Rating: 
Summary: Confusion Reigns
Review: I don't mind the foul language, I come from a construction background and understand that in some fields that it's almost "necessary". I thought the individual stories were interesting, but Bourdain keeps jumping around from memory to memory, not keeping with the "timeline" feel he starts out with. It's confusing to know which job he is refering to and where that particular job fits in the timeline. He also has a tendency to be long winded. I found myself jumping ahead of some of his descriptions that were quite predictable and over done. All in all, I was very disappointed in the book. The story of the "underbelly" of cuisine is a fascinating one, but Bourdain didn't quite "cut the mustard" with his version.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow... a wonderfully scary look inside a pro kitchen...
Review: I have to say that I got this book to read on a vacation...In hindsight, a poor choice. Reading a book about hijinx and mayhem in professional kitchens while away from home and essentially hostage to them was a scary scary thing! It gave me pause...lots of pause and I came to the conclusion that the only thing scarier than seeing someone drop something, dust it off and use it in an open kitchen was to NOT see what was going on in the closed ones. Mr. Bourdain really has a way with words and can explain in sometimes grusome detail what can happen on a daily basis ... I enjoyed the glimpes of his past...his time as a child in France....his first oyster, raw. That he felt set him off on his culinary adventure. His kitchen job in cape cod... asking for first aid for a burn only to have the entire kitchen essentially halt to show him the scars and burns that are the badge of being a chef. And how that resolved him to *show them* that he had what it took... His time in culinary school... various kitchens... the things that made him who he is today. The book is interesting for his insights on what makes a good worker..a good kitchen...a good resutarant...as well as what makes a good kitchen knife as well. He is also free with the reverse. What isn't good... what will never work and what is truly stupid...and who is. I truly enjoyed this book, (scary as it was to think back on how many times I ordered my meat well done...something he tells you not to do, and why)... I laughed alot despite wondering how many specials that I ordered assuming it was the freshest thing, not the thing they needed to dump the fastest! I loved the gossip-y and not always good-natured banter of the book..the insight about chefs... of restuarant staffs and cooking schools. I loved the whole thing even tho, I will never assume anything when dining out again!
Rating:
Summary: Delectably profane
Review: For anyone who has ever dipped their finger in and tasted the spices of the more-often-than-not-not-pleasant restaurant industry will find this book supremely satisfying.
Bourdain presents a story that is similar to the shock of that first cold beer down the throat after a long, hard week; once you start guzzling, you can't stop. It is so refreshing to hear the raw, clear-cut, honesty that jumps out from each page. Bourdain has a natural talent for brute tell-it-like-it-is storytelling. I especially enjoyed the little bits of French titles, Spanish slang, and culinary jargon that were dropped and placed around each story with as much care as an expediter would decorate each precious platter.
Of course there's all this hoopla and controversy that Bourdain has violated the 'secret codes' of cooks in telling his experiences. I say "shaaadddup"! If anyone hit the nail on the head, it's this guy! I am impressed that Bourdain had the gusto and the intellect to actually sit down and recall even half of his drug-filled past. Kudos!! I think this book is a fine accompishment, and is an homage to any hard-working, slave-laboring, raw skinned, food-slinging fool who even attempts to make it in this dog-eat-dog world of food, let alone succeed. Good Work, Man! A toast to the guy who did it right, drinks are on him!!
Rating: 
Summary: tasty
Review: Anthony Bourdain writes like you imagine he'd cook, with a quick, spare style, a flair for detail, and a way with words that leaves you hungry for more at the end of each chapter. Kitchen Confidential is set out like a meal, with sections entitled "Appetizer; First Course" etc., so I feel justified in stretching this culinary metaphor a little further: just as Bourdain makes it clear he doesn't like to mess with the natural flavours of his food, so his earthy use of language gives Kitchen Confidential a true to life flavour. In the mould of other star chefs in print, such as Marco Pierre White, the author comes across as strongly opinionated, at times almost arrogant. However, he is able to undercut this self-centred approach with a healthy dollop of self deprecation, as he does with great comic effect mid way through the first course when he describes his young self swaggering into the kitchen of his second job, wearing a light-blue Pierre Cardin suit: gin some deranged, early seventies bout of disco inspired hubris, I chose to make my entrance in gull-wing shouldered Robert Palmer-wear, just itching to show the local yokels how we did it in New York City.h With a set up like this, there is no way for the young Anthony Bourdain to go but down, and fast: "Then, grabbing a saute pan, I burned myself. I yelped out loud, dropping the pan, an order of osso buoco milanese hitting the floor, and as a small red blister raised itself on my palm, I foolishly- oh, so foolishly- asked the beleaguered Tyrone if he had some burn cream and maybe a Band-Aid." At this point you know the hapless hero is riding for a fall, just like those horror flick protagonists at whom you want to shout: gDonft open that door! Donft play that cursed video tape!h- but of course they do anyway. In any case, the predictable humiliation that results from this scene motivates Bourdain to attend the Culinary Institute of America, and propels him into a career as a rock enf roll chef, bouncing from restaurant to restaurant, snorting drugs, picking up an odd-ball collection of semi civilized friends, seemingly always just one step ahead of complete disaster.
