Rating: 
Summary: Leads with his ego
Review: As a cooking school attendee, the ego wagging all over this book rang very true. Some of the best chefs are loud, profane and totally into food at all costs. Mr. Bourdain is one of them. There are some great tips scattered throughout the book. Some of the kitchen craziness he describes is laugh out loud funny. I was not amused at his description of Baltimore. In an interview in a Baltimore paper, Mr. Bourdain attributed his views of Charm City to loneliness and a lack of a drug connection. Poor baby.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun for Foodies and Others
Review: To all you three-star and below reviewers: LIGHTEN-UP! Yes, this is at times profane and a tad too honest, but those of us who have worked in the food industry know how accurate it is. His tone sets the proper rhythm for this dysfunctional line of work. This is truly a fun read. A must for your summer reading list. Remember, this chronicles his 25-years in the industry - drug and drink phases and all. I feel an clever, innovative movie in the making.
Rating: 
Summary: Triumph of the Line Dog
Review: Mr. Bourdain has a great deal of fun in this expose'-confessional-cum-autobiography. In most cases he's able to take the reader with him, which is the great news about this book. It appears some readers are recoiling at the various New York City culinary nightmares, sexual escapades, and drug addled shifts on the hot line described in his myriad employment experiences. These anecdotes aren't terribly unique or repugnant, but they feel more objectionable while occurring in the exalted confines of Manhattan restaurant kitchens. While not necessarily good form to bash the industry that feeds him so to speak, I love the way the book balances (and in some cases simply pummels) America's recent deification of the "celebrity" chef, reminding us that there is glory to be found in a good broiler man who shows up to work on time. Shouldn't he or she get some of the credit for making your braised lamb shank into origami - 300 times a night? The book is a little disjointed and repetitive in places, particularly when describing the derelicts Bourdain has worked with, and their chemical alterations. But he clearly loves them, and loves his work without apology for any antisocial behavior as perceived by those without permanently disfigured line cook's hands. And that's what makes this book so compelling.
Rating:
Summary: Well done, Tony! No, make that rare!
Review: There's a tough, honest, loving philosophy that unites all the scuzzy stories in this fascinating book. This man is not a whiner. He has true modesty and an authentic voice as a writer. Convinced me to run right out and buy a Global knife, too! I just wish I had caught the NPR interview.
Rating:
Summary: Culinary Heaven!
Review: Bourdain does a wonderful service to all cooking. Have you ever tried to cut a tomato with a knife and it just resists until (spash), you get it in the face? Well, I have! If you want revenge on your kitchen, Bourdain will give it to you. With humor, wit, and a tiny pinch of "nastiness". You will laugh your head off as you read this book. But you will also wonder why you kept doing stupid things with useless utensils that would make a good yard sale. Boudain is the Ralph Nader of culinary pleasures. And he is so funny. After reading the book for fun and pleasure, I can feel my kitchen "quiver" in fear. Some things are just plain stupid and others are not. This man is an expert and he knoweth of what he speaks. Thank you so much.
