19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good eats along the Mississippi, April 18, 2008
If you watch Food Channel (FC) a lot, you know who Alton Brown is. He has a quirky little show. I must confess, he is not my favorite of those cooking on FC. But he does have an engaging personality.
This book, though, is a little treasure, as far as I'm concerned. The opening foldout map shows the nature of his mini-Odyssey along the Mississippi River, sampling diners and restaurants as he (and his crew) cycle from the Delta to Lake Itasca. I'm an Illinois farm boy, so it was cool to see some of the towns from my home state on his map--Cairo, Alton, Quincy, Nauvoo, and Moline. And other places familiar to me from the Iowa side--Burlington, Muscatine, Clinton, Dubuque.
The book begins with a nice little introduction on Brown's romance with "asphalt." Then, from state to state as the crew moves from Louisiana to Minnesota, eateries that they stop at are featured, and some recipes provided. Kind of a cool concept here.
Some examples of eateries and recipes:
New Orleans, Louisiana: Crawfish Bowl at Big Fisherman Seafood
Greenville, Mississippi: Breakfast ribs at Jim's Cafe
Memphis, Tennessee: Memphis-style turkey legs at Melanie's Soul Food
Illinois and Iowa: Loose meat sandwich (Maid-Rite--In my home town,
we had a Maid-Rite while I was in high school--Yummy!). Ground beef,
onion, prepared mustard, water, Worcestershire Sauce, kosher salt).
Despite my cholesterol level, I'm tempted to try this!
Crosby, Minnesota: Parsley Bread from The (very quirky) Nordic Inn.
There is a final description of Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi River begins.
As one might expect from watching Brown's show, this is an idiosyncratic work. But it is a lot of fun and there are some neat recipes in here. But the Odyssey may be even more interesting than the recipes. Good eats? Good reading!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!!!, March 24, 2008
I have been a Good Eats fan for 5+ years and eagerly await the newest AB Book (I own all, even a Food Network Kitchen's book). This book is my favorite! It is part motorcycle diary and part cook book... all with Alton's signature wit and commentary. Makes for a GREAT read (and how often do you say that abt a cook book?!), GET THIS BOOK! (No joke, when I went to buy this book, the person in front of AND behind me was purchasing AB Books! :o)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful Journey, March 17, 2010
I encountered this book when I visited my oldest son in Atlanta. He had given it to his wife for Christmas and I picked it up to thumb through and could not put it down.
We are from Louisiana where the journey begins and immediately felt comfortably familiar with the landscape and people. Alton Brown explores the snaking journey of the Mississippi as I would love to explore it. He and his crew seek out the great original sources of comfort food at its finest. The diners, restaurants, shops, roadside stands, etc that are explored are surviving examples of what road food used to be.
There are no chains, restaurant guides, snide critics, filters, walls, etc, just great food prapared by real folks and enjoyed by a true gentleman. The cooks, owners, patrons are interviewed respectfully without sarcasm or judgement.
I loved it, learned to love Alton even more, and would recommend this great book to anyone with a soul and open mind. It is well worth reading, the recipes are clear and simple, and the whole journey is a sirens song.
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