I am a big Anthony Bourdain fan. I couldn't wait to get this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of it, although some of the slaughter descriptions were a bit disturbing (I love animals). There were some truly moving chapters in there and some very interesting stuff. However, it really started to slow down after a while. Each chapter seemed pretty much like the chapter before. I guess that is to be expected, but it really got less interesting. And the descriptions of animals being slaughtered started to get to me after a while. I have maybe 1/4 of the book left and I'm not inclinded to pick it up anymore. Felt like he was just trying to fill pages for some of the chapters.

I am a big Anthony Bourdain fan. I couldn't wait to get this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of it. There were some truly moving chapters in there and some very interesting stuff. However, it really started to slow down after a while. Each chapter seemed pretty much like the chapter before. I guess that is to be expected, but it really got less interesting. I have maybe 1/4 of the book left and I'm not inclinded to pick it up anymore. Felt like he was just trying to fill pages for some of the chapters.

... and that's because in print, versus video, the ever-fascinating "bad boy" we've grown to know and love (well, tolerate; nah, love) doesn't interrupt an otherwise well-crafted exposition on the country he's visiting to "pull a Fellini" (but much less artfully) and digress into all sorts of asides, semi-charming castigations and "they made me do it!" aspersions that many times weaken the overall flow of his television series. Here, Bourdain has the sense to focus almost exclusively on the landscape, the flavors, his hosts and his (extraordinarily wide ranging) reactions and leave the "inside" commentary to extended postscripts at the end of certain stories. And when Bourdain does mention his "shooter" or producer in the body of a given chapter, it's woven more appropriately into the narrative than on cable.

Bourdain is one interesting fellow, a real scamp; and he can write, too. His love affair with the Vietnamese people and their cuisine jumps off the page at you, his reverence for the French Laundry almost requires you to light votive candles, and his graphic explanation of preparing a farmhouse meal in Portugal may make you turn vegan. He can also elicit a solid series of belly laughs when the situation demands; his description of writhing intestinal misery as he grapples for the remote to nix a televised homage to Jerry Lewis during a return to France had me howling.

The best way to savor this one-of-a-kind culinary globetrotter is to watch the show, pick up the rascal's collection of grimaces, smirks, cigarette drags, loping marches down alleyways and "I'm almost high" style of voiceover, then turn off the set and start reading. Because his books - if "A Cook's Tour" is any indication - are better than his broadcasts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and Anthony Bourdain's irresistible writing style. Friendly--not flowery or snobby. I guess I'm one of very few who found it much more entertaining than Kitchen Confidential. I liked reading about what went on on the other side of the camera and that some of the feasts and locations were not his choices. I was surprised that a star of a television show was flying coach class to Asia. Could that be true? I do know that the average tourist or even a very wealthy one would never be able to duplicate some of the special attention and exquisite meals he was served--especially in Japan.

This was a great, relaxing read. All the joys of a food trip (without the physical flavours and the life-and-death risks) without all the costs of an around-the-world trek. The great adventures of this chef can only inspire you to go find your own perfect meal.

As a fan of Bourdain's current television show (No Reservations), I was already predisposed to enjoy this book. But I am happy to say that I was not disappointed.

Bourdain's writing is wonderful- conversational in tone, but still informative, educated but earthy, ribald but still respectful. He eats, drinks, and smokes his way across the globe, TV crew in tow, and lives to tell the tales.

If you long to have an international adventure of your own, or already have one or two under your belt, his stories of bliss and terror (often to be found side-by-side) are sure to excite the imagination, and prompt a nod of recognition among those who have shared similar experiences.

As other reviewers have noted, this is almost two books- one is a spicy masala of travel experiences, the other a long-form love letter to Vietnam. In an apparent attempt to avoid the impression of having written two-books-in-one, he has broken up his Vietnam experiences into several parts, spread throughout the book.

But the result is that Bourdain appears to us as a man obsessed with his new love- no matter where else in the world he has last discussed, whatever horror or pleasure he has just recounted, he can't keep from going back to Vietnam. The food, the people, the overall atmosphere - a stark contrast(and odd union)between a controlled, communist society, and the laissez faire energy of the street. He clearly loves it, and cannot stop talking about it. He has gone to the supposed heart of darkness and has found it much to his liking.

But what if it is two books? I find that I like them both. Plus, Bourdain's enthusiasm is infectious - I love Bourdain's Vietnam too. It sounds like a great place. Pho, anyone?

Please note that this book does feature the slaughter of many innocent (but delicious) animals, excessive use of drugs and alcohol, and deplorable acts of gluttony. But if you are a fan of Mr. Bourdain, you already knew that. It's not for the faint of heart- but for the rest of us, this is an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

I can honestly say that this is one of my favorite books that I have read in the past year. Anthony Bourdain is a great writer, and he really takes you on a journey with him as he travels the world searching for "the perfect meal", and if there even is such a thing. Yes, other reviews have said that Bourdain is "a whiner" and "snarky", but that is the beauty of Bourdain's writing style. He tells it as he sees it, if he doesn't like something, he will let you know. There's no sugar coating in his writing, and of all of Bourdain's books, I have to say that this is my absolute favorite. The chapter on Morocco is one of my favorites, as well as the multiple chapters on Vietnam, a place that Bourdain came to adore during his world travels. I would say that I am a discerning book critic, and I love this book. I've read it at least 5 times just to absorb everything, and I think anyone, foodie or not, would love this.

Anthony Bourdain is best known for his groundbreaking book "Kitchen Confidential," which details his career as a chef and disclosed that the people creating our fine dining experiences in the world's best restaurants are often "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths." He often ridicules Food Network personalities, yet in the end, his success and notoriety led to his very own show on the same network. "A Cook's Tour" launched his television career and gave birth to his book "A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines."

In A Cook's Tour, Bourdain sets out to find the "perfect meal" (or more realistically, a series of really great meals), not based on opulence and cutting-edge, fashionable restaurants, but rather an ideal balance of great food, atmosphere and people. His search leads him to the Moroccan desert for "crispy, Veiny" lamb testicles; saunas and smoked fish in Russia; kaiseki rituals in Japan; French Laundry in California's Napa Valley, and a lengthy series of adventures in Vietnam.

In much of his work, Bourdain make a point of explaining how other cultures have learned to make use of every part of the animal, once because of limited resources, but now because they've perfected the art, and made ears, feet and entrails into truly great meals.

Bourdain's humor is irreverent and he pulls no punches, telling us exactly what he thinks about where he is, what he's doing, and what he's eating, even if it's not very flattering. Unlike other travel personalities, he doesn't sugar-coat his reviews for the sake of political correctness.

