Eat My Globe: One Year to Go Everywhere and Eat Everything (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this ballsy, often hilarious foodie travelogue, British blogger Majumdar sets out on a yearlong, round-the-world flavor forage. At the age of 40, Majumdar found his old note-to-self: go everywhere and eat everything. In search of out-of-comfort-zone foodstuffs like Mongolian fermented mare's milk, he quit his loathed publishing job and, still mourning his mother's recent death, he sketched out, booked and impressively adhered to an itinerary from the U.K. to every continent except Antarctica. Unpleasant surprises included cod sperm sushi in Kyoto, but his experiences and descriptions, however brief, of the global gastronomic sublime, such as his sunset supper in the Filipino countryside, are appetite-whetting, and his take-no-prisoners attitude and opinions match the project's ambitions. He champions street-food surprises over more urbane examples of cuisine, while his affection and gratitude for the individuals and families met and the hospitality received amply humanized both his wanderings and writings. Majumdar's comic-yet-brazen voice carries the reader swiftly and winningly from foul to fowl in a book that's funny and delectable. (May 19)
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From Booklist

Having exhausted the culinary possibilities of his native London, blogger and omnivore Majumdar takes off work for a year and travels the world in search of food. He’s not into the most bizarre tastes that he can find; he’s more attracted to the most typical foods of a place, the sorts of things one might find elsewhere but are never as good as they are in their native habitats. He goes to Ireland for cheese. In Australia, Majumdar enjoys meat pies despite the country’s incessant boosterism. Japan offers sweet eel and perfect tempura. He becomes a salesperson at Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor to understand why workers there wax so enthusiastic. In New Orleans, he observes that local food still conquers despite ongoing depredations from Katrina. In Goa, genuine vindaloo teaches him that the dish is about much more than a superfluity of chili peppers. Majumdar’s irrepressible humor sparkles through every bite. --Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416576029
• ISBN-13: 978-1416576020
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #470,433 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars His ego is bigger than his stomach, June 8, 2009

By	Jo Ann Graham "joanng417" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

I was deeply disappointed in Simon Majumdar's tale of traveling the world to "eat everything" in a year. As a part time foodie and semi-pro chef I was anticipating exciting descriptions of foods, ingredients and restaurants around the world. That is not this book.

The pronoun "I" is used more in this book than any other word. The book is disappointingly not about the food but is about Simon and his travels. Simon comes off as a self obsessed, self professed and self impressed lover of food but primarily unusual (to an American palate) foods. His descriptions of the food are limited and he spends more time talking about his walks through the cities and countries he visits. I had anticipated reading succulent word pictures of the many foods he ate. These are missing from this book. Instead we are told he ate "a dish of crunchy green beans with garlic", or "Sichuan-style spring rolls and a dish of fiery pork" -- nothing inspiring about the descriptions and no recipes or even clues to recipes to recreate some of his more "normal" food adventures (I will pass on the still beating cobra heart). Instead of telling us that he drank 30 year old sherry, could he have shared a name or brand?

The inclusion of recipes in this book or even pictures of the foods, people and places would have added a great deal to this journal about Simon and his travels because his words are not enough.

Most disappointing was Simon's unnecessary and gratuitous inclusion of repeated references to his genitalia and self perceived sexuality. Was it really necessary to be told he dreamed of carrying a large sign saying "will drop trou for food"? (He'll starve doing that!) Wouldn't it have been sufficient to tell us he thought of carrying a sign that said "will work for food"? Do I need to know what his tailor told him about his limited personal endowments or that he walks around in front of strangers in a short silk robe and nothing else? None of this was enticing nor did it add to the book. I guess it made his ego feel better.

And that is what this book is about -- Simon's ego. The food is not the star.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feasting Around the World, June 7, 2009

By	' Groovin' guy "music historian" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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Food was an early obsession for this author, his mother cooking both Bengali food and her own Welsh dishes she grew up on. Simon Majumdar acquired a discerning palate.

At forty he begins his goal, thirteen months of travel to nearly thirty countries including United States, Iceland, Finland, Morocco, Mongolia, and South Africa among them. Eating all the way and everything in between. He was very active in the world of food via internet and received many invitations and offers, such as showing him around, dinners, restaurant guides and an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner.

A self acknowledged food critic he writes "As with wine, the real skill of the taster is not about the ability to taste itself, but to articulate that taste. It is about developing that vocabulary"

Articulating on Chapter 14 Ann Arbor, The Cult of the Zingerman's, he only writes about the running of the business, not a single item or flavor is described, which I felt was very disappointing.

Chapter 22 San Fransisco is also probably best left unread as it's a few pages of apologies on why he can't sample the food. Another disappointment, I felt.

On the whole, the book is quite interesting and enjoyable. Much of it is reminiscent of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. It kept my interest.

A nice supplement to this book is his blogspot blog which contains many interesting photos of his travels that would have been great in the book itself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, July 1, 2009

By	Matthew K. Morgan (Ruther Glen, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

I selected this title with no preconceived notions. It sounded like a fun book to read with plenty of anecdotes, nuggets of wisdom in finding good food and even some education. This book met my expectations in this regard.

In a general sense this book reads somewhat like a Food Network program, explaining what the search was all about, how the different foods are made, and how much he enjoyed himself. Some of this is quite interesting, though I was a little put off by the description of how blood sausage is made...

Where this book becomes tedious and less-than-ideal is in the generous helpings of fluff and ego that are also added in. The author doesn't come across as arrogant and rude, but he definitely has an air that comes through in his writing. There's a lot of filler too, stuff that isn't food-oriented that could be left out in favor of more relevant content.

This is an enjoyable read when viewed as a food-related memoir. It could have been better, and it could have held a lot more useful information, but as is it is still a pleasant read.