This little book is a very entertaining read. Part storytelling, part instructional, often very personal, every page is engaging. Steven Shaw writes in a style that is something between a columnist's approach and an essayist's. The result is a series of interesting, short segments that loosely hang together within each of the cuisine-specific chapters of the book. The closest comparison I might make to the flow is to a travel show on television.
Is the author authoritative on the topic? I can't honestly say, though I'm mostly convinced. I hedge because of issues with the advice itself - the "rules" referenced in the title - and the limited coverage. See more below on that. The book carries two Asian heavyweight endorsements on the front and back covers, though: Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook. So presumably the educational content is accurate.
This is a 250 page book that covers 5 major cuisines. Each cuisine chapter is, therefore, regrettably limited, especially when you toss in all the personal stories and offbeat - if interesting - segues (e.g., pairing French wines with Japanese food). And there's the rub - the book is supposed to be about "dining rules," here meaning what you need to know and how to act in order to be treated like an insider and get the good stuff. The overview-level coverage winds up coming short of the goal, in turn leading to the doubts concerning the author's authority mentioned above.
The Japanese section illustrates all the points mentioned above. The entire section is only about 50 pages long. Shaw occupies the first several with a charming story about the Ushiwaka Maru sushi bar in New York City, followed immediately by some sushi myth-busting, a few pages on sushi history, several more on a personal sushi story and a sidetrack into Kaiten sushi not particulary relevant to US readers, finally devoting 8 or 9, quite usefully, to sushi basics. If you are getting the idea that there is a heavy sushi focus to the Japanese cuisine chapter at the expense of the remainder of the cuisine, you would be correct.
The author has STILL not got on to the task of advising us on the "dining rules," however. And before he gets there, there are nearly 5 pages of his personal odyssey into making sushi at home. Sigh.
We finally get to the advice on page 47, under "Guerrilla Sushi Tactics." I'm primed and ready. I'm educated and entertained. Only to find that the advice amounts mostly to bravado and things you probably already know, including sitting at the sushi bar and talking directly to the head sushi chef. The most interesting thing here is, literally, the author's comments on the various cuts of tuna.
That done, we're on to a discussion of red wine and sushi - taking 4 pages, then 10 pages - 10 - titled "Beyond Sushi: Taking in the full scope of Japanese Cuisine"! To say that this is the briefest, barest, sweeping survey coverage of a limited number of food items would be an exaggeration. And to end the chapter, Shaw takes 5 pages on a completely off-the-wall topic - sushi (again) and pregnancy!
Whew!
What this book needs is a consistent focus. Starting with what's promised in the title would help, as the advice turns out to be thin. The format is also problematic. This is a pulp paperback and there isn't a single picture to be found. It's as if the author and publisher assume the reader is already knowledgeable. But that invalidates the premise of the book, doesn't it?
As I struggled for a cogent title for this review, it all boiled down to the single word "entertaining." If you approach this book as a diverting read written by an engaging author, you will enjoy it. If you go looking for a comprehensive look at any of the cuisines, or, frankly, substantive advice on being treated like an insider, you're going to be a little disappointed.