The Food network series aired 35 episodes, 10 of which were filmed in Asia (Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand). His book however, narrows down the focus and gives us a look at where his heart truly abides. Five of the book's 17 chapters (including the intro) are set in Vietnam. A Cook's Tour essentially details Anthony's love affair with Vietnam, mingled with other adventures around the globe (other chapters cover Portugal, France, Spain, Russia, Morocco, England, Scotland, Mexico, California, Cambodia and Japan) while filming his show for the Food Network. "I'm in love" he writes about Vietnam. "I am absolutely over-the top gonzo for this country and everything in it. I want to stay forever."

In Saigon, Anthony explores the food offerings of Ben Thanh Market (including hot vin lon, or hard-boiled duck embryos) in-between vivid nightmares induced by anti-malaria medication. In Can Tho on the MeKong Tony drinks rice wine with decorated war vets who would have once considered him the enemy. Later he recounts with heart-pounding fervor, the experience of riding down Highway 1, known for its frequent bloody accidents. Then there is island hopping and fresh seafood dinner in Nha Trang, only to be followed by a revolting meal of bird's nest soup on an already bloated stomach. Of all of Anthony's culinary experiences in Vietnam, his most talked about (and most replayed on YouTube), is drinking the beating heart of a cobra in rice wine.

As interesting as Anthony's food adventures are, the characters in his book are equally memorable. Madame Dai was a lawyer and senator under South Vietnam's former government, who managed to thrive under the new regime by running a small, unadvertised restaurant in the library of her home, called "Bibliotheque." She is a colorful character who keeps Anthony and his government-appointed guide, Linh, on their toes with her sharp-witted humor and kind-hearted jabs.

Madame Ngoc is the owner of Com Nieu Saigon, a restaurant famous for its crispy rice cooked in a clay pot, which is smashed in the dining room, and then the rice is thrown across to the waiters at each table, creating a lively spectacle for the guests. Madame Ngoc is a powerful women, commanding respect and obedience from her staff (and even many of her patrons), but her tender-hearted kindness and persistent mothering endear her immediately to Bourdain and his entourage.

Anthony fell hard for Vietnam. Writing about Saigon, he states "I think I've gone bamboo...I've gone goofy on Vietnam, fallen hopelessly, hopelessly in love with the place." Despite his love for Vietnam, Bourdain apparently hasn't gone through with his plans yet, which may be due to not only his new marriage and baby, but also the success of his show "No Reservations," for the Travel Channel. Later episodes (including features on Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and once again, Vietnam) and subsequent interviews reveal his more broadened appreciation of the region and less obsession over Vietnam alone.

A Cook's Tour is Bourdain's most appropriate entry-level volume for fans of his travel shows, although a book based on his current Travel Channel series, "No Reservations" will be available October 30, 2007. He has authored numerous other books, including The Nasty Bits, Gone Bamboo, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical, The Bobby Gold Stories, and Bone in the Throat. Many are novels and all contain culinary themes.

Poor Anthony Bourdain ... the world at his feet and he still isn't happy!!! Though "A Cook's Tour" does has it's riveting descriptive moments, it frequently lapses into the whining reflections of a guy who (ashamedly) uses the Food Network's dollar in a failed attempt to find personal happiness. Food Network gave Bourdain the opportunity to do things the rest of us only dream of - and he complains about a lot of it. He's so depressed! He wasn't happy at Les Halles, people drive him crazy, his return to his childhood home was a disappointment ... it goes on and on. He drowns himself in alcohol, stupefies himself with hashish, travels to the far corners of the world ... and just can't find the happiness he seeks.

I did enjoy reading the sarcastic, witty descriptions of places I'll never see in person. However, Bourdain's disdain for regular folks permeates the book and makes the reading experience almost masochistic. Bourdain is just so darn "cool" and his contempt for all things ordinary pervades every page. In the end, I think I'd rather travel the world with someone a little less disdainful and depressed.

Anthony Bourdain is best known for his groundbreaking book "Kitchen Confidential," which details his career as a chef and disclosed that the people creating our fine dining experiences in the world's best restaurants are often "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths." He often ridicules Food Network personalities, yet in the end, his success and notoriety led to his very own show on the same network. "A Cook's Tour" launched his television career and gave birth to his book "A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines."



In A Cook's Tour, Bourdain sets out to find the "perfect meal" (or more realistically, a series of really great meals), not based on opulence and cutting-edge, fashionable restaurants, but rather an ideal balance of great food, atmosphere and people. His search leads him to the Moroccan desert for "crispy, Veiny" lamb testicles; saunas and smoked fish in Russia; kaiseki rituals in Japan; French Laundry in California's Napa Valley, and a lengthy series of adventures in Vietnam.



In much of his work, Bourdain make a point of explaining how other cultures have learned to make use of every part of the animal, once because of limited resources, but now because they've perfected the art, and made ears, feet and entrails into truly great meals.



Bourdain's humor is irreverent and he pulls no punches, telling us exactly what he thinks about where he is, what he's doing, and what he's eating, even if it's not very flattering. Unlike other travel personalities, he doesn't sugar-coat his reviews for the sake of political correctness.



The Food network series aired 35 episodes, 10 of which were filmed in Asia (Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand). His book however, narrows down the focus and gives us a look at where his heart truly abides. Five of the book's 17 chapters (including the intro) are set in Vietnam. A Cook's Tour essentially details Anthony's love affair with Vietnam, mingled with other adventures around the globe (other chapters cover Portugal, France, Spain, Russia, Morocco, England, Scotland, Mexico, California, Cambodia and Japan) while filming his show for the Food Network. "I'm in love" he writes about Vietnam. "I am absolutely over-the top gonzo for this country and everything in it. I want to stay forever."



In Saigon, Anthony explores the food offerings of Ben Thanh Market (including hot vin lon, or hard-boiled duck embryos) in-between vivid nightmares induced by anti-malaria medication. In Can Tho on the MeKong Tony drinks rice wine with decorated war vets who would have once considered him the enemy. Later he recounts with heart-pounding fervor, the experience of riding down Highway 1, known for its frequent bloody accidents. Then there is island hopping and fresh seafood dinner in Nha Trang, only to be followed by a revolting meal of bird's nest soup on an already bloated stomach. Of all of Anthony's culinary experiences in Vietnam, his most talked about (and most replayed on YouTube), is drinking the beating heart of a cobra in rice wine.