Rating:
Summary: Oh the Food Glamour
Review: Bourdain writes with precision and humor. For those who have been in the restaurant business in any capacity, welcome home. For those who think they wish to be there, read on. Bourdain does an excellent job of showing his world in food and cooking with honesty and wit. Bourdain also makes sure to point out the exceptions to his rules, providing the stories of other chefs and restaurants. After reading MFK Fisher (excellent author) many years ago, I found that Bourdain brings the modern version of eating to readers with the same breath of truth in food. Of course, I found myself going back to MFK Fisher and reading her delights in the same "simple peasant" foods that Bourdain also delights in partaking on his days off. This is a book for my shelf next to Fisher.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated and overdone
Review: So we know he is manaical. How many stories about his drinking and drugging do we have to endure. This book would have made a much better short story, very short. It is not anything like what I expected. So I know he won't eat mussels in someone elses kitchen. I was expecting an "expose" on behind the scenes action. Silly me, I wanted more dirt on whether uneaten bread and chips go back in the basket for the next customer, not page after page of the foul words used in his kitchen. The only thing I think I can say that's positive, is that I have a real appreciation for the orchestration of the meals for a twelve-top. Sorry, I waited for this book for two weeks, and am amazed that I finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud and Hold Your Breath Aghast All Mixed Togethe
Review: I really liked this book. At times I was laughing out loud, atother times I was holding my breath aghast with what I wasreading. Overall it's creative and insightful, and unlike anything you've read before. It's divided into four sections: Appetizer, First Course, Second Course, Third Course, Dessert, and a Cigarette. Each is thematically a bit different. Think of it less as a novel or book as a colleciton of essays. Essays discuss diffferent aspects of Bourdain's life: from drug addiction and first sexual/culinary experiences to his (self-)education in cooking, it's all there. One essay talks about the lingo cooks use, hilarious, another essay is about his trip to Tokyo to adapt a French menu to Japanese tastes and expectations. Another talks about his first experience eating an oyster--analogous to a first sexual experience, by all accounts. One thing that's a bit disturbing is his apparent tolerance of a great deal of homophobia and mysogyny that seems to be replete in the cooking world (of New York, at least). He kind of hems and haws about this, half defending it in a way, without accepting it necessarily. I find that kind of lukewarmness a bit troubling [. . .] But it *does* all make good reading. Always provocative and educational, its entertaining at every step. (Note to publisher: hire a copyeditor to eliminate all those typographical errors next time.)
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book if you can't find a copy to steal
Review: ....Most of the 31 reviews I just scanned are accurate whetherthey loved or hated the book. I am not a food professional but Iam a restaurant aficionado who apprenticed in NYC in the 60s and movedon. I also am a committed reader of creative non-fiction. Before I bought the book I was impressed by the author's appearance on Cooking Live Primetime (even though he trashtalks some of the Food Network personalities in the book he was a VERY good guest chef). And, also, by a piece in the New Yorker that is included with less editing in this book. I like reading good writers write about food --- yes, even Orwell --- whether they like it or are raking mud. This guy has style as well as attitude, and he likes food. The fact that he recommends Howard Mitcham (look him up on amazon.com)is a big plus. BUT this is a messy book. The chapters are reasonably well organized but they were obviously written as separate pieces. The tone, style, taste, whatever you want to call it, varies quite a bit. Some chapters do not even use bad words. My advice to a reader who likes foodtalk is to "take what you need and leave the rest" as Levon said a long time ago. To those (like me) who would criticize A.B. as a memoirist for not tellng us ANYTHING about his parents, sibling(s?) or wife except that they exist: it takes thousands of pages of M.F.K. Fisher's works to learn enough to piece together a story of her life. Give the guy time (he already has enough rope) and another ZipDisk.
Rating:
Summary: The Kitchen, With Love, by fermed
Review: Anthony Bourdain probably had a great deal of fun writing this book: it is, at different levels, a Catholic confession, an exposé of the restaurant industry, several psychological case studies, a twelve-step self criticism session, a truly picaresque tale, a how-to book, a how-not-to manual, a tract on God and the nature of man, and a book of prayer. I cannot know how competent a chef Mr. Bourdain is, but I do know, from reading his prose, that he is a very fine writer and a humorist of the first order. Yes, he makes you smile through the tears. He makes you laugh while in pain. The reviews that this book has elicited from Amazon readers have been bi-polar, love-hate. Those who don't like the author call him a narcissist and a phony; a drug-addled fool, and an ignoramus. He is called a "New Yorker" in its pejorative sense; and a traitor. Some say the book is not worth its price. Hah! There is a short chapter (less than ten pages long) called "How to Cook Like a Pro" which alone justifies the price of the book. Bourdain gives far more than he takes. Tucked away in his chronicle of food adventures are dozens of slivers of profound wisdom, tiny truffle particles of divine knowledge that will enrich the life and the productions of anyone entering the kitchen with creative intents. Good reading. Practical advice. A useful pleasure - therefore a rarity.
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