A Cook's Tour : Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisine - Anthony Bourdain

Summary:  The only thing "gonzo gastronome" and internationally best-selling author Anthony Bourdain loves as much as cooking is traveling.  Inspired by the question, "What would be the perfect meal?", Tony sets out on a quest for his culinary holy grail, and in the process turns the notion of "perfection" inside out.  From California to Cambodia, A Cook's Tour chronicles the unpredictable adventures of America's boldest and bravest chef.  ( Summary from book - Image from www.bookcoverarchive.com )

My Review:  Anthony Bourdain is a famous chef and the best-selling author of Kitchen Confidential, a gritty and graphic behind-the-scenes look at restaurant kitchens. However, he wants more than just being in a kitchen and selling books. He wants to wander the world, getting into trouble, and eating amazing meals. So he speaks to his publisher. His hook?

“How about this?... I travel around the world, doing whatever I want. I stay in fine hotels and I stay in hovels. I eat scary, exotic, wonderful food, doing cool stuff like I’ve seen in movies, and looking for the perfect meal. How’s that sound?”

And his publisher bit. Now, in A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventure in Extreme Cuisine, Anthony takes readers (and a camera crew) along on his quest for adventure, trouble, and the perfect meal.

Okay, so until I read this book, I'd never actually heard of Anthony Bordain. I had to google him because I’m just not up on those kinds of things. Also, I don’t have cable. Mostly, I like to read about people who travel and eat.  You see, I am not an adventurous eater and I love books, like this one, that allow me to “sample” international cuisine and culture without the terrifying experience of actually having to sample it.  While I was a little disappointed to find out Anthony would be accompanied by a camera crew, it wasn’t hard to forgive him once he flat out admitted to selling out to the Food Network. I guess it’s hard to turn down an all expenses paid trip around the world.

Anthony's adventure started off a bit rocky; while he enjoyed the food, I think he was expecting bliss right away and was disappointed when he didn’t get much more than forced adventure. For a while he bounced in and out of the moment, alternating between loving (and hating) the experience, but eventually he found his groove. 

A Cook’s Tour provides plenty of opportunities to sample food and culture as Anthony eats his way around the world. Here’s a small sneak peek at some of his adventures: He helps slaughter a pig in Portugal, admires the elegant simplicity of Japanese cuisine (and eats one of the worst meals ever made), attends a vegan potluck in California (he hates vegans), kills fluffy bunnies in Scotland (vegans don’t like him much either), eats braised reindeer in Russia (and a little vodka), is force fed iguana in Mexico, eats the most impressive restaurant meal of his life in California, and falls in love with the food and people of Vietnam (but not their driving). Each chapter was a revelation of experience and I loved how he managed to weave food, culture, politics, and history into his narrative. Through it all, Anthony discovers that when looking for the perfect meal – one composed of “good food, good company, exotic ambiance, and an element of adventure,” – it’s all relative, and that “perfection” can be found in the most unexpected places.

While I really enjoyed reading about his adventure, Anthony is kind of a jerk. Well, to be perfectly honest, he’s a pompous, mean-tempered, arrogant, vulgar, foul-mouthed heathen and he’s proud of it. His less-than-polite personality is reflected in every facet of this book, especially when he rants about anti-smoking laws,  vegetarians, and a variety of other topics. A sensitive reader might do well to steer clear or opt for watching the video version on The Food Network (where I’m reasonably certain it will be edited for television). Overall, I enjoyed this book and, while I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone (e.g. my mother), I might recommend it to a few die-hard foodies who would appreciate the journey.

Sidenote: This book has some similarities to Eat My Globe, another book about a man who travels around the world eating all types of food. The difference between the two books is that Anthony was a professional chef in pursuit of the perfect meal, while Simon was more professional eater on a quest to eat the good, the bad, and the hideously disgusting (on purpose).