As interesting as Anthony's food adventures are, the characters in his book are equally memorable. Madame Dai was a lawyer and senator under South Vietnam's former government, who managed to thrive under the new regime by running a small, unadvertised restaurant in the library of her home, called "Bibliotheque." She is a colorful character who keeps Anthony and his government-appointed guide, Linh, on their toes with her sharp-witted humor and kind-hearted jabs.



Madame Ngoc is the owner of Com Nieu Saigon, a restaurant famous for its crispy rice cooked in a clay pot, which is smashed in the dining room, and then the rice is thrown across to the waiters at each table, creating a lively spectacle for the guests. Madame Ngoc is a powerful women, commanding respect and obedience from her staff (and even many of her patrons), but her tender-hearted kindness and persistent mothering endear her immediately to Bourdain and his entourage.



Anthony fell hard for Vietnam. Writing about Saigon, he states "I think I've gone bamboo...I've gone goofy on Vietnam, fallen hopelessly, hopelessly in love with the place." Despite his love for Vietnam, Bourdain apparently hasn't gone through with his plans yet, which may be due to not only his new marriage and baby, but also the success of his show "No Reservations," for the Travel Channel. Later episodes (including features on Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and once again, Vietnam) and subsequent interviews reveal his more broadened appreciation of the region and less obsession over Vietnam alone.



A Cook's Tour is Bourdain's most appropriate entry-level volume for fans of his travel shows, although a book based on his current Travel Channel series, "No Reservations" will be available October 30, 2007. He has authored numerous other books, including The Nasty Bits, Gone Bamboo, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical, The Bobby Gold Stories, and Bone in the Throat. Many are novels and all contain culinary themes.

Anthony Bourdain is best known for his groundbreaking book "Kitchen Confidential," which details his career as a chef and disclosed that the people creating our fine dining experiences in the world's best restaurants are often "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths." He often ridicules Food Network personalities, yet in the end, his success and notoriety led to his very own show on the same network. "A Cook's Tour" launched his television career and gave birth to his book "A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines."

In A Cook's Tour, Bourdain sets out to find the "perfect meal" (or more realistically, a series of really great meals), not based on opulence and cutting-edge, fashionable restaurants, but rather an ideal balance of great food, atmosphere and people. His search leads him to the Moroccan desert for "crispy, Veiny" lamb testicles; saunas and smoked fish in Russia; kaiseki rituals in Japan; French Laundry in California's Napa Valley, and a lengthy series of adventures in Vietnam.

In much of his work, Bourdain make a point of explaining how other cultures have learned to make use of every part of the animal, once because of limited resources, but now because they've perfected the art, and made ears, feet and entrails into truly great meals.

Bourdain's humor is irreverent and he pulls no punches, telling us exactly what he thinks about where he is, what he's doing, and what he's eating, even if it's not very flattering. Unlike other travel personalities, he doesn't sugar-coat his reviews for the sake of political correctness.

The Food network series aired 35 episodes, 10 of which were filmed in Asia (Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand). His book however, narrows down the focus and gives us a look at where his heart truly abides. Five of the book's 17 chapters (including the intro) are set in Vietnam. A Cook's Tour essentially details Anthony's love affair with Vietnam, mingled with other adventures around the globe (other chapters cover Portugal, France, Spain, Russia, Morocco, England, Scotland, Mexico, California, Cambodia and Japan) while filming his show for the Food Network. "I'm in love" he writes about Vietnam. "I am absolutely over-the top gonzo for this country and everything in it. I want to stay forever."

In Saigon, Anthony explores the food offerings of Ben Thanh Market (including hot vin lon, or hard-boiled duck embryos) in-between vivid nightmares induced by anti-malaria medication. In Can Tho on the MeKong Tony drinks rice wine with decorated war vets who would have once considered him the enemy. Later he recounts with heart-pounding fervor, the experience of riding down Highway 1, known for its frequent bloody accidents. Then there is island hopping and fresh seafood dinner in Nha Trang, only to be followed by a revolting meal of bird's nest soup on an already bloated stomach. Of all of Anthony's culinary experiences in Vietnam, his most talked about (and most replayed on YouTube), is drinking the beating heart of a cobra in rice wine.

As interesting as Anthony's food adventures are, the characters in his book are equally memorable. Madame Dai was a lawyer and senator under South Vietnam's former government, who managed to thrive under the new regime by running a small, unadvertised restaurant in the library of her home, called "Bibliotheque." She is a colorful character who keeps Anthony and his government-appointed guide, Linh, on their toes with her sharp-witted humor and kind-hearted jabs.

Madame Ngoc is the owner of Com Nieu Saigon, a restaurant famous for its crispy rice cooked in a clay pot, which is smashed in the dining room, and then the rice is thrown across to the waiters at each table, creating a lively spectacle for the guests. Madame Ngoc is a powerful women, commanding respect and obedience from her staff (and even many of her patrons), but her tender-hearted kindness and persistent mothering endear her immediately to Bourdain and his entourage.

Anthony fell hard for Vietnam. Writing about Saigon, he states "I think I've gone bamboo...I've gone goofy on Vietnam, fallen hopelessly, hopelessly in love with the place." Despite his love for Vietnam, Bourdain apparently hasn't gone through with his plans yet, which may be due to not only his new marriage and baby, but also the success of his show "No Reservations," for the Travel Channel. Later episodes (including features on Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and once again, Vietnam) and subsequent interviews reveal his more broadened appreciation of the region and less obsession over Vietnam alone.

A Cook's Tour is Bourdain's most appropriate entry-level volume for fans of his travel shows, although a book based on his current Travel Channel series, "No Reservations" will be available October 30, 2007. He has authored numerous other books, including The Nasty Bits, Gone Bamboo, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical, The Bobby Gold Stories, and Bone in the Throat. Many are novels and all contain culinary themes.

Poor Anthony Bourdain ... the world at his feet and he still isn't happy!!! Though "A Cook's Tour" does has it's riveting descriptive moments, it frequently lapses into the whining reflections of a guy who (ashamedly) uses the Food Network's dollar in a failed attempt to find personal happiness. Food Network gave Bourdain the opportunity to do things the rest of us only dream of - and he complains about a lot of it. He's so depressed! He wasn't happy at Les Halles, people drive him crazy, his return to his childhood home was a disappointment ... it goes on and on. He drowns himself in alcohol, stupefies himself with hashish, travels to the far corners of the world ... and just can't find the happiness he seeks.



I did enjoy reading the sarcastic, witty descriptions of places I'll never see in person. However, Bourdain's disdain for regular folks permeates the book and makes the reading experience almost masochistic. Bourdain is just so darn "cool" and his contempt for all things ordinary pervades every page. In the end, I think I'd rather travel the world with someone a little less disdainful and depressed.