Interspersed with the anecdotes from his career are morsels of advice: gHow to Cook Like the Prosh tells you what kind of knife you ought to buy; and snapshots of the sometimes gruesome workings of the restaurant kitchen and the marginal characters who work there. The organization of Kitchen Confidential is somewhat schizophrenic, but what makes it such a rewarding read is the vitality and humour of Bourdainfs writing. Here is a sample from his "Mission to Tokyo": "The best course yet had arrived: a quickly grilled, halved fish headcIt was unbelievable: every crevice, every scrap of this sweet, delicate dorade or Chilean pompano (I didnft know from looking at the partly charred face, and by now didnft much care) had responded differently to the heat of the grill. From the fully cooked remnant of body behind the head to the crispy skin and cartilage, the tender, translucently rare cheeks, it was a mosaic of distinct flavours and textures. And the eye! Oh, yeah!"
Suffice to say that Bourdain makes eating fish eyes sound like a mouth-watering treat.
If Kitchen Confidential can be faulted at times for a lack of direction, Anthony Bourdainfs writing certainly can't. He aims to entertain, and on this count, I put down Kitchen Confidential completely satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Delicious!
Review: I loved this book! Anthony Bourdain is a talented writer who wastes no time immersing the reader into the bowels of the restaurant world. Not only does Mr. Bourdain provide delicious anecdotes about his restaurant experiences, he has some sage advice about choosing a restaurant, and why you shouldn't order seafood on the weekend. Since I've read Kitchen Confidential, I'm very careful about what I eat and where. The author certainly has a way with words. He is as adept at writing as he obviously is at cooking. While reading Kitchen Confidential, I found Mr. Bourdain's descriptions to be so vivid that I could see, feel, smell and taste everything he had written about! Before you head out to dinner on the town again, you should read Kitchen Confidential. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Fishy
Review: I was really looking forward to this book because I heard it would tell me everything I DIDN'T want to know about what was going on back in the kitchen of most restaurants. I was looking for the book to relate to ME and tell me about things I am interested in. Instead, I got a bunch of choppy stories that won't name names or places and seem to be hazy at best in their recollection. I'm not saying Tony is a bad writer; I think he's pretty darned good at writing. It's just that in order to protect the not-so-innocent, he has to blur our all the details. He seems to be fixated on fish, which I can't stand and most of the first part of the book only offers advice on what sort of fish you should stay away from in restaurants and when. I did like the chapter on Bigfoot, but everything else about the book was a bore.
Rating: 
Summary: Great start then . . . yawn!
Review: I loved the beginning of this book. The blow by blow account of the authors crooked path to becoming a successful chef. Once there the book bogs down in the minutia of kitchen life.
Rating:
Summary: A Cook's Tour of a Cook's Life
Review: This is the story of a ne'er-do-well who went from a life of private schools and Summers in France to debauchery to two star chefdom. You may know him best from "A Cook's Tour," on FoodTV; the show has that inimitable cockiness of what one might imagine from a life-of-privlege mixed with a life on the edge. I found the cockiness of the show a little off-putting. Well, ... a lot off-putting. So, I bought his book.
Bourdain gives a compelling story of Anyman. If you've ever worked in a restaurant for any length of time, you can feel the characters of the restaurant leap off the pages. So many of us have had to supplement a college education or a teaching gig or a crappy job by working in the restaurant business . Bourdain does a fine job of recreating that experience, with the added benefit of giving the back story of the characters that we sorely misunderstood, or were, horrors, afraid of. Easy read. Requires no mental agility to digest. Lots-O-Fun.
Rating:
Summary: Kitchen Locker Room Stories
Review: Tony Bourdain is certainly entertaining. I happen to enjoy smart-... New Yorker commentary and those who do will like this book too. It basically traces his career as a chef, sprinkling in his insights and warnings on the restaurant industry. Some of its fascinating, most of its interesting, and some of it comes across as a bit self serving. It is hard to believe that food was ever served in some of these kitchens with all the alleged fighting, drinking, drug use, and fornication. At times, this comes across as one big locker room story, that one believes at age 12, but by age 16, one immediately knows is embellished, if not totally made up. The book runs out of steam towards the end, and a few chapters come across as filler. Still, it is entertaining enough to recommend. However, if you have to read one Bourdain book on food, read "A Cook's Tour". It's more about the food, and less about Bourdain.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous et Fantastique
Review: It's hard to believe that Anthony Bourdain's entire working life to date has been crammed into 300 pages. It a fantastic book for anyone interested in the 'behind the scenes' look at restaurants. At the time when a CIA degree was no big deal, Anthony decided that he wanted to become a chef. With degree in hand, he began working. He took jobs as a dishwasher just to get in the kitchen. He briefly talks about when to eat at a restaurant and when not to. As well as what to look out for if you decide to eat out. There's even a section where he recommends specific kitchen knives and ingredients you need to have on hand. Most of the book though is dedicated to his life as a chef. You'll love it!
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