I promise that this little blog of mine isn't just about books. I really do! I have plenty of good food to be shared from recent days. I'll bring a little of that later in the week!
Truth is, I've been getting over being sick, and there's nothing better than reading a book in bed to get you well again. Except watching a movie in bed with popcorn and your love. Or sleep.
That is to say, I started reading Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain while I was sick, and I've just finished it this past weekend.
I like that this book was more of a modern social commentary than Kitchen Confidential. While the first was about a restaurant kitchen and his experience, the second had a much more worldly feel to it...which makes a lot of sense, given that Tony has done an awful lot of traveling in the interim.
I know, don't you just hate him? Slash want to steal his job right out from under him? Just me?
Shhh.
The book felt a little disorganized to me, but I just followed it where it led me. I now have a long list of references that he made that were familiar to me, but leave a lot of understanding to be desired, so I'll be doing a little "suggested reading" on my own in the coming months.
And. And, and!
Can I just say, that after reading his description of pho, I needed a bowl. How much are plane tickets to Hanoi?
As a matter of fact, that whole "Lust" chapter, with its brief anecdotes of a situation, an environment, and a dish, make me insanely jealous. I know Tony feels--slightly--ashamed sharing this food porn, but damn if it doesn't want to make me travel. Isn't that his point?
The passage I marked, and felt most like sharing, is about hipness and beer:
"Order a Heineken in Portland or San Francisco--or just about anywhere, these days--and be prepared to be sneered at by some locavore beer-nerd, all too happy to tell you about some hoppy, malty, microbrewed concoction, redolent of strawberries and patchouli, that they're making in a cellar nearby. Unless, of course, you opt for post-ironic retro--in which case, that "silo" of PBR will come with a cover charge and an asphyxiating miasma of hipness."
Hipsters love their microbrews. Hell, I love microbrews. But I love PBR and Heineken too. I drink microbrews with the rest of them, because I like to try new things and new tastes. I drink PBR because it's cheap and it tastes good to me (to each her own). I appreciate that he called the hipsters out on their holier-than-thou attitude, because I think it's a little silly to sneer at someone's beer choice. Just clink your glasses and take a gulp, we're all here for the same thing. I'll reserve my right to try a new microbrew...and then switch to PBR, to keep the bar bill down.
Just sayin'.
One of the big questions, and something that he brings up on his show fairly often, is this: is he helping to kill the things he loves? By exposing the uniqueness, the you-gotta-see-this-for-
I don't know. Maybe.
For me, being shown these parts of the world and their flavors makes me want to learn to cook more things. If anything, I think it's a positive sentiment to take away from the book.
...Although I HAVE paid $50 for a hamburger before. But just once!
Truth is, I've been getting over being sick, and there's nothing better than reading a book in bed to get you well again. Except watching a movie in bed with popcorn and your love. Or sleep.
That is to say, I started reading Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain while I was sick, and I've just finished it this past weekend.
I like that this book was more of a modern social commentary than Kitchen Confidential. While the first was about a restaurant kitchen and his experience, the second had a much more worldly feel to it...which makes a lot of sense, given that Tony has done an awful lot of traveling in the interim.
I know, don't you just hate him? Slash want to steal his job right out from under him? Just me?
Shhh.
The book felt a little disorganized to me, but I just followed it where it led me. I now have a long list of references that he made that were familiar to me, but leave a lot of understanding to be desired, so I'll be doing a little "suggested reading" on my own in the coming months.
And. And, and!
Can I just say, that after reading his description of pho, I needed a bowl. How much are plane tickets to Hanoi?
As a matter of fact, that whole "Lust" chapter, with its brief anecdotes of a situation, an environment, and a dish, make me insanely jealous. I know Tony feels--slightly--ashamed sharing this food porn, but damn if it doesn't want to make me travel. Isn't that his point?
The passage I marked, and felt most like sharing, is about hipness and beer:
"Order a Heineken in Portland or San Francisco--or just about anywhere, these days--and be prepared to be sneered at by some locavore beer-nerd, all too happy to tell you about some hoppy, malty, microbrewed concoction, redolent of strawberries and patchouli, that they're making in a cellar nearby. Unless, of course, you opt for post-ironic retro--in which case, that "silo" of PBR will come with a cover charge and an asphyxiating miasma of hipness."
Hipsters love their microbrews. Hell, I love microbrews. But I love PBR and Heineken too. I drink microbrews with the rest of them, because I like to try new things and new tastes. I drink PBR because it's cheap and it tastes good to me (to each her own). I appreciate that he called the hipsters out on their holier-than-thou attitude, because I think it's a little silly to sneer at someone's beer choice. Just clink your glasses and take a gulp, we're all here for the same thing. I'll reserve my right to try a new microbrew...and then switch to PBR, to keep the bar bill down.
Just sayin'.
One of the big questions, and something that he brings up on his show fairly often, is this: is he helping to kill the things he loves? By exposing the uniqueness, the you-gotta-see-this-for-
I don't know. Maybe.
For me, being shown these parts of the world and their flavors makes me want to learn to cook more things. If anything, I think it's a positive sentiment to take away from the book.
...Although I HAVE paid $50 for a hamburger before. But just once!
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