For those that don't have the means or foolhardiness to sample the cuisines of the trouble spots and high expense parts of the world, Anthony's book is a way to go.

Anthony is an honest opportunist in the kitchen and on the written page.

The book if fun to read. Buy it. All right, borrow it from your library. This travel-food-olog mixes wild & interesting places and wild & interesting foods in about equal amounts. Yes, Mr. Bourdain does write like a chef, but what the heck? In his words, that's "pretty neat."

At all these wild places he goes -- Russia, North Africa, Vietnam, Japan -- one wonders how he survives both the places and the meals. The answer is, he threw himself into both with a gusto and with good expectations. This unintended lesson on life would be hard to improve on. Readers will be pleased to note how Mr. Bourdain leaves all his hosts delighted with his visit. This makes him the perfect guest. Very likely the aged Vietnamese army veteran was especially so, ever after being able to boast that he drank an American under the table.

His hosts liked him because he liked them, without prejudice. What a wonderfully entertaining book this is. If this man can find the value, and the fun, in all that he ran into, you can't help but put the book down a bit more inspired.

I can't figure what holds me back about his book. I love Anthony Bourdain's attitude about food and his philosophy about what makes a great meal. I love his desire for absolutely fresh food, right off the bleeding stick or never touching a refrigerator, and I admire the distinctions he makes about how food looks and how it tastes--my wife is one who cannot get over the appearance of food and lets it affect her enjoyment of it, while I don't care how food looks, but simply want good-tasting stuff. I love Bourdain's sense of experimentalism, his willingness to try live cobra heart, and his sense of adventure, how he searches out a fugu chef (who knows how to properly prepare poisonous blowfish), and my wife is now relieved that I take Bourdain at his word that the stuff doesn't really have much flavor and wasn't quite worth all the excitement.

The concept of this book is fantastic--Anthony Bourdain travels to Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Portugal, Russia and other fine spots for the adventure of eating. And we're not just talking about the food itself--Bourdain wants the whole experience of food, from the killing of the livestock to the last shot of vodka before heading out into the night. He understands that food comes from a place and people, and he wants to know both as intimately as he can to get a true sense of what the food is about. It is a brilliant gesture in a category of writing that I find all too sterile, a style of writing often taken over by self-professed food gurus sitting in palaces removed from the real cooks and snubbing their noses at true cuisine while only praising what is served in delicate portions in a fine atmosphere. That Bourdain continually bashes Food Network stars is wonderfully brilliant and it makes me trust the man implicitely--were he to serve me brains wrapped in pig cheek and smothered with mayonnaise, I would gladly eat it if he told me it would be some good stuff.

But for whatever reason, I found this book as a whole not so engaging to read, and I can only attribute that to the writing itself. I don't know if this books suffers from Bourdain's inexperience at writing, or if this simply has been edited to death to remove a lot of life from the prose. I would love to praise this book as one of the best that has ever crossed my path, for the content itself is comforting in that it expresses the heart of a true food lover, one I will probably emulate for years to come, but as a book itself, I must say that I skipped over passages that I found highly tedious to read.

I purchased Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour at an airport based on the recommendation of a chef who was cooking in our ski chalet. I read the two books by the time we'd returned home.

As I read the reviews here, I'm amazed by some of the negative comments. Bourdain's offensiveness, the "shock value" of the cuisine and the fact that there are no recipes in the books seem to be common points of issue. One reviewer even recommended the purchasing of Jamie Oliver's books because they have cooking information in them.

Bourdain likes to smoke, drink and use some occasional drugs. That is part of the adventure. I was laughing every time he recounted one of these stories. He's offensive, that's why he's funny and the writing is so entertaining. He also made an extraordinary number of friends in these countries (many are thanked in the notes at the end of the book) so he was hardly just trashing every foreigner he came across.

As to the "shock value", sure he ate Cobras heart and other gruesome items that clearly would "shock". But in most cases he did it because these items were regional delicacies/specialties e.g. beating cobra heart. By and large he discusses "normal" food and I found this balance extremely interesting. Tales of the seafood, soups and other dishes that he eats in Vietnam comprise the majority of those chapters, not the cobra. Get past the occasional shocking item.

I own all of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks and when I want to cook, I use those. When I want to have a bit of a laugh, Jamie Oliver's recipe for home made pasta isn't going to provide the entertainment I'm looking for. Bourdain will.

Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour are obviously not designed to be recipe books. If you've bought them for this reason then that's your mistake and not the fault of the writer. What they have done for me, is piqued my interest in cuisine from different regions of the world that I have struggled to appreciate in the past. Now if I want to practice cooking these items I'll get a suitable recipe book.

I think the two stories are thoroughly entertaining. I laughed myself all the way back home.

I can't wait for the next book.

Fun, fast, light interesting book about a man on a quest, the quest for the perfect meal. The author struggles to give his definition of the perfect meal, a combination of food, company, and atmosphere, all the circumstances that end up creating a memorable meal that can be remembered for years to come. The author feels the perfect meal must be made from the local surroundings, the culture has adopted this food for a reason. Anthony Bourdon (the cook in this case) does not stick with the mundane 4 star restaurants in each locale, but often frequents the markets where the common people are obtaining their food. The book takes the reader from a Portuguese pig roast, a Bedouin lamb roast, a Scottish grouse hunt/meal, to an Asian feast on the banks of the Mekong. The meals all featured exotic foods and drinks, one case being a shot of alcohol with a still pulsating heart of king cobra. A little education is provided about the history and culture of each locale along with the sacrifices made to bring along a TV camera crew, and of course the meal along with some real amusing anecdotes. Incredibly entertaining. I read this book on a whim, I believe this author's writing syle applied to other subjects would enliven any book.

This book is a journal of Anthony Bourdain's travels across to try new foods. He travels a varied and sizable portion of the world, with each chapter describing a new location and new foods to eat. It is worth noting that this book was written during, and is the perfect complement to the show "Cook's Tour" on Food Network.

This book is quick, fluid, and enjoyable. He delves into details that are fascinating, such as the history of a certain city, the rise of Mexican chefs, his French summer home, the dangers of Cambodia, and so much more.

All in all, it's a great little read that mixes a little bit of history, cooking, multi-culturalism, and Bordain's opinionated sayings. Nothing spectacular, but a good fun book.

