184 of 190 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you read and enjoyed Kitchen Confidential - you won't want to miss this one!, June 9, 2010
This review is from: Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (Hardcover)
The year's may have passed and he's turned into a TV personality since
Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.), which revealed the behind-the-scenes world of a chef in the NY city restaurant scene, but Tony despite his own self-analysis in this one hasn't changed all that much.
He's still as potty mouthed, contrarian, anti-establishment and provocative as ever. He's also as much or more of a clever, creative good writer with an unquestionable passion for food and the restauraunt biz that entertains and fascinates even someone like me who only eats at restaurants.
Like the first book, the chapters each act as more of an essay than as a story - covering the evolution of the restaurant/food industry and what's happened to him since his first book.
There's a lot of angry diabtribes interlaced with his dry humor. The topics include the inability to find a good decent hamburger, overpretentious/priced restaurant habits, the evils of the James Beard foundation, Alice Waters and sustainability, vegetarianism, the CIA and the Food Network. Some of these are better executed than others. During the hamburger one, in particular - I was ready for him to get off his soapbox long before he actually did.
Still, Tony doesn't shy away from naming names and dishing dirt that anyone who watches those "evil" food shows like Iron Chef, Top Chef, and Rachel Ray will recognize and find entertaining. In fact, a whole chapter is dedicated to who he believes are the heroes and villians of the restaurant biz today, and why. (Basically, non-restaurant "warriors" and anything that mildly reeks of establishment isn't going to hit the heroes list.)
Where the book, for me, truly shined was when it became about the food he loves and people he admires. A food porn chapter in which he highlights many of his best foodie experiences was a delight. He and his wife's attempts to convince their daughter that Ronald McDonald is an evil guy w/ cooties left me in stitches. And, a chapter about a man who just cleans and cuts fish everyday for a fine dining restaurant and his incredible mastery of it moved me.
Finally, there's a chapter that serves up an update to what's happened to the people he featured in Kitchen Confidential, that anyone who read that one won't want to miss.
BOTTOM LINE: If you've read Kitchen Confidential and enjoyed it, you'll enjoy this one - written by a slightly older and wiser man who hasn't lost any of his edge, writing ability or passion for food.
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75 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Un-self-satisfied!, June 9, 2010
This review is from: Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (Hardcover)
Anthony Bourdain's previous collection "Nasty Bits" felt like a watered-down overcooked rehash of his original shtick. His new one, "Medium Raw," is a true revival. Bourdain has shaken off the cashmere of complacency to don a Viking bear-shirt of rage, and even though he takes stabs at familiar targets--TV, the corporations and the rich--he has come up with bloody fresh reasons to hate them (which is something.) His jokes are disturbing, his horrors hilarious, his meals orgasmic: his food descriptions are as far beyond crass culinary porn as Caravaggio and Boticelli are beyond "Jugs." Schlosser and Pollan may better connect food to economics and politics; Bourdain is supreme at plugging it to the gonads and guts. No one better demonstrates that food is part of life. This book makes both more interesting.
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44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Superb Course from the Chef de Bile, June 15, 2010
This review is from: Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (Hardcover)
Tony does not, for the most part, pull any punches. For the record, Sandra Lee terrifies me too. He doesn't divulge Bigfoot's identity, but for the most part, does name names. I especially liked the chapter on heros and villains. His takedown of Alan Richman is priceless.
The bottom line with Mr. Bourdain is that he really cares about food and the people who prepare it, whether it's the guy in the Czech Republic who stuffs sausages with his bare hands, or the man who cuts the fish at Le Bernardin.
Food is too important to leave to the Rachael Rays and Sandra Lees of the world. We need fewer people clamoring about EVOO and more people cooking and eating a well-executed omelet or a good simple tomato sauce.
Start reading this on a Friday. It will last most of the weekend, and when you're finished, you'll be eager for the next course. I don't know how many more of these Tony has in him, but I'm waiting for the next one.
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