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favorite books on gastronomy?

I like Jeffery Steingartens "the man who ate it all" I also like Bourdain's stuff and Ruth Reichel and many many more...what are your favs?

7 Comments:

I think it's "The Man Who Ate Everything", Kbear. :)

I love "The Soul of a Chef" by Michael Ruhlman and also his "The Making of a Chef", "Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris" by AJ Liebling is wonderful, all three of Ruth's books, but particularly her first two. And there's got to be more but I'm just not thinking of them now.

Yeah, I definitely enjoy Steingarden's books -- his writing is fantastic. Ruhlman, too, of course. But the one that comes first to mind is The Passionate Epicure by Marcel Rouff. It's a brilliant read, and lots of fun.

It's difficult not to cite the classics here...Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher, or, as I prefer her writing all bound in one book, The Art of Eating. Adore Ruth Reichl's storytelling (and her recipes!), bow down to Michael Pollan's humor and knack for telling it like it is, also have much appreciation for Laurie Colwin...and I devoured Gael Greene's Insatiable.

"Heat" by Buford. Anything by Ruhlman. Steingarden is next on my list.

Below the Belt by Clement Freud. Even though it's a hoot from start to finish, I learned a great deal from it. I wish my copy hadn't fallen apart from many rereadings; it's now unavailable except at collectors' prices.

As a young adult, Laurie Colwin's "Gourmet" columns were my introduction to culinary writing. She's singular in her lack of pretension about food. I also liked the powerfully delicious and evocative pieces in Nigel Slater's "Toast."

More:
Mimi Sheraton's "The Bialy Eaters," a slim, beautiful book; Tony Bourdain's "Cooks Tour," especially the chapters on Arcachon and Japan; Jim Harrison's "The Raw and the Cooked"; and Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster."

On my TBR pile for '07: Calvin Trillin, John Thorne, and Elizabeth David

Oh, I'm glad to see Toast mentioned; I did the American edit!

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