The first time I saw 'Cook's Tour' on the Food Network I took one look at Mr. Bourdain and said; Hold the phone! He's a chef! He's the best looking guy on TV! Then, as I continued to watch the show every week, and go to all the exotic countries he took us to, I realized the guy is brilliant. I have bought ALL of his books, including his novels. He is the kind of guy I was looking for in my 20's and 30's but unfortunately never found. I did run into him on a NYC street a couple of years ago and talked with him. He is a charmer and a really nice guy. Of course now that I'm old enough to be his mom I am able to gush over guys and they don't think; Stalker! Read this book and all his other books. Like Mr. Bourdain, they are very interesting and informative. I just love the guy.

On a road trip from Phoenix, AZ to Fargo, ND and back I found that I had a need for entertainment outside of my current CD collection. So at a truck stop along my journey I purchased "A Cook's Tour". And until I listened to these CD's I had never heard of Anthony Bourdaun. How sad for me. I thoroughly enjoyed his humor and views on his travels and food exploration. He makes you salivate as you listen. And since he himself is narrating you get a very real and vivid depiction of his experiences. I am now in the process of reading more of his work. I also watch his show 'No Reservation' on the Travel channel. His willingness to branch out and try new food and experiences inspires me to do the same. This is an excellent pick and it made the perfect roadtrip companion.

tony bourdain's stories of extreme cuisine are alternately harrowing and transcendent, visceral and poetic. he travels the world in search of the "perfect" meal - way, WAY off the beaten path. I'm happy to read about his experiences because I certainly don't want to share them. an amazing book.

It took 186 pages, but the real Anthony Bourdain finally showed up.

That's an unfair comment, but based on reading a few of Mr. Bourdain's other works I feel qualified to pontificate on his strengths. The first nine chapters of 'Cook's Tour' betray none of the glorious culinary abandon from 'Kitchen Confidential' or his latest cookbook (cross-promoted with his current employer, Les Halles restaurant in New York City). When he finally arrives in England and tears into a rip-snorting endorsement of chef Fergus Henderson--and a passionate defense of "real British cooking"--I actually breathed a sigh of relief. If only the whole book had this unique energy.

But, alas, it doesn't. Bourdain perhaps senses this from the start; the introduction is almost apologetic about the book's purpose ("traveling around the world searching for the perfect meal") and though he humorously warns us in advance about the whole adventure being filmed for a food-oriented TV network (guess which one) this angle clearly impinges on the book's narrative. With this muddy purpose we get 185 pages of "I went here and this happened" stories--from Portugal to France to Russia and beyond--without any clue where we're going and worse: virtually none of the author's blood-curdling culinary opinions. Bourdain munches and sips from various things in these locales, but without any dramatic or even comedic culinary context. He apparently wishes us inspiration from reading about his childhood flashbacks (France) or politically-inspired guilt (Vietnam). Sorry Tony -- I'm just not that interested.

Fortunately when we get to England Bourdain wakes up. I found the remainder of the book as delightful, funny, and viscously honest as the beginning was navel-gazing and confused. His paeans to local cuisine in Mexico and Vietnam are breathtaking; the Mexican connection is especially poignant since he visits the home of a few of his fellow Les Halles cooks and finds himself staggered by their culinary culture. This essay ('Where Cooks Come From') is alone worth the price of the book.

Like more than a few tomes, 'A Cook's Tour' would earn top marks from me if only the author had stuck to his obvious strengths (extolling passionate cooks and funky-but-delicious food, skewering hypocritical and pretentious culinary trends) throughout. Slogging through the aimless essays where none of this is in evidence was disappointing and frustrating. I can only hope Mr. Bourdain--clearly one of our best current food writers--learns his lesson and finds (another) good subject into which to sink his razor-sharp teeth.

I read this book after watching the show on the Food Channel. I must admit that I greatly enjoyed it. Others have voiced their disgust for his irreverent behavior, but then I ask u, if he doesn't have that kind of attitude, how would he get the guts to eat all that stuff (from lizards to bull testicles to cobra heart). However, he also had plenty of fine dining experience and everything in between. I love the show and the book because he will try anything once. Very exciting!!!

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has that cock-of-the-walk, been-there-done-that personality that people either like or loathe. This travel/food short story collection - 22 in all - will unlikely change anyone's opinions, but on its own, it provides a fascinating glimpse into a variety of cultures and the attitudes of natives to their food. It also makes the ideal companion to the series he did for the Food Network. The concept is simple: he travels the world searching for the perfect meal and discovers more to the countries than just the food. Each chapter is devoted to a particular country or trip.

When he sticks to his topic, the book is a fun, interesting read, for example, when he talks about Japan, he recognizes that much of their food preparation reflects the cultural obsession with quality. He manages to get us into a family home in St. Petersburg and captures the spirit within the darkness of that country. In Mexico, he paints a vivid tableau of a small town feast and how their sense of community informs all their cooking. My favorite chapter is on Vietnam where he shows a real intimacy with the people there and a certain audacity in trying soft-boiled duck embryos and live cobra hearts. Having taken cooking lessons in a number of the countries he visited, I can appreciate his sense of wonder and surprise when he tries something most of the rest of us wouldn't dare touch. Bourdain is most successful when he positions himself as a curious traveler but less so when he feels a need to exhibit how cool he is, offering self-congratulatory quips rather than real insights. Regardless, whether it's deep-fried Mars bars in Glasgow, roasted lamb testicles in Morocco, or a four-star meal at Thomas Keller's French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California, this book offers Bourdain's adventurous palette in easy, bite-size pieces.

Any deal Tony had to make with the devil (A.K.A the Food Network) to get this book made was totally worth it. And I did enjoy the show version of the book too. There, I said it!

Being from New York is Tony's principle advantage in undertaking a world tour of food. Firstly, being from NYC he has probably already encountered most if not all the indigenous peoples of the countries he travels, so really no surprises there. Plus, as we all know from "Kitchen Confidential", Tony will eat ANYTHING! Which he proves in fine style from a beating Cobra Heart to a snot-like breakfast in Japan.

Finally, how could anyone not like Tony Bourdain? He is the aptheosis of cool! He moved the U.S. up several notches on the diplomatic scale just going out and letting people bask in his coolness.

Way to go, Tony! Thanks for taking one for the team.

Enjoyed hearing a taped version of A COOK'S TOUR by Anthony Bourdain, the chef who left his job to discover the perfect meal . . . his journey took him to Japan, Cambodia, Saigon, France, and many other locales . . . that part was interesting; what was even more so was the author's description of the many foods he sampled (many of them reminding me of stuff that folks devour on FEAR ACTOR), such as blowfish, the live heart of a cobra and a bird's nest . . . my only regret that I've never gotten to see the TV show that came about as a result of Bourdain's travels.

I thought Kitchen Confidential was a good read but this book is even better.

The details he gives you on the food he tries all over the world either make you salivate or want to vomit depending on what he is tasting.

