Rating: 
Summary: The chapter on wine will save you many $! Buy it!
Review: A great book for many reasons - foremost is that Rosengarten is not afraid to express a definite opinion whether it is fashionable or not! His wine and beer chapters are gems, echoing my husband and my sentiments regarding big, oaky wines NOT going well with many foods. Rosengarten introduces you to many wine varieties that go well with different flavors of food, and his intuitive method of pairing food with wine is helpful. He sees food and wine as partners - each helping the other to taste their best. It's realistic!His recipes are very good and there are definitely some gems in here, but the real value of them is that each one is really a course in itself, discussing traditional preparations and variations, then giving his version of the recipe. He tells what ingredients impart what qualities, so you feel that you have more control over the end product. After you read about and make his version of a classic dish, you gain the knowledge to judge other recipes and preparations of the dish, and develop your own opinion of how YOU want it to look, taste, feel. The book really is what it advertises - about devoloping your sensitivity toward food, i.e. Taste. Though quite a "foodie" myself, I found I learned more than I expected from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: "Taste" is a lot more - and a little less - than a cookbook.
Review: After reading "Taste" I am less interested in trying the recipes than embarking on a culinary journey to Europe and Asia. I learned much about dishes that I have enjoyed (and evidently should not have) and dishes that I wish to try, but need to buy an airline ticket to truly appreciate. Rosengarten offers the reader tempting descriptions of world cuisine, travel essays, and guidelines for appreciating food. Yet I feel despondent about trying the recipes. Because quality ingredients are so hard to find in the United States, according to the author, I could never hope to create a facsimile of some of the tantalizing dishes he describes. "Taste" is a worthwhile purchase because it fosters the appreciation of world cuisine, engenders a desire to travel, and describes the development of Rosengarten's own career. But a cookbook? I'm less worried about my cooking abilities than my grocer's ability to provide suitable ingredients.
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Summary: This man truly LIVES for food
Review: David Rosengarten poetically takes the reader through the world of cooking. To him, it is a way of life, an art, a passion. These recipes are excellent by all means and even dishes that one would not normally prepare, makes one salivate. For example, in describing ingesting raw oysters, Rosengarten writes, "...I lift the shell above my mouth and tilt its contents past my lips...I like to chew the oyster slowly, savoring its texture. That's all ye know on earth, and that's all ye need to know." Can't be written better. Can't be.
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Summary: David did the work for you!
Review: David Rosengarten thoroughly researches and reports on ingredients and recipes. The information helps me to make beouf bourgingone to be as delicious as it possibly can be! I know that the recipes in the book are the best of their kind, so it saves me a lot of trouble comparing recipe versions. Besides his penultimate recipes, they are created for the home cook. You won't need special tart pans or an industrial stove to create your own demi-glace. His instructions are logical, and he explains why certain steps are included. I've made 8 recipes from the book (so far...) and they have all been terrific.
Rating:
Summary: If only he had written more
Review: David Rosengarten writes this book not only to impart favorite recipes of his but also his reflections about food. Part travelogue, part cooking book, he ably imparts a love for not only food but also gastronomy, or the lifestyle of food and partaking of the pleasures of the table. Don't buy this cookbook if you don't want to expand your culinary horizons, don't buy this if you aren't a little fussy about your food, and don't buy this book if you are looking for quick and dirty recipes with the ingredients you already have in your kitchen. This book is essential for everyone else.
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Summary: Finally....all the recipes that you love from show
Review: Finally, David Rosengarten brings his flair, knowledge, wit, and sense of humor to a forum that allows the most seasoned experienced cook to the most basic novice the ability to cook all the wonderful items that are displayed each week on his show. The examples are all clearly pictured, laid out for easy of assembly, and David of course goes into detail about each item to clearly present the " essence " of the dish, rather than just slop down the recipe. The section on wines and paring food and wines is one of the best i've ever seen, and, additionally, the area where the most popular beverages in the world was eaily my favorite. 5 Stars...what else could it be?
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Summary: No Foie Gras, Dave?
Review: For the record, I love foie gras. Rosengarten's book is masterful. It just goes to show the this man is very unpretentious about his passion; he did NOT include a recipe for foie gras, which nowadays most cooks (trendy)now offer believing their names are Phillippe DeLacroix or Pierre Dureaux. Well, you get the point. He does NOT put "stuff" or any other decorative "grass" around the rim of the plates. This a bore already. I want the best food possible and I want lots. Dave's passion really comes thru! Please Dave, write another one. R.L. P.S. I'm eating chips and salsa (home made of course) and thought, "damn, it would be cool to eat some along with Dave and chatting about, what else, food and wine while zipping a Rolling Rock beer. Hey, we gotta cut thru the spiciness of the salsa.
Rating:
Summary: Yummy recipes and lots of info!
Review: I have absolutely loved everything I have tried from this cookbook. It is also fun and enjoyable to read. The reason I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 is that many of the recipes are quite complex. Once I started experimenting, I discovered that it is often possible to simplify the recipes without losing anything. For example, the stir-fried shrimp recipe calls for deep-frying the shrimp first, which is a hassle. I had wonderful results just stir-frying them. To give him credit, Rosengarten carefully explains the reasons for each unusual step. While I chose not to follow his instructions precisely, I did learn a good deal from reading his explanations. This is a great book for anyone who is confident in the kitchen. It can also be very educational for someone just learning to cook, but beginners may find the recipes dauntingly complex.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but not practical
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cookbook. David Rosengarten is entertaining and absolutely dedicated to great food. Although the text was enjoyable and informative, most of the recipes seem like too much work and they are definitely not for every-day cooking. I have had the book for a couple of years and still have not actually tried any of the recipes. If you enjoy reading about food, this book is well worth it, but unless you are looking for very elaborate recipes for entertaining, don't buy it for the recipes.
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Summary: Blew Me Away
Review: This book was one of the most interesting peices of literature I have ever read. Each recipe has a history behind it and a full detailed explination of not only how to make it, but what it should come out like when you are done, and what you should pair it with. All the recipes I ave tried so far have turned out amazing. I have no cons to this book, or any of David's works so far. He is an absolute genuis.
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