have walked to the butcher" and all of the hyper-local, crafted food, but he seems more of a gourmand reveling in excess than a gourmet seeking perfection. Not a bad yarn, but it won't displace Under the Tuscan Sun....more
I wavered between three and four stars. It seemed like a very slight book that had been puffed out with recipes (that I could have done without entireI wavered between three and four stars. It seemed like a very slight book that had been puffed out with recipes (that I could have done without entirely) and the original review (after a thorough description of the dining experience of the reviewer at the restaurant.) But the stories are so amusing and the reviews so blushingly outspoken, that I enjoyed it thoroughly. I did like Save Me the Plums better, and I don't think I would like Reichl nor most of the restaurants she describes, but she is a brilliant writer. ...more
This was easy enough to read for an intermediate Spanish learner, like me, especially with the diccionario on Kindle, but so many of the recipes incluThis was easy enough to read for an intermediate Spanish learner, like me, especially with the diccionario on Kindle, but so many of the recipes include seafood, which my wife doesn't eat, and many of the others featured tripe, which I don't eat. So, I didn't actually try any of the recipes....more
This book is short on analysis and long on anecdotes. Many of the stories are fascinating, but since they are poorly integrated, they can seem like a This book is short on analysis and long on anecdotes. Many of the stories are fascinating, but since they are poorly integrated, they can seem like a long list of restaurants, menus and events rather than a proper history. If I owned the book, I would just dip into it from time to time. But this copy is going back to the library unfinished....more
A rollicking journey into the bowels of the restaurant industry, somewhat revealing and always entertaining. Although, I much preferred the chronologiA rollicking journey into the bowels of the restaurant industry, somewhat revealing and always entertaining. Although, I much preferred the chronological account of him becoming a capable chef to the second half of the book which consists of somewhat random subjects in no particular order.
I have to say that I wonder about the accuracy of this portrayal of the restaurant business. To what extent is his description of it as chaotic, coarse, drug-soaked, sex-obsessed and lawless due to him being chaotic coarse, drug-soaked, sex-obsessed and lawless himself? In fact, he says pretty much exactly that late in the book....more
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