4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A little disappointed, May 7, 2010
This review is from: This Is Why You're Fat: Where Dreams Become Heart Attacks (Paperback)
I purchased this item based on the web site [...] , expecting the book to be a reference guide for many of the items on the site. As it turns out, the book is a bit outdated, as many, many of the items on the site are not in the book. In addition, at the very least, I would have expected to see recipes for all the items detailed in the book, but to my surprise it appears that it only has about 1/2 of them detailed and most of these are the extreme meat dishes. Granted, many of the food concoctions can be taken apart based on a picture, but to have a book just showing the same picture with a couple more sentences thrown in for good measure is not what I would have purchased. Finally, the book making quality was a bit off. Within a few minutes of looking through the book, a couple of pages came loose from the binding. I would rather have paid more for a book that offered more detail, than purchase this one.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Food Police's Illustrated List of the 105 Most Criminal Food Creations, July 28, 2011
"Jessica (Amason) and Richard (Blakely) live in New York City ... and make trouble wherever possible." - About the Authors, from THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT
THIS IS WHY YOUR FAT is a small photo album of what may be some of the most unhealthy, obesity-inducing, and atherosclerosis-assuring food creations ever to haunt the feverish nightmares of the Food Police. By my count, the book lovingly reveals 105 (though I may be off by a couple).
The volume is divided into five general categories of outrage: Introduction (a compendium of the miscellaneous), Breakfasts of Champions, Bacon Gone Wild, Souped-up Sandwiches, and Big-time Burgers.
More useful, perhaps, is the division among entries between those food items - yes, it's still food despite what any nutritionist will tell you - created by individual contributors and those offered by eating establishments. While all are photographed in loving color and grease, only the former may include actual recipes. For the latter, the name and location of the eatery is identified (and perhaps even recognizable from the cable TV's "Man vs. Food", a show that proves to any viewer that no culinary fantasy is too large or conceptually extreme and there's always someone willing to eat it).
The authors make no attempt to finesse the subject matter or even produce a publication that will stand the test of time - the pages of my copy are already coming loose from the binding. However, the "OMG!" quotient is satisfyingly high. The photos are almost pornographic in their social acceptability (or lack thereof), which means that they'll probably be leered at secretly or otherwise by most people who have access to them.
True, some of the eatable fabrications are rather ordinary and can be seen at any county fair: deep-fried moon pies, deep-fried Mars bars, deep-fried Oreos, etc. Some you probably won't see anywhere outside the home of the disturbed individual that conceptualized it: The Slim Jim Shooters, The Cornhole, Bacon Apple Pie, Deep-Fried Coke (as in Coca-Cola), The Twinkie Weiner Sandwich, and The Corn Dog Pizza. Some are rather inventive and probably worth a try: The Grilled Cheesecake Sandwich, Fried Guac Bites, The Bacon-Weave Cheese Roll-up, Cheesy French Toast, and the White Castle Casserole.
The main problem, from my perspective as a potential consumer, is that some are just too big to be eaten as finger foods: The Quadruple Bypass Burger, The Mega Burger 2.0, The Beer Barrel Belly Buster (burger), The Sandwich of Knowledge, The American Dream (sandwich), The G.B.M.F., The All-Day-Long-Sandwich-of-Dreams, or The 29,559 Calorie Sandwich. I mean, why start in on something so big that you have to take it apart and eat it with a fork; that defeats the whole concept of eating something meant for hand handling.
My nutrition and health-conscious wife, who was a vegetarian before she came under my evil influence, would likely divorce me in absolute disgust if I ate anything contained in THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT. But, just between you and me, here are the Top Five that I'd really like to try:
Poutine - French fries topped with cheese curds and covered with brown gravy
The Deep-Fried Brownie Ball - A deep-fried peanut butter-covered brownie wrapped in cookie dough
The Deep-Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich
The Squeeze with Cheese - One-third pound of beef smothered in fried cheddar cheese, on a bun
Gravy Pizza
I'm knocking off a star for the durability of the book's construction. But, otherwise, it grandly accomplishes what its title implies, i.e. pointedly show you why you're overweight, or just a fatso wannabe at (failing) heart.
Gee, what are these pains I feel coming on? It's odd how they seem to be radiating down my arm.
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