Half the fun of the book, however, is anthony's take on the countries, people, culture and adventures he has while in the countries. Some were so frightening it was like a suspense book. Others were endearing.

At times I wished I were there with him and at others so glad I was not.

Definately a fun read but also deeper than that. His chapter on going to France with his brother is more about the loss of their father and not being able to "go back home" again than about food. There are lots of chapters with similar hidden themes about life and human nature.

Pick this one up!

Who else but Tony Bourdain could get away with starting off a piece on food in Cambodia with a bitter rant against Henry Kissinger? Much less regale the reader with his various temper tantrums, drunken escapades and intestinal woes for more than 300 pages and still come out smelling like a rose. Bourdain only gets better in "A Cook's Tour," a book whose limp title hardly reflects the bacchanalian revels within. The highlights in this book are often Bourdain's lowlights, his frequent bouts of melancholy and fits of pique against the indignities imposed by the TV crew trailing him around the word. And no one writing today has captured the sleazy half-life of expats in third-world Asia better than Bourdain in a few brilliant paragraphs on Phnom Penh. Travelers, food fans, fans of great writing, you'll treasure this book.

I loved this book. Whenever I travel I like to eat the local food, good or bad. Honestly most everything is great. I loved the fact that the only thing he hated was the hygienic vegan food he ate at some constipated fancy dinner party. I feel the same way.

The book was an engaging read and I like the way he didn't shy away from the slaughter that precedes most of his meals. That is what is takes and I'm glad to see somebody is happy to describe it and then readily consume whatever animal has so recently been unceremoniously killed. It is a great book, not for the weak stomached, but great nonetheless.

I'd recommend it to almost anybody. As a person who has eaten camels, snakes, porcupines, jellyfish, insect larvae, and virtually every organ found in vertebrates I feel like Mr. Bourdain is a kindred spirit. Read the book and start your own eating adventure

What a rollicking good adventure, and I appreciated his upfront admission that this trip was possible due to the wild success of Kitchen Confidential which he calls 'obnoxious' (in the best possible way, say I) and the fact that the Food Network was footing the bills and greasing the wheels. Wow, whose lamp do you have to rub to get that kind of sweet deal? He's such an endearing personna on the page that I can't begrudge him landing my dream ... I just wish it came with a tasting sampler.

I loved this book, even when he's busting on my vegetarian kind - I appreciated his description of the Portugese pig slaughter too - honest and complex and I knew that the tofu alternative I'd be stuck eating wouldn't taste nearly as good as the rustic whole hog feast he partakes of a few pages later.

Write us another one, Tony!

I loved this book. Initially I thought it would be about food only and obviously food of different cultures. But the book turned out to e much much more than this. You have food, you have cultures, you have analysis, wit, humour, and much much more. It is such an enlightening book about food and all the factors related to food, such as sociology of the country etc. It was indeed one of the most enjoyable books I have read in recent years. I congratulate the author. Please give us more of this kind of stuff. And don't wait too long for your next book.

Anthony Bourdain's writing is steeped with the street-smart coolness that can only come from a lifetime New Yorker. In A Cook's Tour he manages to combine the travelogue with food writing without it being completely fruity.

Bourdain travels around the world sampling local cuisine and meeting interesting characters. You can tell how passionate he is about food and life and it's wonderful to read an author who really loves his subject. He's also side-splittingly sardonic about the different situations he finds himself in.

This book is also much more personal than I expected. His manic-depression shines through: one moment is a blissful celebration of life and the next is full of self-loathing. A trip to his boyhood haunts in France and a scary side trip to Cambodia are especially poignant. Bourdain gets four stars in my Michelin Guide.

This is a travelogue about eating. Bourdain decides he wants to sample the best of what's out there, and he travels far and wide to find what he's looking for. He doesn't exactly find THE perfect meal, but he does get to eat a lot of perfect meals and taste some darn good cooking. On the other hand, he also sampled some truly vile stuff, like raw cobra bile, that wiser souls would not allow past their lips. Bourdain's style is rather wild- -if profanity offends you, this book is not for you.

Bourdain is an evangelical meat eater. Indeed, a central theme of the book is his relationship to the animals that are slaughtered for his consumption. In the beginning of the book, he attends his first pig slaughter, describing to us such details as pulling the excrement out of the dead pig's anus. Similar stories are told of slaughtering a lamb in Morocco and a turkey in Mexico, culminating in his swallowing a still-beating cobra heart in Vietnam. At several points, he dissolves into a rant about the evils of vegetarianism, and he declares that the worst meal that he ate in the tour was a vegan meal in California. On the issue of to eat or not to eat meat, I am open-minded- -I will eat steaks or vegetarian lasagna with equal gusto. The question for me boils down to whether the cook knew what he or she was doing, has chosen fresh items, and is capable of preparing them appropriately. Everyone needs to make their own choices about what they put into their bodies, and nobody (with the possible exception of your own parents) should have the presumption to tell you what you should or shouldn't eat. Bourdain might have saved his anti-vegetarian rants for a specifically political tome. After all, I'm sure he enjoyed a number of completely vegetarian dishes in Asia, but considered them acceptable because their ethnicity was Asian and not vegan.

For a world tour to find the perfect meal, Bourdain picked an odd itinerary. Yes, France, Portugal, Mexico, and Vietnam were all musts. He only had one year, so he couldn't fit in Italy, Thailand, or Argentina. But somehow he found time for Russia, England and...Scotland? He must have had ulterior motives for choosing these locations besides looking for good food. Let's see- -in Russia, every good meal was accompanied by enough vodka to drown a sailor, so it's hard to believe he could remember the meals afterwards accurately enough to write about them. And in Scotland, I'm sure even the deep-fried Mars bars that he tried tasted good with enough beer. And in the end, it's hard to take this guy seriously as food connoisseur because he's a smoker. Face it, Tony, your taste buds are dead. If you want to really taste good food, you've got to give up the smokes.

I enjoyed this much better than Kitchen Confidential, because this book is about more the food, and less about Bourdain. And when the author writes about himself, he really touches more upon the human experience that everyone can relate to rather than the "kitchen locker room" stories that started getting tiresome in Kitchen Confidential. As the author searches for "the perfect meal" and goes to great lengths to find it, we begin to understand how food relates to people live not only in the places he travels to, but all over the world. A major sub-plot is Bourdain's self-parady as a culinary celebrity as the Food Network films him on his travels which became the Cook's Tour series still shown on the Food Network.

