Customer Reviews

A Bowl of Red

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This classic is a must-have for the true chili lover and chili historian. It's the book that revived interest in chili.

Frank Tolbert's A Bowl of Red started out as a series of columns in the Dallas News but it's hard to define exactly what this book is in terms of form. It's not really a cookbook but I've made terrific chilis from his suggested recipes. It's not even completely about chili, although it starts out with that classic American (not Mexican) dish. Tolbert starts with a rambling history of the origins of chili in Texas cuisine and uses that as a base for wandering around through southwestern cuisine, famous Texas and southern cooks, ghost towns, European immigrants in Texas, the science of chili, chuck wagon chefs and too many other topics to list. His descriptions of the first several World Series of Chili Cookoffs in Terlingua, Texas read like a combination of the Marx Brothers and P.J.O'Rourke.

It may be hard to believe but this book is hard to put down. It's one of a kind.

Frank X. Tolbert's A Bowl of Red is the bible of chili. If you want to cook an authentic bowl of red read this book. If it isn't in this book, you don't need to know it.

Plus, you get a grand essay on blackeyed peas (Now often called Texas Caviar), essays on The Gentleman from Odessa Stew and on Farkleberrys, and much more.

And what more appropriate ending could you have than Bones Hooks' "Chili Prayer"?

A BOWL OF RED is one of ten chili books I refer to when I want to make chili differently than the two recipes I usually use. We have chili a lot in our house and both my Dad and my Mama have their favorite ways of cooking it. I grew up with their recipes and I have documented them in one of my "Amazon So You'd Like to Guides" and I hope you take a look at it. Both recipes are delicious, but when you've had them as often as I've had 'em, you sort of yearn for something a bit different. So, once a week, usually on Saturdays, I break out these ten books and search for a chili recipe I either haven't tried, or one I haven't made in a long time. Of course, like all cooks, I fudge a bit with the ingredients, but not all that much. I like to stick pretty close to the recipes, at least the first few times I make it, so I can get an idea of what the writer/recipe maker had intended.

And let me tell you, you'd be surprised at the subtleties there are in a chili recipe. As they say, no two chile recipes were created equal, but the recipes in this book have never let me down. I've got a lot of chili books, have tried a lot of recipes over the years, but the recipes here, like the recipes in my other nine fave books, have been consistently good. You can't go wrong with A BOWL OF RED.

Francis Tolbert's "A Bowl of Red" is an enjoyable read. He was a columnist in Texas, and this book seems to be based on some of his columns. (The narration jumps from first person to third person, and touches on various topics--sounds like he borrowed heavily from his columns in compiling this book.) While he spends a lot of time discussing the beginnings and early years of the Chili cook-off in Terlingua, Texas, in the most substantial part of the book he traces the evolution of chili con carne as it appeared in the southwest. His premise is that it evolved as a staple of the chuck wagon cooks on cattle drives and roundups. There are some interesting recipes in here which I'm looking forward to trying (I prefer bean-less chili with a decent amount of cumin), but this isn't a cookbook in the classic sense--more of a meditation/observation on various aspects of southwestern cuisine.

If you are a Chili lover, this is a must read. It is just a neat book to have handy.

My purchase was perfect. It was the book I wanted autographed and the condition was as described. *****

A Bowl of Red serves as a history of chili, with a few other chapters added as filler (sort of like pinto beans are to a chili purist). According to Tolbert, chili is an American (not Mexican) dish which has its origins in the "chili queen" culture of late-19th century San Antonio. Texas chili is basically ground beef and chile peppers, with optional frijoles on the side; chilli chefs from other parts of the country, such as those who make the "Greek chili" served in Cincinnati and Springfield, will disagree. Tolbert also provides a few chili recipes, but not enough to make this a cookbook. Interesting book, but definitely a one-time read.