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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
informative
My favorite kind of nonfiction. An exploration of the world through food.
While the book is extremely interesting and beautiful like the original Atlas Obscura books, I wish instead of only focusing on the most bazaar foods in each area, there was also the inclusion of unique staple foods for each area.
If you are a travel buff and a food nerd, you NEED this book. It would be perfect sitting on your coffee table to have all of your friends ooh and ahh at. It is perfect to read while planning a trip. It is basically a food lovers wish list around the world. No stone was left unturned in it's development. . I would not recommend trying to tackle this in a day. Seriously, it's worth your money; it's monstrous. It took me 3 months to get through it. Like everything from this team: the research is impeccable, the pictures lend themselves to the section, the font isn't distracting to the eye, and the writing is immersive. I promise you will learn something new. If you need ideas for your food related travel, this book will spark hundreds of ideas for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I have followed Atlas Obscura for a while. As a lover of travel and food, the gastronomic aspect of Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras. immediately appeals to me. Food is a universal language and a part of every life occasion happy and sad. Food brings people together. In a world so divided, it is wonderful to see every effort to identify that which unites us.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/03/gastro-obscura.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/03/gastro-obscura.html
Reviewed for NetGalley.
I expected to enjoy this book more than I did. It was a strange book, full of the eating habits around the world. Many were disgusting to my American mind.
At first, this information was an interesting view into cultures around the world. By about halfway, it was tedious. And by the end it felt that the authors were attempting to shock and appall the reader.
I would not have finished the book had I not posted on here that I was reading it.
At first, this information was an interesting view into cultures around the world. By about halfway, it was tedious. And by the end it felt that the authors were attempting to shock and appall the reader.
I would not have finished the book had I not posted on here that I was reading it.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
I thought this would be a cookbook of obscurities. Sometimes it is (you will find, for example, a recipe for the South African milk tart), but it is also more.
Gastro Obscura is a vast collection of strange food products, like New Zealand's Gunpowder Rum, or a Canadian soap-flavoured gum called Thrills. But it also contains a diversity of food customs and tastes: The Eastern European origins of Montreal Steak Spice are explained in colourful detail, and the whole is peppered with fascinating stories and anecdotes, including a Canadian maple syrup heist, and a primer on the blossoming mycology scene in Oregon.
I liked learning how food is used in Hollywood post-production—in Titanic, the sound of Rose’s ice-covered hair breaking, as she clings to her life-saving plank, is achieved with frozen lettuce—and discovering Fool’s Gold, a sandwich that stole Elvis’s heart (it’s composed of a whole jar of peanut butter, a jar of blueberry jam, and a pound of bacon in hollowed-out bread, and costs $49.95).
Even casual foodies will enjoy this volume, which makes an interesting companion to the standard Atlas Obscura. But everyday students of people will find all kinds of joy here, too, particularly those who can’t travel right now and thirst for the weird wonder being lost in a new place affords. The odd person may even find a passion, whether it’s mushrooms, or where to attend world’s only hot pepper school.
Thanks to #NetGalley and Workman Publishing for an advance glimpse of this nifty volume!
Gastro Obscura is a vast collection of strange food products, like New Zealand's Gunpowder Rum, or a Canadian soap-flavoured gum called Thrills. But it also contains a diversity of food customs and tastes: The Eastern European origins of Montreal Steak Spice are explained in colourful detail, and the whole is peppered with fascinating stories and anecdotes, including a Canadian maple syrup heist, and a primer on the blossoming mycology scene in Oregon.
I liked learning how food is used in Hollywood post-production—in Titanic, the sound of Rose’s ice-covered hair breaking, as she clings to her life-saving plank, is achieved with frozen lettuce—and discovering Fool’s Gold, a sandwich that stole Elvis’s heart (it’s composed of a whole jar of peanut butter, a jar of blueberry jam, and a pound of bacon in hollowed-out bread, and costs $49.95).
Even casual foodies will enjoy this volume, which makes an interesting companion to the standard Atlas Obscura. But everyday students of people will find all kinds of joy here, too, particularly those who can’t travel right now and thirst for the weird wonder being lost in a new place affords. The odd person may even find a passion, whether it’s mushrooms, or where to attend world’s only hot pepper school.
Thanks to #NetGalley and Workman Publishing for an advance glimpse of this nifty volume!
A wide range of food-related curiosities from around the world, including history, science, regional and local foods, innovations, and more. Organized geographically, it's beautifully illustrated and a perfect book to pick up and read whenever you have a few minutes' time. I've kept our copy on the kitchen table, where family members like to pick it up and browse while having a snack or eating breakfast. It's a great conversation starter, and there's sure to be something to appeal to everyone (we all have to eat!). Highly recommended.
informative
slow-paced
Such a fun read. Packed full about food facts and how's it eaten.