Rating: 
Summary: Interesting if you can sit through it
Review: I was amazed to see so many complimentary reviews of this book, especially the ones that rate Bourdain as such a 'fine storyteller'. Maybe he comes across better in print; I listened to the Audible version that he narrates himself. The subject matter and his exploits are certainly entertaining. However, before I was halfway through the book I had developed such an intense dislike of the author that I could barely listen to the rest. I understand his intent to write a 'tell-all' description of life as a chef, and I have read many a book that used constant, never-ending, over-the-top foul language for that 'touch of realism'. But Bourdain just comes across as such an unpleasant S.O.B. on tape that I was soon sorry I had given money to his cause. In the end, it wasn't the behind-the-scenes stories of what really goes on in a kitchen that repulsed me so much as having spent six hours listening to someone who I would never want to sit through a dinner with. Get 'Fast Food Nation' instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Sex, Drugs and Roquefort Cheese
Review: An autobiographical account of Bourdain's continuing and chosen profession, Kitchen Confidential would mean absolutely nothing to anyone without a strong interest in food, the food trade or for that matter, life in 1970s and 1980s New York. I've eaten in many restaurants and I will now ask myself if the team visible behind the counter or windowed doors is largely made up of strung out, dope head pasta cooks, pastry artisans with no fixed address or bread makers with constant run ins with the law. Frankly, some of Bourdain's material is hard to swallow, so to speak. Still, Kitchen Confidential is engaging reading and a departure from anything this reviewer (and food lover) has read before. I would suggest matching it with a nice merlot.
Rating: 
Summary: Seriously Entertaining
Review: Anthony Bourdain is presumably a very good cook (I've never eaten at any of his restaurants, so I don't know). However, I know that he is a very good writer. 'Kitchen Confidential' is an incredibly entertaining look into the restaurant industry. I think that anyone who likes to dine out, would find this book fascinating. After reading this book, you will appreciate the effort it takes to put a good meal in front of a diner. It also provides an insight into the behind-the-scenes people who do all the work to produce the eventual dish that is served to your table.
Rating: 
Summary: The Backroom View
Review: I'm a cook. I like cookbooks, find food interesting, and buy cookbooks just to think about how the recipes taste. I found this book on the best seller list and enjoyed reading it immensely. It is the story of a now-famous foodtv critique who, in very easy to read, fast reading style makes the life of a chef much less glamorous than those who appear on the shows. While there are plenty of conflicts, hyjinx with the staff and a career spanning at least a dozen restaurants, there is also some interesting information that might just change your order the next time you go into a restaurant.
Rating:
Summary: The Whole Truth
Review: As a kitchen professional who has worked in many kitchens on both coasts, this is the first book that really tells it like it is. The rush of making through the night is almost as good as some of the drugs that AB used.The most interesting parts were his discussions of the types of kitchens that exist (serious vs. hyperactive) and his advise to those who want to enter the field. I've worked in both types of kitchens and have always enjoyed the hyperactive ones. AS for his advise, it's right on the money. A must read for those who really want to know what life in the kitchen is really about.
Rating:
Summary: Autobiography of a passion
Review: If you've seen 'A Cook's Tour' on the Food Network (which, ironically, Bourdain blasts from time to time in this work), you're familiar with the author's take-no-prisoners approach to food and life. It carries through the book. He's a man who knows his passions, is single-minded about them, and has a talent for explaining them and himself. It starts with a moment of revelation when young Tony has his first oyster and he's still going strong thirty years later in a Dionysian binge through Tokyo. This man isn't afraid to eat anything and he tells you why in this book. Rather than being a scandal/gross-out/behind the scenes expose, this is in fact the autobiography of a chef.
Rating:
Summary: Half-baked
Review: Bourdain is funny, bitter, and smart on his television show. That's what makes this book such a huge disappointment. The chef comes across as a hopelessly arrested blowhard; only his visit to the Veritas kitchen, and his grudging recognition that you don't have to be wholly dissolute to be a great chef, mutes the constant "sex, drugs, rock and foie gras" chest pounding. There are two references to Watergate and at least three to the New York Dolls. Mr. Bourdain's stuck in the Seventies hipness comes off as a little sad: Does he really think the twenty-something vatos locos working his kitchen think he's cool 'cause he cooks while cranking The Cramps on his boombox? Another thing that rankles is the utter disorganization of the book. There's no coherence, no discernible chronology. It reads like a first draft. Also, the text is rife with grammatical and spelling errors, as if it were edited underneath a restaurant table (which, judging from the author's self-described lifestyle, it may have been). The message is, sloppiness in the kitchen is anathema, sloppiness in print is a sign of brilliance. It's hard to not like a guy who once said the most painful thing on TV was Bobby Flay, pretending to enjoy the downhome cuisine of America, but this book is to good writing what the McDonald's #3 value meal is to fine dining: greasy, empty calories.
Rating:
Summary: La Livre Du Jour
Review: Well Done, Chef! This is a fun read for anyone who likes to cook, venture out to new restaurants, subscribe to foodie magazines, watch cooking shows, etc. etc..... I purchased this book after hearing Tony Bourdain interviewed on a Talk Radio program. A year later I read the book. A good thing too....I've recently started watching his program A Cook's Tour on Food Network. Knowing and having heard his demeanor and humorous sarcasm from the show, his book read the same way. As it turns out I have even eaten at Les Halles years ago......So I'm a fan of this chef-his writing style and honesty! Let's eat!!
Rating:
Summary: In the Eye of the Storm Bourdain Cooks Up
Review: In a chapter advising chef wannabe's, Anthony Bourdain writes, "Lazy, sloppy and slow are bad. Enterprising, crafty and hyperactive are good." Enterprising, crafty and hyperactive describe Bourdain's writing perfectly. He tells his story from a chef's perspective, but Anthony Bourdain is also a first-rate storyteller. Although the book is laid out like a meal, complete with appetizer, dessert, coffee and a cigarette, it's more like a ride on pirate ship with Bourdain as the captain. He takes you on a fast-paced adventure, and you won't want to put the book down until you've experienced the entire trip.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: This book was quite amusing. I enjoyed all of the various antics. Particularly the page long list of drugs used by the cooks.
...
Yes it deals with trashy behavior. I found it immensely entertaining. Enjoy!
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