Kitchen Confidential : Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

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Summary: Pulp fiction for the amateur chef.
Review: Great and entertaining read for any amateur cooking enthusist who has ever fantasised about being a great chef or owner of an upscale little bistro (Bourdain made me come to my senses about THAT fantasy...read the section about sunday brunch) Lots of nifty little facts and hair raising stories.

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Summary: out loud!
Review: I have been a chef for 14 years and this book is so thrue it made me laugh out loud many a times. i can certainly relate to most things in the book.Exelent reading!!!

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Summary: read it in a sitting
Review: this guy soaked up his hunter thomson and bill burroughs early, and it shows in the energy of tumbling piles of nouns, jargon, and cynic/idealist dialectic as much as the drug references. read it in a sitting, couldnt put it down etc. only downside is its a collection of mag articles rather than a book and theres a couple of duller ones from his recent experiences at the end. great airport book.

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Summary: the 2nd best book ever about new york restaurants!
Review: I loved this book and its witty and knowing style. My only objection is that it seemed to represent itself as the first of its kind, when in fact there was a wonderful book set in a similar location -- a New York City trendy restaurant -- published a few years earlier, with the (better) title, "Flash In The Pan." It's a must-read companion piece to Bourdain's inside account.

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Summary: Hunter S Thompson Cooks!
Review: Bourdain's eloquent descriptions of food and strangely addictive storytelling manner make this evil description of the catering industry a must read. From short stories about food, wistful descriptive writing and crazed surreal stories of things that should not have happened, the hook is sunk deep and I found it impossible to put down.

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Summary: A fast pace tempo that many New Yorkers know and love.
Review: I bought this book for a six-hour flight and chuckled the whole way. Before reading the book becoming a chef was always a distant fantasy. Not anymore! Anthony Bourdain does not hold back in regards to revealing trade secrets, his opinions of select celebrity chefs, common obscenities used in the work place and his generalization of which nationalities work best together in a kitchen. He tells great stories about his experiences in various NYC restaurants such as Supper Club and Les Halles. It has the same fast pace tempo that many New Yorkers are familiar with. Being a native New Yorker I felt right at home reading this book and finished wanting more.

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Summary: Not what they promised...
Review: I actually bought this book for my dad since he heard it was this "expose" on the restaurant industry. He put it down after 15 pages. I don't know why I picked it up but the book was nothing more than a history recount of Bourdain's love of food. It's pretty boring. Though, I highly recommend Les Halles on 27th Street...his home base for the best steak frites in the country...hands down.

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Summary: The interesting lives of cooks
Review: I've always wondered what happened in the backs of restaurants where cooks and waitresses congregate. This book answers those questions and more (the blood, the callus, the attitude). Anthony Bourdain is the modern day Upton Sinclair.

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Summary: Great Entertainment
Review: If only for the tips on what essential kitchen equipment the novice chef should outfit her kitchen with, this is a good book to read. There are many good pointers for those of us who love to cook and for those of us who love to dine out. Unfortunately, there is also alot of arrogance, self agrandization and an ego that can hardly be contained on the pages to contend with. This was a quick and entertaining read that showed alot of the behind the scenes action in the restaurant business, however, having been involved somewhat in this industry, there are many things written in this book that I take issue with. Add that with a blatant bad mouthing of other celebrity chefs,(particularly one who is dear to me and my city) this book left a faint bad taste in my mouth. However, even with all the ego, misrepresentations and over the top lanuguage this is one heck of a good read. If you love good food, this is a book for you.

Rating:
Summary: No apologies, just the fast-paced truths!!
Review: I first read Anthony Bourdain in the pages of a New Yorker magazine and was absolutely blown away by the pace and wit in his extraordinary story-telling. Bourdain, chef at "Les Halles" in New York, gives us a no-holds-barred brutally honest view of the steamy side (literally!) of the restaurant world, particularly in New York City. Although some reviewers have complained about some of the language used (and it is particularly nasty between the various nationalities of men in the kitchens) and the sheer volume of drug use, I think that without it, the book might not have been so authentic. Bourdain makes no apologies but rather, tells a great story. In one chapter he describes being in France as a child with his family and during that trip, his discovery of his love for food. In another he describes from morning through a full day (and late night) - a day in the life of a restaurant chef - it is a brisk, wonderful ride - every word (this chapter was the one published in the New Yorker that so enthralled me). In a later chapter he talks about his first trip to Tokyo, assisting the owners of Les Halles with their Tokyo restaurant. His description of the fish markets in Tokyo at the crack of dawn is absolutely riveting. Forget reading it so you can pick up tips about when to order fish and why never to get a well-done piece of meat - it is so much more than that. Get over the language and learn about the incredible world of those whose food you eat.