The book starts with Tony and his brother returning to France, and the memories they had growing up, many involving food. Rarely are the words "touching" and "Tony Bourdain" used in the same sentence, but the passage where Tony Bourdain talks about his deceased father is indeed touching.

From here, we learn of Bourdain's love of Vietnam, harrowing adventures in Cambodia, a trip to St. Petersberg, Russia through a haze of vodka, eating deadly fish in Japan, and other journeys. There seems to be no place on earth the author won't go, and nothing too bizarre to ingest at least once.

The chapter on San Francisco was a riot, with a long rant against vegetarians that was entertaining because of its great energy and because it held a few nuggets of truth beneath the bluster. Anyone who watches the Cook's Tour episodes on the Food Network will appreciate the "behind the scenes" commentary, which usually involve Bourdain confessing he was drunk or stoned when various segments were shot.

Of course, the quest for the perfect meal is pointless, as Bourdain concedes at the end of the book. We also find out that trying exotic dishes isn't necessarily what it's cracked to be. Cobra bile tastes exactly as appetizing as it sounds.

Books like this are about the quest and the truths found along the way, not the final destination itself. This is a great ride.

Vegans should know that a chef touring the world looking for food from different places trees will not be the only items on his plate. This is not for the faint of heart(literally!). As someone who only eats fish, this book had me wincing and groaning many times! I have better understanding of the hows and why people of other cultures eat the foods that they do. And Tony did try some vegetarian fare in California, so the book is balanced.
A lively, well written, amusing read!

Tony confesses at the beginning he sold out, but then takes us along for a great ride. I was interested because I had seen the show, I could tell he wasn't that serious, but was enjoying the opportunity. He has the New York blunt, rye attitude, yet allows us to see the human side of his mistakes and highlights them with his humor.

His style may well offend if you are too sensitive sensibilities. Though he reminds me of many career cooks I have known.

If you loved the show, it will make you look at it in a whole new light. If you enjoy food and traveling to different cultures it's a book for you. If you enjoy a good read, buy it and watch Tony's quest for the Perfect 'Free' Meal.

Is it just me or did anyone else out there feel that Anthony Bourdain, while mildly amusing at times, isn't the world's greatest writer and should rather stick to what he's doing best - cooking? I dunno but I find the man patronizing and opinionated, and hence irritating. I am lucky enough to have traveled to most of the countries he describes in the book, from Cambodia to Scotland, from Portugal to Japan, from Morocco to Russia, from France to England, and I have stayed and eaten with locals. I have tried whatever local delicacies they served me there.... live crab and hundred-year-eggs to name but a couple. Some I appreciated, others I didn't like so much. So I understand where he's coming from. And I can also see his self-deprecating sense of humor which is refreshing. But all those "let's get senselessly drunk" stories become repetitive and boring after a while. Oh, and if you read this, Tony - why the heck do you keep having such a go at Germans? Not that I am one but I find your petty prejudices - from "thick-ankled German women" to "disturbing German porn" pretty darn unfair.

Bourdain's book A Cook's Tour is an exceptional tour of strange and interesting cuisine spanning the globe from Mexico to Portugal to France to Vietnam. He tells of a pig feast in Portugal, from the slaughter to the table. Of a full, entire sheep in Morocco. Of a bar-cum-shooting gallery in Cambodia with live grenades and AK-47's for sampling. And, of course, of the infamous cobra feast in Vietnam.

Bourdain's style makes the book a quick and enjoyable read; his descriptions leap off the page (for better or worse--I could almost have done without a vivid characterization of eating natto or of the questionable French food Tete de veaux) and bring to life the exotic foods, locations, and people he meets. His gritty, no-nonsense approach makes everything seem all the more real and alive.

Television fans may have seen Bourdain's show on Food Network and thus already be familiar with his culinary adventure, but the book is so much more and reveals every facet that failed to make it to the screen. If you enjoy travel or food writing, A Cook's Tour is a must-read.

To enjoy this book, you have to (A) really like food, and (B) accept that the whole exercise of Bourdain tramping around the world in a psuedo-quest for the ultimate food experience is rather artificial (which he admits right up front). So, bearing in mind that he's being trailed by Food Network cameramen, and has producers to prearrange a lot of stuff for him, Bourdain's global hopscotch of culinary exploration is a very readable and fun journey. He's not really looking for the "perfect meal" so much as looking for the experience that comes with food-from refined dining (there's a chapter on The French Laundry in Napa Valley), to home cooking (massive home-cooked meals in Portugal and Mexico, complete with barnyard slaughter), to street food (several chapters on Cambodia and Vietnam), to ritualized meals (in Japan and Morocco).

If you like your travel narratives to have classy guides, this definitely won't be your cup of tea. Bourdain's "bad boy" chef image is no doubt somewhat calculated and contrived, but he certainly manages to get good and drunk in virtually every chapter, and he's a chain-smoker to boot. Mix in a large number of sketchy gross-out foods (deep-fried Mars Bar, sheep testicles, beating cobra heart, etc.), and you've got a pretty fun little book. As evidenced in his fiction work (Bone in the Throat, Gone Bamboo, The Bobby Gold Stories), he's got excellent timing and can be very, very funny. He can also be very human and poignant, as in the chapter where he and his brother revisit their childhood summer vacation spot in France, and when he talks about his Mexican chefs. Some people have complained that he doesn't describe the food well enough, which I disagree with. Writing about taste is like writing about music, you can only hope to convey a vague impression, and he's really more concerned with the overall experience anyway. I defy anyone's mouth not to water while reading the Vietnam chapters.

Which is not to say to the book is perfect. I actually found his veering into the recent political histories of Vietnam and Cambodia to be rather clumsy but worthwhile. On the other hand, his anti-vegetarian screeching is just plain annoying and off-putting (I am not a vegetarian by the way). He treats all vegetarians as proselytizing, animal-lovers who want to ban any animal death-a portrayal wholly inaccurate of the many vegetarians I've known over the years. First of all, I've never met a proselytizing vegetarian, and second of all, most people I know are vegetarian, are that way for health reasons, not political ones. It's an even more irksome perspective in that he makes a big fuss over how upsetting it is to actual witness a pig/lamb/turkey getting killed for your dinner. It's as if he felt he had to put something feisty or controversial or nasty in there, just to keep his persona going, and it does nothing for the book.

The vegetarian thing aside, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in food (and who isn't?) or other cultures. The chapters work pretty well on their own, and are the perfect length for devouring one a night before bed, although they'll likely drive you to the kitchen for a midnight snack!