My Rating: 3.5 Stars (It might have been more if there had been less swearing and vulgarity)

For the sensitive reader: Um. Watch the show on The Food Network. I’m pretty sure it’s edited for television.

Sum it up: An enjoyable trip, full of great food, stories, and observations, but you have to wade through a quite a bit of muck.

Eat My Globe : One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything - Simon Majumdar

Summary: When Simon Majumdar hit forty, he realized there had to be more to life than his stable but uninspiring desk job. As he wondered how to escape his career, he rediscovered a list of goals he had scrawled out years before, the last of which said: Go everywhere, eat everything. With that, he had found his mission--a yearlong search for the delicious, and curious, and the curiously delicious, which he names Eat My Globe and memorably chronicles in these pages.

In Majumdar's world, food is everything. Like every member of his family, he has a savant's memory for meals, with instant recall of dishes eaten decades before. Simon's unstoppable wit and passion for all things edible (especially those things that once had eyes, and a face, and a mom and pop) makes this an armchair traveler's and foodie's delight--Majumdar does all the heavy lifting, eats the heavy foods (and suffers the weighty consequences), so you don't have to. He jets to thirty countries in just over twelve months, diving mouth-first into local cuisines and cultures...

The meat of the story...is the friends that Simon makes as he eats. They are as passionate about food as he is and are eager to welcome him into their homes and tables, share their choicest meals, and reveal their local secrets. (Summary from book jacket - Image from eatmyglobe.blogspot.com )

My review: At 40 years old, Simon Majumdar was faced with a lack luster job and, to his abject horror, a declining ability to move urinal cakes. Can you say “impending mid-life crisis”? Eat My Globe is the expression of one man’s desire to eat truly amazing food as it was meant to be prepared -- pad thai in Thailand, Texan barbecue, Japanese sushi, Argentine steaks, and countless other less-famous-but-local fare from around the world.

Eat My Globe was an impressive combination of my three favorite things to do - read, eat, and travel. The first two I do well enough on my own, but for the last few weeks I have opted to travel vicariously along with Simon as he flew, walked, and ate his way around the globe. Flat out obsessed with all things culinary, Simon enjoys the pleasures of a well-prepared meal and thinks nothing of licking his fingers or, indeed, his entire plate in the middle of a crowded restaurant. I couldn’t help but love Simon for his tactless and unapologetic way of expressing his opinions to anyone within earshot. His self-deprecating sense of humor and clever phrasing provided not only an entertaining read, but also a fascinating account of the meals he ate in gluttonous hobbit-style.

I was both horrified and delighted by the food that Simon willingly consumed. It would have been much easier for him to say he was going to eat only the world’s best food, but instead he chose to eat everything, devouring lamb’s head, tripe, and tongue dumplings with relish. While our taste in food might not always align (I will always prefer pizza to veal brains for the simple reason that I will never ever try veal brains), I can’t help but admire his spirit and sheer nerve.

If I could describe books as well as Simon describes food, then I would be a world-class reviewer and a kazillionaire. His imagery had me chuckling, salivating, or near retching on practically every page. I almost hurled reading about his encounters with stir fried rat, rotten shark meat, and cod sperm sushi and actually hurt myself laughing at his account of the discovery of a breaded, deep fried banana. Seriously, I think I pulled a muscle.

While Eat My Globe, doesn’t really have a deep plot or existential message to share, I adored my time with it. The chapters aren’t very long (though there are many), which makes it conveniently easy to put the book down, fix something to tasty to eat, and then come back to it without feeling disconnected from the story. I’m not entirely certain that Simon learned a great deal from his journey across the globe, however, what I experienced was an often humorous, occasionally gross, but mostly delicious account of his exotic tastes and travels.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars. For the sensitive reader, there are occasional moments of crassness and profanity. Also, if you have a problem with gluttony this book probably is not your bag.

Sum it up: A sarcastic, savory travelogue that leaves you hungry for more…and willing to eat almost anything. Sure to be a hit with the food lit crowd.