Bouncing around the world with a camera crew in tow, Bourdain hits as many culinary adventures as you can imagine. Morocco, Cambodia, Vietnam, are all on his travel schedule as he pursues the perfect meal. Cobra heart, haggis, fugu are all on the agenda, but it's the little wonders that are truly memorable. The Tokyo fish market, the trip to the hometown of his sous chef, a wonderful look at true Mexican cooking,and Bourdain's regret and acceptance over a pig being slaughtered for his benefit in Portugal are all wonderful examples of how well Bourdain can tell a story. Bourdain constantly entertains and intrigues with his willingness to describe the food, the people, and most comically, the TV Food Network's attempts to "spice" (sorry) things up. Much more thoughtful than the "in your face" approach of KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, A COOK'S TOUR succeeds as a culinary adventure, with an intelligent and thoughful guide, who realizes that "Perfect, like happy, sneaks up on you."

I almost gave the book two stars but the one or two good belly laughs I got from some of Tony's adventures came to mind, causing me to have mercy on the guy. For the most part, however, I found the book a disappointment. I didn't read Bourdain's first work so I didn't know what to expect. The title is misleading. "A Cook's Tour" comes across more as an excuse for the author to travel to exotic places on someone else's dime. Contrary to the premise of finding the perfect meal, it seems that Tony took the Food Network up on the opportunity to play around in far-flung locales he's always wanted to visit. The chapter on dining in France at a beach resort he remembered from childhood was only interesting in the context that he described in his introduction. What makes a perfect meal? It's not only ingredients and preparation. It's atmosphere, nostalgia, expectation, memory, etc. His first stop, Portugal, lived up to the book's stated mission. He quickly lost focus, however. What does a potentially dangerous trip up a Cambodian river to the gangster-run town of Pailin have to do with "the perfect meal?" Predictably he found nothing there but second rate Thai food. A Russian mafia club? A Mexican hotel's iguana mascot? The much talked about beating cobra's heart? It's a travelogue of the outrageous and atrocious. Searching for the perfect meal would entail research, attention to detail, seriousness and lengthy tours through New Orleans, in my humble opinion. Profanity, descriptions of illegal drug use, in countries where you could do some serious Third World hard time, and drunken stumbles through foreign capitals don't cut it in my book. Sorry. Some chapters I skimmed through after tiring of the incessant ranting.

I'm left feeling jet-lagged, hungover and somewhat as if I got eaten myself after reading this fantastic book. Accompanied by the Food Network series, where more of Anthony's personality comes across, this book delivers what foodies and travel buffs want. Anthony, you are the Steve McQueen of food/travel gurus. For those who don't get it, that's a huge accolade.

I enjoyed this book so much, it was very refreshing to read a no-b.s. first-person account of an interesting journey. Bordain offers up the best kind of combination in a person/author: experience mixed with freshness and honesty. He gives you his thoughts uncensored, and he's as sensitive as he is tough. He's also very funny. His tour takes us on a walk through different cultures, with food being the glue that binds us. We all eat, but wow, how differently in some cases. It's true, this book is not about "a perfect meal" in the simplistic sense (entree-starch-veg, anyone?). He explains this concept from the get-go. A perfect meal always depends on a variety of external factors that are often surprising and usually out of our control. The memorable moments of life, which happen to be experienced at table. His thoughtful account of his trips to Japan, Morocco, Portugal, and other, more far-flug places, tell us about the people, their traditions, and their values glimpsed through their eating habits. I thought his choice of trips was perfect, and loved all the details he shares. His trip back to France with his brother was touching. Bordain's observations are often funny, sometimes sad, always forthright. For me, another 1/2 Euro/1/2 Yank, it is facsinating to compare life around the world to life in America, with mixed results. Here, on the downside, we may have nearly lost our connections to our food, our families, and our communities, but on the upside, you're not likely to find a killing farm retreat, or kids working all night, shuttling drunks, for three bucks. I learned a lot from this book, it was really entertaining and interesting. I highly recommend it.

Tony has a few little twitches, doesn't he? He (quite rightly) disdains vegetarianism and the PETA folks, but he's not all that comfortable actually watching a pig or cobra or something get whacked. And it's a bit ironic that having (apparently) gotten over or at least past hard drugs, he's still a smoker. Oh, well. He still writes like Hunter Thomson without (most of) the mind altering rubbish, and ah, does he know food and cooks. Whatever you think of Chef Bourdain, you can't call yourself a cook or a gourmand unless you've read him.

I love to cook and I love to "globe trot", so the fact that love this book is no surprise. What make this book so good is that even if you don't love those things, the story telling alone makes it worth reading. Bourdain's outlook on life is refreshing as it is entertaining. He holds nothing back and doesn't care. If you want to take a great tour without leaving the comfort of home, this is the road best traveled!

Well, Bourdain has admittedly decided to succumb to the television siren, as documented in this entertaining journal of his recent travels. While I was not a great fan of "Kitchen Confidential", having been prepared for his overpowering self confidence by that book, I found this an interesting and more enjoyable read.

Bourdain desperately wants to portray himself as the bad boy of chefs; sort of a chef's Mick Jagger, compared with a Paul McCartney, or perhaps a Peter Pan goes bad. He seems to define badness by the extent to which he is willing to engage in self destructive behavior: excessive consumption of alcohol (actually the anecdotes are nauseating just to read about), chain smoking, and blithely consuming food prepared in conditions of questionable hygiene. And that is before you consider what he eats.

Bourdain also definitely wants you to know he is macho; he may be a chef, but absolutely nothing effete about him; he goes to great lengths to demonstrate this; in fact it almost seems his life quest. He proves this by what he is willing to eat, e.g.: the still beating heart of a cobra, potentially toxic blowfish, and by distain for vegetarian cuisine, which he here again not only defines as inferior, but by implication effeminine. Hmmm. And, he goes into the dark heart of Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia, getting off on firing semi-automatic weapons, in uncomfortable, sleazy, and decidedly hazardous circumstances. I didn't quite get how this related to his quest for new culinary experiences, but damn he's bad!

The descriptions of Vietnam and its cuisine were perhaps the best part of this work. It was interesting to have his descriptions of eating in France refute the suggestion that the French are the world gold standard in cuisine, and his journal of his experiences in Mexico were warm and enticing.

I settled on this in the airport when seeking an appropriate diversion during long flights. In this book Bourdain has mellowed a bit in his intense distain for opinions contrary to his; however, be prepared for a self congratulatory celebration of excessive consumption and self destructive habits as an art form.

Tony Bourdain capitalized on the tremendous success of "Kitchen Confidential", an insider's look into the restaurant industry, with a devilishly interesting follow-up. The proposal to his publisher was simple enough. Tony would travel around the world in search of the "perfect" meal. A great